A democracy of education
December 1, 2011
Researching my Llanwern project just gets more and more interesting. Well, for me anyway! It now turns out that not only was Viscountess Rhondda responsible for ensuring women got to sit in the House of Lords, she also had an interest in progressive and democratic education.
Letters held in the National Trust archive detail how she was in negotiation with various bodies to try to find someone to accept the house as a ‘gift’ and use it as a Further Education residential college for adults, ‘along Scandinavian lines’. This woman was so AMAZING. What a shame that her dream did not become a reality. The trail now leads me to the archives of the University of Wales… Could it be that the educational establishment that will finally award me my degree is actually the one responsible for the failure of Viscountess Rhondda’s inspirational project and ultimately the cause of the house being demolished?
Unfortunately, I don’t think I am going to be able to get up to Aber again before the hols, so this is piece of detective work that might have to wait for stage 2 of the project…
STOP PRESS: More exciting developments… Mari who works in Parliamentary archives has given me the name of a History professor currently working on a biography of Viscountess Rhondda… Check out Mari’s blog: http://parliamentandwomen.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/lady-rhondda-takes-her-place-in-the-house-of-lords/
And watch this space for snippety updates about my contact with Professor John…
