Rhuddlan Heritage Day Saturday 27th June 2026
Programme of Events
Lectures in the Ebenezer Chapel
10:00 Dr Mari Wiliam – “Sunny Rhyl”
11:30 Morgan Ditchburn – “Witches of North Wales”
13:15 Prof Howard Williams – “Early Medieval Britain’s Great Divides? Interpreting Offa’s Dyke and Wat’s Dyke”
14:45 Clare Dudman – “The Welsh Patagonia Settlement”
History walks from Rhuddlan Community Centre
11:00-13:00 Fiona Gale
14:15-15:15 Morgan Ditchburn
Rhuddlan Community Centre
Stands including Portable Antiquities Scheme Cymru (please bring your garden finds or treasures for dating), Heneb, Denbighshire Heritage, Ysgol y Castell and many local historical societies
Flint knapping demonstration
A selection of Reg Davies’ artefacts
Refreshments available
Rhuddlan library
10:00-14:00 Family prize treasure hunt
Explore British Film Institute archive via the library’s own equipment
Display cabinets, Medal display
St Mary’s church
Artisans’ Fair. The church is open between 10:00 and 16:00.
Throughout the day there will be refreshments available from Rhuddlan Community Centre as well as at St Mary’s Church and at a range of local shops and cafes.
With thanks to Rhuddlan Town Council, Denbighshire County Council, Heneb, PAS Cymru, Friends of Rhuddlan Library and to all organisations, societies and volunteers who have contributed to the day.
Speakers, walk leaders and demonstrators
Dr Mari Wiliam studied at Bangor University and has been a lecturer there in Modern History and Welsh History since 2013. Her particular period of interest is from the late Victorian era to the beginning of the 21st century with particular interest in the exploration of national identities, specifically in Wales and in delving into the history of everyday life to see how ordinary people have lived in the past. Her teaching includes discussions of topics ranging from nationalism, the monarchy, devolution and gender to areas such as the nuclear industry, landscape studies and histories of food, animals and tattoos.
Morgan Ditchburn is a historian, lecturer, and public speaker specialising in medieval history and the North Wales witch trials. An Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, she is dedicated to bringing the past to life for diverse audiences through engaging talks and tours, as well as educational projects. Her passion lies in making history inclusive and accessible to all, striving to connect people with the past in meaningful and transformative ways.
Prof Howard Williams is a Professor of Archaeology with over 27 years of experience in academic teaching and research. He joined the University of Chester in 2008 and was appointed to a personal chair as Professor of Archaeology in 2010. Howard’s research explores the archaeology of death, burial and commemoration in Britain and Scandinavia in the Middle Ages, particularly regarding early medieval Wales and the Anglo-Saxon and Viking worlds. He is a prolific scholar and researcher having authored or edited many works including Death and Memory in Early Medieval Britain, Digging into the Dark Ages with Pauline Clarke and most recently Cremation in the Early Middle Ages with Femke Lippok. He is a long-term member of the Royal Archaeological Institute, has served as Honorary Editor for their Archaeological Journal, designed, established and edited the Offa’s Dyke Journal: A Journal for Linear Monuments, Frontiers and Borderlands Research. In addition he is co-founder of the interdisciplinary research network, the Offa’s Dyke Collaboratory.
Dr Clare Dudman has had a varied career starting as a research Chemist and then a teacher. She has taught creative writing to adults and undergraduates and has since specialised in the writing of biographical novels including one based on the first Welsh settlers in Patagonia. Until recently she was the Secretary of the Chester and North Wales Archaeological Society, and her main interests are local history, science, cookery and forcing herself to attend classes at the gym.
Fiona Gale needs little introduction in Rhuddlan having been County Archaeologist for Denbighshire until her retirement in 2018. She has been involved in numerous heritage management projects, ran a Young Archaeology Club branch for 18 years, and has led many walks, talks and community activities. Currently she is a Trustee for the Council for British Archaeology, Cambrian Archaeological Association and Heneb as well as chair of the Ruthin Castle Conservation Trust. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and an Associate of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists.
Howard Green is a passionate flint knapper. Fascinated by prehistory and in particular with stone age tool technology, Howard spent time in America learning methods of flint knapping, the manufacturing of arrow heads and other craft skills from indigenous people. He has shared his passion with many local groups and societies over the years and given talks about the history of stone tools. Howard also won a Chair for his poetry at the 2012 Eisteddfod in Wrexham, but that is a story for another time.