Dr Sadie Jarrett Awarded Welsh History Prize

We are thrilled to report that Dr Jarrett has been awarded the 2024 Francis Jones Prize by Jesus College, Oxford. Presented annually for a work of Welsh historical literature, the prize is made on the recommendation of a panel of judges who, between them, have expertise on the key periods and themes of Welsh History. It was endowed in 2017 by Sir David Lewis, an Honorary Fellow of the College, and is named in memory of Francis Jones (1908-1993), a former archivist, historian and Wales Herald of Arms Extraordinary.

Sadie published Gentility in Early Modern Wales: The Salesbury Family, 1450-1720 with University of Wales Press in 2024. Based on her doctoral research at ISWE and postdoctoral research at Cardiff University and The Queen’s College, Oxford, the book traces the history of the Salesbury family of Rhug and Bachymbyd from the fourteenth century to the eighteenth century. This multi-period approach allows Dr Jarrett to explore myriad themes present in Welsh and British history over this period, including the Reformation, the reigns of the Tudors and Stuarts, the English Civil Wars, the wars of religion in Europe, and the developing British colonies in the Atlantic world.

The overarching theme of the work is how the Welsh gentry established and, crucially, retained their status and Welsh identity across this period of great transition, when Wales was incorporated into the English realm and later the British state. Through her detailed analysis of the Salesbury family, Dr Jarrett shows how the Welsh gentry cultivated a new identity as Cambro-Britons, taking full advantage of new opportunities afforded them as a result of these developments - including opportunities in governance, landholding and commerce – all while maintaining their strong sense of Welshness. Dr Jarrett also broadens the scope to consider the early modern Welsh gentry within a wider global context for the first time.

Dr Shaun Evans, Director of ISWE and one of the supervisors of Sadie’s PhD said:

"We are absolutely delighted to hear that Sadie’s new book has been recognised with this prestigious Francis Jones award. Thanks to funding from the Rhug estate, we were able to appoint Sadie as ISWE’s first PhD researcher, and the quality of her project has provided an incredibly strong foundation for what has now become a thriving doctoral community.  It is wonderful to see how Sadie has further developed her research across her postdoctoral positions, and this award recognises the importance of her contribution to the historiography of Wales. We’re all ever so proud of her!"

Sadie’s doctoral project, entitled ‘“Of Great Kindred and Alliance”: The status and identity of the Salesburys of Rhug and Bachymbyd, c.1475-c.1660’, was undertaken between 2017 and 2021 under the supervision of Professor Huw Pryce and Dr Shaun Evans. It was generously supported by the Rhug Estate. 

Everyone at ISWE would like to send our heartfelt congratulations to Sadie.