Shaun is Director of the Institute for the Study of Welsh Estates (ISWE) and Lecturer in Early Modern and Welsh History at Bangor University.  Originally from Flintshire, he studied History at York before proceeding to Aberystwyth to undertake his doctoral research on the dynastic identity of the Mostyn family and estate across the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.  Following the award of his PhD he worked as part of the Research Team at The National Archives.

Shaun was appointed Director of ISWE in 2015, with responsibility for overseeing the management, strategic direction and intellectual development of the research centre.  ISWE exists to enhance both public and academic engagement with the histories, cultures and landscapes of Wales.  It operates as a partnership with Bangor University Archives and Special Collections.  To find out more about ISWE, please visit: http://iswe.bangor.ac.uk/. 

shaun.evans@bangor.ac.uk

+44 (0)1248383617

Shaun lectures and teaches on a number of early modern and research skills modules within the School of History, Law and Social Sciences, including:

Undergraduate:

HXH-1002: The Six Lives of Henry VIII

HGH-2133/3133: The Tudors: Politics, Society and Religion, 1485-1603

HTW-2127/3127: Wales and Europe in the Renaissance: Image, Language and Identity, c.1450-1630

Masters:

HPH-4004: Research Skills

HPH-4005: Themes and Issues in History

HPH-4006: Documents and Sources – Medieval and Early Modern

HPS-4015: A (dis)united Kingdom? Early modern perspectives on the makeup of Britain, 1485-1707

Supervision:

Shaun is happy to be approached by undergraduate and postgraduate students to supervise dissertations in early modern or Welsh history.  Enquires about doctoral projects relating to the work of ISWE are always welcome.  

Shaun is a historian of gentry culture and landed estates in Wales across the period c.1500-1900.  His research primarily focuses on the social and cultural history of landownership and its interconnections with wider issues of identity, heritage, ancestry, social relations and the operation of power, status and authority in Wales.  This includes an interest in the political and cultural history of Wales and its role in the creation of Britain after 1485 and the Act of Union of 1536-43.  Landowner-tenant relations, estate landscapes, gentry identities and the Welsh country house represent important focuses in his work.  This extends to publications on heraldry, heirlooms and commemorative practice, vernacular portraiture, libraries and the materiality of archives.

Shaun’s approach to research is inherently collaborative and interdisciplinary.  He enjoys working with cultural heritage partners on collections-based research projects which have impact beyond academia, including in the sphere of heritage interpretation.  He is a strong advocate of public history methodologies and community engagement.  All these elements are all embedded in ISWE’s wider strategy and approach.

Shaun is always pleased to supervise doctoral projects, especially on themes and issues of interest to the work of the Institute for the Study of Welsh Estates (see http://iswe.bangor.ac.uk/our-research).

2024

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2014

  • PublishedThe House of Brynkir, c.1500-1700
    Evans, S., Dec 2014, Plas Brynkir, Dolbenmaen. Baker, M. (ed.). Caerphilly: Love My Wales, p. 11-34
    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

2024

  • The College on the Hill: 140 Years of Bangor University History

    For 140 years, Bangor University has been located in the City of Bangor. This event is a celebration of both the university and that ongoing relationship. Talks will cover a number of aspects of the university's founding and provide opportunities for attendees to discuss issues further.

    After an introductory talk from Prof Merfyn Jones, staff discussed aspects of university history. Talks include:

    Bangor: Growth of a City before 1884 - Shan Robinson

    Who were the University’s founders? - Shaun Evans

    A Victorian University: The Violet Osborne Affair - Lowri Ann Rees

    Building history: The growth of Bangor University since 1884 - Marc Collinson

    Tea and coffee will be provided. The talk will begin at 10am and finish around 3pm, and there will be a break at lunch time.

    19 Oct 2024

    Activity: Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition (Contributor)

2023

2022

  • Bodorgan Estate Heritage Route

    The Bodorgan Estate (https://www.bodorgan.com/) located in south-west Anglesey has received a Welsh Government grant to construct a new public footpath through part of the estate, linking to the existing Wales Coast Path. The development of the footpath infrastructure will proceed alongside a programme of habitat restoration. The route will embrace several important landscape features, linked to the social, cultural and economic history of Anglesey. The project is committed to sharing this landscape history with future users of the footpath through the installation of appropriate heritage interpretation along the route. The Bodorgan Estate is collaborating with Bangor University’s Institute for the Study of Welsh Estates (http://iswe.bangor.ac.uk/) to deliver these objectives.

    The Project Team (Shaun Evans, Marc Collinson, and Mari Wiliam) advised and supervised the work of two paid postgraduate interns (Matthew Rowland and Catrin Williams). They undertook archival work at Bodorgan and interviewed members of the local community to provide historical information and oral testimony to aid the creation of heritage interpretation along the path and online. Members of the team intend to produce academic-level publications in due course.

    1 Aug 2022 – 31 Dec 2022

    Activity: Types of External academic engagement - Research and Teaching at External Organisation (Organiser)
  • BU-IIA Funded Project: Historic Houses for the Twenty First Century: Heritage, Innovation and Sustainability

    Irrespective of the ownership model (and there are many) historic houses are tending to incorporate multiple functions based on visitor attraction and public use: heritage site, tourist destination, events, hotel, restaurant/café, community space, farm shop; in addition to a range of activities and land uses associated with their parks, gardens and other outdoor spaces. Our project is grounded within this context of achieving sustainability for heritage through transformational change, with a particular focus on the sector in Wales. It adopts and seeks to reapply primary themes and findings from Innocastle, an Interreg Europe project which explored the pan-European policy framework for stimulating rural and regional development through historic castles, manors and estates; and HERIT, an Erasmus+ initiative focused on the provision of digital tools for the sector. Our project is designed as a strategic knowledge-exchange initiative to develop practical research-informed answers and guidance on the following core questions: 1) What is the role of the historic house in twenty-first century Wales? 2) How can historic houses innovate to achieve sustainable futures?

    Funding awarded through the Bangor University Innovation and Impact Award (Research Wales Innovation Funding). Value = £9297

    1 Apr 2022 – 31 Mar 2023

    Activity: Other (Contributor)

Beyond his roles at Bangor University, Shaun serves as Chair of the North East Wales Heritage Forum (https://www.newalesheritageforum.org.uk/), which represents over fifty local history and heritage groups across Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham.  He is a Trustee of the Discovering Old Welsh Houses group (https://discoveringoldwelshhouses.co.uk/), Patron of the Friends of Clwyd Archives and sits on the Council of the Flintshire Historical Society.  He is also a member of the Advisory Committee for the RCAHMW List of Historic Place Names of Wales project (https://historicplacenames.rcahmw.gov.uk/).