This thesis examines a wide range of domestic novels, from Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) to Woolf's Mrs Dallowa~ (1925), in order to explore their intensified concern with the aesthetlc value of domestic scene. The representation of the house in these works is viewed as an ideological strategy of containment, effected not only by narrative exclusions but also by the literary mode of the narrative. The domestic novel at the turn of the century does not necessarily produce an image of the house but presents a writing of space which interacts with architectural aesthetics in a discourse of the house beautiful. Critical analysis of the cultural and economic contradictions of this discourse indicates the way that the domestic novel is shaped by the colonial situation and at the same time opens out the complexity of its construction of feminine subjectivity. The late 19th century produced simplified spacious design in a reaction to the Victorian concept of the civilised house. The fictional and architectural ideal of a unified house form is, however, an assertion of identity and, in this sense, a renegotiation of the opposition between the E~gl~sh home and foreign or colonial 'otherness ' • This mapping is effected w~th~n the ideological imperative of the question of colonial trade. The flctl0nal emphasis on woman's relation to the house deals with her displacement in the commodity world of the aestheticised house. Yet the privilege given to the English word home lends to woman's sensual appreciation of the house, or creation of setting for herself, an importance which limits th~ ~mplied critique. Furthermore, feminine experience of habitation is relfled by the authoritive definition of the house in the interacting aesthetics of architecture and literature. The domestic novel thus mystifies new feminine roles, particularly the role of entertainment and even the attempt to demystify such ideals of habitation to . some extent colludes with the mystique by seeking the truth of woman's unspoken experience of the house

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This study derives from the interest of recent years in the Irish during the late Victorian period in the smaller towns of Britain. Much work has been done on the Irish in the larger conurbations of industrial England and Scotland, particularly in the 1830s and 1840s - work that has overshadowed the experience of the Irish elsewhere, skewing the historiography and locking the migrants into a huddled mass in a northern city. However, the 'Wild Milesians' of Thomas Carlyle, living cheek-by-jowl with Engels's pig in the slums of Liverpool and Manchester, have come to be seen as less than typical of the Irish, especially the second and third generations of the migrants living in provincial towns. Furthermore, the representation of the Irish as uniformly poor, wretched and Catholic has been revised. Again, the phenomenon of 'ethnic fade' was assumed to have occurred as the nineteenth century progressed, so that after the initial troubled years, the Irish merged with the 'host' population. However, differing rates and degrees of assimilation have been revealed; indeed, religious and political differences among the Irish themselves, frequently violent in their expression, were often defining characteristics of Irishness. Following in the footsteps of micro - studies of the Irish in the regions and smaller towns, this study aims to examine the experience of the Irish in the later nineteenth century in an area hitherto neglected in the historiography, namely, North-East Wales, with particular reference to the towns of Wrexham, Mold, Holywell and Flint.

No description available.

No description available.

Between 1906 and 1924 the Conservative party only won three parliamentary elections in North-east Wales - the Denbigh Boroughs division twice in 1910 and the county seat in Flintshire in 1924. Conversely the Liberal party won all the other elections throughout the period, with the exception of Wrexham which fell to Labour in 1922 and 1923. This, however, says more about the vagaries of the British 'first past the post' electoral system than it does about the true strength of the political parties in the region. Indeed, between 1906 and 1924 the Conservative party never averaged below 39 per cent of the electorate in the constituencies it contested. Given this impressive but unrecognised electoral position, what this study set out to do was to analyse the strength of Conservatism in a region where failure was the norm. The period was chosen because it saw the last Liberal administration in this country, and marked the start of the Conservative dominance of government for much of the twentieth century. It also saw one of the biggest cultural and social upheavals in British history with the advent of the First World War, and witnessed the enfranchisement of women for the first time.The general election of 1906 returned no Conservatives for Wales. In North Wales a conference was called to examine the situation and evaluate future prospects. This led to a review of party organisation in the region, the intention being not only to attract more working class people and women, but also to lessen the autocratic domination by the landed classes. In 1910 the Conservatives won the Denbigh Boroughs constituency with a large swing against the Liberals, and came very close to winning the Flint Boroughs by-election of 1913. The period of War, 1914-1918, saw all political parties moth-balled until the end of hostilities, but during the period of Coalition Government from 1918 to 1922 in which Liberal representation went almost unchallenged in North-east Wales, the Conservatives reorganised their Constituency Associations. By 1924 the landed domination of the party had diminished significantly, and in Flintshire the Conservatives won their first seat in an industrial working class area.Underpinning this success was a long-standing popular support, which after 1906 was better organised and mobilised for the Conservative cause through a variety of loosely attached organisations, societies and clubs. The Primrose League, an organisation that had been founded in 1883 to rally Conservative support, had a very high membership in the region compared to the rest of Wales. For example, the Denbigh Primrose League had over 800 members in 1912. A network of Conservative clubs existed in the region and as early as 1905 a thriving Workingmen's Association had been founded in Wrexham. The Conservative party was also well represented in local government; in Flintshire between 1907 and 1913 it had more county councillors than the Liberal party. In addition, the upheaval of War and the attraction of socialism to the newly enfranchised masses meant that the Conservative party had to widen its appeal to those people who had acquired the vote in 1918. By recruiting women and working class members the Conservative party was able to lay the foundations for a number of parliamentary successes in North-east Wales that lasted until the 1990s. It is therefore the contention of this thesis that the Conservative party not only survived a very difficult period, but that it emerged a strengthened and invigorated force.

This study examines the characteristics and setting of the six hillforts of the Clwydian Range in north east Wales and considers other hills and hillforts within the surrounding area. It provides an assessment of the hillforts of much of north Wales and the borderlands as a group, to define connections or regional variations, in order to aid understanding of their function. Sites have been investigated through the use of Geographical Information Systems and viewshed analysis to consider the extent of view, the features visible and intervisibility. The use of a control sample of non-hillfort sites considers why some hills were chosen to be hillforts but others not. Interrogation of the data to identify what the monument can see, not just how much, is fundamental in the interpretation of site selection and position. Architectural features and dating evidence have been documented and examined. Former radiocarbon dating has been scrutinised and recalibrated to ensure consistency. A theme of stone, or the illusion of, is dominant across the study area and, despite previous reports, not limited to Gwynedd and a small number of outliers. Entrances and their evolution are distinctive to north east Wales and the borders, with possible links to northern England. The hillforts of the Clwydian Range are distinctive with regards to their proximity and longevity, with multi-phase, multi-period use. In contrast to 'Central Place Theory', there is not an obvious 'main' hillfort dominating or suppressing the others. Instead, awareness of each other may have complimented their situation and therefore the area flourished. Changes in the hillforts' characteristics are essential in understanding the evolution of their function throughout the Iron Age; from initial community links and cultivation, to control and finally to conservation, which is a tradition which has continued to this day.

This thesis describes an in-depth study of limestone pavements across North West England and North Wales. The aim was to combine elements of geodiversity and biodiversity in order to create a holistic limestone pavement classification to inform future management. A field-based research protocol was used to assess a stratified random sample (46 pavements), accounting for approximately 10% of the limestone pavements in the geographical area. Detailed analyses of key elements are presented, along with important issues that continue to pose threats to this Annex One Priority Habitat. This research resulted in a comprehensive classification, using TWINSPAN analysis and Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling, identifying six distinct holistic functional groups. The prime factors driving limestone pavement morphology, and hence the classification, were established to be lithology, proximity to structural fault, altitude and human intervention, particularly in terms of grazing intensity. Three upland, open limestone pavement classes were formed. Of these, the richest in terms of geodiversity and biodiversity was the group with the thickest bedding planes and hence the deepest grikes, typically greater than 1m. The class that was most species-poor was "at the highest altitude (above 450m), formed on the thin limestones of the Yoredales. These were characterised by shallow, wide grikes. The third upland limestone pavement group had mid-range grikes, generally 0.5-1m in depth, and small clints. Two wooded classes were identified. One was a lowland 'classic' wooded limestone pavement group with deep, narrow grikes and shallow soils. Indicator species included Juniperus communis and Taxus baccata. The second wooded group was situated proximal to a major structural fault. In this group the pavement dip ranged between 10°-40° with well-runnelled clints that were heavily moss-covered. The sixth group was low altitude, proximal to the coast, characterised by low moss growth, un-vegetated clints and the presence of Ulex europaeus. Conservation management was identified as key to the quality of the limestone pavement habitat and this thesis identifies best management practises and links these to the holistic limestone pavement classification. Finally, as a sample case study, this thesis presents mollusc species and diversity from eleven of the Yorkshire limestone pavements. Analysis establishes significant links between geodiversity and mollusc populations, with key drivers for mollusc communities echoing those of plant species on limestone pavement.

The North Wales Platform, UK, represents a lower Carboniferous carbonate platform that developed during back-arc extension on the northern margin of the Wales-Brabant Massif. This succession was faulted and folded during the Late Carboniferous Variscan Orogeny and again during the Late Jurassic extension-Tertiary Alpine Orogeny, resulting in multiple reactivations of Caledonian structural trends (N-S, NE-SW and NW-SE) and basin inversion. The platform underwent deformation, several episodes of fluid-flow, and multiple phases of diagenetic overprinting. The products of fluid circulation in this area consist of the Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) mineralisation and dolomitisation, mostly affecting the carbonates of the lower Carboniferous (Dinantian) succession. This study presents a combined regional sedimentological, diagenetic and structural framework through multiscale, interdisciplinary techniques. Techniques include field observation, transmitted light and cathodoluminescence analysis, in-situ and bulk major and trace element analysis including rare earth elements, stable isotope (oxygen/carbon), and strontium isotope analysis. The North Wales Dinantian (Asbian-Brigantian) succession developed from a ramp to rimmed platform geometry and records a range of depositional and non depositional environments including platform margin, subtidal, peritidal and emergent. Early diagenesis comprises a series of marine and meteoric calcite cements. These are volumetrically the most important cements and occlude nearly all primary interparticle porosity on the North Wales Platform. Consequently, burial calcite cements and MVT mineralisation was precipitated within fractures and dissolution-enhanced secondary porosity. Dolomitisation on the North Wales Platform occur as pods along the current day coastline/palaeo platform margin and eight dolomite phases have been identified. These are present as matrix replacive and cement phases that are spatially and temporally related to deep seated structural lineaments. It is proposed that early diagenesis resulted from the establishment of meteoric aquifers, influenced by tectono-eustatic fluctuations. Subsequently, small volumes of fluid were released following compaction and during the waning stages of lower Carboniferous extension. The onset of the Variscan compression during the mid – Late Carboniferous led to the main stage of basin de-watering on to the platform via faults/fracture systems and the development of pockets of overpressuring. Circulating marine pore-waters provided the necessary magnesium required for dolomitisation within select fault/fracture systems. A second phase of tectonic deformation with associated copper mineralisation occurred during the Triassic-Jurassic extension and Alpine uplift. Fluids and metals for the copper mineralisation were derived from the adjacent siliciclastic Permo-Triassic and Jurassic East Irish Sea Basin succession. Compared to the adjacent and time equivalent Derbyshire and Askrigg Platforms, the North Wales Platform displays a more complex paragenesis as a result of differing burial histories and fluid sources. This study highlights the importance of understanding palaeo-fluid flow and diagenesis in platform carbonates and is directly relevant to hydrocarbon production, mining and resource containment in reservoirs.

The present thesis investigates the music and career of Jeffrey Lewis (born 1942). The thesis is broadly divided into three sections. First is an account of the composer’s life, told mainly through an overview of his works, but also through a sketch of his early years in South Wales, his studies in Cardiff, Darmstadt, Kraków and Paris, his academic career in Leeds and Bangor, and his subsequent early retirement from academia. There follows a more detailed study of six works from the period 1978 – 1985, during which certain features of Lewis’s musical language came to the fore, perhaps most notably a very individual and instantly recognisable use of modal language. After an Epilogue, the thesis concludes with an Appendix in the form of a Catalogue in which all Lewis’s known compositions are listed, together with details of performances, broadcasts and recordings. Lewis’s music often plays with our temporal expectations; the close interrelationship between texture, structure, harmony and melody, and its effect upon our perception of the passage of time, are explored in the main analyses. These are conducted partly by means of comparison with other works by Lewis or his contemporaries. Memoria is examined in relation to a similarly tranquil score, Naaotwá Lalá, by Giles Swayne. The following chapter discusses the extra-musical inspiration for Epitaph for Abelard and Heloise, whose relationship to Tableau is then explored in the next. The difficulties of creating a large-scale structure that unifies the work’s various harmonic elements are also investigated. The analysis of Carmen Paschale considers it in relation to Lewis’s other choral music, whilst the final analytical chapter compares and contrasts two three-movement works, the Piano Trio and the Fantasy for solo piano. Lewis’s melodic writing in the Piano Trio is discussed in relation to that of James MacMillan, and the origins of the first movement of Fantasy in Oliver Knussen’s Sonya’s Lullaby are explored. In the Epilogue, the possible reasons for Lewis’s current neglect are explored, various influences on Lewis’s musical thinking are laid out, and his achievements are assessed.