FROM Iron Age to kitchen sink - Pembrokeshire Historical Society's winter series of lectures begins this week with a peek inside Welsh houses through the ages.

Guest speaker Rachael Barnwell will be talking about the fascinating history of the development of Welsh homes on Friday, October 4.

She has collaborated with Richard Suggett at the Royal Commission for Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales at Aberystwyth in writing a book “Inside Welsh Homes”.

The book is lavishly illustrated and shows how Welsh homes have been transformed in all walks of life, from the simple interiors of the humblest peasant cottages in pre-history, the hall-houses of yeoman farmers in the Middle Ages, richly decorated aristocratic homes in the 17th to 19th Centuries, simple cottages of the poor and the terraced houses of the industrial revolution in the 18/19th Centuries to ordinary homes in the 20th Century.

The lecture will provide a rare glimpse behind closed doors of surviving photographs and existing interiors that give a unique insight into the ways people have lived their day-to-day lives in Wales.

Pictured here are some striking examples of Welsh homes and a self portrait c1900.

Rachael said: “Our homes are often considered a reflection of our values, beliefs and attitudes. Isaac Haley lived at Glan-brân in Carmarthenshire around 1900, and like many other wealthy home owners at that time he used new photographic technology to record the rooms of his home. Mr. Haley used a mirrored wardrobe to reflect his own image, allowing him to take this self-portrait.”

The lecture is at the Picton Centre, Haverfordwest at 7.30pm on Friday.

Non-members of the society are welcome but are asked to pay £3 each towards the society’s expenses.

Further information about the society can be found on its website at www.pembrokeshirehistoricalsociety.org.uk or by contacting the membership secretary on 01646 601633.