Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1932-1998 (Creation)
Level of description
Sub-fonds
Extent and medium
1011 boxes
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
The British Broadcasting Corporation (more commonly known as the BBC), with its headquarters at Broadcasting House, Portland Square, London, was established by Royal Charter in 1927 with the authority to provide information, to educate and to entertain its audience across a wide range of areas including current affairs, arts and culture, education, religion and sport. Its predecessor, the British Broadcast Company, had obtained its licence to broadcast in 1923, and the public broadcast service in Wales began in the same year when a radio station was opened in Cardiff, providing programmes in both English and Welsh. The Welsh region of the BBC received its own wavelength for audio broadcasts in 1937 and its own separate wavelength for televisual broadcasts in 1964, since when it has been known as BBC Wales. Welsh language programmes were first broadcast on the television in 1953 and they have been scheduled every day since 1957; the Welsh language television channel is known as BBC Cymru. The English and Welsh radio stations (Radio Wales and Radio Cymru) have been separate entities since 1977. As a whole, the Welsh region of the BBC - comprising BBC Wales, BBC Cymru, Radio Wales and Radio Cymru - is also known as BBC Cymru Wales.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Scripts and copies of scripts, in Welsh and English, comprising: talks, 1937-1975; plays, 1937-1975; features, 1937-1975; talks features, 1938-1975; Children's Hour (talks; stories; plays and features; and miscellaneous), 1932-1974; schools, 1935-1975; Good Morning Wales, 1970-1975; stories, 1970-1975; music, 1937-1975; religion, 1943-1975; sports programmes, 1972-1975; original series of BBC scripts at the National Library of Wales, 1935-1977; Wales Today, 1972-1998; Heddiw, 1971-1982; and Pobol y Cwm, 1991-1998.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Arranged according to deposit and within boxes according to type and date.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to abide by the conditions set out in information provided when applying for their Readers' Tickets, whereby the reader shall become responsible for compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 in relation to any processing by them of personal data obtained from modern records held at the Library.
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright laws apply.
Language of material
- Welsh
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Welsh and English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
View and search the catalogue by using these links: https://archives.library.wales/external_documents/Britishbc1.pdf https://archives.library.wales/external_documents/Britishbc2a.pdf https://archives.library.wales/external_documents/Britishbc2b.pdf https://archives.library.wales/external_documents/Britishbc3.pdf
The first section of the catalogue is a general listing of boxes 1-672; this was created by NLW. The second and third parts of the catalogue are detailed descriptions of boxes 1-110 and 111-194 respectively; these were created by staff of the BBC Registry in Cardiff and cover the first four donations. Boxes 673-1011 remain uncatalogued.
A hard copy of the catalogue is available in the Reading Room.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
Project identifier
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
1986-2023
Language(s)
- Welsh
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
Description compiled by Dafydd Ifans, Ann Goddard and David Moore.