Culture And Memory

Collecting Gower's Placenames.

Gower Unearthed CIC aims to celebrate and safeguard Gower’s living linguistic heritage through Speaking of Gower (collecting Gower’s place names) – Place, Nature, and Names, a two-year community project exploring how local language connects people and place. The project will collect and record local place-names, field-names, and dialect words linked to the natural landscape, farming, and community memory. Building on our previous Heritage Lottery-funded dialect and Rural Anchor projects, this initiative will work closely with the Royal Commission’s Place Names Project to ensure Gower’s voices become part of the national record. Four local schools will take part in a skills programme training pupils in oral history interviewing, listening, and digital recording. Children will work with older residents and farmers to capture memories and meanings associated with the land. Alongside this, community events, talks, and recording days will invite wider participation and intergenerational sharing.