The centre was established in 1985 by the
University of Wales, and focuses on the studies of languages, literatures, the
culture and
history of Wales, and of the other
Celtic nations. It has been based in
Aberystwyth, next to the
National Library of Wales since 1993. The centre's first director was
R. Geraint Gruffydd, and it has 30 staff as of 2023. Between the academic years of 2008/2009 to 2009/2010, the centre's funding was increased by 47.5%, although other institutions in Wales received a cut in funding. In June 2011, the centre and the
Welsh School of Architectural Glass at
Swansea Metropolitan University launched on online catalogue of 5,000 images of stained glass windows in Wales. In the same year, during discussions over the state of the University of Wales (UoW) and its eventual merger into UoW Trinity St Davids, the centre's future, as one of four UoW institutions, was questioned prior to the merger. In October 2011, the centre, with
Cymdeithas Edward Llwyd, assisted in the establishment of the
Welsh Place-Name Society. In 2012, the centre, with Aberystwyth University and the
Met Office's International Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth (ACRE), collected experiences of unusual weather events in Wales as part of "Snows of Yesteryear". In March 2013, the centre was awarded a grant of £750,000 to edit medieval manuscripts, and to resources online that can be accessed by the public. Later in the same month, the centre was awarded £689,167 to investigate the "archaeological background of the emergence of the Celtic languages in
western Europe", in collaboration with
Bangor University,
Oxford University,
King's College London, and the National Library of Wales. In October 2013, the centre, alongside the universities of
Aberdeen, Bangor,
Cambridge,
Edinburgh,
Glasgow, Oxford,
Swansea,
Queen's University Belfast,
Ulster, the
University of the Highlands and Islands, and the
University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, and organised by the University of Glasgow, established the Doctoral Training Centre in the Celtic Languages, with Arts and Humanities Research Council funding. The training centre provided doctoral studentships and support to the training of students in the
Celtic languages, over the course of five years. In 2020, the centre announced it would be integrated with the Institute of Education and Humanities at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. In June 2022, the centre and
the National Library published
A Repertory of Welsh Manuscripts and Scribes, c.800–c.1800, described as the "most thorough and scholarly study of
Welsh manuscripts". The publication was launched by
First Minister of Wales,
Mark Drakeford. In December 2022, the centre announced a partnership with Brest-based
Centre de Recherche Bretonne et Celtique on researching the historical links between Wales and
Brittany. == Projects ==