Nick Venti and Nia Griffith have a strong affinity with the history of Llanidloes. Nia is Welsh speaking and ‘Llani’ born and bred, whilst Nick’s parents moved him to the town from London when he was just three years of age. They live and work in the town – Nia is a civil servant with Welsh Government, Nick works for the County Voluntary Council covering Powys (PAVO) advising voluntary organisations on governance and sustainability – and they have raised their children there. To use an historically apt phrase redolent of the town’s industrial weaving past, they are ‘dyed in the wool’ Llanidloes.
In terms of their historical interests, they first collaborated on research into the life stories of the men named on the local war memorial, which resulted in the publication of Llanidloes and District in the Great War, a compilation of 115 biographies of those killed in that conflict. They have also produced tour guides illustrative of the experience of Llanidloes and its surrounding area during this period, and Nia completed her MA thesis on this topic. Together, they also contribute articles and produce the Record, the journal of the Montgomeryshire Genealogical Society, of which Nia is a past Chair. Currently Nick is developing his MA thesis on the causes of the Chartist Riot in Llanidloes into a book, whilst Nia is researching the interwoven history of the many pubs and publicans of Llanidloes.