We are delighted to announce that the Francis Jones Prize 2024 has been awarded to Dr Sadie Jarrett, previously Career Development Fellow in Early Modern History at The Queen’s College, Oxford

Dr Jarrett won the prize for Gentility in Early Modern Wales: The Salesbury Family, 1450–1720 (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2024).

The Francis Jones Prize celebrates Welsh historical literature, and is presented annually by Jesus College. The prize is made on the recommendation of a panel of judges who, between them, have expertise on the key significant periods of Welsh history. It is named in memory of Francis Jones (1908–1993), a former Wales Herald Extraordinary, and was endowed in 2017 by Sir David Lewis (1966, Jurisprudence), an alumnus and Honorary Fellow of the college.

Dr Jarrett’s book looks at gentry culture and society in early Modern Britain. It uses the example of Wales – and specifically one Welsh gentry family, the Salesburys of Rhug and Bachymbyd – to explore the relationship between power, status and identity in early modern communities.

Early modern Wales was a place of opportunity for the gentry. The Acts of Union with England granted them powers to govern their local communities, the Reformation enabled them to add former monastic lands to their estates, and burgeoning global expansion encouraged them to seek fortunes abroad. Early modern Wales was also a place in transition. The gentry navigated a complex relationship with their English neighbours and found themselves cultivating a new identity as Cambro-Britons.

Applying her in-depth analysis of the Salesburys, Dr Jarrett’s book finds that the Welsh gentry were status-conscious and opportunistic, but Welshness remained fundamental to their sense of self, and social status. It also emphasises the continued strength of regional and national identity in early modern Britain, a counterpoint to the increased centralisation of the early modern British state.

Of her prize win, Dr Jarrett said, “I am delighted to be awarded this prize, and please extend my thanks to the panel of judges. The Salesburys of Rhug and Bachymbyd were alumni of Jesus College, and they would very much approve of a prize that celebrates Welsh historical literature. I am very grateful to all the funders who made the monograph possible, including the Rhug Estate and the Institute for the Study of Welsh Estates at Bangor University, and my postdoctoral fellowships at the Institute of Historical Research and The Queen’s College, Oxford, as well as the support from my mentors and the team at University of Wales Press.”

Her name now joins a prestigious list of former recipients of the prize, including Professor Robin Okey (2023), Dr Rebecca Thomas (2022), Professor D. Densil Morgan (2021), Dr Benjamin Guy (2020), and Dr Angela Muir (2020).