Peeling Back the Layers and Digging Deeper

...to discover the hidden history of the historic Whitle landscape.

This quiet corner of the Peak District was once home to a large community of farmers. Populations have come and gone here, but their stories have been revealed by the community, archaeologists, and historians who have peeled back the layers of the past.

Scroll down and read on to learn more about what we did and what we discovered during two community archaeology and local history projects, Peeling Back the Layers and Digging Deeper, and then follow the trail around the history of Whitle. This is set out here for you to enjoy from the comfort of your own home and hopefully inspire you to visit in person one day!

At Under Whitle Farm there is a concessionary footpath. At the start, you will find a copy of this self-guided trail ready for you to pick up and take with you. We ask that you put it back when you have finished your walk.

Distance: 3/4 mile, 1.2km

Time: Approximately 1 hour

Below is map showing all the stops on the trail. As you scroll, each stop will be highlighted and you can read the information about it. We hope you enjoy your journey whether virtual or real!

Thank you for taking the time to navigate your way through our Story Map and read about what we have been up to!

For more details about the projects and to access the final reports, please visit our websites at  www.peelingbackthelayers.org  and  www.diggingdeeper.online 

Created by Dr. Catherine Parker Heath, Project Manager of Peeling Back the Layers (2015-2017), and South West Peak Cultural Heritage Officer for the South West Peak Landscape Partnership (2018-2022), on behalf of the TFIG.

The projects couldn't have happened without the support of the following organisations:

The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund;

The Mick Aston Fund, supported by the Council for British Archaeology and...

...English Heritage;

and the Peak District National Park's Sustainable Communities Fund.

Thank you also to the South West Peak Landscape Partnership Scheme for supporting the publication of Resting in Peace, through a generous grant from their Engaging Communities Project in 2018.

Of course it couldn't have happened without all the individuals involved too:

The TFIG:

Elspeth and Paul Walker; Margaret Black; Eric Wood; Lynn Burrow; Pete Wardle; Rose Clarke; Leila Serougi; Harry Ball; Hilary Butler; Carolyn Chambers; Pauline Dolan; Kay Gregory; Hilary Brindley

All the volunteers:

Who are too numerous to mention, but you know who you are

The professionals:

Our project photographers, Dave and Doreen Graham, and Eric Wood

Staff from  Trent and Peak Archaeology  including Dr Steve Malone and Dr Matt Hurford

Our historian,  Dr Simon Harris  of Keele University

 Phil Chambers , our accessibility consultant

Dr. Bill Bevan and Georgia Litherland of  inHeritage  who designed our exhibition pull-up banners and self-guided trail for Peeling Back the Layers from which some of the information here has been taken, and not to forget our  children's comic .

Dr Jon Goodwin, our pottery specialist, and Senior Archaeologist for Stoke-on-Trent City Council

 Dr. Ashleigh Haruda , our animal bone specialist and now of the University of Exeter

Dr. Tudur Davis, independent consultant geoarchaeologist, part-time tutor at the Department of Continuing and Professional Education at Cardiff, and Honorary Research Fellow at Exeter University

 Ellen Simmons , archaeobotanist from the University Sheffield, and the Sheffield Archaeobotanical Consultancy (SAC) based within the Sheffield Centre for Archaeobotany and ancient Land-usE (SCALE)

Special mention must also go to our 'professional' volunteer archaeologists,  Richard and Angela Knisely Marpole 

And last but not least  Dr. Ian Parker Heath , project archaeologist.