Moor Memories
Moor Memories: A Living, Working Moorland
Do you remember the moors before the National Park? Have you dug sheep from snow drifts, or helped tackle summer wild fires? Do you have a story to tell?
Moor Memories is a two year Oral History project, collecting and celebrating local stories of the moorlands in and around the Peak District. There is a wealth of knowledge held locally about the moors, particularly in terms of traditional land management and farming techniques, and we feel that it is important to record this knowledge so that it is not lost to future generations.
We are recording Oral History interviews with local people who have been involved with managing and looking after the Peak District moorlands, as well as people who have witnessed changes to these landscapes within living memory. We are particularly interested in talking to people who have worked on the moors or used them for leisure. We would also love to hear from anybody who remembers significant events (such as the Second World War) and the effect of these events on life on the moors.
The memories we collect will be safely stored in a permanent, public archive and will be used to create a new exhibition at the Moorland Centre and a series of new audio trails and booklets. At the end of the project (summer 2011) we will also use some of the memories as the inspiration for a drama summer school for young people.
As part of the project we are very keen to encourage and support local people to get involved in working with oral histories, and we are actively looking for volunteers to help us collect memories for the project. We also need people to help out with other activities, such as archive work and helping with workshops. We will provide free training for all volunteers, so no previous experience is necessary. To find out more please visit our volunteers page.
You can also share your memories with us on the Your Memories page.
Moor Memories is a partnership project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, South Pennine Leader, East Peak Innovation Partnership, English Heritage, the Peak District National Park Authority, the National Trust, United Utilites and the Sheffield Ramblers.
