People of the Peak

We have entered an exciting chapter for cultural heritage volunteering in the Peak District National Park. In 2025, the Peak District National Park Foundation and Peak District National Park Authority were delighted to receive support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the development phase of People of the Peak: Past, Present, Future - a project that has our volunteers, our historic sites, and engaging with famers, landowners and land managers, at its heart. Read the press release here.

From prehistoric burial mounds to Roman settlements, medieval castles to industrial quarries, traditional field barns to grand country houses, the Peak District is rich in archaeology and historic buildings. These, together with its intangible traditions and stories, make up the cultural heritage of the National Park. Conserving and promoting this unique cultural heritage is a core purpose of the Peak District National Park Authority, delivered by the Cultural Heritage Team and supported by dedicated volunteers. You can read more about the work of the Cultural Heritage Team here.

People of the Peak aims to enhance the monitoring and conservation of historic monuments and buildings, expand our volunteer community, and create more inclusive opportunities for people to get involved – whether through regular volunteering, one-off activities, or other forms of engagement.

This work is much-needed. The National Park spans 555 square miles and is home to 473 Scheduled Monuments, 2,848 Listed Buildings, and numerous other heritage features. Monitoring and protecting this cultural landscape is a significant challenge, and volunteers play a crucial role in helping us meet it.

The development phase, which began in July 2025 and runs until November 2026, is focused on consultation, collaboration, and testing new ideas, so that the delivery phase of the project is meaningful, inclusive, and sustainable. Key activities have included and continue to include:

• Working with farmers, landowners and land managers to better understand and protect heritage features on their land. We’re also developing a £200,000 Community Heritage Grant Fund to support conservation efforts.
• Consulting both current and potential volunteers, to understand their experiences, their expectations, barriers they face and identify opportunities for training and support.
• Gathering insights from residents and visitors about their awareness of cultural heritage - what they know, what they’d like to learn, and how they’d like to engage.
• Piloting new condition-monitoring and conservation methods, including enhanced training and digital tools.
• Exploring collaboration across teams and with external partners, with a focus on engaging young people (aged 18–30) and people from diverse communities.
• Investigating the relationship between cultural heritage and biodiversity, including how protecting cultural heritage can support habitats in a changing climate.

This work is helping us shape a delivery phase that will be inclusive, sustainable, and impactful. We want to ensure that our heritage is protected for future generations, that volunteers feel valued and supported, and that communities across the region and surrounding areas have meaningful opportunities to engage with the history of the Peak District.

The People of the Peak Project Team can be contacted at:  pop@peakdistrict.gov.uk

National Lottery Heritage Fund

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK's heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players we support projects that connect people and communities to heritage. Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.

People of the Peak: Past, Present, Future is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to work towards improving the monitoring and conservation of our archaeological sites, monuments and historic buildings, and expand and enhance our volunteering community providing more opportunities for people to take part.