Ph.D thesis: The Upper Derwent: long-term landscape archaeology in the Peak District
Dr Bill Bevan
This thesis is concerned with writing a long-term archaeological landscape
history of the Upper Derwent, situated in the Peak District. It is based on
fieldwork I have undertaken or directed on behalf of the Peak District National
Park Authority between 1994 and 2002 while employed as a Survey Archaeologist.
Original field data, gathered by field survey, fieldwalking and excavation, documentary sources and the recorded results of research are discussed as the archaeological evidence for occupation and activity in, and perceptions of, the area. This evidence is integrated into an interpretation of the landscape history of the Upper Derwent, covering a period from the approximate end of the last Ice Age to the modern day. The nature, scale, visibility and chronological resolution of archaeological evidence vary enormously over time. The limitations posed by this variability are addressed, and the opportunities for more in-depth analysis acknowledged.
The thesis also explores Andrew Fleming's proposition that we can only interpret the long-term landscape archaeology of an area by exploring the detail of the local evidence in relation to its wider context. There are two fundamental issues that have to be addressed in attempting such a study, which are related to reconciling different scales of time and geography. One, is how to write long-term landscape history that covers a time-span extending way beyond a person's comprehension of their past world as understood through personal memory, story-telling and folklore or by other forms of archive. The second is to try to interpret how occupants of a local geographical area interact with regional trends and broader social institutions. Implications of this approach for landscape archaeology are discussed.
Content of the thesis
The thesis presents an interpretation of the Upper Derwent landscape through time. Evidence indicates that the area has an archaeologically visible history of land-use and occupation covering 10,000 years from the end of the last glaciation.
The Mesolithic to earl Neolithic is represented by lithics distributed across the moorlands and valleys, with large concentrations at valley bottom watercourse confluences. Burials barrows were built in similar locations in the later Neolithic/early Bronze Age, and there is a later prehistoric cairnfield. Further areas suitable for prehistoric cultivation have been identified. Romano-British settlements, identified from artefacts, occupy the valley bottom and contemporary settlement earthworks are found immediately above the valley.
During the medieval period we see the emergence of the landscape that formed the framework for the physical organisation of the landscape until the 20th century. A dispersed settlement pattern of individual farmsteads, irregular walled enclosures and Derwent hamlet, alongside valley-side woodlands and communication routes, appear to have originated in the 13th century. The Royal Forest of the Peak and Welbeck Abbey structured how the landscape developed during the medieval period. By the 17th century, most of the area was acquired by some of the major landowning families and incorporated into their extensive estates. The subsequent history of the Upper Derwent landscape until the early 20th century was one of adding to and reworking existing patterns of settlement and land-use within the relationship between landlord and tenant as practised through the estate system. Progressive, rational ideals of the late 18th and 19th centuries greatly influenced the organisation of social and economic life.
In the 20th century, the building of three dams radically altered the physical and social landscape. The 20th century Upper Derwent landscape can be characterised by the three major trends of recreation, conservation and production of the natural resources of water, timber and sheep. These are influenced by the Peak District National Park's location near to large urban centres.