Invasion … Romans & more!

Several waves of invaders landed in Britain in the first millennium AD. Of course the only way to reach us was by sea, so their first ports of call were on the coast. But then they set off to see what lay inland. And here we were, right in the middle of England, minding our own business and just waiting to be “˜discovered’.

From an invader’s point of view, the Peak was well positioned as part of a communications network. It was already criss-crossed with old trading routes. There were areas of good farming land, excellent building stone for everything from roads to forts and churches, thermal waters (guess which invaders made best use of these?) and minerals, including small quantities of silver and more importantly, lead.

But what did these strangers do for us? They brought progress and knowledge, building skills, place names and, yes, roads. For a time they brought status and power because the wild lands of the Peak lay within the most powerful of all the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

We can show you wonderful archaeological treasures left by all our invaders, from pigs of lead and stone carvings to personal belongings and beautiful jewellery.

More recent waves of invaders have included marauding Scots, and trainloads of townfolk out for a riotous day in the country.

Many thanks to Peakland Heritage for providing this information.