Friends of the Peak District has received a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant of £39,100 for an exciting heritage project about its unique archive of countryside campaigning. Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the project focuses on the campaigns and campaigners of the Friends of the Peak District which have had a huge impact on the countryside of the Peak District and South Yorkshire, since its inception in 1924.
The project will conserve and catalogue the charity’s archive, to ensure it’s preserved for future generations, enabling them to find out about 100 years of the Friends’ work.
The archive includes letters, notebooks, drawings, diaries and news cuttings of Ethel and Gerald Haythornthwaite, the environmental campaigners and pioneers of the countryside movement.
When Ethel Haythornthwaite formed the Sheffield Association for the Protection of Rural Scenery in 1924, which would go on to become the Friends of the Peak District, she led the way in countryside protection. She was part of the UK government’s National Parks Committee, which led to the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949, and to the founding of the Peak District National Park in 1951.
The charity pre-dated CPRE by two years and created some of the most important accessible green spaces for Sheffield residents, fought against development in the countryside, and helped make green belts part of government policy in 1955. Alongside husband, Gerald, she also led the appeal to save Longshaw Estate from development.
A major part of the archive is over 10,000 photographs, including inter-war images of billboards, housing development, litter, industries and traffic. There are details of vital campaign successes for the Friends, such as defeating plans for a grand prix circuit, motorway and steelworks in the Peak District.
Volunteers can get involved in helping to tell the story of the Haythornthwaites and the Friends of the Peak District. There are opportunities to catalogue the archive, identify photos, record oral histories of past campaigners and write articles about campaign highlights.
Commenting on the award, Tomo Thompson, Friends CEO, said: “It’s great that we’re going to be able to share the story of our charity and the key role our predecessors played in the national countryside campaigning movement”.
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Using money raised by the National Lottery, we inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk.
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For further information, contact Julie Gough at julie@friendsofthepeak.org.uk or on 0114 279 2655.