Project Documents Link to walking guide

The Project
Beginnings

Pilsbury Castle poses exciting and challenging questions.

• What was the purpose of the castle? Was it guarding an important trade route across the Peak District? Was it built as a defence against inhabitants of the wasteland to the north? Or was it a demonstration of Norman control and power?
• Who actually built it?
• Why was it built at the bottom of a valley instead of on the higher ground overlooking the site?
• Was it rebuilt on the same site and then abandoned altogether when the seat of power transferred two miles south to Bank Top near Hartington?
• Why was it constructed in unusually close proximity to another fortification?

We did not expect our project to fully resolve these questions but we wanted to give the local community the chance to investigate the heritage that surrounds them with the assistance of professional historians and archaeologists. We then hoped people would be able to make their own interpretation about the site, not only in written form, but through drama and art.

Some of our aims and objectives

1. To inspire a sense of discovery and widen understanding of Pilsbury Castle and how it fits into the landscape.

2. To promote a role of guardianship amongst local people to help ensure that the castle will be protected for future generations.

3. To encourage a wider understanding and interest in all of our local heritage and a desire to care about its conservation.

4. To provide local people with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand and interpret the remarkable countryside around them both academically and creatively.

5. To include all members of the community in the project, providing social opportunities in this isolated rural area and a chance for young and old to work together, value each others’ contributions and achieve a memorable outcome for the whole community.

This website is part of a second stage of the project aiming to archive all our material so that it is available to anyone who may be interested in Pilsbury such as schools, holiday makers, historians or archaeologists with a professional interest in the site. Two walking guides are also available for sale at local outlets if you should wish to visit the castle when you are in the area. The walks start from the villages of Hartington (Grid Reference: SK128604) and Longnor (Grid reference: SK089649), both of which are located on good public transport routes.