Whitle, Sheen One-Place Study

At Whitle in the Peak District, distinctive medieval ridge and furrow landforms prompted questions about how had this upland area been farmed differently in the past and by whom. Two digs and surveys have taken place searching for the sites of earlier houses and farm buildings. Research found evidence, going back 700 years, for people living and farming in Whitle.

Ongoing pollen analysis sampled from a nearby bog potentially shows cereals being grown here in the early medieval period from 800 – 1400 CE, much earlier than previously thought and, possibly, showing arable agriculture responding to historical events such as the Black Death and climate change.