Retro: Take a look at hidden archive photos of the Peak District - as over 40,000 images available to the public for the first time

Archives Revealed has awarded 12 cataloguing grants, to archives across the UK to help unlock collections and build the skills needed to care for them into the future.

The Peak District Foundation has been awarded £45,000 to catalogue and open up to the public, its image archive of the Peak District National Park Authority, featuring over 40,000 images spanning the 20th century.

Through their project, “Landscapes Unlocked”, the Peak District National Park Foundation will be working in partnership with the Peak District National Park Authority and Derby Record Office.

Roisin Joyce, Director, Peak District National Park Foundation, said: “We are delighted that the story of the Peak District National Park will be opened up to the public with support from an Archives Revealed grant. This collection tells us about the changes to people and nature in our national parks, giving us an insight into wide-ranging themes including rural customs, farming practices, industry, archaeology and tourism. Importantly, this image collection also has huge potential to help us better understand landscape change, a vital research area in the face of climate change. We look forward to opening up the collection and drawing out stories to share with communities inside and beyond the boundaries of the park.”

Eilish McGuinness, Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “Our archives are home to our stories. Records, collections and histories all shine a light on who we are, how we live and what is important to us. I am delighted that funding from all four partners is enabling Archives Revealed projects to unlock and share many more of these stories right across the UK, safeguarding them for future generations.

"All of this is vital for protecting the future of our archives and delivering our vision for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future.”

The Peak District is the UK’s first national park, founded in 1951. PDNPF is a charity established to make the park a thriving place for nature and people.

The archive tells the story of the park and the people within it, from its establishment to the present day. It is a rich and varied collection, which speaks to the interplay between people and nature over time. This would be the first publicly accessible collection from a UK national park.

Roisin added: “This collection tells us about the changes to people and nature in our national parks. It also has huge potential to help us better understand landscape change, a vital research area in the face of climate change. We look forward to opening up the collection and drawing out stories to share with communities inside and beyond the boundaries of the park.”

Take a look at our gallery of some of the archive photographs being unlocked to the public for the first time.