Peak District history group calls for public support to save national park museum

In February, the authority launched a full operational review with a view to making savings, including the possibility of staff cuts and shutting visitor centres in Bakewell, Edale, Castleton and the Upper Derwent at Fairholmes.

The formal proposals arising from the review will be presented to authority members on Friday, April 28, leaving an anxious wait for all concerned.

Among them are Castleton Historical Society (CHS), which manages the visitor centre museum, documenting the village’s rich industrial, social and cultural past and the amazing characters whose lives and exploits are often unsung.

Maria Kenyon, chair of the CHS trustees, said: “We had hoped to spend this, the 50th year of the foundation of our society, with a programme of events and outings for our members and our visitors. Instead, we find ourselves fighting for survival.

“For 20 years we have worked closely with members of staff in the centre to provide information and entertainment for thousands of visitors and for our residents. Now the staff are facing redundancy and we are contemplating the closure of our museum and the potential dispersal of our archive.”

She added: “We are enormously grateful to PDNPA for enabling us to develop the museum over the years. We strongly believe that we have a shared mission to showcase Castleton and the whole of the wonderful Peak District and to be part of the public face of the national park authority. The threatened closure is almost impossible to contemplate.”

Only recently, CHS has won support from the Arts Council National Lottery Fund to commission bespoke display cabinets from Buxton carpentry firm Peakcraft, allowing the group to showcase thousands of artefacts, documents and photographs from its archive that may never, or rarely, have been seen before.

Members are also planning a rolling programme of temporary exhibits, the first of which tells the tale of Castleton Hall, followed next month by a spotlight on the Castleton Garland Ceremony.

Alongside that, they are now trying to muster public pressure to save the visitor centre via an online petition, so far attracting more than 3,000 signatories.

One, Catherine Croney, said: “Having spent nearly two years devising and developing the interpretation for the visitor centres, I am absolutely gutted that the PDNPA is considering closing such vital facilities for local people and visitors.

“I worked for the national park for 21 years and enjoyed every minute helping to promote understanding of the Peak District – one of the purposes of national parks. Providing information for those visitors, especially after Covid, is more important than ever.

“Young people are the park’s future custodians and they need to learn about the importance of conserving and enhancing this vital landscape.”

A spokesperson for PDNPA declined to comment on the review ahead of the meeting.

They added: “We have already been in contact with CHS regarding their concerns about the displays and artefacts, and will continue to do so, including after the formal proposals have been put forward at the end of April.”

To view the petition, go to https://bit.ly/40VYZfC. For more on CHS, see castletonhistorical.co.uk.