Description
Barri Jones, Professor of Archaeology at Manchester University has assembled this collection of aerial views of Saddleworth. The theme is very much what aerial photography tells us of the history, landscape and archaeology of the area. Features invisible from the ground are revealed in a dramatic way. The Roman road, the Roman forts at Castleshaw and their hinterland feature, together with other nearby prehistoric and medieval remains like Bucton Castle. But Saddleworth’s stunning medieval and early modern landscape dominates the book. Evidence of early packhorse routes, medieval enclosures and ridge and furrow plough marks are revealed. The network of turnpike road over Stanedge, spoil heaps from the canal and railway tunnel working, old quarries and the impact the nineteenth-century waterworks had on the moorland are all revealed. St Chad’s Church and Heights Church and their graveyards, the hamlets of Grange and Castleshaw, the tunnel entrance at Diggle are vividly portrayed. A set of mid twentieth-century black and white aerial views of Saddleworth villages are also included – these show how Saddleworth has changed in the last fifty years from a stark industrial landscape to the rural scene of today. Each photograph is accompanied by a short historical note. For anyone wishing to see what Saddleworth is like this book is a must.
