Asby History Group

Digging Deeper in Appleby

Speaker:  Martin Railton

Synopsis

This will bring us up to date on a 3-year community archaeology project, which aims to provide new information about the origins and development of the town of Appleby-in-Westmorland. Supported through the Heritage Lottery Fund, ‘Dig Appleby – Digging Deeper’ aims to encourage volunteers to discover more about archaeology and local history by undertaking hands-on research. The project has provided workshops and training in archaeological investigation methods, following which volunteers have been conducting archaeological surveys and excavations around the town.

As most members will know, Appleby-in-Westmorland was formerly the County Town of Westmorland, but the town’s origins are currently not well-understood. There has been very little previous archaeological research undertaken within Appleby-in-Westmorland, due largely to the lack of modern development within the historic core of the town. However, the preliminary investigations undertaken by this project suggest that archaeological remains survive both within the historic core of the town and the surrounding landscape, waiting to be discovered. The Dig Appleby project hopes to reveal more about the early Danish settlement at Bongate, and the Norman medieval town, as well as later periods of the town’s history.

All welcome:
AHG members free; non-members £3 (including refreshments).