A major document detailing the history of two County Durham villages is now available in a free, easy-to-access format.
The Wheatley Hill and Thornley Village Atlas was launched in 2014 following two years of research, which was funded by Limestone Landscapes and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and local councillors.
Archaeologists, geologists, hydrologists and historians worked alongside local residents and schools to compile a full social and natural history of the area in a 322-page document.
One year on and a shortened 40-page version of the atlas has now been produced and can be picked up free of charge from the Wheatley Hill Heritage Centre or Thornley Library.
Margaret Hedley, a local historian who lives in Wheatley Hill, said: “The village atlas covers a period in history of Wheatley Hill and Thornley which has previously been overlooked by researchers. It provides us with the most complete history of the villages and surrounding area ever produced.
“We now have a timeline of our area from before the Romans to the present day, including information on historic buildings, geology, hydrology and ecology, and this, together with research carried out by the history club members mostly concerned with the industrial period, provides a firm basis for further research in the future.”
Tony Devos, Limestone Landscapes programme manager, said: “It is great that local people have been involved in getting together a natural and social history of both Wheatley Hill and Thornley. These will be important documents for many years to come.”
Copies of the summarised atlas are available by emailing history.club2@btinternet.com
An electronic version of both the full atlas and the summary can be found at www.limestonelandscapes.info/Pages/WheatleyHillVillageAtlas.aspx or www.wheatley-hill.org.uk