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Exploring the History and Heritage of the East Midlands

A publication connecting local history societies, schools, colleges, heritage practitioners, and history professionals across the region.

East Midlands History and Heritage is a magazine that uniquely caters for local history societies, schools and colleges, heritage practitioners and history professionals across the region. The publication puts communities in contact with one another, sharing stories about the people, places and events that have shaped this fascinating part of England.

Supported by universities, academic historians, archivists and museums specialists, the magazine provides a shared platform for local history groups and researchers. From the Peak District in the north-west to the Lincolnshire coast in the east, the region holds countless stories waiting to be told.

The East Midlands Region

The East Midlands is broadly defined as the area within the boundaries of the historic counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland. Bounded by the Peak District hills to the north-west, the Yorkshire border and the River Humber to the north, the sea to the east, and by an imaginary line through the fen and forest to the south, the region encompasses a rich tapestry of landscapes and communities.

From Roman roads and medieval market towns to industrial heritage and wartime stories, every county contributes its own distinctive chapter to the region's collective history.

Derbyshire Leicestershire Lincolnshire Northamptonshire Nottinghamshire Rutland
Derbyshire Notts Lincolnshire Leicestershire Rutland Northamptonshire

Getting Involved

The magazine welcomes contributions from anyone with a story to share about the East Midlands region. Whether representing a local history society, a school, a community research project, or an individual with a passion for uncovering the past, there are many ways to participate.

East Midlands History and Heritage has published eleven issues between 2015 and 2022, each packed with articles, features and news from across the six counties. All back issues remain available for readers to explore and download.

The editorial team is supported by academic historians, archivists and museum professionals who help develop research and writing skills. This collaboration between university-based scholars and local community historians has produced a publication that is both accessible and rigorous in its approach to regional history.

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Latest News and Features

5 January 2026

Rediscovering the Roman Roads of the East Midlands

The East Midlands sits at the crossroads of some of the most significant Roman highways ever constructed in Britain. From the Fosse Way, which linked Exeter to Lincoln in a remarkably straight line, to Ermine Street, running north from London through the heart of the region, these ancient routes shaped settlement patterns that persist to this day. Historic England continues to document and protect many of these routes, which are increasingly revealed through modern technologies such as LiDAR scanning.

For local historians and archaeology enthusiasts in the East Midlands, understanding these roads provides a vital key to unlocking the region's earliest recorded past. The Roman network was not merely a series of tracks; it represented a sophisticated system of engineered highways, carefully surveyed and constructed to facilitate the rapid movement of troops, goods and information across the province of Britannia.

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26 December 2025

The Forgotten Textile Heritage of Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire's identity was shaped, in many ways quite literally, by the textile trades that dominated the county's economy for centuries. From the framework knitters of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to the lace manufacturers who made Nottingham internationally famous during the Victorian era, the production of textiles left a deep mark on the county's towns, villages and communities. Yet much of this heritage is in danger of being forgotten as the physical evidence of the industry gradually disappears from the landscape.

For anyone interested in the social and economic history of the East Midlands, the story of Nottinghamshire's textile trades offers a rich and often surprising narrative. It is a story of technological innovation, of fierce labour disputes, of global trade connections, and of the daily lives of thousands of ordinary working people whose names rarely appear in the history books.

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23 June 2025

Lincolnshire's Vanished Medieval Villages

Scattered across the Lincolnshire countryside lie the remains of hundreds of villages that were once thriving communities during the medieval period. Known as deserted medieval villages, these sites survive today only as earthworks, crop marks and fragments of stone in ploughed fields. English Heritage and local archaeological groups have documented many of these sites, which offer remarkable insights into how ordinary people lived, worked and died in the countryside of medieval England.

Lincolnshire has one of the highest concentrations of deserted medieval village sites in the country, a reflection both of the county's large size and of the particular historical and economic pressures that led to settlement abandonment over several centuries.

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25 January 2025

Preserving Industrial Archaeology Across Derbyshire

Derbyshire occupies a unique place in the story of Britain's Industrial Revolution. The county's combination of fast-flowing rivers, abundant mineral resources and an enterprising population made it one of the first places in the world where mechanised factory production took root. From the cotton mills of the Derwent Valley to the lead mines of the Peak District, the physical remains of this industrial past are woven into the fabric of the county's towns, villages and landscapes.

Yet preserving this heritage is a challenge that becomes more pressing with each passing decade. As buildings deteriorate, sites are redeveloped and the last generation of workers who remember the old industries passes away, the risk of losing irreplaceable evidence grows.

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19 December 2024

Community Heritage Projects Making a Difference

Across the six counties of the East Midlands, community groups and local volunteers are carrying out heritage projects that are transforming the way people engage with the history on their doorsteps. From village hall exhibitions to large-scale archaeological digs, these initiatives demonstrate that the study and preservation of local history is far from the preserve of academics and professionals. Instead, it is an activity that thrives when communities take ownership of their own past.

The range of projects currently under way across the region is remarkable in its diversity. Some focus on recording the memories of older residents before they are lost, while others involve physical investigations of sites that have long been the subject of local curiosity.

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