It all started with an excavation (or three) ...

Archaeological excavations are required to meet Planning conditions for large scale housing developments. Over the past ten years, major digs have cumulatively transformed our understanding of the way pre-Historic communities settled and lived in the Wolds. In particular, they have yielded Iron Age burial sites of a scale and uniqueness that makes them internationally important. Pocklington District Heritage Trust was formed to preserve this heritage and enable it to be showcased in the local area. But it does not stop there – Pocklington and District has made its mark throughout history and we want to tell the whole story, from pre-History to the present.

The Trust arose from an existing partnership between Pocklington and District Local History Group, schools, town and unitary councils, archaeologists and interested and expert individuals. .

Get to know the Trust.

Pocklington District Heritage Trust initially came together in 2015 as an informal partnership to explore and promote the district’s heritage possibilities; and gained official trust status as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in 2020. The Trust has seen remarkable support and interest from the local community – some 6,000 people so far have signed our petition to create a local museum, while over 2,000 have attended our talks and events. Many thousands more have followed the story of the Pocklington finds via popular television programmes, such as 'Digging for Britain', national press coverage, and through academic conferences and publications. The ambition was further informed in 2019 by a National Lottery Heritage Fund supported feasibility study for Burnby Hall as the potential site for a museum/heritage centre.

View the gallery.