Bygone Industries of the Peak was originally published as a series in the Peak Advertiser. Responses from readers became an important source of additional information, confirming, too, a wide interest in the working lives of those who had gone before. Additionally, through more than 1,000 articles written for the same publication on diverse topics, the writer garnered occasional snippets which would become part of the extended series brought together here.
Primary sources of research for this work took advantage of living but fast-fading memory, as well as family recollections handed down and never put to paper. Brief stray references in unlikely places were bookmarked over a long period for future use. The files grew fatter, backed by hours of fascinating groundwork, in the literal sense. The Peak is rich in industrial remains, and for the writer their discovery has been the highlight and often the goal of hundreds of walks, as well as the occasional trip underground.