HS2 Historic Environment Digital Archive

High Speed Two (HS2) presents an unprecedented opportunity to explore our past through the country's largest ever linear infrastructure project. The sheer scale of discoveries, the geographical span of the project and the vast range of our history unearthed makes HS2's historic environment programme a unique chance to tell the story of Britain's past. The railway is being constructed in several sections, or phases. Phase One is the route between London and the West Midlands. Phase 2A takes the railway between the West Midlands and Crewe. Phase 2B is the route between Crewe and Manchester. The HS2 programme is a generational opportunity for significant knowledge creation, for engagement with people and the creation of a lasting archival and skills legacy. These three concepts underpin the approach to the historic environment set out in the Historic Environment Research and Delivery Strategy (HERDS). The discoveries made along the route of HS2 help to tell the story of our nation. From the earliest prehistoric times, Roman and Medieval we can see how people shaped and changed their landscape. The changes in rural and urban living wrought by the industrial revolution can be charted as can our more recent history from the World Wars and the 20th century.