The Surrey Diggers Trail was initially created in 2005 by a group of interested historians and residents who formed the Elmbridge Diggers Heritage Group. The Group was a non-profit making association, set up to administer a grant made to create the Trail and the associated website which had been supported by Elmbridge Museum; Elmbridge Borough Council; Natural England; Nationwide; Heritage Lottery Fund and the RC Sherriff Rosebriars Trust.
Following the creation of the Trail, the website, commissioning and final display of the Winstanley mosaic in Cobham; the work of the Group was completed. The official trail opening took place in April 2005, the 356th anniversary of the start of the Diggers community.
Nearly 15 years later, in October 2019, Elmbridge Museum was approached by the Citizens Project team at Royal Holloway, University of London. From 2017, the team there had been working with local schools and museums to develop a variety of resources which explored themes of protest and liberty.
Supported by the Heritage Fund, our aim was to redevelop the original but now outdated Surrey Diggers Trail, producing in its place an accessible and engaging trail tracking the story of the Diggers across the borough of Elmbridge. We did this by researching and filming a series of five fascinating videos, so that all learners can follow and enhance their understanding of this important part of our national history.
Since launching the video series, the project’s legacy has continued. Using her specialist research and expertise of the Digger Movement, our Academic in Residence Lívia Bernardes Roberge has produced a series of blogs and a new suite of children’s worksheets which explore important aspects of the story in more detail.
Scroll down to explore.
In the wake of the English Civil War, a number of radical groups emerged onto the political landscape.
In this introductory video, Professor Justin Champion introduces the three most prominent of these radical groups – the Diggers, Levellers, and Ranters – and outlines their key ideologies.
View more videos on Royal Holloway's History Hub YouTube channelWhy not try out the worksheets which accompany each of our trail videos? Suitable for KS3/4 level, each worksheet encourages history students to make notes on the video before using their knowledge to tackle some more in depth questions.
For answers, download our teacher’s notes here.
When completing each worksheet, take a look at the questions first and then watch the corresponding video, pausing it when you need to make notes. Each worksheet relates directly to a stop on the trail, outlined in the titles below. Click each of the titles to download the worksheet.
Stop 1 – War and Winstanley, the origins of the Diggers
Stop 2 – The Diggers arrive at St. George’s Hill
Stop 3 – St. Mary’s Church, Protests and Prison
Stop 4 – Big trouble on Little Heath
Local Landmark – The significance and legacy of the Diggers
Elmbridge Museum’s new Academic in Residence, Lívia Bernardes Roberge, is using her specialist expertise on the Digger Movement to produce a series of blogs and a suite of children’s worksheets which explore important aspects of the story in more detail.
Currently studying for her PhD at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil and working as a visiting researcher at the University of Sheffield, Lívia is developing fresh research into the Diggers. She is interested in cultural history and the history of political thought, particularly on the subject of representations and identity formation in Early Modern Britain.
Learn more about Lívia's work as our Academic in Residence hereDiscover the theme of historical protest in Elmbridge more generally, from Suffragettes to modern-day Diggers and cartoon campaigning, in our 'Look Back in Anger' online exhibition.
Take me to the exhibitionLearn more about the Diggers and the context of the 17th century English Civil War through these handy further resources.
Search the Surrey Libraries catalogue for titles on the Diggers Read the biographies of prominent local Diggers on the Elmbridge Hundred site What did the Diggers Really Believe? Learn more about the group in this short JSTOR Daily article Learn about the context to the Civil War, along with helpful timelines, on the National Army Museum's website Discover important documents and items from the Civil War alongside expert interviews on the UK Parliament website Find more useful resources for children studying the English Civil Wars on the BBC Bitesize website
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