Key personnel: Prof Martin Gibbs, Dr Richard Tuffin

This project seeks to increase our understanding of the hidden landscapes of the Darlington Probation Station. The history of the place is complex, encompassing early use as a penal station (1825-32), probation station (1842-52) and then extensive industrialised use during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It presents a diffcult-to-read mixture of built and modified landscape features. This project uses archaeological and interpretive methodologies to better understand the extent and form of the convict period landscape, facilitating the place’s ongoing management and continued interpretation to the visiting public.