Welcome to the all new format 'Virtual History Tour of Marple & District', compiled by Peter Clarke and Mark Whittaker of the Marple Website.

Having seen many private collections of images, postcards, family snaps and pictures produced by magazines etc., all showing Marple in various stages of its development, we thought what a great idea it would be if we could share these with more of you.

That was back in March 2001, when we constructed the first 'Virtual Tour' using free web space and the help of a number of people who allowed us to copy their collections of postcards and photographs. By 2003 the 'Tour' was a great success and we invested in extra web space to allow us to continue adding more photos and to avoid the problem of 'pop-up' advertisements spoiling your enjoyment.

The 'Tour' continued to grow beyond our expectations and designs, primarily due to the great response from so many people who have helped us to expand it, and by 2006 it held over 1,000 images. Unfortunately the presentation format we originally set up did not lend itself to the easy addition of new images into the existing galleries and it became increasingly difficult to update and maintain. Drastic action was required!

Since we began the 'Tour' web space has become cheaper and free software has improved significantly, not to mention our web site construction skills! These developments together have enabled us to completely reconstruct the 'Tour' using an excellent and completely free on-line photo album package called Coppermine. Now we can categorise, re-describe, amend and update the galleries to our hearts' content. This means that with your help we can now make concerted efforts to continue expanding the 'Tour'. All we need is the photographs, so for information on how YOU may be able to help us see 'About These Galleries'

See 'Navigation Tips' for help and advice on finding your way around the new 'Tour' and visit the 'Acknowledgements' page for a full list of individuals who have helped us compile these galleries by generously sharing their private collections of photographs and postcards. That's it, with the owners permission here they are, just 'Take the Tour'.