D How do you compile, maintain and enhance an HER?#
Maintaining and developing an HER is a continuous process that involves various types of work. At any one time, new information may be received from recent fieldwork about changes or additions to the lists of protected sites, or through project work. Numerous different organisations and individuals are involved in the process of collecting and supplying information, and with the increasing use of GIS and on-line access, new ways of making a wide range of data accessible to HERs are beginning to emerge.This section of the manual gives general guidelines for maintaining and developing the information resources of an HER and suggests some new approaches to recording information from development-led fieldwork and some ideas for enhancement projects. For the purpose of this manual this topic has been broken down into three areas:
- Compilation from standard digital and documentary sources of information
- Fieldwork and digital data collection
- Enhancement projects such as national projects and programmes, local partnerships, universities and special interest groups
Case studies of some recent HER enhancement projects are also included.
D.1 Compilation - the beginnings#
The information in most HERs has been compiled over a long period of time. Much of it was collected before the use of databases let alone GIS and this has greatly affected how we can use it in the present.For most HERs compilation has been a complex process involving collecting information from a wide range of sources including national agencies, local bodies and private individuals. When SMRs were developing in the 1970's and 1980's three stages of information collection were envisaged: compilation, enhancement and ongoing maintenance.
In reality, the development of the information base held by HERs has been more ad hoc. The resources available for compiling information have varied considerably from one HER to another and also over time. A mixture of permanent and temporary staff (funded from, for example, local authorities, English Heritage, Historic Scotland, Cadw, RCHME, RCAHMS, RCAHMW and the Manpower Services Commission, National Trust), volunteers and students have been involved in compiling and enhancing SMRs and HERs. In many of the present HERs increasing responsibilities for development control activities, the pressure of work arising from planning guidance and limited resources have given rise to backlogs of information waiting to be compiled and input into the HER database. The purpose of this section is to step back from the backlogs and take a fresh look at the range of information sources that is available and to consider old and new approaches to incorporating it into HERs.
D.2 How does your recording policy fit in?#
Section B.4.1 recommends HER officers to prepare a recording policy. This document should identify both the sources of information that are locally available to the HER and also provide a framework to identify gaps or weaknesses in the information base (this may have already been provided by an HER Audit, see section B.2.4). HER officers are recommended to make reference to their recording policy when planning programmes of work to maintain or enhance the record. When planning to incorporate either new material or information held in backlogs, some key issues to consider are:- Does the information provided lie within the sphere of interest of the HER, or has the information a more natural home elsewhere?
- Does the information provided by a source contain enough detail to meet the HER’s requirements and the HER Basic Compliance Specification set out in Annex 1 of Benchmarks for Good Practice? (Chitty 2002).
- Does the information duplicate existing material in the HER?
- Could the information be more easily acquired from another source?
- Can the information be incorporated into the HER without extensive additional work?
- How high a priority is this new information in relation to your research framework?
- Does the material involve the acquisition of physical archive? If so is it original material, in which case is the HER the most appropriate body to hold it after incorporation? Is digital archiving required? Reference should be made to the HERs collection and disposal policy for archive material.
D.3 Compilation from basic sources#
There are several standard sources of information that all HERs should incorporate. The OS record cards provided the basic starting point for most. In some cases SMRs recasting projects created computer records from the OS cards, in other cases digital data was supplied from the appropriate National Monuments Record.D.3.1 National heritage datasets#
A key information source for HERs is details of sites in their areas that are either under some form of statutory protection or that are registered as being of special interest or at risk. This information is maintained by English Heritage as part of its statutory functions (Historic Scotland and CADW within their respective countries). HERs and Historic Buildings Records should all routinely receive paper notifications of changes and additions to schedulings or listings (in Scotland this information is supplied digitally by Historic Scotland).England#
Digital data from the national heritage datasets will be available to HERs in the future under licence from the NMR. These datasets include:- AMIE: a historic environment database of sites, monuments, buildings, archives, archaeological/architectural interventions and surveys in England and its territorial waters
- Record of Scheduled Monuments (RSM): a database of scheduled monuments in England
- Listed Building System (LBS): a database of the lists of buildings of special architectural and historic interest in England maintained by English Heritage on behalf of the DCMS
- Parks and Gardens Registration System (PaG): a database of the register of parks and gardens of historical interest in England
- Battlefields Register: the register of battlefields of historical interest (http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/battlefields)
- Buildings at Risk (BAR) Register: a database of grade I and II* listed buildings and upstanding scheduled monuments identified as being at risk of deterioration or loss (http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/bar
). Many local authorities keep their own BAR register for grade II listed buildings.
- Protected Wrecks: a list of protected wreck sites in English coastal waters
- Desk GIS: provides a corporate Geographical Information System with integrated access to historic environment data such as the RSM, LBS, AMIE and PaG both spatially and textually. HSIS enables the capture, display and analysis of statutory and non-statutory data in context with other geographic data
- Controlled Sites and Protected Places: Designated under the 1986 Military Remains Act. NB All crashed military aircraft are covered by this Act.
- List of World Heritage Sites: a list of World Heritage Sites in England.
- National reference datasets managed by the Data Standards Unit: includes the Thesaurus of Monument Types, Thesaurus of Building Materials, administrative area lists.
The adoption of nationally agreed data standards and indexing terminology by HERs, means that it is becoming easier for digital data to be provided in a standard format ready for incorporation into HER databases (see D.4.3).
The are also a number of key web-based initiatives aimed at the online dissemination of historic environment data:
LB Online (http://lbonline.english-heritage.org.uk/) provides up-to-date access to the statutory Lists of Buildings of Special Architectural and Historic Interest and is made available by English Heritage and the DCMS. The site is currently for the staff of Local Planning Authorities, National Amenity Societies and some other authorised government agencies.
Images of England (http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/) Images of England is a groundbreaking heritage initiative funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage. The project aims to create a 'point in time' photographic record of every listed building in England. The photographs, taken by hundreds of volunteer photographers, are being posted alongside existing list descriptions for each building to create what will be one of the largest free to access digital image libraries in the world with over 300,000 images when complete.
PastScape (http://www.pastscape.org/homepage/index.html) is a prototype web site developed by English Heritage’s National Monuments Record (NMR), which provides an easy-to-use method of accessing information taken directly from the NMR's national historic environment database (AMIE) containing nearly 400,000 records on the archaeology, monuments and buildings of England and its territorial waters. These records contain descriptions of any interesting archaeological details, pictures (where available), and links to maps and aerial photographs on other websites.
MAGIC (http://www.magic.gov.uk) this interactive map-based site, launched in July 2002, combines information on key environmental schemes and designations. The site is the result of a partnership project between seven government organisations with responsibilities for rural policy-making and management. Users are able view and query the available data sets through the use of standard GIS tools.
ArchSearch (http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archsearch/) or http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/provides an online search catalogue to collections containing details of around 1,000,000 sites, monuments and interventions in the UK, or other locations where UK-based archaeologists work. It also links to a growing number of digital archives and electronic publications.
Wales#
Similarly a number of national digital data sets are available to HERs in Wales. These include:- Scheduled Ancient Monuments database: a database of scheduled monuments in Wales maintained by Cadw on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government.
- Listed Building database: a database of the lists of buildings of special architectural and historic interest in Wales maintained by Cadw on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government.
- Parks and Gardens Register: a database of the register of parks and gardens of historical interest in Wales maintained by Cadw.
- Historic Landscapes Register: a database of the register of parks and gardens of historical interest in Wales maintained jointly by Cadw and the Countryside Council for Wales. The Register can be viewed on the CCW web site.
- Protected Wrecks: a list of protected wreck sites in Welsh coastal waters.
The Extended National Database for Wales (END). http://www.rcahmw.org.uk/nmrw/extdbs.shtml, The END is based on a partnership of Welsh heritage bodies, including the RCAHMW, the Archaeological Trusts of Wales, Cadw and the National Museums and Galleries of Wales (NMGW). who have created a national index of archaeological and architectural information. The information encompasses NMRW's site database, the Sites and Monuments Records held by each of the four Archaeological Trusts, and Cadw's scheduled monument and listed building database. CARN (http://www.rcahmw.org.uk/data/carn.shtml) is being developed as the entry point to the END.
The RCAHMW has made a selection of information from the NMRW available on the Internet through the on-line Coflein database. This is currently available only in English but a Welsh Language version is planned.
Scotland#
Historic Scotland provides a digital version (in Shape File format) of the Scheduled Ancient Monument designations for use within a GIS. This information provides an indication of the legally protected extent, the statutory designation remaining within the paper document. Listed building information is available via Pastmap (see below).Pastmap (http://jura.rcahms.gov.uk/PASTMAP/start.jsp) is a map enabled query system for Scottish National Archaeological and Architectural Datasets (Listed Buildings, Scheduled Ancient Monuments, National Monuments Record of Scotland, Historic Gardens and Designed Landscapes and some Sites and Monuments Records). This site, curated for the Scottish Ministers, is a partnership project between Historic Scotland and the RCAHMS, and also incorporates a dataset managed by Historic Scotland (Inventory of Historic Gardens and Designed Landscapes).” Scottish Ministers have just transferred sole responsibility for compiling and maintaining the Inventory to HS. Pastmap is being further developed with the Scottish SMRs as active partners, and the site hosts GIS data from several SMRs, with a view to having full coverage within 3 years time. A link to HLA data is also available through this portal (See case study in E.5.11).
D.3.2 Compilation from documentary sources#
In common with the OS record cards and the National Archaeological Record (NAR), most English SMRs were first compiled by trawling through information published in specialist local and national journals, monographs and thematic gazetteers to identify references to sites and monuments. Additional information was obtained from local museum and society records and from documentary archives, including the archives of local researchers, such as antiquarians, OS correspondents and others. Documentary and cartographic archives remain valuable sources for HER revision and enhancement. In Scotland where initial compilation in most cases took place later than in England, it was generally undertaken via a download of digital data from the National Monuments Record for Scotland.Commonly used documentary sources#
It is not possible to include a complete list of the many publications that are specific to an area or research topic. However, the following list provides a summary of documentary sources commonly used in HERs:- Local monographs and journals **Antiquarian monographs specific to the county **Domesday book by county **English Place Name Society: place names of the county **Monographs specific to the county **Local archaeology society(ies) journal series **Local historical and local studies groups journal series **Leaflets and pamphlets relating to local sites and areas **RCHME county inventories **RCAHMS Inventories **RCAHMW county inventories **Victoria County History: volume specific to the county **Pevsner's The Buildings of England and Wales series: volume specific to the county **The Rutland Press Illustrated Guides Scotland (The Rutland Press is the publishing division of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland)
- Regional monographs and journals
- BAR British Series: topical research related to the region
CBA Regional Group publications
Regional archaeology and history society journal series
- National monographs
National thematic publications
Medieval Towns
Margaray‘s Roman Roads of Britain
English Heritage/RCHME topical publications
English Heritage Batsford series
CBA research reports
Scottish Burgh Survey
Historic Scotland Batsford series
Cambrian Archaeological Association Monographs
- National journals
BAR national series
Antiquity
Britannia
Archaeologia
Antiquaries Journal
Journal of Roman Studies
Archaeologia Cambrensis
Studia Celtica
Medieval Archaeology
Medieval Settlement Research Group
Post Medieval Archaeology
Vernacular Architecture Group
After the Battle
Landscape History
Association of Industrial Archaeologists Journal
Current Archaeology
International Journal of Nautical Archaeology
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
Scottish Archaeological Journal
Discovery and Excavation in Scotland
- Other
Hydrographic Office Wreck Index. Lloyds List
Parliamentary Papers
State Papers
Shipwreck Index of the British Isles
Air Britain publications
- Aerial Photographs
Vertical and Oblique coverage from 1945 onwards from the Cambridge University Collection of Air Photos (CUCAP)(http://venus.uflm.cam.ac.uk/)
Vertical coverage from c 1940 onwards: available from the NMRs
Oblique coverage from 1930 to the present: available from the NMRs/HER/others
- Maps
OS 1st edition, early editions and large-scale town maps
Enclosure, Tithe and estate maps for the area
Historical maps for the area where available