About Cornwall & Scilly HER

Cornwall & Scilly HER

The Cornwall & Scilly Historic Environment Record is maintained by the Historic Environment service of Cornwall Council. Developed initially as a tool to guide planning and development decisions, it has evolved to satisfy a wide range of users, including academics, students, developers, landowners and members of the public; the database also informs national and local strategies and policies for the protection and conservation of the historic environment. The database holds over 50,000 records covering archaeological sites, monuments, buildings, artefacts, finds and landscapes. From quoits to castles, barrows to blowing houses, palstaves to pollen cores - the record holds information on all aspects of the past from the earliest traces of human actvity in the Palaeolithic up to a cut-off date at the end of World War II. It also includes information on designations such as Listed Buildings, Scheduled Monuments, Conservation Areas, Historic Parks and Gardens, Battlefield sites, Designated Wrecks and the Cornish Mining World Heritage site. The database is supported by collections of photographs (including aerial photos), historic maps, archaeological plans and field surveys, and an extensive reference library. The HER will never be complete, as new finds and discoveries are made almost every day and maintaining and updating the record is a never-ending task. The level of detail and the accuracy of the information held on each site reflects the nature or content of the sources used to compile the record, and it should not be assumed that the SMR will provide a definitive statement about the archaeological content of an area or topic. The task of checking and updating records is ongoing and record users should confirm for themselves the accuracy of information supplied. Most problems, however, stem from minor inaccuracies in the Grid Reference or grammatical errors in the site descriptions. If you find that our information is inaccurate, incomplete or ungrammatical, please let us know. You can contribute to the evolution and improvement of the record by reporting to us any finds or discoveries you make in Cornwall and Scilly. The HER is a public archive and HER staff encourage and welcome consultations and enquiries. To find out more please contact us.