About Lake District National Park HER

Lake District National Park HER

The Lake District Historic Environment Record (HER), maintained by the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA), is the record of the historic environment of the Lake District National Park and is the principle record for the area. It originally formed part of the Cumbria County Council Sites and Monuments Record. Transfer of the records to the LDNPA took place in 1993 with the appointment of the first Archaeologist at the LDNPA.

The Lake District HER was formally adopted by the LDNPA in 2004. It currently holds information on 7,000 sites of archaeological and historical significance on a computer and map based system, supported by archival material. The earliest site on the Record dates from the Lower Palaeolithic (before 8,000 BC) and the latest from the twentieth century, for example Greenside Lead Mine, where production ceased in 1962. A whole range of historic environment information such as buildings (listed and unlisted), chance finds, landscape features (such as dry stone walls and sheepfolds) and environmental data is incorporated into the database. The data is primarily used for land management and planning purposes but the LDNPA recognises that it has many other uses including education and research.

In order to make the Historic Environment Record more accessible to a wider audience, the information from the HER was sent to the Archaeological Data Service for the information to be posted onto the web. This was made possible through a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to implement the Access to Archaeology Project. The Project's aims are to interpret the historic environment through a variety of media including: leaflets; a touring exhibition; education resources; information on the LDNPA website; an outreach strategy; and an online version of the Lake District HER.