You can’t Ignore ‘em, It’s a Birmingham Forum!
HER Forum Winter Meeting, Birmingham & Midland Institute, Birmingham, 10th December 2019
(Post presentation questions and comments - in italicised type following each abstract - are based on notes taken at the meeting. Powerpoints for all of the presentations - with the exception of the update on Somerset HER - can be viewed on the HER Forum JiscMail file store).
Welcome from the Chair – Chris Webster (South West Heritage Trust)
After the novelty of our trip to Newcastle-upon-Tyne it was back to the familiar haunts of the Birmingham and Midland Institute for the winter meeting. Sixty people attended.
The first speaker, Hannah Fluck was unable to attend so her presentation was ably read by Nick Davis, after a couple of IT problems. This was followed by a presentation of the results of the HER survey by Charina Jones and Marion Page, concluding with a quiz to check we’d all been listening. Sarah Poppy and Jane Golding then provided an update on HIAS, concentrating on the NHRE to HERs transfer with the welcome news that this was to be funded at a more realistic rate.
After lunch, Ed Lee and Liz Copeland demonstrated the proposed use of the Knowledge Hub as a platform for maintaining and delivering Informing the Future of the Past, the online resource of information for HER managers and others. Eleanor Kingston then talked about her volunteer programme in the Lake District, for which the CBA had awarded her Community Archaeologist of the Year. Finally, Chris Webster told of recent developments in Somerset, principally the use of volunteers to georeference the 1840s tithe map information and the website that has been developed to present this.
Natural capital, ecosystem services and historic environment – Hannah Fluck (Historic England)
(In Hannah’s unavoidable absence, this was presentation was read to the meeting by Nick Davis – Historic England)
Natural Capital is an internationally recognised approach to thinking about the natural environment. It allows people to talk about the value of those aspects of the environment that are not usually monetised. In its vocabulary ‘natural capital’ is made up of ‘stocks’ which are the physical assets that make up the environment. The benefits or services flowing from these physical assets are termed ‘ecosystem services’. The condition of these assets determines the yield of benefits derived from them and changes to this condition, positive or negative, will affect this yield accordingly. Where these benefits can be valued or measured they can be ‘accounted for’.
On attempting to engage with the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) some five years ago I was told that the historic environment was relevant only to the ‘People and Built Environment’ chapter and not, as I was contending, to the ‘Historic Environment’ chapter. The historic environment, I was told, wasn’t natural capital and couldn’t be described in the language of Natural Capital.
Natural Capital, as represented in the concept of ‘public environmental goods and services’, now underpins the approach being used to structure environmental policies in Britain. Whilst the historic environment is not at present explicitly included in this approach, if it can be demonstrated that heritage assets can be natural capital assets it will be much easier to engage with the emerging structures.
Over the past couple of years Historic England has commissioned a number of projects to explore these concepts further. Based on their outcomes we are confident that, in some circumstances, it is possible to describe heritage assets as natural capital. Consequently HE has been in discussions with DCMS on developing a ‘Cultural Heritage Capital’ approach and over the next few years we hope to make significant progress through pilot projects.
To summarise the preliminary results of the projects so far:
• It is possible to include heritage assets amongst natural heritage assets in natural capital accounts.
• It is possible to describe the ecosystem services that flow from heritage assets.
• Some of these services can be valued using currently available data.
• We need to develop metrics to demonstrate the value of other services (especially cultural).
There are, however, caveats that have to be mentioned particularly that Natural Capital is based on the idea of ‘net gain’ which may well pose challenges in a development management context. There are no simple solutions.
If anyone has any examples of mitigation or developing public awareness in relation to natural capital we’d be interested to hear from you. Any suggestions or questions can be directed to:
Hannah.Fluck@historicengland.org.uk
or @hannahfluck
Comment: (Chris Webster) – Somerset HER has had some links with the attempts to unlock natural capital in the Blackdown Hills. The process has proved quite challenging however.
Comment: Eleanor Kingston – Work of this type is also under way in the Lake District National Park. More details about this will be made available next year.
Reply: CW – From a personal point of view, having recently visited some areas of ‘rewilding’ in the Lakes, I found that tree cover tended to obscure the views of the hilltops (which a lot of people consider integral to the beauty of the area).
Comment: HER Officer 1 – The trend seems to be that developers need to offset to mitigate some of the effects of their work. This, however, needn’t necessarily be specific to the same site. Ecologists seem generally quite happy about this but the situation isn’t straightforward for archaeologists who are dealing with remains which are unique and in situ. General awareness of the concept of natural capital is good but how does this translate into practical benefits?
Comment: Sarah Poppy – Hopefully it will add to the leverage available to bring monuments under management.
Comment: Ben Wallace – In Warwickshire we have an example of a park which may be removed as it is no longer being maintained. There is a heritage consideration, however, in that the area includes some war memorials. The question is being debated as to whether these might be reinstated elsewhere.
Comment: CW – Wouldn’t their new setting effectively make them ‘modern’?
Comment: HER Officer 2 – There may be compensating features to urban development. Ecologically, it has been shown that the area of Milton Keynes new town is actually more diverse than the areas surrounding it.
The HER Annual Survey - Marion Page and Charina Jones (Historic England)
HER Survey 2019 is the first annual survey of the state of England’s Historic Environment Records (HERs). It follows a series of Content and Computing surveys of HERs produced by Historic England from 2002. The report on the survey results is prepared by Historic England on behalf of the Association of Local Government Archaeological Officers (ALGAO) England and is of relevance to public, voluntary and private sector bodies, and individuals with an interest in the historic environment. The report will be of special interest to organisations that support, host, manage, maintain and make accessible HERs and their services.
The survey returned a good response (88%), however, it should be noted that 10 HERs (out of 83) are not represented in the results. The situation for each of the 83 HERs in England varies and whilst it may be said that no ‘typical’ HER exists, by compiling a country-wide overview of the state of HERs we are able to provide the evidence base to inform national policy.
This presentation provides a selection of these results as an overview of the content of the full HER Annual Survey 2019 report. The full report is available here:
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/filearea.cgi?LMGT1=HERFORUM&f=/Surveys/HER_Annual_Survey
Question: HER Officer 3 – I have concerns that the way the data is currently being displayed could cause distortions. Is there any way it could be presented according to individual planning authority?
Answer (Ben Wallace) – This is what the recent RSA survey has asked for and also Heritage Counts. However, there is a danger that continually increasing the number of questions included will make the survey unmanageable.
Reply: HER Officer 3 – The Cheshire Combined Service HER has to report to its planning authority so being able to manipulate the data in this way would be useful.
Response: (BW) – Not all do. For example Warwickshire HER isn’t required to.
Comment: (CJ) - There is a tie up with Heritage Counts which involves considerations as to the amalgamation of data into regions. Material can be aggregated up but obviously there would have to be agreement as to how this accorded with the needs of users.
Question: HER Officer 2 – In order to identify areas of higher development pressure would it be useful to be able to present the number of searches undertaken by an HER geographically?
Reply (BW) – The aim is to keep the survey simple. Whilst this would definitely be a useful tool, it would be tricky both to gather data and to present it cogently, particularly in terms of finding a straightforward geographical framework which would consistently correlate numbers against area.
Question: Eleanor Kingston. Is ALGAO planning to make a survey of its own?
Answer: (BW) – Other than the Staffing Survey, no.
Question: (HER Officer 4) – Is the survey being made available on the Historic England website?
Answer: (BW) – The plan is to make the results of future surveys available through the HE website. This version, however, will be placed on the HER Forum file store.
Answer: (Jane Golding) – There are still some revisions required which will be undertaken after feedback has been received. This will be carried forward in 2020.
Comment: (BW) – This would allow the smoothing out of any sensitivities.
Comment: (HER Officer 4) - Whilst some caveats might be needed it should be possible to arrive at an agreed version.
Question: (HER Officer 5) – Were any reasons been given by those HERs not responding to the survey for their non-participation?
Reply: (BW) – Not as such. However, the situation is similar to that being encountered by the Heritage Information Access Strategy (HIAS). There are valid reasons why a minority of HERs are unable to respond. (Coventry provides a good example). It’s to be hoped that next time 100% is achieved.
Heritage Information Strategy (HIAS) Update – Jane Golding and Sarah Poppy (Historic England)
The Heritage Information Access Strategy (HIAS) programme co-ordinates a series of interlinked projects designed to improve public access to heritage data held or generated by Historic England, HERs and other bodies.
This talk presented progress updates on the following projects:
NRHE to HERs data transfer: Sarah Poppy
A core strand of HIAS is the transfer of the Historic England’s National Record of the Historic Environment (NRHE) to HERs, to remove the long standing duplication between national and local records. The NRHE to HERs data transfer project got underway in early 2019 with partnership funding being made available for HERs wishing to take part. 10 HERs signed up for the first round of projects, with a further 5 projects due to start in early 2020. Progress can be tracked on the NRHE project website, and is available to all registered users. Bedford Borough was the first project to complete in November 2019, and reported positive outcomes in terms of additions and enhancements to the HER.
In response to concerns from the round 1 NRHE to HER projects, and following feedback gathered by ALGAO, we have undertaken a review of the first year of the project and adjusted the accessioning rate in light of that reported by round 1 HERs. We are also introducing a number of changes to the project as a result of the review, including:
• An open call for proposals rather that fixed application windows;
• Extending the programme to 6 years; and
• Asking HERs requiring copies of archive materials to make their requests in bulk.
HERs meeting the prerequisites for participation are invited to sign up for the project and support is available via the HIPs team for those wishing to join the Audit programme or Heritage Gateway.
National Security Copy (NSC): Jane Golding
All organisations participating in HIAS agree to maintain a dispersed National Security Copy by upholding standards for the safekeeping of their own historic environment records. In the event that these records become at risk, a code of practice will be activated to safeguard the NSC.
There are two main types of NSC security copying:
1. Consistent routine backups by each organisation of their own data (following best practice as documented in a Data Management Statement)
2. Exceptional decision to deposit a security copy with another heritage organisation (NSC Access Protocol)
ALGAO UK HER Committee has recently discussed and agreed how each will be implemented.
HERs are encouraged to contact HE’s Heritage Information Partnerships (HIPs) team for more information about the NSC requirements, taking part in the HER audit programme and joining the Heritage Gateway (all three are prerequisites for participating in the NRHE to HERs data transfer project).
OASIS/HERALD: Jane Golding (for Tim Evans, Archaeology Data Service)
The schedule for switching over from the old process to the new application was outlined. This will be a staged process over several months organised by HER area. Each HER will be contacted individually.
Comment: (Ben Wallace) – The process of NRHE transfer has brought to light a proportion ‘difficult’ records. However, there are valid reasons why all of these should be carried forward into the future. Even the ‘non-things’ that have been recorded need to be flagged up to guard against misapprehensions being returned to.
Reply: (SP) – The National Record for Historic England (NRHE) HOB UID should be at the very least referenced. HERs are built from a series of underpinning sources and the NRHE is no different from any other.
Question: (HER Officer 6) – Is there any way that HERs can get a picture of the scale of the task in advance?
Answer: (SP) – A break-down of the number of records per HER is available on the NRHE to HER website.
Answer: (JG) – Heritage Information Partnerships (HIPs) will be happy to help in the event of any difficulties.
Comment: (SP) – Crispin (exeGesIS) is now putting the remaining data into an NRHE website as the possibility of a ‘bottle-neck’ at the end of the project needs to be avoided.
Comment: (SP) – The Bedford Borough HER has undertaken the work in a hybrid form, also incorporating a National Mapping Programme (NMP) transfer. Their figures suggest that about 60% of their polygons were updated.
Question: (HER Officer 4) – Will you be able to fund every HER through the process?
Answer: (SP) – On the basis of the initial resourcing assessment, involving 50/50 match funding from HE and the host organisation, there would be sufficient for all HERs. The possibility exists, however, that the actuality may be less clear-cut and that some refocusing may result.
Question: (HER Officer 7) – Has the NRHE now been shut down?
Answer: (SP) – The NRHE is no longer being updated. New data is, however, still being generated by HE research teams (principally aerial survey) which is being loaded onto another system that will be made accessible at a later date.
Comment: (HER Officer 7) – As you can probably appreciate, HERs have a sense of being in ‘limbo’ in this regard and are seeking reassurance.
Reply: (SP) – This will certainly be a topic for consideration in the very near future.
Question: (HER Officer 2) – How are plans to introduce a new Heritage Gateway progressing?
Answer: (JG) – We are working towards decisions concerning the standardised MUIs (Minimum Units of Information). These will form part of the revised data collection model which the new Gateway will employ. The process is still within the Historic England IT development plan and is scheduled for completion in spring 2021. A caveat has to be added, however, in that, within HE, high level decisions are impending about IT resourcing (the ADP process).
Comment: (SP) – We’re supporting the Heritage Gateway with a very strong case within HE.
Question: (HER Officer 2) – How many HERs are not on the Heritage Gateway at present?
Answer: (JG) – 25.
Question: (HER Officer 2) – Does this include some with their own online websites?
Answer: (JG) – Yes.
Comment: (JG) - Looking forward to the immediate next steps in the process, the Heritage Gateway Partnership Board will next meet on 06-02-20.
Question: (HER Officer 5) – What happens if an HER is unable to take up HIAS?
Answer: (SP) – The first move will be to establish what the issues are and to try to find ways to overcome them. In the event that this proves impossible other options will have to be explored, for example holding on to the NRHE data and making it available when necessary.
Comment: (HER Officer 5) – Some HERs won’t have any staff available to undertake the work involved.
Reply: (SP)- We’re trying to get in touch with those responsible for the HERs to discuss possible issues.
Comment: (HBSMR Project Manager, exeGesIS SDM) – There are some cases emerging which may result in an element of rethinking.
Comment: (CW) – In some places in the south west the model of developing merged applications involving multiple HERs is being pursued.
Question: (CW) – What has happened at Merseyside HER?
Answer: (SP) – As people may be aware, this is a case where the HER stopped the project mid-way through. From our point of view this was very strange since they had previously participated in the pilot project. We had made the case throughout that data involved is unique and thus has to be processed. This component of the initiative has, however, been closed uncompleted.
Comment: (CW) – It’s been suggested that the HER officer in question became ‘ideologically’ opposed to incorporating some elements of the data. However, whatever the reason, this will result in an orphaned body of NRHE data.
Reply: (SP) – The point of view expressed by the HER has so far been unique.
Question: (HER Officer 2) – Is there a report for the Bedford Borough NRHE transfer?
Answer: (SP) – Yes there is. This will be made available soon.
Question: (CW) – Will stuff be taken down from NRHE and Pastscape as the project progresses?
Answer: (SP) – The plan is that, as HERs finish the process, that that element will be taken down from Pastscape. It’s possible, but not entirely certain, that links will be put in place redirecting to the Heritage Gateway record (linkages being made as part of the accessioning process).
To present and discuss the future hosting of Informing the Future of the Past on the Heritage Workspace - Liz Copeland (Knowledge Hub) and Edmund Lee (Historic England)
Edmund Lee, Historic England, and Liz Copeland of Knowledge Hub were introduced by Ben Wallace who set out the background to the need for a revised version of the Informing the Future of the Past (IFP) wiki. Liz Copeland presented the Knowledge Hub platform, www.khub.net. Originally created by the Local Government Association, Knowledge Hub, now a spin-off private company has created the UK’s largest digital platform for public service collaboration. Liz cited examples of how it is used in local authority and other public service settings. Edmund then introduced the ‘Heritage Workspace’ www.khub.net/historicengland Historic England’s collaboration space, hosted on the Knowledge Hub platform. Heritage Workspace is a network of groups that provide a bundle of features to support collaboration between practitioners in the sector, providing projects, committees and other communities of practice with either private or open use of discussion forums, online document or other file storage, membership lists, shared calendars, ideas logs etc. A recently introduced feature is the Knowledge Base, a wiki-style system for developing shared good practice guidance. The ALGAO HER Committee has reviewed a test group on Heritage Workspace and agreed that a Knowledge Base, supported by a dedicated editorial group on Heritage Workspace will be the host system for the next version of IFP. Work on this new version will start in January 2020.
Question: (Chris Webster) – Is this being undertaken under the aegis of Historic England and, if so, will this affect the involvement of Scotland and Wales?
Answer: (Ben Wallace) – In the past Informing the Future of the Past has been led and funded by Historic England (previously English Heritage). Contributions from other partners in Scotland and Wales have usually been in kind.
Answer: (EL) – The implications are not seen as extending any further than straightforward data hosting.
Comment: (EL) – The big selling point of the Wiki format is that important changes can be made quickly and that small, incremental changes can be entered gradually and continuously.
Reply: (BW) – Initially IFP had an associated editor/manager/approver framework. This, however, quickly became blurred.
Archaeology Volunteers in the Lake District National Park – Eleanor Kingston (Lake District National Park Authority)
The Lake District National Park Authority established a Volunteer Network in 2013. This was a culmination of a variety of projects to engage with volunteers, including a condition survey of Scheduled Monuments that fed into the Monuments at Risk programme run by Historic England. The volunteers engage in a variety of activities from Level 1 identification survey, more detailed Level 2 survey, conservation work and bracken bashing. Their work has contributed to us reducing the numbers of scheduled monuments at risk from 118 sites in 2005 to 21 sites in 2019.
This presentation was in three parts:
i) background to working in a National Park and the history of volunteering in the Lake District, how we engaged volunteers and links to our Volunteer Service;
ii) the establishment of the Lake District Archaeology Volunteer Network, the roles and work involved;
iii) examples of volunteer projects.
We now have nearly 70 members of the Network, we provide a full programme each year and the volunteers contribute over 400 volunteering days a year. During a period of financial constraint we have been able to carry out research and conservation work that wouldn’t have been possible without them.
Question: (HER Officer 8) – What is the age range of your volunteers?
Answer: A large percentage have reached retirement age and thus have more available time. Attempts are being made to involve younger people. In more general terms, events with a sustained focus in one place tend to attract a wider variety of age groups and a larger number of volunteers. We have experimented in staging weekend events but these have seen fewer participants coming forward.
Question: (HER Officer 9) – Who are the supervisors? Do they have any training?
Answer: They aren’t specialists and come from a wide range of backgrounds. Experience has shown that they don’t necessarily have to be archaeologists. Some have been with the network for quite some time and, with some coaching from National Park staff, have become very knowledgeable.
Recent Developments in the Somerset HER – Chris Webster (South West Heritage Trust)
Over the last four years, volunteers in the Somerset HER have been working to georeference the 1840s tithe maps of the county. These had been scanned by the Record Office and first had to be georeferenced to the modern Ordnance Survey maps. After this, each of the numbered fields on the map had a point placed next to it in the GIS and the transcribed text information in the apportionment book cleaned and linked to the points. The post-1974 county has almost been completed and over 200,000 points recorded. The mosaic of maps and overlying data points can be seen on the Somerset HER website (www.somersetheritage.org.uk) and clinking on a datapoint provides the detail.
Question: HER Officer 6 – Who designed your new website?
Answer: I designed it myself using standard open-source software. This was quite easy to work.
Question: (HER Officer 1) – I think similar sites have been created by genealogy groups. Examples I’ve seen have had a mapping facility (possibly linked to Google Maps). Are these maps geo-referenced in a way that could allow them to be correlated with tithe maps and apportionments?
Answer: The system will allow points to be placed on maps but these wouldn’t be certainly geo-referenced.