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- What is this?
- What kinds of things are recorded in the HER?
- What kinds of things are kept in the HER?
- What kinds of people use the HER?
- What can I use the HER for?
- Is the HER easy to use?
- Did you know...?
Anchor Point:What is this?What is this?
The Historic Environment Record or HER is a record of all known archaeology in the County of Lincolnshire. The record is also sometimes called the Sites and Monuments Record (SMR).
It records the archaeology from the earliest Stone Age (the Palaeolithic, from about 500000 years ago) to almost the present day. It is maintained by Lincolnshire County Council and is housed in Development Services.
Anchor Point:What kinds of things are recorded in the HER?What kinds of things are recorded in the HER?
The HER records information on archaeological sites and standing buildings in Lincolnshire, from Lincoln Cathedral and World War II airfields to finds of single Roman coins. The HER also holds details of Scheduled Monuments and Listed Buildings.
Anchor Point:What kinds of things are kept in the HER?What kinds of things are kept in the HER?
The HER has a computerised database, which comprises nearly twenty-five thousand records, and acts as an index to the rest of the HER.
The HER has a large library of local books and journals, thousands of aerial photographs, hundreds of archaeological reports, photographs, maps and overlays. Everything held in the HER is available to visitors to help them with their research.
The archaeological information in the HER comes from a variety of sources. It can come from excavation reports, from surveys of earthworks in a field, from aerial photographs of markings visible in growing crops, from studying old buildings or from letters and conversations with local people who know about the area where they live.
Anchor Point:What kinds of people use the HER?What kinds of people use the HER?
The HER is used by all kinds of people. These include members of the public who are interested in where they live or want to expand their knowledge of Lincolnshire. Students and academic researchers make extensive use of the HER. Also professional archaeologists, developers and local authority planners, such as development control officers find the service invaluable. Everyone is welcome to visit the HER.
Anchor Point:What can I use the HER for?What can I use the HER for?
The HER can help with a school or college project. It can help with personal research or if you just want to know about the area you live in.
Anchor Point:Is the HER easy to use?Is the HER easy to use?
Whether you are a professional or just someone who wants to find out a little more about the archaeology of Lincolnshire, the HER staff will make sure that you find the information you need quickly and easily. You can research your town, your parish, your village, your street or even your house, and the Historic Environment Record is a good place to start.
Anchor Point:Did you know...?Did you know...?
Did you know that Kirkstead Abbey was founded in 1139 but that the monks moved the site of the monastery in 1187? The 1187 site is known today and has surviving earthworks. The monks lived at the old site for forty-eight years and must have built a church and living quarters but the site of this 1139 monastery is not known, although it is probably fairly near to the 1187 site. This is one of several monasteries in Lincolnshire that we know existed but which can not now be located on the ground.
Archaeological excavations during the mid 1990s in Deeping St James parish, beside the River Welland, uncovered a Bronze Age settlement. It had survived very well beneath later flood deposits and the archaeologists even found the wheel ruts left in the mud by a Bronze Age cart that had crossed this settlement more than three thousand years ago.
Nailed to the door of Bag Enderby Church, near Somersby in the Lincolnshire Wolds, is an Anglo-Saxon shield boss. It has been there for several generations, and is very rusted now. Was it found locally? Did the Anglo-Saxon man who owned it live in this part of the Wolds?
All the information in the HER can be made available, for consultation, to members of the public. The HER is open, by appointment, during office hours from Monday to Friday Witham Park House in Lincoln.
To arrange an appointment to visit the HER please contact the HER staff by letter, telephone, fax or e-mail using the contact addresses given on the right hand side of this page. Directions on request.
HER information can also be accessed through the Heritage Gateway, a website that has information on historic buildings and archaeology for many parts of the country including Lincolnshire. Please click on the link on the right of this page under Weblinks to reach the Heritage Gateway and then you can use the search facilities provided to find information on Lincolnshire’s historic buildings and her archaeology.
Last Updated: 9 March 2010
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