St Mary’s Church: demonstrating the limitless possibilities and value of on-site archaeological public engagement in construction projects

Abstract

: Abstract The St Mary’s Field Museum programme of events demonstrated that it is not only safe and secure to invite members of the public on to a construction site, but that doing so adds great public value and creates a lasting, treasured legacy as a result. Such events provide the opportunity for the public to be involved in an archaeological site, to see their local history being excavated in real time, and to engage directly with the archaeologists undertaking the work. It is also an opportunity for archaeologists to impart key skills and knowledge into communities that can be used and passed on long after the project has ended. Engagement in this manner can also lead to a change in public perceptions of a scheme, helping visitors to see current development as part of continuous landscape change. Changing negative perceptions into positive is a rare achievement for a construction project and the value archaeology can add to a scheme through public engagement should not be underestimated. Archaeological public engagement in construction projects benefits the local community but it also benefits the project, especially in terms of positive perception. Taking the opportunity to hold large scale archaeological public engagement activities on site results in a lasting, treasured legacy for the local community, adding a great amount of public value to HS2, and construction projects in general. The St Mary’s Field Museum was a public engagement programme held between May and September 2021 during HS2 excavations at the site fo St Mary’s Church in Stoke Mandeville. This paper discusses how the public were invited into the excavation site to take part in open weekends, educational courses, and to engage in open conversation with the archaeologists excavating the site. The holistic process of constructing the Field Museum and its programme, benefited greatly from early involvement of health and safety and security teams. Combined with a collaborative desing process involved public engagement specialists, archaeologists and an architect allowed a bespoke product to be presented to the public in the form of the Museum, facilitating the archaeologists in exploring the site and its history with the public. This was all undertaken during the peak of the COIVD-19 pandemic. The success of St Mary’s Field Museum demonstrates that this type of engagement can take place in a safe and accessible manner, and that the opportunities provided are greatly apprecaited by the local community. Such events also provide the opporunity for up-skilling the next generation of archaeolosits through educational courses. This paper also illustrated how the St Mary’s Field Museum used innovative and interactive methods of public engagement to sensitively present the excavation of the church and churchyard to the public. It is clear from the feedback received at St Mary’s Field Museum that there is a desire from the public for further public engagement around the archaeology of HS2, and the Field Museum model provides a proven format for future public engagement programmes. The learning legacy of the Field Museum at St Mary’s has demonstrated that with a collaborative and open-minded approach from key departments, on site public engagement is possible, safe, secure and invaluable to a scheme and the local community. This paper outlines how it was achieved at St Mary’s, the value of such events and the limitless possibilities and contributions they can make.