Historical Monuments Of England Research Articles

Tone Works, Somerset: Machinery and Power in the Serge Industry

This paper summarises a detailed investigation of the well-preserved machinery at Tone Works in 2007. The site was photographed by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England in the mid-1990s, and was included in the English Heritage South-West textile mills project, but it was not accessible for measured survey until after it ceased working in 1999. At that time the level of preservation of its mechanical features was exceptional; very few historic textile mills now retain a significant proportion of their traditional machinery. Its survival at Tone Works was largely due to the site's continued ownership by Fox Brothers, one of the most successful and long-lasting firms in the South-West textile industry.

Landscape Narratives: the South East Cheviots Project

‘The huts are now roofless, the fires of the hearths quenched for ever, the fortifications levelled; yet these ruins have out-lasted the erections of more civilized times, and they still remain to tell us something of the busy population who hunted, tended flocks, tilled the ground, and quarrelled and fought, at a very distant period (in the valley of the Breamish)’. George Tate (1863, 302) This paper describes the results of the South East Cheviots Project undertaken by the former Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME; now part of English Heritage) during the 1980s. An area of 66 square kilometres was analytically recorded, ranging from the Breamish Valley in the north to Alnham in the south and from Brandon in the east to Schill Moor in the west. The project recorded with metrical accuracy all forms of cultivation remains, field systems, and settlements of all periods (only the prehistoric evidence will be reviewed in this paper). This landscape approach has led to a greater understanding of settlement histories in these remarkably well-preserved uplands. Recent excavations undertaken by the Northumberland Archaeological Group (NAG) and Durham University, under the auspices of the Northumberland National Park Authority (NNPA), have helped to clarify and contextualise further aspects of the chronology of settlement and landscape change recorded by the SECP.

Book reviews. Martyn Barber, David Field & Peter Topping. The Neolithic flint mines of England. xiv+95 pages, 46 figures, 1 table. 1999. Swindon: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England; 1-873592-41-8 paperback £25.

Book reviews. Martyn Barber, David Field & Peter Topping. The Neolithic flint mines of England. xiv+95 pages, 46 figures, 1 table. 1999. Swindon: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England; 1-873592-41-8 paperback £25.

English Hospitals, 1660-1948: A Survey of Their Architecture and Design (review)

This study is the elegant façade of a much greater building. It is based on a survey of English hospitals carried out between 1991 and 1994 by staff of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. Three teams of two investigators based in different parts of the country compiled an archive containing information on some two thousand hospital sites, many of them now only map references to long-demolished institutions. The survey covered the entire range of hospital types, including the buildings of the armed forces. Each site was entered in a database, and an associated file was created containing a brief report, Ordnance Survey maps, available documentation, and photographs both early (some very early) and modern (including aerial). The archive is publicly accessible at the National Monuments Record Centre, Swindon, Wiltshire. A county-by-county list of the sites appears as an appendix to this volume.

‘Back to the Workhouse’: poverty from the past serving the present

In 1997, The National Trust and the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England and Wales conducted a survey of surviving workhouses and identified the Workhouse, Southwell, as the best and most important surviving example. The National Trust acquired the building, and a project team from the East Midlands office are now working to reconstruct the site. The anticipated opening date will be Easter 2002. The story of this particular workhouse site will be told but, more importantly, the vision of a system that covered the United Kingdom will be provided as a national example. In this way, the property will become a national and international focus for Poor Law history. Susanna Smith is a qualified archivist and architectural historian in eighteenth‐ and nineteenth‐century British architecture and history. As a National Trust Project Researcher, and a member of the project team for the Workhouse, Mrs Smith carries out documentary and oral history research on the Workhouse and has already published several articles on this project.

Aerial reconnaissance over England in summer 1996

This report outlines the results achieved by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England's (RCHME's) flying programme and those of the independent flyers over England in 1996. The RCHME operates its reconnaissance programme from two offices, Swindon and York, with each team covering approximately half of England. The RCHME has been funding a network of regional flyers since 1986, when English Heritage transferred the responsibility to the RCHME. All the regional flyers reporting here received grants from the RCHME, except Devon and Somerset, and Dorset. The regional flyers operated in Cheshire and Merseyside, Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, Dorset, Essex, Hereford and Worcester, Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Shropshire, Suffolk and Teesside. In total approximately 415 h were flow and 4570 targets photographed, of which approximately half were new to the record and about 15 per cent (estimated) contributed additional information. For an area of eastern and northern England, from The Wash to the River Tees, 1996 was considered to be one of the best years ever for the discovery of new cropmark sites. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Aerial reconnaissance over England in summer 1996

This report outlines the results achieved by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England's (RCHME's) flying programme and those of the independent flyers over England in 1996. The RCHME operates its reconnaissance programme from two offices, Swindon and York, with each team covering approximately half of England. The RCHME has been funding a network of regional flyers since 1986, when English Heritage transferred the responsibility to the RCHME. All the regional flyers reporting here received grants from the RCHME, except Devon and Somerset, and Dorset. The regional flyers operated in Cheshire and Merseyside, Cornwall, Devon and Somerset, Dorset, Essex, Hereford and Worcester, Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Shropshire, Suffolk and Teesside. In total approximately 415 h were flow and 4570 targets photographed, of which approximately half were new to the record and about 15 per cent (estimated) contributed additional information. For an area of eastern and northern England, from The Wash to the River Tees, 1996 was considered to be one of the best years ever for the discovery of new cropmark sites. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. A national mapping programme for England

Plus de 50 ans de photographie aérienne ont apporté une somme considérable d'informations sur les sites archéologiques et les reconnaissances actuelles en fournissent toujours plus. Pour obtenir le maximum d'informations à partir de photographies aériennes, un programme national de cartographie (NMP) a été mis en place par la Commission royale des Monuments historiques d'Angleterre (RCHME). Ce programme s'est développé à partir de projets de cartographie des anomalies de paysage des hautes plaines du Yorkshire et de quatre projets pilotes créés conjointement dans les années 80 par la Fondation pour le Patrimoine. Ces projets cartographiront les comtés du Kent et de l'Hertfordshire et deux zones archéologiquement importantes : la vallée de la Tamise et les vaux du Yorkshire. Cet article fournit l'historique du NMP et expose les résultats de deux des quatre projets pilotes : l'Hertfordshire et les vallons du Yorkshire.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. Hertfordshire. A pilot project for the national mapping programme

Zwischen 1990 und 1992 hat der luftphotographische Dienst der königlichen Kommission historischer Denkmaler von England Luftaufnahmen untersucht, die vom Herzogtum Hertfordshire aufgenommen wurden (1 600 km²). Die archaologischen Informationen wurden kartographisch im Masstab 1 : 10 000 erfasst und die Datenbasis MORPH erstellt, die 2639 Verzeichnisse enthält, die dem Zeitraum von Neolithikum bis zum 20. Jahrhundert entsprechen.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. The Yorkshire Dales. A pilot project for the national mapping programme

Entre 1989 et 1992, l'Unité de photographie aérienne de la Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) a examiné des clichés aériens couvrant 2729 km² du territoire au nord de l'Angleterre. Les informations archéologiques ont été cartographiées à l'échelle du 1/10 560e et une base de donnée spéciale (MORPH) a été utilisée pour créer plus de 10000 enregistrements relatifs aux sites archéologiques de toutes périodes allant du Néolithique au vingtième siècle.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. Co-ordinating aerial reconnaissance in England

Der Grossteil der Luftaufnahmen wurden vor 70 Jahren realisiert. Seither haben zahlreiche Persönlichkeiten und Organisationen die notwendigen technischen Studien und Arbeitsstrukturen entwickelt um das Potential der Photographie zu nutzen. 1967 griindete die königliche Kommission historischer Denkmaler in England (RCHME) ein eigenes Programm fur Luftaufnahmen und tragt seit 1986- 1987 auch die Verantwortung fur die Koordinierung der zu Verfugung gestellten Subventionen fur unabhängige Luftphotographen in England.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England

Long Barrows and Neolithic Elongated Enclosures in Lincolnshire: An Analysis of the Air Photographic Evidence

The long barrows of Lincolnshire have been the subject of long-term but intermittent interest. One aspect not investigated hitherto is the air photographic evidence for plough-levelled long barrows. Recently completed mapping work in the county by the Aerial Survey section of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME), as part of the National Mapping Programme, has made possible the analysis of the air photographic evidence. This article presents an evaluation of that evidence and considers its significance in terms of the Neolithic of the region.A comprehensive survey of air photo collections has dramatically increased the number of long barrows known in the county, identifying over 50 examples of levelled sites. The majority are found on the chalk Wolds where the dozen surviving earthwork monuments are located. The distribution of long barrows in the county may now be extended onto the Jurassic Limestone ridge to the west where five examples have been recorded. The Lincolnshire long barrow enclosures have three categories of shape; oval, trapeziform, and oblong. The ditch plan is predominantly full-enclosing, and is found as the distinct form in the eastern region of England. The morphology and dimensions of two sites suggests they may have been a long mortuary enclosure or short cursus.At Harlaxton in the southern Limestone a long barrow enclosure forms part of an extensive later Neolithic ritual complex which incorporates a multiple pit-alignment as a principal component. The form of the complex appears to be unique and underlines the importance of Harlaxton as an inter-regional link.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, Salisbury Cathedral: Perspectives on the Architectural History. London: HMSO, 1993. x + 104pp. Colour frontispiece. 60 plates. 28 figures. Plan in end-pocket. Bibliography. £12.95. - Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, Salisbury: The Houses of the Close. London: HMSO, 1993. xv + 263pp. Colour frontispiece. 191 plates. 170 figures, including

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, Salisbury Cathedral: Perspectives on the Architectural History. London: HMSO, 1993. x + 104pp. Colour frontispiece. 60 plates. 28 figures. Plan in end-pocket. Bibliography. £12.95. - Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, Salisbury: The Houses of the Close. London: HMSO, 1993. xv + 263pp. Colour frontispiece. 191 plates. 170 figures, including

Military Training Earthworks in Crowthorne Wood, Berkshire: A Survey by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England

Military Training Earthworks in Crowthorne Wood, Berkshire: A Survey by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England

Segmented Embanked Pit-Alignments in the North York Moors: A Survey by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England

This report describes a group of distinctive earthworks in the north-east of the North York Moors (fig. 1) that, prior to investigation by the RCHME, had been categorised as double pit-alignments. The earthworks consist of two or three pairs of pits, with the spoil from the pits spread into parallel enclosing banks. The orientation of the segments is fairly consistent along an axis north-west to south-east; in each case there seems to be a tangential alignment on burial mounds, putatively Bronze Age in date, which may give a clue as to their age and function.

Kevin Grady, The Georgian Public Buildings of Leeds and the West Riding. Leeds: Thoresby Society Publications LXII, no. 133, 1989. xv + 192 pp. 30 plates. 18 tables. £9.50. - Sylvia Collier with Sarah Pearson, Whitehaven 1660–1800. A New Town of the Late Seventeenth Century: A Study of its Buildings and Urban Development. London: HMSO for the Royal Commission of

Kevin Grady, The Georgian Public Buildings of Leeds and the West Riding. Leeds: Thoresby Society Publications LXII, no. 133, 1989. xv + 192 pp. 30 plates. 18 tables. £9.50. - Sylvia Collier with Sarah Pearson, Whitehaven 1660–1800. A New Town of the Late Seventeenth Century: A Study of its Buildings and Urban Development. London: HMSO for the Royal Commission of

The Penrith Henges: A Survey by the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England

Detailed topographical surveys and geophysical examinations of the Penrith ‘henges’ were undertaken in order to assess the present state of the monuments for management purposes. At Mayburgh geophysical prospection was designed to assess the validity of the early reports of the presence of two concentric settings of stones. Some possible parallels in Ireland are noted. The nearby site of King Arthur's Round Table was also sampled by geophysical techniques, but was found to be too disturbed for the recovery of any further information as to its original form. The ‘cremation trench’ discovered in pre-War excavations at this site was relocated. The position of the enigmatic Little Round Table was re-established by both topographical and geophysical methods, and its north entrance firmly located. The classification of Mayburgh and of the Little Round Table is considered. The apparent disunity of these three distinctly different monuments within one complex is emphasised—all are traditionally classified as ‘henge-related’, yet the structure and orientation of each site is markedly different. Contemporary topographical considerations are now difficult to reconstruct.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, An Inventory of Nonconformist Chapels and Meeting-Houses in South-West England. By Christopher Stell. 285 × 225mm. Pp. xiii + 263, many ills. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1991. ISBN 0-11-300036-7. £60.00.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, An Inventory of Nonconformist Chapels and Meeting-Houses in South-West England. By Christopher Stell. 285 × 225mm. Pp. xiii + 263, many ills. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1991. ISBN 0-11-300036-7. £60.00. - Volume 71

The Archaeology of Bokerley Dyke. By H. C. Bowen (edited by B. N. Eagles). 127 pp., 53 pls, 73 figs (including 11 loose plans). London: HMSO and Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1990. £35.00.

The Archaeology of Bokerley Dyke. By H. C. Bowen (edited by B. N. Eagles). 127 pp., 53 pls, 73 figs (including 11 loose plans). London: HMSO and Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1990. £35.00. - Volume 57 Issue 2