Wikipedia would be good for this, allowing everyone to update
information about their record plus build an overall history.
Crispin

-----Original Message-----
From: Issues related to Historic Environment Records
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sarah Poppy
Sent: 21 March 2012 09:16
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: HERstory

Is some of this early IT history documented in SMR Audits across the
county? Ours from the late 1990s has some information about Superfile &
"EH version 1 software".    And there are the old SMR news from the mid
1990s (late I know in the grand scheme of computerising things but very
detailed history for that era).  

Steve Stead is also a wealth of information about early HER software. 

I agree an HER oral history project would be certainly be interesting
(for perhaps a limited audience!) and indeed very timely.  

All best
sarah

-----Original Message-----
From: Issues related to Historic Environment Records
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Stewart Bryant
Sent: 21 March 2012 09:07
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: HERstory

Yes, the Hertfordshire SMR was computerised onto a mainframe sometime in
the late 70s (77-79) by Tom Jeffrey, the 1st County Archaeologist. And I
personally remember the Greater Manchester SMR being computerised on a
mainframe in the early 80s (80-82) by an MSC team - a computer (then one
of the most powerful around) that has its antecedence in the 1st ever
computer (or so Manc. claims). 

The England ID project,  having recently made contact with a number of
HERs, suggested in a recent meeting with ALGAO that they would be
interested in undertaking an oral history of SMRs/HERs with current and
past HEROs as part of the project.  Just an idea at present, but we
thought it would be very interesting - and timely - were keen to help
progress it.  

Stewart 

       Dr Stewart Bryant
       Head of Historic Environment
       Environment and Commercial Services Dept.
       Hertfordshire County Council 



Address: Historic Environment Unit, CHN108, County Hall, Pegs Lane,
Hertford, Hertfordshire SG13 8DN

Email: [log in to unmask]

Tel: 01992 555244 / int. 25244
Mob: 07810813092





-----Original Message-----
From: Issues related to Historic Environment Records
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Dingwall, Lucie
Sent: 21 March 2012 08:46
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: HERstory

Having read these emails, it would be an interesting study to see how
many SMRs/Archaeology sections of local authorities were the first to
introduce/utilise new technologies  in their authority. I suspect that
there may have been quite a lot of "firsts", and that this trend may
have continued e.g. with use of GIS, web databases etc. Its good to see
archaeologists have been (still are ??) at the forefront of progress !

Lucie

Lucie Dingwall BA MSc MIFA
Sites and Monuments Record Officer
Herefordshire Archaeology
Planning and Transportation Services
Herefordshire Council
PO Box 230
Blueschool House
Blueschool Street
HEREFORD
HR1 2ZB

Tel: 01432 260130
Fax: 01432 261802
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
web: www.herefordshire.gov.uk/htt/

-----Original Message-----
From: Issues related to Historic Environment Records
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Chris Wardle
Sent: 21 March 2012 08:38
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: HERstory

David,

8-inch disc were the future.
It's just that it wasn't a very long future!

Chris


-----Original Message-----
From: Issues related to Historic Environment Records
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Baker
Sent: 20 March 2012 20:27
To: Issues related to Historic Environment Records; Chris Wardle
Subject: Re: HERstory

The index to the (then) Bedfordshire Sites and Monuments Record (f.
1971) went digital from Optical Coincidence Cards in 1982 thanks to a
program written by Jonathan Moffet and a large 8-inch-disk computer
known familiarly as 'tin-brain' but quietly much envied by the rest of
the (then) County Planning Department as the first computer to cross its
threshold. We were assured by the hardware recommender that 8-inch disks
were the future ...

David Baker

email [log in to unmask]

Telephone +44 (0)1234 781179
Facsimile +44 (0)1234 782645
Mobile +44 (0)7974 842417
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Webster" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 4:59 PM
Subject: HERstory


I've recently come across the following report that dates the
computerisation of the Somerset HER to 1983. It comes from the Bulletin
of the Somerset Industrial Archaeology Society (SIAS) hence the
industrial bent. I believe that the machine itself may reside in the
basement of County Hall in the heap of old equipment that IT used to
keep to read old disks. It was one of the first desktop computers in the
authority.

"The County Council Planning Department has recently installed a mini
computer for use with the Sites and Structures Record of archaeological
sites and buildings. Over the next two to three years all the data
currently held on record sheets will be transferred to the machine. It
will then be possible to retrieve information in a whole variety of ways
(e.g. by type, date, parish, land use, etc) giving archaeological
research in the County a powerful new tool.

A temporary archaeological post, funded by the Department of the
Environment, has been created to do the work under the watchful eye of
Dr Ian Burrow, the County's Field Archaeologist. For the technical
minded the computer is an Interdec Superbrain II with two drives for
5-inch diskettes.

Many of the entries already transferred reflect the work of S.I.A.S.
members, e.g. information about corn mills supplied by Derrick Warren or
about limekilns by Tony Ward. A few weeks ago Brian Murless was able to
view the machine in action and noted the simple way in which entries can
be corrected and updated."

Chris Webster
Historic Environment Record
Somerset County Council
Somerset Heritage Centre
Brunel Way
Taunton
TA2 6SF

01823 347434

Online HER: www.somerset.gov.uk/her

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