 |
 |
I must say I'm not calling anybody a bad person - just pointing out that "amateurs" are easily intimidated by professionals - maybe rightfully so - I don't know. ________________________________ From: Issues related to Historic Environment Records [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Vince Russett Sent: 28 January 2014 09:54 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Friday question ......... Morning chums! I would hope we're not intimidating - I (and I'm sure many of my chums in other authorities) do our best to involve the public: community archaeology is a big thing here in North Somerset (and not just excavations - we do mostly uninvasive fieldwork). I suppose that the Tudors, Romans etc are felt to to be 'people like us' i.e. they have recognisable houses (well, the rich ones do), towns, technology that sort of foreshadows ours. On the other hand, Iron Age and earlier peoples are heavily agricultural, live in structures that are not recognisable to your average person as houses, and most importantly, they don't write things down that can be read in a nice comfortable record office. Everbody is a sucker for books of old photos - I am myself. As for relating to people of the Iron Age or earlier, I find it hard to understand some of the colleagues who work in my office. Certainly the vast majority of people I encounter have absolutely no idea about agriculture or the kind of subsistence living that was necessary in pre-Roman times. Because my partner and I grow our own vegetables, we are regarded as a bit eccentric. I have to bang on about food security at every meeting that involves covering yet more countryside with houses, and although DEFRA occasonally pay lip service to it, its clear the Environment Agency don't. Vince Vince Russett County Archaeologist Development Management Group North Somerset Council Our Historic Environment Record is now on-line: Go to the North Somerset web site (http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk) then use the tabs Environment / Conservation / Archaeology/ Historic Environment Record. Enjoy! Landline: 01934 426456 Mobile: 07917 265645 Please note my work hours are usually 8am to 4pm ________________________________ From: Issues related to Historic Environment Records [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kirkham, Andy (Place) Sent: 28 January 2014 09:25 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Friday question ......... Perhaps all these amateurs are quietly intimidated by all you proffesionals...... ________________________________ From: Issues related to Historic Environment Records [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Brian Giggins Sent: 20 January 2014 10:11 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Friday question ......... Having been involved with Northamptonshire history societies for decades, the impression that I have is that archaeology is something which they have little involvement with. At one large society I asked for a show of hands of of those who were members of County Archaeological Society and out of an audience of 70+ (numbers as well as age!) not one was a member. They tend to very interested in local history during their lifetime, the 19th century, tudors and Romans. Anything with old photographs is an immediate hit. They find it very difficult to relate to the Iron Age and earlier. Very few members get involved with research apart from family history. Some know about HER's but I think that very few would be interested in reading grey literature reports unless they were opposing a proposed development on their patch. I am trying to stimulate interest in Towcester History, archaeology and planning using Facebook (Towcester History and photographs) which does reach the under 50's audience (the rest would not touch Facebook with a bargepole). At 225 'members' I feel that it is doing well but the figures are small compared to the Facebook site "I grew up in Towcester". On 20 January 2014 08:48, Vince Russett <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote: Morning, chums! In my experience, and despite the utmost efforts of several members of the heritage team here over the years, I still find parish histories appearing without any consultation with the HER (and without any notification that the history has been published). I honestly don't know what more I can do to publicise the HER in such a small authority as ours. It might be a historians v archaeologists thing: in my experience, local history societies (as opposed to local archaeological societies) seem to regard the HER as irrelevant to their needs. Maybe it's the old 'descent of the manor' thing: historians perhaps being more interested in people than sites. Yes, I know this is probably a gross exaggeration, and I know our HER is probably quite awkward to use directly (despite the fact we have a subset of it online) because of resource problems, but that's how it seems to me. On a separate note, have the high water and floods revealed any unexpected archaeology anywhere? The Somerset levels are like a biblical scene at the moment: we went across Sedgemoor yesterday, and there were more swans than cattle in the fields. That's two years in succession. Not good for agriculture. Vince Vince Russett County Archaeologist Development Management Group North Somerset Council Our Historic Environment Record is now on-line: Go to the North Somerset web site (http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk) then use the tabs Environment / Conservation / Archaeology/ Historic Environment Record. Enjoy! Landline: 01934 426456 Mobile: 07917 265645 Please note my work hours are usually 8am to 4pm ________________________________ From: Issues related to Historic Environment Records [mailto:[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>] On Behalf Of MacLean, Sarah Sent: 17 January 2014 16:20 To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Friday question ......... Hi all, It's really interesting to hear Louisa say that the local societies are aware of the HER but still choose not to use it. Perhaps this is something that needs further investigation? Why do groups that many of us would assume are obvious audiences not want to use the HER? Is it the format of the information, digital vs hard copy? Is it the content of the HER in terms of it not covering the types of sites/buildings they are interested in? Or is it how the information is held and ultimately presented to them? I'm not suggesting that we should do away with all the fields and thesauri we use, we need to continue to record the data consistently. However are there alternate ways the data can be presented? Is there a 'translation' role that HERs need to do to enable access to the data for a wider audience? Just some Friday afternoon musings! all the best Sarah ________________________________ From: Issues related to Historic Environment Records [[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>] On Behalf Of Louisa Matthews [[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>] Sent: 17 January 2014 16:11 To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Friday question ......... Hi all, late to the conversation, but I have a couple of thoughts... We ordered a large box of pencils with our logo and web address on. These are liberally sprinkled around the County Records Office / local studies etc. where pencil use is mandatory. We've never measured the success of this (nobody has ever contacted and said that's how they heard of us anyway), although the pencils do disappear significantly quicker than our leaflets... I'd be interested to know if anyone has ever measured the success of their publicity drives - social media or otherwise? In particular (bearing in mind I'm building a case for the HER to have a social media presence), how many people have Facebook friends/twitter followers they didn't already know/know of before? i.e. what proportion of your social media audience/participants are members of the public who've never heard of an HER before? Are people engaging (e.g. feeding back) or just looking at information? I think what I want to get at, is that there is a difference between awareness and participation. Most of our local societies etc. are aware of the HER, but don't seem to use it, and I can't get to the bottom of why not. There's a bit of a 'you can lead a horse to water' situation. I know there have been some notable successes - Know Your Place and Sheena's Worcester projects have been presented at HER forum, but what about everyone else? Best wishes Louisa ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ms Louisa Matthews BSc(hons) MSc Historic Environment Record Officer Waste and Countryside Services Business and Environmental Services North Yorkshire County Council County Hall Northallerton DL7 8AH Direct Dial: 01609 532331 Request a search via our website: www.northyorks.gov.uk/her<http://www.northyorks.gov.uk/her> or browse our records via the Heritage Gateway<http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/> From: Issues related to Historic Environment Records [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Botfield Sarah Sent: 17 January 2014 09:07 To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Subject: Friday question ......... Hello All :) May I ask a Friday question....What unusual ways have you promoted the HER? We are currently in the process of looking at promoting the HER and so thought it would be a good idea to ask how other HER's have approached it. All feedback very welcome Best wishes Sarah Sarah Botfield BA (Hons), MPhil, PIfA Heritage Access Officer (HER) Planning Services Peterborough City Council Stuart House (East Wing) St John's Street Peterborough PE1 5DD Email: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> Telephone: 01733 453450 (Wednesday and Friday 8.00-4.00, Thursday 8.00-12.00) To find out more about Peterborough City Council, please go to: www.peterborough.gov.uk<http://www.peterborough.gov.uk/> Please consider the environment before printing this email. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Conditions apply to the confidentiality, copyright, legal liability and use of this email. For full information relating to the transmission and use of this email please visit www.peterborough.gov.uk/emaildisclaimer<http://www.peterborough.gov.uk/emaildisclaimer> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Access your county council services online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at www.northyorks.gov.uk<http://www.northyorks.gov.uk/>. WARNING Any opinions or statements expressed in this e-mail are those of the individual and not necessarily those of North Yorkshire County Council. This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and solely for the use of the intended recipient. If you receive this in error, please do not disclose any information to anyone, notify the sender at the above address and then destroy all copies. North Yorkshire County Council's computer systems and communications may be monitored to ensure effective operation of the system and for other lawful purposes. All GCSX traffic may be subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant legislation. Although we have endeavoured to ensure that this e-mail and any attachments are free from any virus we would advise you to take any necessary steps to ensure that they are actually virus free. If you receive an automatic response stating that the recipient is away from the office and you wish to request information under either the Freedom of Information Act, the Data Protection Act or the Environmental Information Regulations please forward your request by e-mail to the Data Management Team ([log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>) who will process your request. North Yorkshire County Council. This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal views which are not the views of English Heritage unless specifically stated. If you have received it in error, please delete it from your system and notify the sender immediately. Do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way nor act in reliance on it. Any information sent to English Heritage may become publicly available. Portico: your gateway to information on sites in the National Heritage Collection; have a look and tell us what you think. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional/archives-and-collections/portico/ ________________________________ Keeping in touch Visit www.n-somerset.gov.uk<http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/> for information about our services Council Connect: for all streets, open spaces and environmental protection enquiries visit www.n-somerset.gov.uk/connect<http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/connect> Care Connect: for all adult social services enquiries visit www.n-somerset.gov.uk/careconnect<http://www.n-somerset.gov.uk/careconnect> Out of hours emergencies: 01934 622 669 Privacy and confidentiality notice: The information contained in this email transmission is intended by North Somerset Council for the use of the named individual or entity to which it is directed and may contain information that is privileged or otherwise confidential. If you have received this email transmission in error, please delete it from your system without copying or forwarding it, and notify the sender of the error by reply email. Any views expressed within this message or any other associated files are the views and expressions of the individual and not North Somerset Council. North Somerset Council takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that no viruses are transmitted with any electronic communications sent, however the council can accept no responsibility for any loss or damage resulting directly or indirectly from the use of this email or any contents or attachments. ________________________________ Disclaimer This e-mail (including any attachments) is only for the person or organisation it is addressed to. If you are not the intended recipient you must let me know immediately and then delete this e-mail. If you use this e-mail without permission, or if you allow anyone else to see, copy or distribute the e-mail, or if you do, or don't do something because you have read this e-mail, you may be breaking the law. Liability cannot be accepted for any loss or damage arising from this e-mail (or any attachments) or from incompatible scripts or any virus transmitted. E-mails and attachments sent to or received from staff and elected Members may be monitored and read and the right is reserved to reject or return or delete any which are considered to be inappropriate or unsuitable. Do you really need to print this email? It will use paper, add to your waste disposal costs and harm the environment. Disclaimer This e-mail (including any attachments) is only for the person or organisation it is addressed to. If you are not the intended recipient you must let me know immediately and then delete this e-mail. If you use this e-mail without permission, or if you allow anyone else to see, copy or distribute the e-mail, or if you do, or don't do something because you have read this e-mail, you may be breaking the law. Liability cannot be accepted for any loss or damage arising from this e-mail (or any attachments) or from incompatible scripts or any virus transmitted. E-mails and attachments sent to or received from staff and elected Members may be monitored and read and the right is reserved to reject or return or delete any which are considered to be inappropriate or unsuitable. Do you really need to print this email? It will use paper, add to your waste disposal costs and harm the environment.