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Heritage Journal
news and views from Heritage Action
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'Preserved for future generations'
October 24, 2005, 1:30 pm
We spotted this story on the BBC website in which Kate Wilson, inspector of ancient monuments for English Heritage North East, said:
"It is vital that we work together to safeguard and protect these hugely important heritage sites so that they can be preserved for future generations to enjoy and learn from ...
...It is important that English Heritage inspectors are involved at the first possible opportunity as the statutory guardians of these monuments and with expert knowledge to evaluate the damage.
We're sure she means well!
We'd like to remind English Heritage - again - of three stone circles that need urgent attention:
1. Bradup in West Yorkshire was removed from the schedule of protected ancient monuments in 1994 after a site visit by the authorities. There is now no trace of what was one of Yorkshire's finest stone circles. Please explain why, EH!
2. Greycroft in Cumbria continues to suffer general neglect and abuse. It's overgrown, had a cattle feeder placed in the centre and there are vehicle tracks and extensive areas of thick mud. More worryingly several stones have been badly damaged by what appears to be major impact by vehicles. Please protect this monument EH!
3. The Twelve Apostles of Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire is in such a fragile condition that, unless action is taken soon, it will be gone. Just like Bradup.
We appeal to English Heritage "...as the statutory guardians of these monuments and with expert knowledge to evaluate the damage..." to please get on with it!
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Public meeting to discuss Silbury
October 23, 2005, 9:48 pm
Heritage Action has been asking English Heritage (EH) for the public to be properly informed and involved in discussions about the future of Silbury Hill for longer than we care to remember.
Photo: Moth Clark
Early last week EH told us that they had arranged a public meeting. This meeting to discuss the proposed repairs will be held five years, six months and two days since the gaping hole appeared in the top of it.
Date: 26 November 2005 at 11am to 1pm
Venue: The Corn Exchange (Wessex Room), Market Place, Devizes.
If you'd like to come along, apply for your free ticket by emailing
beverley.ballon@english-heritage.org.uk or phoning 0117 975 0703.
We will be asking EH for justification of their plans to safeguard the future of Silbury including their proposal to create a new and larger tunnel within the structure.
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Keeping an eye on the Quoits
October 23, 2005, 6:28 pm
We said we'd keep you updated on the rebuilding of the Devil's Quoits stone circle and henge near Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire. This weekend we found that no more stones have been erected, and the largest original stone is still not erected. However, the supporting timbers have been removed to reveal the ochre-coloured stones in all their glory.
Please note that the site has no public access and is not yet ready for visitors.
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Public asked for views on ancient Yorkshire hillfort
October 12, 2005, 8:49 pm
The consultation about what to do with Castle Hill, Yorkshire's largest and most imposing Iron Age hillfort in Huddersfield has started. The future of the ancient earthwork has been the subject of much discussion since planning irregularities forced a new building on its summit to be pulled down.
Kirklees Metropolitan Council is now asking the public and other interested parties, their views on what should be done with the ancient site. A questionnaire, devised by Atkins Heritage can be found on the Kirklees website
A consultancy team spent last weekend at the site and in Huddersfield issuing questionnaires and answering questions. The main question is should anything should replace the public house that was built without proper planning consent or should Castle Hill be left clear of buildings? Although the hill is a scheduled ancient monument, a small part of it is not 'scheduled'.
Heritage Action feels that in order to preserve the monument from further erosion it should be left clear of any development. We will also ask for the current damage from erosion to be remedied and measures taken to prevent further erosion. To build anything new would create pressure on the existing road which is well below modern standards and rebuilding would cause untold damage any archaeological deposits still left in the embankments.
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Quoit a resurrection
October 11, 2005, 9:13 pm
The Devil's Quoits stone circle and henge near Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire only just survived the 20th century. Part of an ancient north-south trade route in a landscape littered with rich neolithic and bronze age sites (many now reduced to cropmarks) the henge almost didn't survive the second world war at all; an airfield's runway was built over half of it. After the airfield was ripped up, the site was quarried for gravel and more recently became a landfill and waste disposal site. So it is nothing short of miracle that three of original standing stones were saved, albeit felled and moved, and that part of the henge's ditch and bank remained visible, but only just.
In recent years teams of archaeologists have been working alongside the landfill site's owners to rebuild the mighty earthwork and re-erect the original stones and replace the lost stones with new locally sourced megaliths.
Photo: Jane Tomlinson
Risen again
Particularly exciting work has taken place in the past two weeks. With the henge's ditch, banks and berm now green with vegetation, the stones have started to go up. Last week we noticed three had been erected and this week there are now eight up, including two of the original stones.
The largest original stone is ready to go up, and by the looks of things will probably stand again this week. It is possibly more than 60 years since it was last vertical.
Stanton Harcourt resident Cleo Stacy, who lives 250 metres from the henge was delighted at the news. Cleo said: "With so much of the local landscape trashed and exploited over the past century, it's great to see the Quoits - my heritage - taken seriously and properly rebuilt. This is my stone circle and I can't wait to share it with visitors."
Please note that the site has no public access and is not yet ready for visitors. Check this Journal regularly for further updates.
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Thank you for your patience
October 10, 2005, 10:03 pm
Following a recent hacking of our website we have sadly lost many of The Heritage Journal's archives. All those you read below here are re-posted.
Heritage Journal writer and editor Jane Tomlinson said: "I'm very sad that so much information has been lost, but please continue to visit as we rebuild the Journal."
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