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Buckinghamshire County Council Part 4: Further Information - Accessing Historic Landscape Characterisation The Bucks HLC Project produced the The analytical archive and full GIS data set Data for Milton Keynes is held at the Milton following outputs: are held at the Buckinghamshire Sites and Keynes SMR. Contact: Monuments Record. Contact: • A non-technical summary report The Archaeology Officer, (this document) The Sites and Monuments Record Officer, Milton Keynes Council, County Archaeological Service, Design and Conservation, • A series of ten technical appendices County Hall, Aylesbury, PO Box 112, Civic Offices, (listed adjacent) Bucks HP20 1UY. 1 Saxon Gate East, • An analytical archive Milton Keynes MK9 3HQ. Tel: 01296-382072. • A GIS data set as an ArcGIS Shapefile email: [email protected] Tel: 01908-691691. The non-technical summary and technical Information is made available in accordance appendices are available via the Archaeology with the Sites and Monuments Record Service’s pages on Buckinghamshire County Access and Charging policy of the Council’s web site. relevant authority. It is intended that selected GIS data will be made available on-line. Web address: http://www.buckscc.gov. uk/archaeology/index.htm 24 25 37HH artwork version2.indd 26 25/9/06 11:18:27 Contents of the Technical Appendices Title Content Appendix 1 Historic Landscape Types Standardised description of each Historic Landscape Type (HLT) Appendix 2 Project Methodology Detailed description of the project method Appendix 3 Project Design The original project design Appendix 4 Landscape Period Summaries Period by Period maps and description assessment of time depth Appendix 5 Analysis - Settlement Maps and brief discussion of differing settlement types Appendix 6 Analysis - Enclosure Maps and brief discussion of enclosure patterns Appendix 7 Analysis - Woodland Maps and brief discussion of woodland patterns Appendix 8 DataTables 1. Breakdown by landscape type and area. 2. Breakdown by District 3. Full Data Set Appendix 9 Bibliography Covering general and Buckinghamshire landscape and HLC development Appendix 10 Research Agenda Priorities for further research 26 37HH artwork version2.indd 27 25/9/06 11:18:27 Acknowledgements This report was written and produced by David Green & Sandy Kidd. The authors wish to express their gratitude to all the organisations and individuals who have assisted with this project. English Heritage sponsored the project and provided support through their project monitors, Graham Fairclough and Dave Went. Special mention should also be made of Buckinghamshire County Council’s GIS team: Brian Grainger, Caroline McIntosh, David Bennett and Paul Storey, who have ably piloted the project through IT challenges, great and small. Brian Giggins represented Milton Keynes Council providing information and advice. Professor Michael Turner of Hull University provided additional comments on parliamentary enclosure supplementing his published works. Many other people with an interest in Buckinghamshire’s heritage and landscape have commented and given assistance through the project. All text and illustrations © Buckinghamshire County Council. a not for profit service, Buckinghamshire County Council 01296 382717 [email protected] Team, © 12XX design by Communications Design English Heritage 37HH artwork version2.indd 1 25/9/06 11:15:57 Buckinghamshire Historic Landscape Character Map This map is produced from ordnance material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her majesty’s Stationary Office © Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Buckinghamshire County Council 100021529 2006 The legend shows the salient historic landscape types in Buckinghamshire. BIG MAP ARTWORK 1 25/9/06 11:31:50 Buckinghamshire Historic Landscape Characterisation Appendix 1 Appendix 1: Definition Example Broad Landscape Definition La Description of Historic Landscape Types (HLT) Legend d Total area: (Year 2003 coverage in hectares) % of county covered (hectares). Av. Poly Size: average size of GIS polygon mapping unit (hectares). No. of Polygons: Number of GIS polygon mapping units % of total polygons. Occurrence: Occurrence is assessed relative to other HLTs using the higher of total area covered or number of polygons. It is a descriptive term intended as a scale-independent measure of perception as to whether this is a commonplace or unusual element of historic landscape: – Absent; Very rare (<1%); Rare (1-5%); Occasional (5-10%); Common (10- 25%); Abundant (25-50%); Dominant (>50%). Photograph of landscape type Distribution map • Description: brief descriptive text. • Period: The broad landscape period or periods in which this type originated (20th century; 18/19th century; 15th/17th century; Medieval and Pre-medieval • Trajectory of change: A comparison of the change in the area of the county covered by this HLT essentially over the twentieth century measured from circa 1885 to 2030. The trajectory and rate of change indicated as Increasing; Stable (<5% change); Declining slowly (5-20%); Declining rapidly (> 20%); Declining critically > (50%); Extinct (no surviving examples) 1. • Factors influencing change: The main factors leading to creation or loss of this HLT • Capacity to absorb change: The degree to which this HLT can absorb change. This indicator is necessarily somewhat subjective and can only be indicative. Specific land use change proposals will require individual assessment. • Biodiversity potential: A simple indicator of the general biodiversity interest/potential of this HLT. Landscape history is only one of many factors defining biodiversity. Individual sites will vary and require specific assessment. (High = typically species rich and varied; Medium = Moderate amount of species; Low = species poor; Degraded = little or no biodiversity value). • Archaeological potential: A simple indicator of the general correlation of archaeological sites and historic buildings with this HLT. This indicator is more relevant for historic periods where buildings and monuments may be contemporary with the HLT, for earlier periods less correlation can be expected. Individual sites will vary and require specific assessment (High = typically associated with a wide 1 Calculated loss will in fact be less than actual loss due to the category of “mixed origin” used to classify mixed areas on the 1885 map which by 2003 had been absorbed into extensive modern built landscapes. For practical and resource reasons it was beyond the scope of the project to classify such “lost” landscapes. “Mixed origin” accounts for 6.26% of 1885 classifications, indicating that on a pro-rata basis the calculated loss should be corrected by a factor of Y to give estimated actual loss. 1 Buckinghamshire Historic Landscape Characterisation Appendix 1 range/well preserved monuments; Medium = Moderate range of associations/preservation; Low = few/rare associations/poor preservation; Degraded = archaeological potential largely destroyed. • Management: headline management objectives. • Research: potential for further research. • “Quality of Life” potential: A general and necessarily subjective indicator of the potential of this HLT to contribute to quality of life through the following values: cultural; educational and academic; economic, resource and aesthetic. • Sensitivity: An indicator of what is most special and sensitive about this HLT, and how more or less sensitive examples may be recognised. HLC Example of Landscape Type Further Reading: A bibliography relevant to the landscape type. 2 Buckinghamshire Historic Landscape Characterisation Appendix 1 • Archaeological potential: High. Ancient Semi Natural woodland has high potential for well preserved archaeological remains of woodland management and industries including wood banks, charcoal hearths, saw pits, quarries and small settlements. There is also evidence for historic woodland management, in the form of pollard and coppiced trees. Ancient woodland also provides a “reserve” of earlier Roman and prehistoric earthworks • Management: Woodland management plans should aim to conserve historic woodland features. • Quality of Life Potential: High. Ancient Semi Natural Woodland presents good opportunities for community-based research, education and recreation initiatives as expressed in ‘Seeing the Wood for the Trees’ – the South East Forestry and Woodlands Framework. Woodlands also have economic value producing sustainable timber, firewood, charcoal etc. • Research: Further research is needed into the origins, changing composition and historic uses of these woodlands. Of particular interest are industrial activities such as the clay industries, charcoal burning, bodging, iron-smelting and timber production. Survey and small-scale excavation to identify rare pre-medieval earthworks is a priority. Although many ancient woodlands are rich in archaeological remains, others appear to contain few features – the reasons for these differences are not yet understood. The potential for environmental archaeology to provide a long term history of woodlands remains to be investigated. • Sensitivity Rating: High. All Ancient Semi-Natural Woodland should be considered sensitive and worthy of retention. Woodlands which combine archaeological and biological interests with public access should be regarded as a critical environmental resource. Fig.28: Ancient Semi-natural Woodland at Further Reading Hughes, D.P. 1988 Buckinghamshire Inventory of Ancient Woodland Nature
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