England’s Historic Seascapes Programme

The River Fowey Estuary, Cornwall © Dave Hooley England’s Historic Seascapes aims to extend historic landscape characterisation (HLC) to England’s coastal and marine zones. Five pilot projects, funded by the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF) between 2004 and 2007, tested a range of options. The outcomes from those were reviewed in another ALSF-funded project during 2007-8 and a nationally-applicable method for Historic Seascapes Characterisation (HSC) has now been consolidated, relevant across all parts of England’s seas. Practical demonstration of that method will be provided by its implementation across a substantial area of those seas during 2008-9.

Excavating the stern carving of HMS Colossus off the Isles of Scilly. Image courtesy of K. Camidge Past human activity has made an extensive mark on all aspects of the present coastal and marine environment, just as it has on land. Beneath our seas and along our coasts lies a rich and varied heritage. Characterisation will set our knowledge of the historic dimension of our coastal and marine environment into a GIS-based spatial and temporal footing. Seascapes extends the HLC programme now completed for most of England’s land area and will enable our historic landscapes from land through the coast to the sea to be encompassed within a common framework.

Southampton Docks © Dave Hooley There are many needs and uses for HSC. Pressures on our coasts and seas are increasing rapidly in number and scale: from coastal sea defences, port development, dredging of shipping channels, the extraction of aggregates, oil and gas, and wind-farm construction, amongst many others. All contribute to, but also impact on, the historic marine environment. The entry into force in the UK of the European Landscape Convention in 2007 and the publication of the Draft Marine Bill in 2008 signal major changes in marine policy which provide a framework for applying HSC.

RMS Mulheim aground at Castle Zawn, Cornwall © Dave Hooley As on land, our perceptions and management of marine landscapes need to be informed by an understanding of the interplay of cultural and natural factors. There is increasing evidence for degradation of the marine environment from human activities at both local and global scale. Our coasts and seas are used by many as a leisure resource, but with concerns about, for example, pollution and a range of discharges at sea. No longer is the sea regarded as a limitless resource, separated from the world we inhabit, where we need little care about what we do there or what we put into or take from it: just a blue-green backdrop to the land.

Possible hearth on the upperworks of the Swash Channel designated wreck site (Poole). Photo taken by Wessex Archaeology © English Heritage Perceptions of marine landscapes are not merely visual, smelt or heard but are mainly cognitive. Submerged, often buried aspects of the sea play a vital role in shaping seascape perceptions through knowledge. Our Seascapes projects have shown how this deeper understanding can be captured, giving a relevance to all who use our coastline or the sea. Making that connection with people lies at the heart of our approach and has profound implications for how we treat the sea.

Present Historic Seascapes Character Types mapped by the Scarborough-Hartlepool pilot project © English Heritage & Cornwall HES Resources from the five Seascapes pilot projects and the Method Statement detailing the consolidated national HSC methodology are available in the ALSF Maritime Archive on the Archaeological Data Service website.

Further information on the 2007-08 HSC method-consolidation project can be found at: http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=39985

Information about the work of the English Heritage Maritime Archaeology Team can be found on: www.english-heritage.org.uk/maritime