Historic England – The New Listener

17:51 Tuesday 12th January 2016
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: It’s been described as the best preserved Bronze Age settlement ever discovered in Britain. An excavation project in the Cambridgeshire Fens has unearthed two prehistoric wooden round houses, thought to be around 3,000 years old. It’s thought several families lived in the settlement at Must Farm near Peterborough, in wooden houses on stilts, above the banks of a river. To tell us more, here’s Barney Sloane from Historic England.
BARNEY SLOANE: Well it was originally discovered in 1969, as long ago as that. There was a hint from some chance discoveries, I think during a drain excavation or something, although we really only got our first decent look at it during quarrying works in 2004. A timber was spotted by an archeologist, and a trial trench in 2006 revealed just a hint of the magnificence of the site. We then tried to preserve the site in situ rather than excavate it, and we monitored it from 2007 through to last year. Thereafter, looking at the monitoring, we thought actually we think there’s a risk here that this magnificent site would be lost for ever. So we made the decision to fund the excavation jointly with Forterra, who are the landowners and the building products makers.
CHRIS MANN: So the best preserved Bronze Age settlement ever discovered in Britain. Describe its magnificence. What is it that’s so exciting for you Barney?
Continue reading “Bronze Age settlement preserved by fire and water”

08:25 Tuesday 20th October 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

CHRIS MANN: Vacant and deteriorating buildings are blighting conservation areas we’ve heard earlier today, the assessment of Historic England who put four Fenland town centre areas on their ‘heritage at risk’ register. They are in Chatteris, Whittlesey, Bowthorpe in Wisbech and March town centre. A conservation area is one that’s recognised as having special architectural or historic interest. John Ette is the Heritage at Risk Principal Advisor for Historic England in the East, and earlier he said this to me.
JOHN ETTE: We’ve been working very closely with the council and their conservation officer staff, and it’s very much sites which have got a declining trend in terms of their overall condition. It can be the loss of architectural details as well as the other features that we’ve discussed this morning. And problems with the public realm or vacancy or quite frankly neglected and empty buildings which can be a problem attracting heritage crime in particular too. And those are quite a challenge, and a challenge across the region, not just in Fenland.
CHRIS MANN: Well Johnny D. has been in March town centre for us this morning.
JOHNNY D: So sir, today we understand that the Historic England have actually put March, where we are right now, on the heritage at risk register. Does that surprise you at all?
PUBLIC ONE: It does a little, but it does seem to be a little run down in places, and probably could do with some TLC I guess. But I don’t know where the finance will come from.
JOHNNY D.: Well if we look round us here, a lot of the shops seem well kept. They’ve got flats above the shops, all painted nicely and not too bad. I see a building there covered in scaffolding which I highlighted earlier. And up the road there’s a shop, I think you mentioned, propped up a little bit with some damage it’s had structurally.
PUBLIC ONE: Yes. I think that needs to be looked at, that particular building, because I wouldn’t like to be living above it. But I think there’s cause for optimism perhaps. The people I speak to from work love the area they live in. So I think they’d like to see something done, and for it to be taken out of the ‘at risk’ register.
PUBLIC TWO: I think it’s a good idea. Plenty of buildings in town are old, and if they’re falling down, why not keep March nice? Do you know what I mean? It’s a lovely place. I’ve been here four years. Come up from London. I’d never ever move back. And it’s got a bit of history hasn’t it? There’s loads of old buildings around to have a look at. They just done one up round the corner here, trying to keep it in context. It took them ages to get an arch. So yes, I think it’s good.
CHRIS MANN: Johnny D. talking to people in March. let’s bring in councillor David Oliver. Morning David.
DAVID OLIVER: Good morning.
CHRIS MANN: Portfolio holder for Community Safety and Heritage …
DAVID OLIVER: Yes.
CHRIS MANN: … at Fenland District Council. So your reaction? Four conservation areas put at risk by Historic England, is that deserved?
Continue reading “Fen town heritage at risk”