Chilterns AONB Historic Landscape Characterisation

English Heritage summaries. 2004/2005

EH Project Number:	3724MAIN
Funded Unit:	Buckinghamshire County Council

The Chilterns Conservation Board and English Heritage are funding a mapping project that aims to improve understanding of the historic dimension of the Chiltern landscape. The Chilterns Historic Landscape Characterisation, (CHLC), is a new type of desk-based analysis of the countryside, that combines computer technology and the evidence from old maps to create a new, ‘broad brush’ digital map of historic landscape ‘character’.  This is achieved by analysing landuse and the various historical influences which have created today’s mosaic of fields, woods and other components of the landscape. 

Why study the historic environment ?
The main reason for undertaking the CHLC project is the desire to better understand and manage the historical dimension of the Chiltern landscape. In the past, management of the historic environment has generally focussed upon scheduled archaeological monuments and listed buildings, whilst selective attention has been paid to prominent landscapes such as the picturesquely designed Parks and Gardens.  Many of these nationally recognisable places are protected by legal designation but they only represent a small proportion of our landscape. In contrast, relatively little consideration has been given to the remaining fields, woods and settlement that form the greater extent of our historic environment.

The Method
The CHLC project will comprise a two-stage process.  The first stage will be to produce a comprehensive map for the Chilterns; this involves defining categories for various components that make up the historic ‘character’ of the Chilterns landscape.  Some 40 historic character types have been defined including the varieties of woodland, settlement to the more complex patterns of enclosures and field systems. The project will also seek to understand and characterise the wide variety of roads and trackways that traverse the Chilterns, these range in date from modern roads to the supposedly prehistoric Icknield Way. The interpretation of the historic landscape will be derived from the analysis of earlier maps from the 18th and 19th centuries in comparison to the current landscape. From these sources and other archaeological approaches it is possible to understand how landscape has evolved.

The results of the HLC survey will be recorded onto a Geographical Information System (GIS); this is a flexible, digital mapping system that enables other aspects of the landscape to be registered and updated when necessary.  The maps are dynamic, being easily altered as new information is forthcoming.  The finished product will be an interpretive map of the entire Chilterns AONB landscape. This method, unlike conventional landscape assessment, allows the creation of many different classifications of historic landscape types, each of distinct and recognisable common character, to meet many different uses and applications.  

Already the project is revealing some interesting landscapes, including the discovery of ‘co-axial’ field systems in systems in Chesham, Bucks. From the shape or ‘morphology; of the enclosures and relationship to other monuments these are ancient enclosures whose origins could possibly date to the Bronze Age. 
After the completion of the mapping, a second phase is planned that will examine in greater detail the built environment of the AONB.  Unlike the mapping phase this will involve an on-the-ground survey undertaken by professionally supported volunteers. The aim of this survey is to gain a greater understanding of the extent and diversity of the historic buildings within the AONB beyond the statutory lists.  The results of the survey will be fed into the main CHLC project.

How will CHLC be used?
HLC is a relatively new tool for historians, archaeologists, landscape architects, and planners but it has considerable potential to explain the origins and development of the historic landscape for specialists and others interested in the history of Chilterns.  However, the real long-term value of CHLC will be in the ways it could be used to help conserve the historic landscape of the AONB, including providing a role in influencing future development.  Potentially one of the most important uses of the CHLC project is to engage local communities in raising awareness of their own environment and possibly encourage local research and interpretation of Chilterns landscape. 

The project commenced in August 2004 and will completed in November 2005

As the project progresses further information will be available on the Buckinghamshire County Council website at the following address:

 

www.buckscc.gov.uk/archaeology/hlc_and_mksm/index.htm

 
This page was published 10/09/04