Historic area assessments for neighbourhood plans and conservation areas.
We have completed NP assessments in Askerswell, Sutton Poyntz, Shillingstone, Pimperne and Hazelbury Bryan and in Somerset with Wedmore Neighbourhood Plan. We recently delivered an assessment for Marshwood.
In Hazelbury Bryan, Malcolm Wilson, clerk to the parish council, said:
We’re delighted with the result, and I just wanted to thank you again for your contribution. I had a really nice morning going round the village with you and seeing things I’d never noticed before.
Historic England commented:
We are impressed by the depth and scope of understanding of the distinctive heritage qualities of the Plan area and the policies and proposals for their protection and enhancement.
AskerSwell NP
We provided a heritage assessment for the Askerswell NP and visited the village again as part of a project with the South Dorset Ridgeway Landscape Partnership (see below.)
South Dorset Ridgeway
We recently finished an extensive project with the Dorset AONB Landscape Partnership on ‘Discovering the Ridgeway’. Funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, this was designed to identify what people value in their local area. It entailed carrying out historic character assessments for settlements on the Ridgeway. Kim Sankey and Dorset County Council senior archaeologist Steve Wallis conducted these in partnership, discovering new information about some of the older buildings in the villages. Below are some photos from the Winterbourne Abbas assessment.
School and Myrtle Cottages. These would have been thatched originally 
View of Winterbourne Abbas looking west. 
A former mill or factory on Manor Farm Lane.
Manor Farm Cottages in Winterbourne Abbas. Traditional cottages, not listed.