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Shropshire Sites and Monuments Record
Welcome to the Shropshire Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) homepage. This page gives a basic explanation of what the SMR is and what it is used for.
The SMR
This aerial photograph shows Castle Ring and the cross-ridge dykes that dominate the summit of Stitt Hill, an outlying plateau of the Longmynd. These earthworks were probably used to divide up pastureland and control movements of livestock. Throughout it...
The Shropshire Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) is a continuously expanding information base covering all aspects of the historic environment, including not only archaeological sites and features, but also historic buildings, structures and landscapes. Accordingly, it will in due course be formally renamed as the Historic Environment Record (HER).
The SMR is one of a suite of environmental records compiled and maintained by Shropshire County Council's Sustainability Group. It covers the whole of the county of Shropshire, including Telford and Wrekin.
The components of the SMR
The Record consists of a relational database system linking records of Monuments (sites, features, buildings, structures, findspots and landscapes) with records of Events (Excavations, Watching Briefs, Measured Surveys, Photographic Surveys, Site Visits etc), Designations ( Scheduled Monuments, Listed Buildings etc) and records of Finds ( an underdeveloped element of the SMR at present). The database is linked to the County Council’s GIS (Geographic Information System), and serves as an index to extensive supporting collections of paper maps, ground and aerial photographs, survey reports and plans, excavation reports and unpublished written records, which are held in the SMR along with a range of books and periodicals.
Brief History of the SMR
Compilation of the Shropshire SMR began in the Planning Department of Shropshire County Council in May 1976 and it has continued to operate in a planning context ever since.
The SMR began as a card index system supported by a set of 1:10560 scale record maps. Soon, its coverage was extended from archaeological sites to include historic buildings.
A very basic form of computerisation was begun in 1984, and then during the early to mid 1990s the computer records came to the fore. In 2001 the SMR database was migrated to a proper relational database. In the meantime, some initial work was done to make use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Although the SMR GIS datasets still require refinement, they are now directly linked to the SMR relational database, allowing these two key pieces of software to work seamlessly together.
What are the functions of the SMR?
The SMR is used:
• to inform the development of Planning Policies and Strategies.
• to assess the archaeological implications of proposed developments
• to advise on the managment of the historic environment
• to provide a resource for members of the public, students, academics and consultants
• To provide a repository for unpublished archaeological research.
How can I access the SMR?
See the web page entitled " How to Access the SMR"