The Sites and Monuments Record (SMR)

The Regional Sites and Monuments Record (SMR) has grown and evolved into the Historic Environment Record (HER) over the last 35 years. As the name indicates, Sites and Monuments Records focused on site-based information and were centred on individual points on maps. With an increased understanding of our environment being the product of generations of human activity, the term Historic Environment is now commonly used. Historic Environment Records not only contain information relating to sites, but also to areas and landscapes.

The change to an HER has expanded the remit and ambition of data collection to make as much information as possible, from as many different places as possible, available in one place. Part of this widened scope has included an emphasis on sharing and exchanging data with other key organisations. This means that if we do not have information relating to a particular historic environment-based research interest, we should be able to advise users of the best place to find it.