Latest news with #SouthWestHeritageTrust
BBC News
29-03-2025
- BBC News
Mendip Hills' historic importance highlighted in new report
A new report says Somerset's Mendip Hills nature reserve is of international importance due to its archaeology and more than half a million years of occupation, settlement and land State of Heritage report, produced by the South West Heritage Trust (SWHT), examines nine key periods from the Palaeolithic to the present day. Caves, particularly at Cheddar Gorge and Wookey Hole, provide some of the best evidence for early human activity in Britain with connections across Europe, according to the report - the first of its kind on the area. Bob Croft, from the SWHT, said: "Archaeology is not only the archive of the human life, but also the natural world." In the latter part of the prehistoric period, important ceremonial sites like the Priddy Circles were made, the report the Bronze Age, the landscape was dominated by round barrows. Recent studies of the early Bronze Age uncovered evidence of extreme violence and cannibalism at Charterhouse Warren Swallet, where some of the earliest evidence of the plague in Britain was also found. In the Late Iron Age, the lead mining industry began and farms, whose remains can still be seen today, were established. Mining continued into the 19th Century, but the area then reverted to farming as the main industry, with occasional military activities. Jim Hardcastle, from the National Landscape Team, said: "The area contains evidence of human activity which is of both regional and national added that the threats to the sites - such as ploughing, visitor erosion, recreational activities and the effects of climate change - remain a "significant concern"."Monitoring and protection should be highlighted as a priority," said Mr Hardcastle."This needs to run alongside making people aware of the incredible heritage value of the Mendip and involving people in its protection."
BBC News
29-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Failed uprising remembered 340 years after Somerset battle
A new exhibition telling the story of a 17th Century uprising aims to explore the tragic aftermath of the revolt and its affect on future generations. The Monmouth Rebellion, which ended at the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685, was a failed attempt to depose the Catholic King of England, James Castle, which is hosting the event, was the scene of the Bloody Assizes where hundreds of mutineers were later condemned to be hung, drawn and quartered."The rebellion has a fundamental place in the story of Somerset, and the events that followed it have never been forgotten," said Sam Astill, chief executive of the South West Heritage Trust. Tom Mayberry, co-curator of the exhibition, said it was "the cruelty which followed the rebellion which stayed so powerfully in people's minds" and was passed down through the generations."It's a warning to us of how societies can fracture and we see some of those consequences around us in the modern world, so I think the lessons of Sedgemoor have much relevance to our lives today."We are still the inheritors of the echoes of the sense of outrage and grievance, which people felt - that their protest had been so violently answered," he said. At the centre of the exhibition are two paintings on loan from the Tate and Manchester Art Gallery. Edgar Bundy's The Morning of Sedgemoor (1905) shows frightened rebels sheltering in a barn after the battle, and John Pettie's The Duke of Monmouth's Interview with James II (c1882) shows the defeated leader vainly pleading for his life."The king was completely unmoved by his pleas for mercy and shortly thereafter he was beheaded at the Tower of London," said Mr Mayberry."It's important to remember those events, firstly from a purely historical point of view, because what happened then to West Country people was so terrible, but also it shows how quickly disagreements about religion and politics can descend into an utter fracture in society and how violently that fracture may find expression."We should also be aware of glamorous plausible leaders, who may be leading us to disaster," he added. Other items on display include an ostrich plume reputedly worn by the Duke of Monmouth on the battlefield, and 200 lead musket balls found recently at the site."I hope very much that it will draw anyone who has any sense that the Monmouth Rebellion might be something worth discovering," said Mr Mayberry. The exhibition, called After Sedgemoor: Remembering the Monmouth Rebellion, takes place from 29 March to 6 July at the Museum of Somerset. "There couldn't be a better setting for the exhibition than Taunton Castle, which still echoes with the events of 340 years ago," said Mr Astill.
The Independent
11-02-2025
- General
- The Independent
Record increase for treasure finds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
A record number of treasure finds have been reported in England Wales and Northern Ireland, a report has found. There were 1,377 cases of treasure in 2022, an increase of 305 on the previous year, and 74 more than 2019, the year that had previously seen the most treasure reported. Norfolk continues to hold the title of the most treasure finds with 95 discoveries, including more than 170 objects being reported, according to the Treasure Act 1996 Annual Report 2022. Under law suspected treasure must be declared, with coroners deciding if an artefact found passes certain requirements and then becomes the Crown's property, and museums have the right to acquire it. Treasure is defined as mainly metal objects, and coins, with a 2023 update widening to include objects 'partially of metal, is at least 200 years old, and provided exceptional insight into an aspect of national or regional history, archaeology or culture' under certain criteria. Some of the objects found recently include the Chew Valley Hoard, which is the highest valued treasure found on record, and a silver penny of East Anglian king Guthrum of East Anglia, which was declared treasure in September 2024, and is the first silver coin found to have been minted by a Viking ruler in Britain. The Somerset hoard of 2,584 silver coins was acquired by the South West Heritage Trust, with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Art Fund, the Friends of The Museum of Somerset and the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society. Also found was an early medieval gold and garnet artefacts from Donington on Bain, Lincolnshire, and a gold signet ring from Central Bedfordshire, which features an engraving of a mythical phoenix bird, that was associated with Elizabeth I, and could have been worn by one of her admirers. A Bronze Age hoard from Urchfont, Wiltshire was also reported by metal detectorists, and excavated by British Museum conservators who found a rare anvil inside. The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), published on Tuesday, saw 74,506 archaeological items reported in the UK in 2023, a sharp increase on 2022's figures of 53,490. The report said most of the objects were found by people metal-detecting at 95% and in agricultural regions, where they could have been lost to ploughing and farm activity if not discovered. Michael Lewis, head of portable antiquities scheme (PAS) and treasure at the British Museum, said: '2023 was an incredibly successful year for the portable antiquities scheme and it is great to see such a high number of finders, showing us their discoveries to advance our knowledge of Britain's past. 'Over 70,000 archaeological items were recorded onto the PAS database. 'Although finders are required to report treasure, most of these finds are reported on a voluntary basis, which makes this a truly remarkable contribution.' Lincolnshire and Norfolk led the way with the most reported finds, with 6,674 and 6,315 finds respectively. Somerset also had a record year thanks to a hoard made up of 5,500 Roman coins, pushing their total for the year to 6,849.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Unique Exeter picture collection to be saved
A "unique and irreplaceable" record of photos of 20th Century Exeter is being saved from destruction with a £178,000 National Lottery grant, according to the South West Heritage Trust. The trust said it would use the money to digitise 24,000 images taken by photographer Henry Wykes, which are suffering from vinegar syndrome - a chemical process that destroys negatives. Mr Wykes, who was born in Australia and opened his first studio in Exeter in 1914, documented key moment's in the city's history, including the devastation caused by the Baedeker raids in April and May 1942. He was the UK's oldest working photographer when he retired at the age of 88 in 1962. The Isca Photographic Collection Project will preserve 24,000 of the 50,000 images the collection holds and the work is likely to take 15 months. Volunteers will help catalogue the photographs and make them available online. Scott Pettitt, the head of archives at Devon Heritage Centre, said: "The Isca Collection is one of the most significant visual records of Exeter of the past century. "It offers an extraordinary account of the city and its inhabitants during a period of unprecedented transformation." He said the collection was "a social document of the city and its inhabitants". He said Mr Wykes, who was also a portrait photographer, "captured the changing faces of the city". Mr Pettitt added: "By the 1960s there was more diversity and he captured things like changes in women's fashion." There will be an exhibition at Custom House in Exeter in 2026 and community events will also take place, including an environmental project. Stuart McLeod, from the National Lottery, said the project would lead to more people getting "involved with, protecting and learning about the exciting heritage right on their doorstep". He said heritage had a "huge role to play" in instilling pride in communities and boosting local economies. Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ Detectorists split £4.3m Norman coin hoard Lottery grant funding set to boost heritage sites South West Heritage Trust
