Central Bedfordshire & Luton HER

The Historic Environment Record for Bedfordshire is a key information source for every aspect of the historic environment within the county, now the Unitary Authority areas of Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire and Luton Borough. Originally compiled by the County Council between 1971 and 2009 it contains information on all known archaeological sites, historic buildings and historic landscape features within the county. It includes more than 18,000 records of all periods from the earliest human activity (125,000 years ago) to World War II, including stray finds and industrial remains. All Scheduled Monuments and Listed Buildings are recorded together with ancient woodlands, historic parks and gardens and field systems. Buried remains and many demolished buildings are also included. All are digitally mapped using MapInfo GIS. The information available digitally is only a brief snapshot of what is contained in the paper Record. This archive of record cards with fully referenced written information derived from a wide range of bibliographic, documentary and other sources is accompanied by a variety of other material, including fieldwork reports, journal extracts, newspaper cuttings, plans and over 45,000 photographs. Also available is a large collection of aerial photographs, including over 2,200 oblique views and vertical coverage of the whole county dating from the later 1940's to 2002. The physical Record has a wide range of uses and is available to everyone, although a prior appointment is required to visit during standard office hours (Monday to Friday). Enquiries of a commercial nature are likely to incur a charge.