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Latest Advice and Guidance

This page highlights our most recent advice and guidance on a wide range of heritage-related topics. All of our advice is free to download from relevant sections of the website and the Publications pages.

This page includes the following lists:

Download a booklet listing our current advice and guidance

New advice and guidance

Cleaning war memorials

We've produced a series of videos to help people who look after war memorials. They include good practice information on:

  • tackling different types of soiling
  • reasons for cleaning
  • chemical cleaning
  • cleaning with biocides
  • water washing

List of our new advice and guidance documents published in the last six months.

Explore the role of historic places and local history in preparing a neighbourhood plan

Neighbourhood Planning and the Historic Environment

Published 16 October 2018

Explore the role of historic places and local history in preparing a neighbourhood plan

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Energy Efficiency and Historic Buildings: How to Improve Energy Efficiency

Published 29 June 2018

This guidance is for anyone who wishes to improve energy efficiency in an historic building.

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Wall Paintings

Published 20 March 2018

This guidance describes the types of wall paintings commonly found in historic buildings, how to assess the potential survival of historic painted decoration in your home or building, and what to do if you discover wall paintings.

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Listed Buildings and Curtilage

Published 21 February 2018

This advice note gives hypothetical examples to assist in deciding whether a building has a curtilage.

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Revised and updated advice and guidance

List of other advice and guidance documents we've revised and updated in the last six months.

Guidance describing the Project Osteologist’s role, from project planning to dissemination of results and archiving of remains.

The Role of the Human Osteologist in an Archaeological Fieldwork Project

Published 8 October 2018

Guidance describing the Project Osteologist’s role, from project planning to dissemination of results and archiving of remains.

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This guidance is for anyone working on project planning through to archive deposition and curation of archaeological waterlogged organic artefacts.

Waterlogged Organic Artefacts

Published 28 September 2018

The guidelines are aimed at anyone working with waterlogged textile, leather, worked bone, horn or basketry and provide good practice advice from recovery through to archive deposition and publication.

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Using Airborne Lidar in Archaeological Survey

Published 25 July 2018

The aim of this guidance is to help archaeologists, researchers and those who manage the historic environment to decide whether using lidar data will actually be beneficial in terms of their research aims, and how the data can be used effectively.

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Streets for All

Published 8 May 2018

This guidance, together with the Streets for All regional documents, provides updated practical advice for anyone involved in planning and implementing highways and other public realm works in sensitive historic locations.

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Streets for All: East Midlands

Published 8 May 2018

This document summarises the key messages of Streets for All in the context of the East Midlands.

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Streets for All: East of England

Published 8 May 2018

This document summarises the key messages of Streets for All in the context of the East of England.

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Streets for All: North East

Published 8 May 2018

This document summarises the key messages of Streets for All in the context of North East England.

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Streets for All: North West

Published 8 May 2018

This document summarises the key messages of Streets for All in the context of North West England.

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Streets for All: South East

Published 8 May 2018

This document summarises the key messages of Streets for All in the context of the South East.

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Streets for All: South West

Published 8 May 2018

This document summarises the key messages of Streets for All in the context of the South West.

Learn more

Streets for All: West Midlands

Published 8 May 2018

This document summarises the key messages of Streets for All in the context of the West Midlands.

Learn more

Streets for All: Yorkshire

Published 8 May 2018

This document summarises the key messages of Streets for All in the context of Yorkshire.

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Streets for All: London

Published 8 May 2018

This document summarises the key messages of Streets for All in the context of London.

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Vacant Historic Buildings

Published 15 March 2018

Guidance to help owners and purchasers of vacant buildings to reduce risks by undertaking an ‘active management approach’ that can prevent unnecessary damage, dereliction and loss of historic fabric.

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Heritage Crime Prevention Measures

Published 22 February 2018

Set out in this document are twenty five techniques of crime prevention with guidance on the ways in which they might be used to prevent or deter heritage crime in particular.

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Heritage Crime Impact Statements

Published 22 February 2018

This is a general guide on the use of heritage crime impact statements to assist agencies responsible for the prevention and enforcement of heritage crime.

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Interventions

Published 22 February 2018

Prosecutions and alternative disposals: a general guide to the range of interventions available to those agencies responsible for the enforcement of heritage crime.

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Heritage Crime Risk

Published 22 February 2018

This guide is part of the following suite of guides to help people reduce the threat of crime to England’s historic buildings and sites.

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3D Laser Scanning for Heritage

3D Laser Scanning for Heritage

Published 8 February 2018

3rd Edition. Advice and guidance on the use of laser scanning in archaeology and architecture

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New titles and backlist

Download our Advice and Guidance New Titles and Backlist using the link below:

Advice and Guidance

Published 8 May 2018

Catalogue of the extensive range of expert advice and guidance to help you care for and protect historic places.

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What you told us

In 2017 we commissioned Pye Tait Consulting to research whether Historic England's written advice and guidance provides the right information to the right audiences in the most effective way.

We are very grateful to everyone who took part in this study and shared their views.

The review found that overall our advice and guidance is well received and trusted. However, you told us that it isn't always easy to find the right advice and guidance on our website and we are looking at ways to improve that.

The report also highlighted that the sheer volume of available advice and guidance from a range of different organisations can make it difficult for users to know where to go first (especially people who don't need to access this advice very often). The report recommends greater collaboration to minimise the risk of duplication, strengthen content and improve cross-promotion.

The Audience Insights Report is available to download from our website.

Audience Insights: Review of Historic England’s Online Advice and Guidance

Published 30 November 2017

This report provides insights into how well Historic England’s online advice and guidance conveys the right information to the right audiences in the most accessible and effective way.

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