AN INTERNET-ACCESSIBLE BUILDING ARCHAEOLOGY RESEARCH DATABASE (BARD)

Abstract

The UK has no comprehensive national, regional or local indexes (whether hard copy or database format) for unpublished building records. This paper introduces a building archaeology research database (BARD), designed as an archive for both published and unpublished building records. All data may be searched, entered and amended via the Internet although, for security and quality control, entry is via password and the amendment functionality assignable. The database has been developed to both encourage people’s involvement in building archaeology and as a research tool. BARD is available through a low subscription, with any accumulated surplus being used towards its ongoing development.

The development of BARD has been funded in partnership by the Domestic Building Research Group (Surrey) and Tree-Ring Services, with the latter now managing the database. The work of the early database pioneers in DBRG is acknowledged: Joan Harding, Peter Gray, Jim Miller and George Howard. DBRG’s vernacular architecture expertise is considerable and the skills of Martin Higgins in particular have made a vital contribution. A very large number of DBRG members have put together their extraordinary treasury of data, either in the original recordings or the later conversion into Tick-Box sheets. Finally, thanks are due to the kindness and generosity of the householders who have allowed their buildings to be recorded and to Nat Alcock for useful comments on a draft of this paper.

Andy Moir is director of Tree-Ring Services and a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Institute for the Environment at Brunel University. He has worked on the tree-ring analysis of trees and timber-framed buildings for over 20 years

Tree-Ring Services, Hungerford, Berkshire RG17 0NE, UK [email protected]

Rod Wild is a Cambridge Mathematician and retired IT manager. He is now Data Secretary for the Domestic Buildings Research Group (Surrey) [email protected]

Richard Haddlesey completed a BSc in Heritage Conservation at Bournemouth University in 2004 and in 2010 completed a PhD from the University of Southampton. He is a part-time lecturer, with particular interests in wood and timber use in the medieval period [email protected]