Herefordshire Historic Environment Record Database
Before using this search facility, please read our Database Conditions of Use. Contractors must note that the online databases are not suitable for commercial purposes. In these cases, a formal enquiry must be requested using the HER Data Request proforma and the HER Licence proforma on the Information for Contractors page.
To search the HER
Use the text boxes and drop-down menus in the search form to select sites matching specific criteria, such as Roman villas or Medieval sites in Hereford. You can search in two ways:
Search by HER Number
Use this option to search for a specific monument for which you already know the HER number. Type the number into the box and click on the "Start search" button.
Advanced Search
This allows you to search for all monuments in the database that meet your chosen criteria. There are a number of options you can choose from:
Site Name: type in a keyword from the site name.
Parish: select one or more parishes from the drop-down menu. To choose more than one, hold down the Ctrl key while clicking on your mouse.
Grid reference: see the instructions on the Search page.
Period: select periods from the drop-down menus to define a date range to be searched. Tick Unknown date and/or Undated to include those records in your search. Choose Narrow to include only sites whose dates are wholly within your chosen period, or Broad to include sites whose dates may extend beyond the chosen period.
Site Type: choose one or more site types from the drop-down menu, or type the site type you are interested in into the box. Please note that the search results will return all records that exactly match your chosen site type and all records that are sub-categories of that site type. For example, searching on "barrow" will return records indexed as "barrow", "long barrow", "round barrow", and so on. Some search results may include related sub-categories with different names, for example searching on "castle" will also return records indexed as "motte and bailey", "keep" and "ringwork". These sub-categories are based on a nationally-agreed system of definitions produced by English Heritage. Note that if you only want to search on a sub-category, you must choose that specific term from the drop-down list, for example if you are only interested in long barrows, you need to choose "long barrow", not "barrow".
When you have defined your search criteria, click on the "Start search" button to run the search.
Sources
In addition to searching the database of Historic Environment records it is possible to make an independent search of Sources. These include both bibliographic references in conventional journals and books, and unpublished "grey literature" reports, such as excavation and survey reports housed in the HER offices in Hereford. Some unpublished reports are available to download from this web site. All HER sites are linked to a source, but not all sources are linked to HER sites yet.
Hints
Once you have run your search, you can click on underlined green text to see more details.
Many combinations of search terms will not exist (e.g. there are no Roman railway stations), so it is usually advisable to start with a broad search, then refine it further.
Use the Browse Monuments links. These take you through a series of linked pages listing the sites by location, period or type, so you can move through successive pages listing (for instance):
