Assistant Borough Archaeologist (Sites and Monuments) - Planning and Transportation
Development House
PO Box 42
Lombard Street
West Bromwich
West Midlands
B70 8RU

Tel: 0121 569 4216
Fax: 0121 569 4265
Email: historic_environmentteam@sandwell.gov.uk
Opening Hours: Monday - Thursday 8.30am - 5.30pm. Friday 8.30am - 5.00pm

What is the Sites and Monuments Record?

The SMR holds information of the archaeology in the borough:

• Known archaeological sites
• Spot finds
• Excavations and archaeological events
• Historical sources

The SMR also contains records for all statutorily designated sites:

• Listed Buildings
• Scheduled Monuments
• Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in Sandwell.

Other related information that it contains:

• Conservation Areas
• Areas of Potential Archaeological Importance

The SMR does not simply contain a computerised version of the Statutory Lists in Sandwell. The information held on the SMR is based on the legal Statutory information, but may sometimes contain additional information obtained from other sources. The information held for Sandwell from the English Heritage Buildings at Risk survey is also held on the SMR.

Each item on the record contains a range of information including location (address and national grid reference), the date and original function of the building/object, any statutory protection that it may enjoy and references to other sources of information. It also includes further informaton such as building materials, archaeological excavations and the location of finds, where relevant. Information may be retrieved from the SMR in a number of ways, searching on criteria including building type, date, address, grid reference, materials, conservation area, or any combination of these across Sandwell.

Who uses it?

The SMR is an important tool for the management and presentation of the historic landscape. It is a primary source of information for a variety of planning functions. These include providing archaeological planning advice to Sandwell Development Control Service, assessing the environmental impact of large-scale civil engineering projects, supporting casework and answering a range of enquiries relating to listed buildings, and providing developers with an early indication of potential archaeological/historic building constraints on development proposals. It is also a useful source of basic information for academic research.

Cost for enquiry information

Enquiries are generally answered free of charge but we do reserve the right to levy a fee to cover the costs in time answering an enquiry if the information is required for commercial purposes.

All queries and requests for information from the Sandwell Sites and Monuments Record should be directed to the above contact details.

What can be provided?

Information regarding your search will be presented as a text report of sites. Also a plan (or more, as is required) is included to understand the context of the site(s). For more in-depth inquiry into the area, a map regression can be done which will show the site(s)' location on historic mapping.

The searches can be sent via normal post, or else for a quick response, emailed back to the enquirier.

Guidelines for users

The Sandwell Sites and Monuments Record (SSMR) is a record of elements of Sandwell's historic and archaeological environment. It consists of information about Sandwell's listed buildings and archaeological sites recorded on both a computer database and a collection of maps. It is managed and funded by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council.

The following guidelines and disclaimer govern the use of the SMR and all users must agree to abide by them.

All enquiries to the SSMR must be accompanied by certain information that enables us to monitor usage of the Record. This information may be given verbally, but certain requests may require users to fill in a SMR Enquriy form which will be sent to you once the inital enquiry has been made. The SSMR reserves the right to withhold the requested information until the necessary form has been completed and returned to the SMR officer dealing with the enquiry.

The SSMR must be given full details of the reason for the enquiry and the end user of the information. We do, however, recognise the fact that some requests may be of a confidential nature and will be treated as such. However, a clear attempt to mislead the SSMR will result in future enquiries being turned down.

1. Users are required not to use or pass on SSMR information in an irresponsible or unethical manner.
2. The SSMR also reserved the right to withold information or refuse access to the SMR at our discretion, particularly if it is felt that access to the information may be damaging to the historic and archaeological environment.
3. The SSMR reserves the right to levy a charge, at our discretion, in respect of expenses incurred in answering an enquiry. Details of our current charging rates and policy can be supplied on request and may be changed without prior notice.
4. It would be appreciated if users were to advise the SMR of any apparent inaccuracies in the Record and of any relevant information not yet on the SSMR, either already known or discovered in the course of current work.
5. The SSMR must be acknowledged as a source of information in any publication or report which is produced following this request.
6. Any SMR maps which are supplied as part of this request are covered by Ordnance Survey copyright. This must be respected by all users. The maps must not be reproduced in any format whatsoever. To do so will result in a breach of Crown Copyright.

Disclaimer

The Sandwell Sites and Monuments Record is happy to provide this information to be used only for the purpose as stated at the time of enquiry. Both archaeological research and the statutory listing of buildings are continual processes and, as such, this information should not be taken as a definitive statement of coverage for this area. This information should therefore not be retained or used for any other purpose or subsequent enquiries without the prior written consent of the Sandwell Sites and Monuments Record. To do so may lead to future enquiries being turned down. The absence of data in certain areas should not be taken as an absence of archaeological features, it may be that they have yet to be discovered. Although in general, the only buildings recorded by the SSMR are those wich are statutorily listed or scheduled, there are a number of locally listed or unlisted buildings which have been included where they relate specifically to a listed building or archaeological site. There may be other locally listed or unlisted buildings of histoic or architectural interest in the area which are not included on the Record.

Whilst the SSMR does include information from statutory documents as part of its record, the only authoritative sources for obtaining full information on the statutory protection enjoyed by a site or building are the Schedule of Ancient Monuments, the statutory Lists of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest and the Local Authority Conservation Area maps.

Every effort is taken to ensure the accurancy of the information on the Record. However, the SMR can only be as accurate as the sources used in its compilation. Therefore, the Sandwell Sites and Monuments Record cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in the data.