Nationally important sites and monuments are
given legal protection by being placed on a ‘schedule’.
English Heritage leads in identifying sites which are then placed
on the schedule by the Secretary of the Department of Culture,
Media and Sport. Scheduling first began in 1882 when the
first Ancient Monuments Act was passed. Current legislation
is the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.
Scheduling is the only legal protection specifically for
archaeological sites and the preservation of these sites is given
priority over other uses. Works proposed to a monument will
always require Scheduled Monument Consent. Destroying or
damaging a protected monument is a criminal offence.
Which sites are monuments?
Only man-made structures, feature and remains
can be scheduled. These are usually archaeological sites,
although some buildings are scheduled but these are usually
protected by listing. Monuments may
not always be visible above ground and despite their name they may
not always be ancient. There are over 200 classes of monument
ranging from prehistoric burial mounds, medieval castles, deserted
medieval villages to WWII defences.
Scheduling is only applied if the site is of
national importance and only then if it is the best means of
protection. There are about 18,300 entries on the schedule,
but nationally there are over 1 million archaeological sites across
England. Visit our see Archaeology page.
A list and further information about Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Bassetlaw.
Related Links:
Last Updated - 20/11/2012