2 minute read
A century of fieldwork
The Hunter Archaeological Society was founded in 1912 and named after Joseph Hunter (1783-1861), a Sheffield-born genealogist and antiquarian, later Assistant Keeper of Public Records. Though Sheffieldbased, our remit covers the whole of South Yorkshire as well as north-east Derbyshire. Early on, the Committee tried to buy the site of Rotherham’s Templeborough Roman fort to save it from destruction and did a watching brief of the Sheffield Castle site. Freddie Preston and Leslie Butcher, members of our former Field Research Section, designed and set up the Hunter Index of Sites and Monuments in the late 1940s, which evolved into the present-day Historic Environment Record. Members have been involved over the years in fieldwork and excavation, for example at Swine Sty, Dennis Knoll and on Strines Moor. Members are also in demand to sit on a range of external committees and advisory groups, and we are called on to campaign on The socket stone of a wayside cross known as New Cross, in a remote spot on Bradfield Moor in the archaeological issues of north-eastern part of the National Park, is one of the concern. sites regularly monitored by Hunter members. In a normal year, the Recording a potential circular site on Strines Moor
Society runs a varied programme of winter talks in Sheffield, organises walks and visits to excavations and sites of interest, and publishes papers in its biennial Transactions. Of course, 2020 and 2021 have not been normal years and, in common with many similar societies, the benefits to our members have been limited to lectures via Zoom. A really important and popular initiative that members undertake is regular monitoring of the condition of Scheduled Monuments (SMs), up to now in Sheffield and the eastern National Park. The SMs vary from earthworks, crosses, moats and motte and bailey castles, to deserted medieval villages, an abbey, dovecote, industrial sites and parks and gardens. Completed forms are sent to South Yorkshire Archaeology Service (SYAS) and thence to Historic England, to enable them to respond to any serious concerns. Until lockdown intervened last year, we were gearing up to visit Rotherham sites for the first time. Now we are preparing to do nine sites for the Peak District National Park Authority and 12 sites in the area monitored for SYAS in close liaison with Peak Park and National Trust rangers. Some Hunter members have visited a site for 10 or more years – it’s a great way to get to know your area, help to look after the sites and get some exercise. Anyone with an interest in our cultural heritage can join the Society (current annual subscription £15) are invited to take a look at our website: https://sites. google.com/site/hunterarchaeologicalsociety and click on Membership or contact our Secretary, Dr Ruth Morgan, at: secretary@hunterarchaeologicalsociety. org.uk . The website also has information on excursions and the Transactions, and there are three self-guided trail leaflets.
