6047 Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey for South-West England. North Coast of Devon (excluding Exmoor) and North Coast of Cornwall: Phase One Desk-Based Assessment

Abstract

The national programme of Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Surveys (RCZAS), funded by Historic England, is designed to enhance and update coastal Historic Environment Records (HERs) through a two-phased approach. Phase 1 (Desk-based Assessment) assesses the data available on the character of the historic environment within the project area, and potential threats to heritage assets, in order to design a strategy for Phase 2 (Field Survey) which prioritises areas where heritage assets may be most at risk.
This report describes the results of the Phase 1 component of the RCZAS for the North Coasts of Cornwall and Devon (excluding Exmoor) carried out in 2017 and 2018 by COARS, Southampton University. The aims of the project were to:
• enhance the Cornwall and Devon HERs and the National Record of the Historic Environment;
• inform future coastal and shoreline management;
• provide an overview of coastal change from the Palaeolithic onwards;
• assess the degree and nature of threat to coastal historic assets;
• provide a broad assessment of the likely archaeological potential and vulnerability of the resource;
• identify future research priorities; and
• enhance public understanding and enjoyment of the coastal heritage.
The study area extended from Combe Martin in Devon to Land’s End in Cornwall. It included an assessment of surviving remains along the open coast and its tidal estuaries, extending up to 1km inland from Mean High Water (MHW), with 2km inland along the Taw-Torridge, Camel and Hayle estuaries. Offshore the boundary extended up to 25 km from MHW, utilising available bathymetry data from the Marine and Coastguard Agency Civil Hydrography Programme (MCA CHP). Overall, the project added, updated or amended 7757 records, with 1610 new sites created for Cornwall and 1249 for Devon. An extensive review of the wreck record within the intertidal and offshore demonstrated the existence of notable discrepancies between the different datasets, reinforcing the need to utilise multiple sources when analysing the offshore record. An extensive review of the Quaternary deposits along the coastline has demonstrated a number of areas where future research should take place, notably through resolving questions relating to Quaternary glaciation, the age of Pleistocene raised beaches, and the distribution and age of submerged forests and blown sand deposits.
Threats to the coastal historic environment resource can be characterised in two ways: ‘natural’ threats such as coastal change and rising sea-levels and ‘anthropogenic’ threats including coastal defence schemes, infrastructure works and visitor pressure. An assessment of the threats posed from coastal erosion demonstrated that the most common known sites at risk, under current SMP coastal management proposals, are cliff castles, barrows, cliff-top quarries, mines, footpaths, World War II features, coastal-edge graves / cremations, limekilns, submerged forests and intertidal wreck sites. In some stretches of the coastline settlements, which include a number of listed buidlings, are also potentially at risk under current SMP proposals. A total of 316 sites have been identified at risk from coastal erosion under the current SMP proposals, of which 65 are protected sites listed within the National Heritage List for England (NHLE). The north Devon coastline contains a stretch of ‘complex cliffs between Clovelly and Peppercombe that have inherent uncertainties with predicting the timing and extent of erosion, with the settlement of Buck’s Mills potential at greatest risk from coastal erosion as current SMP proposals are unclear over whether coastal defences will be maintained for this historic settlement. Models of future flooding (both coastal and riverine) suggest potentially 789 sites are at risk within the study area, including 113 sites at high flood risk, under the current flood prevention strategy.
Research priorities and themes identified by the desk-based assessment are presented in the context of the regional themes and research aims set out in the South West Archaeological Research Framework (SWARF). Specific sites / themes that would benefit from further research or work include:
• Investigation of, and dating, of Pleistocene deposits
• Submerged forests and palaeolandscapes
• Analysis of prehistoric artefact scatters
• Intertidal wreck sites
• Research and surveying of the cliff castle scheduled monuments
• Assessment and recording of buildings associated with safety at sea: lifeboat stations and coastguard lookouts and cottages
• Condition assessment of World War II defences at risk
• Coastal industry, quarrying and quays
• Coastal settlement characterisations
• Shipwreck burials and coastal cemeteries

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Identifiers

ORCID for Michael Grant: orcid.org/0000-0002-4766-6913

ORCID for Fraser Sturt: orcid.org/0000-0002-3010-990X

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