Assessing and mapping significant heritage assets in a medieval university city of Oxford
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 05/08/2015

David Radford, Oxford City Council

The paper presents the results of a pilot project in the National Importance Programme looking at the problems of assessment and definition of potentially nationally important assets in an urban context where there is considerable development pressure driven by both economic growth and international competition within the higher education sector. Notably in Oxford’s case the restrictions posed by a concern for the settings of designated buildings combined with growing pressure for new college and university facilities has created a strong trend towards basement construction within the constrained historic core. 

The project was undertaken by Oxford Archaeology in partnership with the Oxford City Council planning archaeologist and looked at a number of case studies from Oxford.  The process involved both looking back at recently excavated sites to review the validity of previous assessments in the light of excavated evidence (for example the Radcliffe Infirmary Burial Ground and the linear barrow cemetery at the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter) and also the assessments of remaining assets, which vary in terms of the quality of available deposit model data and the precision of site/asset definition. The issues of cumulative impact and the assessment of piecemeal development within an extensive ‘city’ asset will be considered and linked to recent and forthcoming development sites.