Organisation: Historic England
Principal investigator: David Thickett
Project overview
The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England (HBMCE), comprising of English Heritage and Historic England, aims to enhance its research infrastructure to address the impacts of climate change on heritage preservation and sustainability. Climate change poses significant challenges for the preservation of collections and historic sites, as changing environmental conditions accelerate material deterioration. To understand and address these challenges, HBMCE aims to improve its infrastructure to investigate, monitor, model and mitigate the degradation of historic materials.
Project purpose
This project aims to establish an integrated national network of mobile and fixed laboratories to enhance HBMCE’s capacity for climate change mitigation within the heritage sector. This project will upgrade the national laboratories at Fort Cumberland and Ranger’s House with advanced fixed equipment and introduce a mobile laboratory.
The project will provide access to state-of-the-art equipment, enabling in-depth analysis of material degradation, building performance and environmental conditions. HBMCE aims to advance conservation treatments, improve sustainability measures and provide external access to research outcomes, supporting informed decision-making and resource allocation across the heritage community.
Project impacts
The HBMCE will establish a comprehensive ecosystem to investigate, monitor and mitigate the degradation of historic materials while improving energy efficiency across England’s heritage sites. The HBMCE represents a transformative advancement in heritage science, offering unprecedented capabilities for research and analysis.
It will enable real-time environmental monitoring, comprehensive on-site investigations and multiscale analysis of materials across hundreds of sites. By fostering collaborative partnerships and ensuring accessible research outputs, including online resources, the project will address current infrastructure gaps and lead advancements in heritage conservation practices nationally.
