4th January 2013, 05:13 PM
BAJR Wrote:The point of the original post is if it should be blanket required --- the answer i feel is no... it should be dependant on the site and the material curated by the HER - the quality of which is constantly getting better. .
Surely it to some essentially depends on the brief. If it says you must visit, then visit you must. If it says 'consult', then that's a bit more vague. I get a bit hacked off seeing reports where the brief says consult the local record office and its fairly clear that all they have done is got some old maps off 'Oldmaps.com' -which is cheaper, but basically a way of circumventing the brief and doesn't take into account other sources such as Tithe maps etc etc. I would always assume a day or so to visit archives and HER is likely, but for something small I would imagine there would be some sensible flexibility. The worst cases of this kind of minimal approach always seem to be the generally very poor contractors and those coming into an area from further away, who seem to think that parroting the HER, and getting some maps from OldMaps.com is sufficient, basically because that is how they have won the job - by not costing in actual visits.