2020 – A Year in Review: Pt 2

We continue our review of this most unusual year, looking at the summer months. As mentioned in part 1, our extensive coverage of both Stonehenge and metal detecting issues is mostly omitted from this review. Our search facility can be used for those interested in these specific subjects which received a lot of attention throughout the year.

May

In Oswestry, there was an outcry when Historic England announced it had relaxed its concerns over the proposed development.

And English Heritage showed its bipolarism when it was presented with an award for conservation work at Telford’s Iron Bridge, whilst defying UNESCO in their support of the Stonehenge plans!

We rounded off the month with a short series, looking at a “baker’s dozen” of Cornish quoits.

June

June is often known as ‘silly season’, and sadly this year, despite or maybe because of lockdown, proved to be no exception. Vandalism was reported at Doll Tor and at several other sites during the month. One good thing to come out of the Doll Tor vandalism was the creation of a new site protection group for the Stanton Moor area.

In academic news, The Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society announced the completion of the first phase of their digitisation project, which meant that after 174 years, the complete journals of one of the oldest archaeological societies in the UK are now online, for anyone to access free of charge.

July

The National Trust AGM was cancelled this month, an AGM where support for Trail Hunting on Trust land was due to be discussed again. We raised the point that the Trust could be held legally responsible for any ‘accidents’ where foxes were killed during a hunt.

Sticking with the National Trust, July saw the centenary of their stewardship of the Cerne Abbas Giant, gifted to the nation in 1920.

August

As the pandemic continued, we had to postpone our annual get-together, the Megameet. But we continued to highlight the potential damage to be caused at Stonehenge, and the damage caused by metal detecting rallies, one of which was thankfully cancelled this month.

Come back tomorrow, when we conclude our review of 2020 in the Heritage Journal.

On the fourth day of Christmas…

..my true love gave to me:

Four colley birds

Colley, or calling birds are generally thought to be blackbirds. But as members of the Corvid family, rooks, jackdaws, crows and starlings can all be considered ‘black’ birds. Here are four above Stonehenge where corvids can often be seen roosting in the higher nooks and crannies of the stones.