Archaeologists and historians clash over HS2 route plans

Guardian News and Media/LondonTo archaeologists, the HS2 high-speed rail scheme is “one huge trench across the country”, an unprecedented 350-mile bonanza that promises to open up England’s ancient backbone and shoulders for meticulous study in a way never before possible. To many historians, however, it is a colossal folly, an unwarranted assault on the nation’s historic heartlands that will dislocate a wealth of precious links with the past.Even supporters of HS2 concede that the cost to heritage of building the line is likely to be high. Opponents see the resulting gain in travel time, expressed as minutes here and there, set against centuries lost to the bulldozer.If it goes ahead, HS2 would pass through an extraordinary range of historic landscapes, from inner London Victoriana to home counties Tudor and Elizabethan, then on to Midlands medieval and industrial, and northwards to houses and gardens in the grand style. And everywhere there is archaeology, much of it untouched and so far largely unidentified, the shards and stones of pre-Reformation and ancient Britain.Yet, despite widespread awareness of the importance of this rich seam of history, English Heritage, the government’s adviser on the historic environment, has issued a highly critical report on the heritage assessment work being carried out by HS2 Ltd, the company set up by the government to oversee the delivery of the line, before work begins.In its recently published response to the environmental statement on heritage affected by phase one of HS2, prepared by HS2 Ltd as a statutory requirement, English Heritage attacks the quality of historic environment assessment work by the company.It criticises HS2 Ltd for failing to carry out essential fieldwork, without which “it is impossible for us to assess” what remains may be in danger: “We consider there is a realistic likelihood that archaeological remains of national importance will be affected, but have not yet been identified and described.”Singled out for criticism by English Heritage is HS2 Ltd’s lack of detailed work on the historic environment in the Chilterns, an area of outstanding natural beauty and an archaeological hotspot. “Discussion of it is limited to two paragraphs, and the impacts on it limited to three,” says English Heritage.Buckinghamshire county council estimates that some 7,000 designated heritage assets will be affected by the London to Birmingham phase of HS2 alone. This includes ancient field boundaries and tracks, historic buildings, hamlets, villages and major archaeological sites. The actual number at risk could be far higher, since that figure excludes historic buildings, sites and remains which have no statutory protection a large proportion of them.English Heritage has identified a series of listed historic assets of national importance that would be destroyed or badly affected by the first phase of construction.In Camden, north London, where a new terminus for HS2 is proposed for Euston station, English Heritage mentions St James’s Gardens burial ground and park, last resting place of some 50,000 Londoners.