SEAHA field trip to Isle of Portland to conduct in situ heritage science research

The second year SEAHA students were found to be enjoying the lovely weather and splendid views on the Isle of Portland last week (27 March – 2 April 2017). Not just a holiday but a good opportunity to put our skills to use “in situ” on three of the island’s treasures; Portland Museum, Portland Castle, and St George’s Church. Having toured the island, courtesy of Professor Heather Viles, and thusly having been introduced to the island from a cultural, and geomorphological perspective we were tasked with what was dubbed “heritage science triage”, a quick one day analysis of the properties to help the curators and owners better understand the current state of the buildings and collections.

The first property to receive our attention was the Portland Museum where we were keen to see the effect of their newly thatched roof and newly installed lighting, in Portland Castle we carried out environmental monitoring to assess the damp and its various causes, and in St George’s Church we put moisture monitors to good use to determine the effect of recent repairs between the bell tower and main Church body to prevent a large ingress of water. It will certainly be interesting to see how things develop over the coming years, with next year’s SEAHA cohort continuing from where we left off.

Links

• Meet our students 
• Find out about our cohort activities

Image: SEAHA Year 2 Students in Isle of Portland. Photo credit: Heather Viles