Source/Archive record SCH4667 - Cheshire County Council Heritage Assets Condition Assessment 2006

A preliminary audit of a selected range of natural and historic environment assets believed to be in the custodianship of Cheshire County Council was undertaken by the Natural and Historic Environment Team. The audit revealed that the County Council owns and / or manages nearly 400 natural and historic heritage assets, including 30 Scheduled Monuments and approximately 270 Listed buildings or structures. As a result of this audit, the authority wished to undertake an assessment of its statutory designated assets, being the Scheduled Monuments and Listed buildings or structures. This report contains the results of a condition assessment undertaken on a sample of 50 of the heritage assets believed to be in the custodianship of Cheshire County Council, with the principle objective of recording the nature and condition of the assets in order to contribute to the County Council’s appreciation of the historical significance of its property and provide information to integrate within the Council’s Property Management Strategy. The methodology used for the current assessment follows that adopted by English Heritage in the ‘Scheduled Monuments at Risk! – a Pilot Study in the East Midlands – Case Study Handbook Ver 1.2’, English Heritage (Fearn, K & Humble, J., 2004). A pro-forma database was provided by the Natural and Historic Environment Team and the database forms Section 10 – Gazetteer of this report. The database comprises information provided by Cheshire County Council’s Historic Environment Record (HER), Scheduled Monument and Listed building descriptions integrated with the results of the current site assessments. The results of the condition assessment will hopefully improve the protection, management and understanding of the heritage assets owned / managed by Cheshire County Council.