A NEW online heritage portal has opened its virtual door to Buckinghamshire’s history. Cllr Patrick Hogan, cabinet member for culture, explains:

Ever wondered what the connection is between the Coombe Hill monument, Cold War missile and rocket testing at Westcott, West Wycombe Park and the remains of Ludgershall medieval village?

Well, their fascinating histories have been documented, alongside some 35,000 other records, and are now available on Buckinghamshire’s brand new online Heritage Portal.

As well as information about traditional archaeological sites, earthworks and artefacts, the portal also contains details about historic buildings and local landscapes, covering periods from the earliest human settlements to the end of the Cold War and beyond.

Searches can be made with text descriptions or by using the digital map facility. Visitors to the portal can explore in a wide variety of ways, including what’s in a local parish to an overview of archaeology for the whole county.

The portal is the new online version of Buckinghamshire’s Historic Environment Record which has been maintained by the council for nearly 50 years.

There’s an amazing array of local information available on the portal including historic mapping, monument records, photos and thousands of other documents.

A massive amount of work has been done to create this facility, so please take a look and start to explore your local history and archaeology.

There’s a wealth of information to discover and all at your fingertips.

The new portal can be accessed from home or on mobile devices and is completely free to view.

There’s also a blog to keep up to date on recent discoveries and to allow anyone to post comments about individual sites.

There’s also teaching resources on the portal for key stages 2 and 3, perfect for online learning and a handy timeline, which outlines the prehistoric and historic periods in Buckinghamshire.

The portal can be accessed at heritageportal.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/