England's Marine Datasets for the Historic Environment

An authoritative geospatial dataset about England's intertidal and offshore marine historic environment. Based on decades of research to record heritage assets in English waters, this sample is curated from the unique national dataset which comprises more than 60k detailed written records for shipwrecks, buildings and structures, aircraft crash sites, samples and scientific dating. Designed for AI developers, planning consultants, offshore development specialists, education providers and research teams seeking information with strong provenance, metadata and clear rights information.

66k detailed records about England's intertidal and offshore marine historic environment, including:

• shipwrecks
• buildings and structures
• aircraft crash sites
• samples
• scientific dating

The dataset is curated from Historic England's Marine Historic Environment Record (HER) for England, based on decades of research to record heritage assets in English waters. It is primarily text, with some images.

We have included a selection of record types to illustrate breadth and depth, presented in tabular form. The original data is captured using semantic-rich graph data resource models.

• The total collection is 3.4 GB in size

Examples

First Example:

• Asset title (type): Detailed record for Historic Aircraft wreck
• Summary description/abstract: 1940 wreck of a German Messerschmitt Me110 which ditched in Weymouth Bay following gun action. It was part of Stab III/ZG26.
• Example text:
  • A German Messerschmitt Me110 that was part of Stab III/ZG26. It was escorting bombers from Squadron II/KG51 when it was attacked by fighters and ditched in Weymouth Bay at 4.15 p.m.
  • (reference 1) The Blitz, Then and Now, Sept 1940 - May 1941
  • The Messerschmitt Bf 110 entered the Second World War as a twin-seater heavy fighter and / or fighter-bomber. It had been designed as a fighter-destroyer (Zerstörer) intended to combat heavy bomber formations. In the early campaigns over Poland, Norway and France, the aircraft achieved some success. During the Battle of Britain, however, it was described as easily identifiable from long distances, with insufficient acceleration and speed to avoid combat, sluggish in evasive manoeuvres, and possessing a wide turning circle.
  • (reference 2) The Messerschmitt Bf110 Project: Discovery is just the beginning, Project Report
  • Because the aircraft was largely constructed of aluminium, much of the original airframe has corroded away. What remains is mainly the structural framework, which continues to be affected by tidal sediment movement. Despite this deterioration, key components are still visible, including the main wing spar, fuel tank support structures, and the engine nacelles.
  • (reference 2) The Messerschmitt Bf110 Project: Discovery is just the beginning, Project Report
• Keywords/tags: German aircraft, aircraft crash site, Second World War, 20th Century
• Subjects/themes: Summary description; full description including: linked references, aircraft ownership details, construction phases, use phases, primary and secondary manner of loss, date of loss, bibliographic references, details of current survival and application of survey techniques, such as photographic coverage and 3D modelling
• Named entities 
  
  • Places: Weymouth Bay, Dorset
  • Objects:  Daimler-Benz 600 series engine (inverted V12 engine, starboard engine visible), Main wing span (structural component of the aircraft), Fuel tank support structures (remnants of the aircraft’s internal framework), Engine nacelles (housing for the aircraft engines), Fishing net and monofilament line.
  • Relevant species: sponges, hydroids, and bryozoans
• Taxonomy or controlled vocabulary: yes 
• Geographic location: Weymouth Bay, Dorset; geospatial coordinates (longitude and latitude)
• Time period/historical era: Second World War, 1940
• Asset creation date: original record created 4 August 1940, most recently revised 14 February 2026
• Credit/attribution: no
• Curatorial validation: yes 
• Known gaps or limitations: not applicable at exemplar record level

Second Example:

• Asset title (type): Heritage Story 
• Summary description/abstract: The Loss of HMS Formidable: Survivor Stories (1 January 1915)
• Example text:
  • HMS Topaze and HMS Diamond, two light cruisers from the fleet, picked up some survivors from the water, and a Brixham trawler called the Provident rescued others from a drifting pinnace. Out of a crew of about 780 officers and men, around 200–230 survived, while roughly 500–550 were lost.
  • (reference 1) https://www.royal-naval-association.co.uk/swinging-the-lamp-january-1st-7th >, accessed 16 Dec 2025
  • One survivor account from officers’ steward Alfred Hart, published in The Luton News soon after the tragedy, described the evacuation and ordeal in lifeboats:
  • “I rushed on deck at once and heard the order given for the boats to be got out. This was no easy task for the vessel had listed considerably and a heavy sea was running. There was absolute order among the crew and not the slightest sign of panic. The boats were got away and the occupants told to keep away from the ship for a time. The order was then given ‘every man for himself’ and the crew were told to get pieces of wood or anything they could cling to when the vessel sank. … All the boats had left the ship when the crew of one of them cried out ‘Room for one more’. Two of us tossed for it and the other chap won, but he said ‘You’ve got parents. I haven’t. Go on. Jump for it’.” 
  • (reference 2) < https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/world-war-i-articles/2022/december/every-man-for-himself-the-loss-of-hms-formidable-1-january-1915/ >, accessed 16 Dec 2025
• Keywords/tags: First World War, HMS Formidable, German U-Boat, HMS Topaze, HMS Diamond, Provident
• Subjects/themes: full description including details of the night attack, evacuation, rescue and loss, linked references, image, date of loss, bibliographic citations
• Named entities: Places: English Channel, Lyme Regis, Swansea 
• Taxonomy or controlled vocabulary: yes 
• Geographic location: geospatial coordinates (longitude and latitude)
• Time period/historical era: First World War, 1915
• Asset creation date: original record created 16 December 2025
• Credit/attribution: no
• Curatorial validation: yes 
• Known gaps or limitations: not applicable at exemplar record level

Third Example:

• Asset title (type): Detailed marine discovery activity 
• Summary description/abstract: Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm
• Example text:
  
  • Wessex Archaeology was commissioned to carry out an assessment of finds made by Ramora UK during their search of inshore/beach areas for UXO targets as part of the proposed Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm Extension. The finds assessment consists of a review of information and images from the 47 targets found by Ramora UK and assessment of these finds for archaeological potential. Information from OASIS Online Form.
  • (reference 1) Wessex Archaeology [assessment and evaluation reports]
• Keywords/tags: Underwater Survey, Wind Farm Assessment, archaeological finds
• Subjects/themes: summary description, full description, bibliographic references, construction phase start and end dates, monument type, cultural period, use phase, designation or protection type
• Named entities:  People / Organisations: Wessex Archaeology, Ramora UK; Places: Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm, Kent.
• Taxonomy or controlled vocabulary: Yes
• Geographic location: geospatial coordinates (longitude and latitude)
• Time period/historical era: Twentieth century, 2015
• Asset creation date: original record created 1 January 2015, most recently revised 31 December 2015
• Credit/attribution: no
• Curatorial validation: yes 
• Known gaps or limitations: not applicable at exemplar record level

Fourth Example:

• Asset title (type): Detailed monument description
• Summary description/abstract: St Michaels Mount Castle 
• Example text:
  
  • Fortifications on St Michael's Mount constructed in response to a number of sieges which have taken place, the earliest dating to 1195 when the Mount was captured by Henry de la Pomeroy. The castle has always been part of the same building as the priory church, and all were fortified together with the church tower battlemented. The towers at each end of the castle are typically 12th century and seem to date to the earliest phase. The Mount was also captured in 1473 and in 1497. After the Reformation there was a maintainance of a garrison of five soldiers for the protection of the coastline. The fortifications were improved in 1642 by Sir Francis Basset, and the garrison increased in size. The entrance is within the thickest walls and has a portcullis. There are also the remains of a gatehouse or outer gatehouse. The military garrison room is present under the Chevy Chase room and also present are 19th century gun batteries.
  • For History see - St Michael's Mount, by John St Aubyn.
  • Other useful sources - the National Trust guide pamphlets; report by Colonel Drewitt; Borlase drawings and other old pictures displayed at the Mount; History of St Michael's Mount, by Canon Thomas Taylor (1932); a history of St Michael's Mount by Canon J.R. Fletcher, edited and completed by Dom John Stephan (1952); A Guide to St Michael's Mount with a summary of its history from legendary times, by Miss Joan Wake, O.B.E. (1934).
  • St Michael's Mount is unique, there is no other building in England which has such a remarkable situation. The medieval core is still very prominent and largely intact in spite of the C19 accretions. Listed Grade I
• Keywords/tags: Medieval Castle, Listed Building, Post Medieval Fortification, House, Cornwall, St Michael’s Mount Castle, Medieval fortification, Historic Cornwall landmark, 19th century
• Broad themes: Historic buildings and monuments, Military architecture, cultural heritage, Archaeology, Architectural history, Coastal defence 
• Specific themes: Medieval castles, Post-medieval fortifications, Siege history (12th–15th centuries), Garrison and military use, Granite construction techniques, Integration of religious and defensive structures (priory church and castle), Regional history of Cornwall
• Named entities:
  
  • People:Henry de la Pomeroy (captured the Mount in 1195), Earl of Oxford (captured the Mount in 1473), Perkin Warbeck (captured the Mount in 1497), Sir Francis Basset (improved fortifications in 1642), Bernard of Le Bec (original builder, c. 1135), Piers St Aubyn (remodelled and extended the castle in the 1870s
  • Places: St Michael’s Mount Castle, Cornwall, Church of Saint Michael
  • Objects: Portcullis, St Aubyn Arms (heraldic shield), Plaster frieze (Chevy Chase)
  • Organisations: Royal Commission on The Historical Monuments of England, National Trust, Institute of Cornish Studies
• Taxonomy or controlled vocabulary: yes
• Geographic location: geospatial coordinates (longitude, latitude)
• Time period/historical era:
• Asset creation date: original record created 1993 and last revised in 2008
• Credit/attribution: no
• Curatorial validation: yes 
• Known gaps or limitations: not applicable at exemplar record level

Fifth Example:

• Asset title (type): Maritime vessel (records losses based upon data from documentary sources)
• Description/abstract: Record of a British iron steam trawler Golden Sunrise, built in 1900 and lost on 16 August 1908 after a collision in fog approximately 10 miles south of Flamborough Head. It includes detailed historical background on the vessel’s construction, ownership, service history, and loss, along with documentary sources, loss circumstances, and an approximate loss location.
• Keywords/tags: Steam trawler, British fishing vessel, Early 20th century, documented loss, Off Flamborough Head
• Broad themes: Maritime history, Vessel biography, Historic environment, cultural heritage.
• Specific themes: Vessel construction and registration, location & locality, voyage, crew
• Named entities: 
  • Vessels: Golden Sunrise (British steam trawler), St Isidora (Spanish vessel involved in the collision); 
  • People: Charles Law (skipper of Golden Sunrise), Jack Mortlake (coal trimmer; casualty), George Gresswell (engine driver; author of poem on the loss); 
  • Places: Flamborough Head, East Riding of Yorkshire (loss location reference), Kingston upon Hull (port of registration, departure and destination), Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire (place of construction), Blyth (where survivors landed)
• Taxonomy or controlled vocabulary: Yes 
• Geographic location: Flamborough Head, England; geospatial coordinates
• Time period/historical era: Record is created 26/02/2025, the original asset dates from early 20th century, built 1900, lost 1908
• Credit/attribution: no
• Curatorial validation: yes 
• Known gaps or limitations: not applicable at exemplar record level

Sixth Example:

• Asset title (type): Coastal Peat Site
• Description/abstract:
  • A small environmental sampling pit was excavated adjacent to the central stone of a possible stone row at Par Beach, Scilly Isles Subsite (ID: 55). A sample was taken from the top 1cm of the peat deposit to assess palaeoenvironmental conditions. 
• Keywords/tags: Coastal peat, Environmental sampling, Test pit, Stone row, Radiocarbon dating (GU-5062), Intertidal zone, Early Anglo-Saxon, Isles of Scilly
• Subjects/themes: Environmental archaeology, Palaeoenvironmental assessment
• Named entities: Par Beach, Scilly Isles, St Martins Isles of Scilly
• Taxonomy or controlled vocabulary: yes
• Geographic location: Isles of Scilly, geospatial coordinates
• Time period/historical era: Site Visit: 1990, Deposit Period: Early Anglo-Saxon
• Associated Monuments: Prehistoric, Roman
• Credit/attribution: no 
• Curatorial validation: yes  
• Known gaps or limitations: not applicable at exemplar record level

 

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About Historic England

From the extraordinary, to the everyday, our historic places and spaces matter – to you, to us, to the nation.

From community centres to cathedrals, homes to high streets, markets to mills – they are the places we all choose to hold onto, the legacy we want to pass on and the stories we continue to tell.

That’s why at Historic England we work together with people and organisations across England, to discover, protect and bring new life to our shared historic environment. Providing advice, knowledge, support and services, so the history that surrounds us all, lives on and is loved for longer.