HART, the National Trust's Heritage and Archaeology Rangers Team, is an exciting volunteer initiative set up to improve the Trust’s understanding of the archaeological sites under our care. It is a scheme involving teams of dedicated volunteers undertaking fieldwork and collecting information about the current condition of these important sites and buildings.

HART groups are part of the Property Team for the place where they operate. The establishment of new groups and the recruitment of members to new groups, or established groups where necessary, is undertaken by the relevant Property.

What do HART Volunteers do?

• Visit and explore archaeological sites cared for by the National Trust, ranging from earthworks to buildings
• Go off the well-beaten track to explore and monitor some of the less well known places
• Collect information which will help to determine the condition of monuments
• Act as champions for the archaeology
• Take an active role in “conservation”. The information collected will help to inform the management of our archaeological sites

You will also:

• learn more about some of the hidden archaeology of the National Trust
• Develop new skills including map reading, identifying archaeological sites and assessing condition

How is the HART data used?

The information collected by the HART volunteers provides the National Trust with:

• Information that identifies archaeological sites at risk, so we can then target our resources
• Information that can help us to tell new stories about the site
• A management tool that can be used to help us plan future conservation work

How do I become a HART Volunteer?

HART groups are recruited locally with opportunities advertised through the National Trust volunteering pages.

If you are interested in joining an existing group you will need to contact the local Property Team; a list of existing HART groups is available. Please note if the group is at capacity you may need to wait until a space becomes available.

If there is no existing HART group at your local Property you can complete an ‘expression of interest’ form via the myvolunteering - National Trust page, although please be aware that some Properties will not be looking to establish HART groups for some time.

Training and Registration with Heritage Records Online

If you join as a HART volunteer, either as a new member of an existing group or part of a new group, it is important that you undertake the appropriate training to ensure that you understand the role and the tasks that you will be asked to undertake. Training will provide further guidance upon how to undertake the archaeological monitoring, land-ownership (much of our land is tenanted) and health and safety.

Once you have been formally recruited to the HART group and the training has been undertaken, you can Register here to unlock additional resources within Heritage Records Online. 

To help us process your request, please enter the name of the National Trust Property or HART Lead in the Comments box - failure to provide this information may result in your application being rejected. 

Volunteering for the National Trust

For general information and the answers to some of your questions about volunteering with the National Trust please visit the volunteering pages on the main National Trust website.