The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland will be a complete online record of all the surviving Romanesque sculpture in Britain and Ireland, at more than 5000 sites.
The Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and Ireland (CRSBI) aims to be a digital archive of all British and Irish Romanesque stone sculpture. The project volunteers photograph and record surviving sculpture, making this important part of British and Irish heritage freely available on their website. A dedicated team of skilled volunteer fieldworkers visit the sites where Romanesque sculpture survives, describing, documenting, measuring and taking photographs. The project editors, who are all professionally qualified experts in the field, confirm the reports are ready to be published.
Romanesque sculpture reflects a new set of links with mainland Europe and marks a high point of artistic production in Britain and Ireland, corresponding to the boom in high-quality building that followed the Norman Conquest in 1066. There is a considerable amount of this sculpture remaining in parish churches and cathedrals, castles and museums, houses and halls throughout these isles.
As much of the sculpture is exposed to the elements, there is a continuing risk of wear, damage and theft - for example, the Shobdon Arches. The CRSBI records of the sculpture's condition are an invaluable resource for conservators and the church and heritage bodies responsible for its protection.
In addition to being an authoritative scholarly resource, CRSBI is able to share this significant quantity of previously unrecorded material with everyone worldwide via the website. Also, some new discoveries have come to light in the course of the project. CRSBI values its role to raise awareness of the British Isles' rich twelfth-century heritage and helping to ensure its preservation and conservation.
The CRSBI has always been a British Academy Project, and are grateful to the Academy and to other contributors, too numerous to list here, who have helped us over the years. The project owes its inception to Professor George Zarnecki CBE FBA and it is guided by a committee of experts in the field (see below).
It is a registered charity (No.1168535) overseen by a Board of Trustees, currently:
Neil Stratford (Chairman)
Dr Nicola Coldstream
Katherine Davey
Catherine Hardman
Professor Eric Fernie
Dr James King
The Management Board consists of:
Chair: Dr Xavier Dectot
Research Director: Dr Ron Baxter
Treasurer: Susan Nettle
Project Director: Karen Impey
Fieldworker Coordinator: Dr John Wand
iBase is used extensively by the Museum of East Asian Art to manage the digital collections of the only UK museum solely dedicated to the art and cultures of East and South East Asia.
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