In early 2007 Exegesis was commissioned to build a web service to provide access to HER data held in HBSMR. The service is known as HBSMR Gateway and it is also used to provide data to a number of local authority heritage information websites such as Norfolk Heritage Explorer and the Exmoor HER website. Forty-five HBSMR clients make their data available to the Heritage Gateway via the HBSMR Gateway. The first three clients to use HBSMR Gateway were Cambridgeshire, Essex and Norfolk. Clients may host their own HBSMR Gateway data or it can be hosted by exeGesIS.

HBSMR Gateway is a web service API for HBSMR. When a user searches on the Heritage Gateway, the search is sent to the HBSMR Gateway web service run by each HER, or Exegesis. The HBSMR Gateway processes the search and returns the results as MIDAS XML, which is then transformed into HTML in the user's web browser.

We subsequently worked with English Heritage and ESRI UK developers to integrate mapping into the Heritage Gateway. This became available in April 2012 and map-based searching is now available for nearly 20 HER/SMRs.

We also collaborated with English Heritage to enable image publication on Heritage Gateway via a LibraryLink Web Service, as shown below.

Further information from Crispin Flower