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A history of the National Heritage Collection has been published by English Heritage in a series of eight reports, free to download online.

This is the most in-depth research into the history of the collection ever undertaken. It tells the story of how the British state accumulated more than 400 historic buildings and sites in England, to be repaired, protected and opened to the public. These are now cared for by English Heritage. Among them are some of our most important prehistoric monuments, Roman sites, medieval castles and abbeys, and Georgian country houses. The reports cover a 100 year period from the beginning of the collection in 1882 through to the formation of English Heritage in 1983. They tell us more about the rich, and often unusual, history the sites enjoy. From the keeper of Richborough Roman Fort being paid in animal feed to the gun platform at Yarmouth Castle on the Isle of Wight being used as a venue for tea parties.

The story of the National Heritage Collection

In the late 19th century hundreds of historically important buildings and archaeological sites stood in ruins, half-buried and overgrown with ivy. While some people enjoyed their picturesque beauty, these monuments were slowly being destroyed by vandalism and natural decay. Britain had no national laws to enforce the preservation of historic places and many were sadly lost. The earthen mounds of prehistoric barrows were used as fertilizer to spread upon fields, stone circles were broken up to serve as gate posts or road surfaces, and medieval castles were dismantled to build houses. In 1882 the passing of an Ancient Monuments Act, gave the government the first powers to maintain and protect important prehistoric monuments through a process called 'guardianship'. This saw the beginnings of a National Heritage Collection, which would eventually amount to 420 sites in England. It was effectively an outdoor museum of national history, ranging from sites such as Stonehenge in Wiltshire, to Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire and Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland.

New research

The new research published by English Heritage will be of interest to anyone who would like to know more about the National Heritage Collection, as well as to students, academics and heritage professionals studying the history of the conservation movement and heritage protection. It is free to download from theEnglish Heritage Website.