100 Years of Protecting the Past

30 Jan 2013 03:03 PM

A hundred years ago this year, the British government under Herbert Asquith recognised for the first time the State’s duty to protect the physical remains of its history. Over the course of 2013, a series of exhibitions, a book, and a BBC television series will all mark the centenary of this heritage milestone.

The Ancient Monuments Act of 1913 was a landmark moment for heritage – it created many of the powers still used to safeguard the nation’s legacy of historic buildings.

The Act also effectively established the National Heritage Collection, Britain’s outdoor museum today consisting of 880 historic sites and now in the care of English Heritage, CADW and Historic Scotland. This national collection spans 5,000 years, ranges from prehistoric stone circles to a 1960s Cold War Bunker, and includes Stonehenge and Hadrian’s Wall.

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