Historic England

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Historic England
Historic England logo.jpg
Formation 1 April 2015
Legal status Non-departmental public body
Headquarters The Engine House, Firefly Avenue, Swindon, Wiltshire SN2 2EH
Region served
England
Leadership
Duncan Wilson
(chief executive)
Budget
88.5 million[1]
Website historicengland.org.uk
Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for
England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government
sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). It is tasked with
protecting the historical environment of England by preserving and listing historic
buildings, ancient monuments and advising central and local government.

The body was officially created by the National Heritage Act 1983, and operated
from April 1984 to April 2015 under the name of English Heritage.[2] In 2015,
following the changes to English Heritage's structure that moved the protection of
the National Heritage Collection into the voluntary sector in the English Heritage
Trust, and the body that remained was rebranded as Historic England.[3] Historic
England has a similar remit to and complements the work of Natural England which
aims to protect the natural environment.

The body also inherited the Historic England Archive from the old English Heritage,
and projects linked to the archive such as Britain from Above, which saw the
archive work with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of
Wales and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland
to digitise, catalogue and put online 96,000 of the oldest Aerofilms images. The
archive also holds various nationally important collections and the results of
older projects such as the work of the National Buildings Record, later absorbed by
the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England and the Images of
England project which set out to create a freely accessible online database of the
370,000 listed properties in England at a snapshot in time at the turn of the
millennium.

Contents [hide]
1 Remit
2 See also
3 References
4 External links
Remit[edit]

Historic England's Swindon office and home to their Archives.

Historic England's London office at Holborn Bars.

Historic England inherits English Heritage's position as the UK government's
statutory adviser and a statutory consultee on all aspects of the historic
environment and its heritage assets.[4] This includes archaeology on land and under
water, historic buildings sites and areas, designated landscapes and the historic
elements of the wider landscape.[5] It monitors and reports on the state of
England's heritage and publishes the annual Heritage at Risk survey which is one of
the UK Government's Official statistics. It is tasked to secure the preservation
and enhancement of the man-made heritage of England for the benefit of future
generations.[5]

Its remit involves

Caring for nationally important archive collections of photographs, drawings and

other records which document the historic environment of England and date from the
eighteenth century onwards.
Giving grants national and local organisations for the conservation of historic
buildings, monuments and landscapes. In 201314 over 13 million worth of grants
were made to support heritage buildings.[6]
Advising central UK government on which English heritage assets are nationally
important and should be protected by designation (i.e. listing, scheduling etc.).
[7][8]
Administering and maintaining the register of England's listed buildings, scheduled
monuments, registered battlefields, conservation areas and protected parks and
gardens.[9] This is published as an online resource as 'The National Heritage List
for England'.
Advising local authorities on managing changes to the most important parts of
heritage.
Providing expertise through advice, training and guidance to improve the standards
and skills of people working in heritage, practical conservation and access to
resources. In 20092010 it trained around 200 professionals working in local
authorities and the wider sector.[6]
Consulting and collaborating with other heritage bodies, local and national
planning organisations e.g. the preparation of Planning Policy statement for the
Historic Environment (PPS5)[10]
Commissioning and conducting archaeological research, including the publication of
'Heritage Counts' and Heritage at Risk on behalf of the heritage sector which are
the annual research surveys into the state of England's heritage.
It is not responsible for approving alterations to listed buildings. The management
of listed buildings is the responsibility of local planning authorities and the
Department for Communities and Local Government.[10]

It also owns the National Heritage Collection of nationally important historic

sites, currently in public care. However they do not run these sites as this
function is instead carried out by the English Heritage Trust under licence until
2023.[11]

See also[edit]
English Heritage
Historic England Archive
Cadw
Historic Scotland
Northern Ireland Environment Agency
Manx National Heritage
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Conservation in the United Kingdom
Heritage at Risk
Historic houses in England
National Trust Properties in England
Heritage Open Days
List of Conservation topics
List of heritage registers
List of museums in England
Heritage film
References[edit]
Jump up ^ How We Are Funded. Historic England. Historic England. Retrieved 6 April
2015.
Jump up ^ Historic England's Role. Historic England. Historic England. Retrieved 6
April 2015.
Jump up ^ New Era for England's Heritage. English Heritage. English Heritage.
Retrieved 6 April 2015.
Jump up ^ Historic Environment. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
^ Jump up to a b Funding of the Arts and Heritage. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
^ Jump up to a b English Heritage Annual Report and Accounts (PDF). Historic
England. English Heritage. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 April 2015.
Retrieved 6 April 2015.
Jump up ^ Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. Retrieved 16 May
2011.
Jump up ^ National Heritage Act 1983, Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission
for England. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
Jump up ^ Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990. Retrieved 16
May 2011.
^ Jump up to a b Planning Policy Statement 5 Planning for the Historic Environment.
Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
Jump up ^ Historic England and the English Heritage Trust. Historic England.
Historic England. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
External links[edit]