News

Heritage Counts 2005

Heritage definitely counts, and unless the needs of our rural heritage in particular is addressed, its long term survival is under threat. That’s the message from English Heritage in its Heritage Counts 2005 report, released last week.

23 Nov 2005 12:00

Judi Jagger

[This is archived content and may not display in the originally intended format.]

Visual Arts

The huge contribution rural heritage makes to national life is under-acknowledged, and English Heritage and other heritage bodies are calling on the Government and all those whose work impacts on England’s countryside to recognise and to help alleviate the pressures on the sector.

English Heritage, the National Trust, the Country Land and Business Association, the Heritage Lottery Fund and others have all contributed research and analysis for Heritage Counts 2005. This year’s annual audit of the historic environment focuses on rural issues and is the most comprehensive report ever on the state of England’s rural historical environment.

Some key findings:

of the more than 30,000 listed working farm buildings in England,some 2,420 (7.4%) are in a severe state of disrepair and almost one in three have already been converted to other uses

nearly half of the historic parkland recorded by the 1918 Ordnance Survey edition no longer existed by 1995. In some parts of the country the rate of loss has been as high as 70%. Conversion to arable land, the disintegration of country estates and more recently, golf developments, have all contributed to the loss;

Research into outstanding repair needs of rural Church of England parish churches estimates that that £163 million is currently required, of which £147 million is needed for those that are listed;

451 coastal archaeological sites in the National Trust’s care in England face the possibility of flooding or erosion within the next 100 years;

most of our countryside heritage – whether buildings, monuments or areas – are privately owned, emphasising the important contribution made to heritage conservation by the private sector. But owners of historic assets face major financial challenges in securing their upkeep. At 70 privately owned historic houses open to the public, £66 million worth of repair work was outstanding in 2005 of which £20 million was urgent; and

the shortage of craft skills is particularly acute in the countryside.According to the Campaign to Protect Rural England and National Farmers’ Union, more than two-thirds of farmers said that there were no skilled builders or thatchers within ten miles’ distance of their farms. Dry-stone walling, thatching, millwrighting, earth walling and flint-knapping traditions are seriously threatened.

Sir Neil Cossons, Chairman of Heritage Forum and English Heritage, says: The outstandingly beautiful landscapes of rural England are our most cherished inheritance. For generations they have provided inspiration for poets, artists and writers and they are fundamental to how we see ourselves today.

‘The unique character of the English countryside is the most significant legacy we can pass to future generations. We have a duty to care for it at all costs.

‘I believe our rural landscape, with its many distinctive man-made features, is fundamental to our local and national identity and a powerful force behind the renewal of our small towns and villages so cherished by residents and visitors. But its long term survival raises serious concerns, mainly because the pace of change in the face of global pressures has never been so great.

‘The challenge is to understand and manage these changes sensitively and intelligently, and for that we need the sort of evidence provided for the first time by Heritage Counts 2005’.

Minister for Rural Affairs, Landscape and Biodiversity, Jim Knight, adds: ‘Our historic built heritage is as much a part of the countryside we treasure as the natural landscape. These features are a key component for tourism and sustainable rural communities. The Government is committed to supporting rural heritage for the benefit of people today and for future generations.

‘The focus of this report on the rural historic environment is timely. It coincides with a major restructuring of the principal government organisations responsible for the management of the countryside, new rights of access, and significant changes in the way in which agriculture is supported, including the launch of a new environmental land management scheme that rewards land managers for their stewardship of the rural landscape.

‘These changes will strengthen the delivery arrangements for the rural landscape, its heritage, its biodiversity and our commitment to managing it all for the enjoyment of everyone and build on existing Defra Schemes that are demonstrating positive outcomes. Working with those that have contributed to this excellent report we are determined to tackle the challenges it identifies’.

In a concerted effort to put rural heritage at the heart of policy making and delivery, heritage organisations are calling for:

the Government and its agencies to ensure that conservation of the natural

adequate cross-governmental support for those responsible for the stewardship of the historic environment, through advice, targeted grant aid and fiscal incentives;

greater partnership working to maximise the value of the historic environment as an engine for renewal in small towns, villages and lagging rural areas, as well as in major cities

the Government and all those who manage the countryside to work with the sector to broaden access to, and enjoyment of, the rural heritage by all members of society.

more Government support to research, monitor and respond to the implications of changes in agriculture for all aspects of the historic environment.

Heritage Counts 2005 is produced by English Heritage on behalf of the heritage sector with the support of Farrer & Co., Cowley Manor, NFU Mutual and C. Hoare & Co. It comprises a national report and a suite of regional reports that provide further detailed analysis of the state of the rural historic environment in each of the nine government office regions.

Copies are available, in hard copy, from:
English Heritage Customer Services
Tel: 0870 3331181
Email: customers@english-heritage.org.uk

or to download HERE.

Judi Jagger

About the Author

Judi Jagger is a freelance writer who lives on 15 acres of rural isolation overlooking an island. She loves how the Internet can bring the world to her. When she does venture out, it is to the theatre and cinema and to visit galleries and bookshops. In a previous life she has been a teacher, a librarian, a cleaner (very, very briefly) and a hospital admissions clerk. The nicest thing anyone has told her was that she was “educated, not domesticated”. It was meant disparagingly. She will get round to putting it on a T-shirt one day.