National Heritage Act is a stock short title used in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

for legislation relating to national heritage.

List

Malaysia

*The National Heritage Act 2005

United Kingdom

The National Heritage Acts comprise four Acts of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

that aimed to alter the way in which Britain's national heritage assets are managed and protected.

National Heritage Act 1980

The National Heritage Act 1980 established the National Heritage Memorial Fund, abolished the

National Land Fund The National Land Fund of the United Kingdom was a sum of money held by HM Treasury for the purpose of securing culturally significant property for the nation as a memorial to the dead of World War II. It was created in 1946. Proposed by Chancel ...

, made provision for property to be accepted in satisfaction of taxation and provided for indemnities for objects on loan from museums and libraries. One of the primary drivers for the Act was the public controversy relating to the refusal of the Callaghan Government to accept an offer of

Mentmore Towers Mentmore Towers, historically known simply as "Mentmore", is a 19th-century English country house built between 1852 and 1854 for the Rothschild family in the village of Mentmore in Buckinghamshire. Sir Joseph Paxton and his son-in-law, George ...

and its contents in lieu of inheritance tax.

National Heritage Act 1983

The 1983 Act established the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, the

Science Museum A science museum is a museum devoted primarily to science. Older science museums tended to concentrate on static displays of objects related to natural history, paleontology, geology, industry and industrial machinery, etc. Modern trends in mu ...

, the Armouries and the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

non-departmental public bodies In the United Kingdom, non-departmental public body (NDPB) is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to public sector organisations that have a role in the process of na ...

to be governed by boards of trustees. Section 30 of the Act made provision for the designation and funding of the Armed Forces Museums. Prior to 1982, other British ancient or historical monuments and buildings had been protected through the

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

. This was felt by the ruling Conservative government to be lacking in public respect and to be excessively expensive. The 1983 Act created the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission (HBMC), another non-departmental public body, to be given the a broad remit of managing the historic built environment of England. After the passing of the act, the HBMC was given the shorter working name of

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

, by which it was commonly known until 2015. After 2015, the body was divided into two parts, with the Commission being renamed Historic England. English Heritage remained as a charitable organisation, looking after the national heritage collection - including places like Audley End, Kenwood House, and many others.

National Heritage Act 1997

The 1997 Act amended the 1980 Act by extending the scope of the National Heritage Memorial Fund to include

things of any kind which are of scenic, historic, archaeological, aesthetic, architectural, engineering, artistic or scientific interest, including animals and plants which are of zoological or botanical interest.

It also modified the 1983 Act, inserting section 31A to make specific provision for preservation of the

Royal Naval College Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

site.

National Heritage Act 2002

The 2002 Act extended the powers of the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission to encompass

underwater archaeology Underwater archaeology is archaeology practiced underwater. As with all other branches of archaeology, it evolved from its roots in pre-history and in the classical era to include sites from the historical and industrial eras. Its acceptance has ...

within the

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potenti ...

of the United Kingdom.

References

External links

National Heritage Act 1980

National Heritage Act 1983

National Heritage Act 1997

National Heritage Act 2002
{{UK legislation Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom Archaeology of the United Kingdom