National Heritage Act is a stock short title used in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

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 ...

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 suprem ...

that aimed to alter the way in which Britain's national

heritage asset A heritage asset is an item that has value because of its contribution to a nation’s society, knowledge and/or culture. They are usually physical assets, but some countries also use the term in relation to intangible social and spiritual inheritan ...

s are managed and protected.

National Heritage Act 1980

The National Heritage Act 1980 established the

National Heritage Memorial Fund The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) was set up in 1980 to save the most outstanding parts of the British national heritage, in memory of those who have given their lives for the UK. It replaced the National Land Fund which had fulfilled the ...

, abolished the National Land Fund, 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 ...

, 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 ...

as non-departmental public bodies 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 Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

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 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 Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

. 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 site.

National Heritage Act 2002

The 2002 Act extended the powers of the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission to encompass underwater archaeology 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 potent ...

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