Men from the ministry: how Britain saved its heritage

Abstract

Between 1900 and 1950 the British state amassed a huge collection of over 800 historic buildings, monuments and historic sites and opened them to the public. It was an enterprise without precedent. Governments elsewhere had of course assembled collections of paintings, sculptures and books. But Britain created what was effectively an outdoor museum of national history, overseen by a range of voluntary bodies including the Council for the Protection of Rural England, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and the National Trust. In this vivid and forcefully argued book Simon Thurley analyses this extraordinary collecting frenzy and places it in the context of an interwar period dominated by nostalgia, neo-romanticism and cultural protectionism. The establishment of a modern state based on deep historical and rural roots encapsulated the view of the former prime minister, Stanley Baldwin, that heritage was the rock out of which the nation's children would be hewn.

Contents

Seeking the olden time: popular enthusiasm for history in the nineteenth century -- The Office of Works -- The 'monumentally ancient' act of 1882 -- The Office of Works takes control 1882-1909 -- The Ancient Monuments Act of 1913 -- The Ancient Monuments Department in inter-war Britain -- Creating a national collection 1913-1939 -- Stonehenge -- Aesthetics and philosophy -- Inventing the heritage industry -- Protection in action 1913-39 -- Saving Hadrian's Wall: the act of 1931 -- Who saves country houses? -- War and aftermath 1939-1953 -- The ministry branches out 1953-73 -- Boom and bust 1970-1982.