The main statutory bodies responsible for the built heritage in the UK are:

Cadw for Wales
Department of the Environment Northern Ireland
English Heritage
Historic Scotland

They cover matters such as protection, recording of and public access to listed buildings and scheduled ancient monuments, buildings at risk, maritime and defence heritage, archaeology, events, advice, grants, publications and legislation.

Cadw for Wales

Cadw is a Welsh word which means 'to keep'. Its mission is to protect, conserve, and to promote an appreciation of the built heritage and Historic Environment of Wales.

Cadw is the Welsh Assembly Government's historic environment division.
Created in 1984, it carries out the complete range of responsibilities for the conservation, presentation, and promotion of the built heritage on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales. These duties include:

• Securing the preservation of ancient monuments and historic buildings.
• Grant aiding the repair of ancient monuments and historic buildings.
• Managing 127 ancient monuments in Wales which are in direct State care.

Cadw defines built heritage as the physical remains of people's activities within the Welsh landscape. The remains include an immense variety of sites, monuments, architectural ruins and historic buildings.

Archaeological sites span more than 250,000 years, from caves occupied in early prehistory, right through to industrial works of the Victorian period. The monuments and architectural ruins vary from the sculptured crosses of our early Christian forebears, through the great castles and abbeys of the Middle Ages, and on to features such as coastal defence works of the nineteenth century.

The definition of historic buildings includes a vast array of structures from the humblest rural cottage to the grandest country house, as well as bridges, watermills, lighthouses, farm buildings, and even early telephone boxes. Entire towns and villages are all part of the built heritage, as are parks, gardens and much wider areas of the historic landscape.

For further information please contact:

Cadw
Welsh Assembly Government
Plas Carew

Unit 5/7 Cefn Coed
Parc Nantgarw
Cardiff
CF15 7QQ

Tel: 01443 33 6000
Fax: 01443 33 6001
E-mail: Cadw@Wales.gsi.gov.uk

Department of the Environment Northern Ireland

Built Heritage staff identify, record and protect the built, buried and underwater remains of human activity, from prehistoric times to the present. On the website information on archaeological sites, historic monuments and buildings, industrial remains, designed historic landscapes and features of the shores and sea-bed is available. All these things are part of the built heritage together they form a precious resource for understanding and enjoying the past, and to safeguard for future generations.

Historic Building & Monuments at

Waterman House
5-33 Hill St
Belfast
BT1 2LA

Biodiversity, Conservation Designation and Protection, Countryside and Coast, Conservation Science, Waste Management and Contaminated Land, Regional Operations, Corporate Communications (Previously Information & Education), Drinking Water, Industrial Pollution and Radiation, Strategy Unit

Klondyke Building
Cromac Avenue
Gasworks Business Park
Lower Ormeau Road
Belfast
BT7 2JA

English Heritage

English Heritage exists to protect and promote England's spectacular historic environment and ensure that its past is researched and understood.

It is the Government's statutory adviser on the historic environment. Officially known as the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England, English Heritage is an Executive Non-departmental Public Body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Its powers and responsibilities are set out in the National Heritage Act (1983) and today it reports to Parliament through the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

Although sponsored by DCMS, English Heritage works with a range of Government Departments, notably Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) and Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) to help realise the potential of the historic environment.

English Heritage is funded in part by the Government and in part from revenue earned from its historic properties and other services. In 2005/06 public funding was worth £129 million, and income from other sources was £41.9 million.

The work of English Heritage is overseen by a Chairman and a board of up to 16 Commissioners selected by the Government for the breadth of their national and regional expertise. The Commission is, in turn, advised by 13 expert advisory committees and panels.

English Heritage works in partnership with the central government departments, local authorities, voluntary bodies and the private sector to:

Conserve and enhance the historic environment

Broaden public access to the heritage

Increase people's understanding of the past

It meets those responsibilities by:

acting as a national and international champion for the heritage

giving grants for the conservation of historic buildings, monuments and landscapes

maintaining registers of England's most significant historic buildings, monuments and landscapes

advising on the preservation of the historic environment

encouraging broader public involvement with the heritage

promoting education and research

caring for Stonehenge and over 400 other historic properties on behalf of the nation

maintaining the National Monuments Record as the public archive of the heritage

generating income for the benefit of the historic environment

Conservation Work

English Heritage is probably best known for the historic sites in care which are open to the public. Less well known is its role in looking after the historic environment as a whole, including historic buildings, monuments and areas, and archaeological remains. It aims not only to ensure the preservation of historic surroundings for the future, but also to encourage people to appreciate and enjoy this heritage today.

For further information please contact:

English Heritage
Customer Services Department
PO Box 569
Swindon
SN2 2YP
England

email: customers@english-heritage.org.uk
phone: +44 (0) 870 333 1181
fax: +44 (0) 1793 414926

Links:

English Heritage

defra.gov.uk

ehsni.gov.uk

Cadw Wales website