Malaysia • The National Heritage Act 2005
United Kingdom The
National Heritage Acts comprise five
acts of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom 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 (c. 17) established the
National Heritage Memorial Fund, 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 and its contents in lieu of inheritance tax.
National Heritage Act 1983 The '''''' (c. 47) established the
Victoria and Albert Museum, the
Science Museum, the
Armouries and the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 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. 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, 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 properties like
Audley End and
Kenwood House.
National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1985 The '''''' (c. 16) followed the
National Galleries of Scotland Act 1906 and established boards of trustees responsible for the Royal Scottish Museum, The National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland and the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. It made more provision for the boards of trustees for National Galleries of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland.
National Heritage Act 1997 The '''''' (c. 14) 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 '''''' (c. 14) extended the powers of the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission to encompass
underwater archaeology within the
territorial waters of the United Kingdom. == See also ==