New Vision for UK Heritage Sites

Osborne House and Ironbridge Gorge could be among the British national treasures protected by a new register of historic sites proposed last week by culture secretary Tessa Jowell.

In a 71-page white paper, "Heritage Protection for the 21st Century," the government recommends a unified heritage protection system, additional opportunities for public input, and a less cumbersome approach to the planning process. A key proposal is the replacement of the current complicated system of listing, scheduling, and registering historic properties with a single, easy-to-understand system.

In announcing the first heritage white paper in a generation, Jowell said: "We all want a system that provides the right levels of protection, but we also want one that is easy to use and allows everyone a stake in it. The benefits of getting this right are great. In a time of rapid change, our reforms will put heritage protection on a sound footing for the future.”

Shown here: George Brannon, View of Osborne House over the River Medina (c. 1845)

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In related news, Jowell has taken action to protect the remains of a cargo of nineteenth-century Cornish mining equipment discovered by local divers off Little Ganinick in the Isles of Scilly in 2005.

“These rare and well-preserved remains represent one of the most significant periods in Cornwall’s history – when expansion of the mining industry during the nineteenth century resulted in massive migration and the spread of Cornish culture throughout the world," said culture minister David Lammy.

The landscape of the Cornish mining industry was granted UNESCO World Heritage Site status in July 2006. This cargo represents a rare find of contemporary mining equipment lost during transhipment. The remains of the as-yet-unidentified ship, which is believed to have capsized and sunk nearby, remain undiscovered.