Contextual Lecture: Heritage, Private and Public in Tomorrow's World
With James Hervey-Bathurst
Heritage - buildings, landscapes, art and objects - is valued today for the part it plays in defining a nation’s identity and the value it can add to daily economic, social and cultural life. It is hard to think of any countries where it does not fulfil that role, or where people would not like it to be able to do so. But how will private historic houses survive in the future when the life they were built to support may have disappeared? Will governments be able to support state-owned palaces and mansions? Will churches or mosques survive in a more secular or religiously-intolerant world? Will successful heritage sites that attract hundreds of thousands of visitors self-destruct? What is the best formula for the long-term preservation and use of heritage sites? Does it matter if there is less heritage available in the future?
James Hervey-Bathurst is former President of the Historical Houses Association, and former World Monuments Fund (UK) Chairman.
Part of the Contextual Lecture Series Our Future: Ideas on Tomorrrow's World
