ABSTRACT
Heritage helps people to understand who they are and where they are from. It has also become a vital part of how the British define themselves, and festivals, buildings, landscapes and artefacts are important elements of regional and national identity. Many years ago, the main aim of museums and galleries were to collect, preserve and display objects, and visitors would amble around dusty museums passively observing artefacts in a cabinet. The British Museum (1753) was the first national public museum in the world, while the National Gallery (1824), the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) (1852), the Science Museum (1857) and the Natural History Museum (1873) were all erected to offer new ways of seeing the world. The same century also witnessed Darwin's theory of evolution which challenged religious thinking about the origins of humanity. In England, the body English Heritage manages the historic environment, registering listed buildings and historic sites of national importance, such as landscapes and battlefields.
