ABSTRACT
In relation to many other European countries the legislative history of British conservation started late and modestly with the Ancient Monuments Act of 1882. However, subsequently legislation and policy have developed enormously, especially in terms of their inclusiveness and in terms of the restrictions placed on owners. From inadequate measures to protect a handful of prehistoric monuments, the system has developed to encompass a significant part of the British town and landscape within an often strict legal framework. Evolution has been incremental; monuments, buildings and areas each have their distinct category of protection. Similarly recent inventories of historic parks and gardens and battlefields, started in the 1980s, have created their own registers. Early legislation was quite separate from early town planning legislation, and though post-war conservation legislation was found in the planning Acts it was often treated as a separate activity. However, since the 1967 Civic Amenities Act there has been a steady convergence and integration of conservation activity into planning processes.
