ABSTRACT
This contribution follows on from that of Merriman (1989) who showed the existence and social context of a ‘heritage boom’ in Britain over recent years (see also Hewison 1987). There has been a doubling of the number of museums in Britain since 1971 and they are currently opening at the rate of one every ten days. There has also been a sharp rise since the 1970s in the number of historic buildings open to the public. The four most visited tourist attractions in Britain are all museums. The Yorvik Centre receives about one million visitors a year.
