12th December 2005, 05:30 PM
I think it is inevitable that the NT and EH will remain as separate bodies.
The National Trust is a registered charity, independent of the government. It has its own board of trustees and is funded by donations, memberships, bequests and other fundraising activities. Its mission is acquisition and protection of threatened coastline, countryside and buildings.
English Heritage is properly known as the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, and was established in 1984 by Act of Parliament. It is a statutory instrument of government under the aegis of the Department for Culture Media and Sport. It acts as the government's advisor on heritage matters, and implements policy on heritage as decided by the DCMS.
Joint membership for the public is never going to happen. However a scheme of 'join one get membership of the other for a discount' is probably do-able if there is the political will within the two bodies. Probably most people who are members of one are members of the other. It was a cheeky but successful decision for the former Ministry of Works to offer 'membership' to the public of a body that is technically part of the state and therefore already owned by the people.
The National Trust is a registered charity, independent of the government. It has its own board of trustees and is funded by donations, memberships, bequests and other fundraising activities. Its mission is acquisition and protection of threatened coastline, countryside and buildings.
English Heritage is properly known as the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission, and was established in 1984 by Act of Parliament. It is a statutory instrument of government under the aegis of the Department for Culture Media and Sport. It acts as the government's advisor on heritage matters, and implements policy on heritage as decided by the DCMS.
Joint membership for the public is never going to happen. However a scheme of 'join one get membership of the other for a discount' is probably do-able if there is the political will within the two bodies. Probably most people who are members of one are members of the other. It was a cheeky but successful decision for the former Ministry of Works to offer 'membership' to the public of a body that is technically part of the state and therefore already owned by the people.