The historic environment, museums and galleries are a major educational resource, an important part of our cultural heritage and a valued resource in their communities.
More information on the national picture
Government Office for the South West works with regional partner organisations to promote and develop the interests of the heritage, museums, libraries and archive sectors.
Heritage
English Heritage is the lead agency for the built heritage and the historic environment, operating a number of different funding programmes and acting as one of the Heritage Lottery Fund’s key advisory bodies. GOSW works with its counterparts in English Heritage’s South West Regional Office on statutory planning issues and on ensuring that the heritage agenda is more clearly understood, and links across into other government initiatives in regeneration, education and social cohesion.
The South West is blessed with some of the most beautiful natural landscapes and historic structures in the country, from the wild and rugged Cornish coastline, to the rolling Cotswold Hills and charms of Thomas Hardy’s Dorset. The region also has a rich industrial heritage, marked by Sir Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s iconic achievements of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, SS Great Britain and Great Western Railway. The South West has 39% of England’s Scheduled Ancient Monuments, 24% of all listed buildings and 20% of the English total of registered historic parks and gardens.
The region also has five designated World Heritage Sites - Stonehenge and Avebury, the City of Bath, and the 'Jurassic Coast' of East Devon and Dorset. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has now granted WHS status to the Cornwall & West Devon mining landscape. For more information on the World Heritage Sites in the South West, use the link at the foot of the page.
Museums, Libraries and Archives
The South West Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (SWMLAC) is the South West’s regional development agency for museums, libraries and archives. SWMLAC receives funding from the national Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) to promote the contribution of museums, libraries and archives to the social, cultural, educational and economic life of the region.
DCMS has provided funding to the MLA and SWMLAC for a South West Regional Museum Hub, a collaboration of key institutions in the region to provide professional leadership and cooperation to help smaller museums and galleries across the south west. The Regional Hub consists of:
- Bristol Museums and Art Gallery (lead partner)
- Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery
- Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, Exeter
- Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro
- Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth.
