1.
Swindon
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Swindon is a large town in Wiltshire, South West England, midway between Bristol,35 miles to the west and Reading,35 miles to the east. London is 78 miles to the east, and Cardiff is 78 miles to the west, at the 2011 census, it had a population of 185,609. Swindon became an Expanded Town under the Town Development Act 1952, Swindon railway station is on the line from London Paddington to Bristol. Swindon Borough Council is an authority, independent of Wiltshire Council since 1997. Residents of Swindon are known as Swindonians, the town and wider borough also has the headquarters of the Nationwide Building Society and a Honda car manufacturing plant. The original Anglo-Saxon settlement of Swindon sat in a position atop a limestone hill. It is referred to in the Domesday Book as Suindune, believed to be derived from the Old English words swine and dun meaning pig hill or possibly Sweyns hill, Swindon was a small market town, mainly for barter trade, until roughly 1848. This original market area is on top of the hill in central Swindon, the Industrial Revolution was responsible for an acceleration of Swindons growth. It started with the construction of the Wilts and Berks Canal in 1810, the canals brought trade to the area and Swindons population started to grow. Between 1841 and 1842, Isambard Kingdom Brunels Swindon Works was built for the repair, the GWR built a small railway village to house some of its workers. The Steam Railway Museum and English Heritage, including the English Heritage Archive, in 1878 the fund began providing artificial limbs made by craftsmen from the carriage and wagon works, and nine years later opened its first dental surgery. In his first few months in post the dentist extracted more than 2000 teeth, from the opening in 1892 of the Health Centre, a doctor could also prescribe a haircut or even a bath. The cradle-to-grave extent of service was later used as a blueprint for the NHS. The Mechanics Institute, formed in 1844, moved into a building looking rather like a church and included a covered market, on 1 May 1855. The New Swindon Improvement Company, a co-operative, raised the funds for this path self-improvement and it was a groundbreaking organisation that transformed the railways workforce into some of the countrys best-educated manual workers. It had the UKs first lending library, and a range of improving lectures, access to a theatre, the Institute also nurtured pioneering trades unionists and encouraged local democracy. During the second half of the 19th century, Swindon New Town grew around the line between London and Bristol. In 1900, the market town, Old Swindon, merged with its new neighbour at the bottom of the hill to become a single town
2.
Government of the United Kingdom
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Her Majestys Government, commonly referred to as the UK government or British government, is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The government is led by the Prime Minister, who all the remaining ministers. The prime minister and the other most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision-making committee, the government ministers all sit in Parliament, and are accountable to it. After an election, the monarch selects as prime minister the leader of the party most likely to command a majority of MPs in the House of Commons. Under the uncodified British constitution, executive authority lies with the monarch, although this authority is exercised only by, or on the advice of, the prime minister, the Cabinet members advise the monarch as members of the Privy Council. They also exercise power directly as leaders of the Government Departments, the current prime minister is Theresa May, who took office on 13 July 2016. She is the leader of the Conservative Party, which won a majority of seats in the House of Commons in the election on 7 May 2015. Prior to this, Cameron and the Conservatives led a government from 2010 to 2015 with the Liberal Democrats. A key principle of the British Constitution is that the government is responsible to Parliament, Britain is a constitutional monarchy in which the reigning monarch does not make any open political decisions. All political decisions are taken by the government and Parliament and this constitutional state of affairs is the result of a long history of constraining and reducing the political power of the monarch, beginning with the Magna Carta in 1215. Parliament is split into two houses, the House of Lords and the House of Commons, the House of Commons is the lower house and is the more powerful. The House of Lords is the house and although it can vote to amend proposed laws. Parliamentary time is essential for bills to be passed into law, Ministers of the Crown are responsible to the House in which they sit, they make statements in that House and take questions from members of that House. For most senior ministers this is usually the elected House of Commons rather than the House of Lords, since the start of Edward VIIs reign, in 1901, the prime minister has always been an elected member of Parliament and therefore directly accountable to the House of Commons. Under the British system the government is required by convention and for reasons to maintain the confidence of the House of Commons. It requires the support of the House of Commons for the maintenance of supply, by convention if a government loses the confidence of the House of Commons it must either resign or a General Election is held. The support of the Lords, while useful to the government in getting its legislation passed without delay, is not vital, a government is not required to resign even if it loses the confidence of the Lords and is defeated in key votes in that House. The House of Commons is thus the Responsible house, the prime minister is held to account during Prime Ministers Question Time which provides an opportunity for MPs from all parties to question the PM on any subject
3.
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
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The department was also responsible for the delivery of the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and the building of a Digital Economy. The DCMS originates from the Department of National Heritage, which itself was created on 11 April 1992 out of other departments. The former Ministers for the Arts and for Sport had previously located in other departments. The DNH was renamed as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 14 July 1997, the June 2007 Cabinet reshuffle led to Tessa Jowell MP taking on the role of Paymaster General and then Minister for the Cabinet Office while remaining Minister for the Olympics. Ministerial responsibility for the Olympics was shared with Ms Jowell in the Cabinet Office, following the 2010 general election, ministerial responsibility for the Olympics returned to the Secretary of State. Although Jeremy Hunts full title was Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, on 4 September 2012, Hunt was appointed Health Secretary in a cabinet reshuffle and replaced by Maria Miller. Maria Miller later resigned due to controversy over her expenses and her replacement was announced later that day as Sajid Javid. After the 2015 general election, John Whittingdale was appointed as Secretary of State, DCMS received full responsibility for the digital economy policy, formerly jointly held with BIS, and sponsorship of the Information Commissioners Office from the Ministry of Justice. The department also gained two additional ministers, Baroness Shields and Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Whittingdale was replaced by Karen Bradley after the referendum on the UKs membership of the EU in July 2016. The Secretary of State has responsibility for the maintenance of the land, DCMS continues to make a separate small grant to the Royal Household for the maintenance of Marlborough House The Department also has responsibility for state ceremonial occasions and royal funerals. However, responsibility for the Civil List element of Head of State expenditure, DCMS organises the annual Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Cenotaph and has responsibility for providing humanitarian assistance in the event of a disaster. In the Governments response to the 7 July 2005 London bombings the department coordinated humanitarian support to the relatives of victims, the main offices are at 100 Parliament Street, occupying part of the building known as Government Offices Great George Street. The DCMS Ministers are as follows, The Permanent Secretary is Sue Owen CB, the DCMS has policy responsibility for three statutory corporations and two public broadcasting authorities. These bodies and their operation are largely independent of Government policy influence, the Museum of London transferred to the Greater London Authority from 1 April 2008. DCMS formerly sponsored eight Regional Cultural Consortiums with NDPB status, media-related policy is generally reserved to Westminster i. e. not devolved. United Kingdom budget Digital Economy Act 2010 Culture, Media and Sport Committee Official website DCMS YouTube channel
4.
Listed building
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A listed building or listed structure, in the United Kingdom, is one that has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The statutory bodies maintaining the list are Historic England in England, Cadw in Wales, Historic Scotland in Scotland, however, the preferred term in Ireland is protected structure. In England and Wales, an amenity society must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition. Owners of listed buildings are, in circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them. When alterations are permitted, or when listed buildings are repaired or maintained, slightly different systems operate in each area of the United Kingdom, though the basic principles of the listing remain the same. It was the damage to caused by German bombing during World War II that prompted the first listing of buildings that were deemed to be of particular architectural merit. The listings were used as a means of determining whether a building should be rebuilt if it was damaged by bombing. Listing was first introduced into Northern Ireland under the Planning Order 1972, the listing process has since developed slightly differently in each part of the UK. In the UK, the process of protecting the historic environment is called ‘designation’. A heritage asset is a part of the environment that is valued because of its historic. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have legal protection through designation. However, buildings that are not formally listed but still judged as being of heritage interest are still regarded as being a consideration in the planning process. Almost anything can be listed – it does not have to be a building, Buildings and structures of special historic interest come in a wide variety of forms and types, ranging from telephone boxes and road signs, to castles. Historic England has created twenty broad categories of structures, and published selection guides for each one to aid with assessing buildings and these include historical overviews and describe the special considerations for listing each category. Both Historic Scotland and Cadw produce guidance for owners, in England, to have a building considered for listing or delisting, the process is to apply to the secretary of state, this can be done by submitting an application form online to Historic England. The applicant does not need to be the owner of the building to apply for it to be listed, full information including application form guidance notes are on the Historic England website. Historic England assesses buildings put forward for listing or delisting and provides advice to the Secretary of State on the architectural, the Secretary of State, who may seek additional advice from others, then decides whether or not to list or delist the building. In England and Wales the authority for listing is granted to the Secretary of State by the Planning Act 1990, Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register
5.
Scheduled monument
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In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation used for protecting heritage assets from damage. The protection given to scheduled monuments is given under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, a heritage asset is a part of the historic environment that is valued because of its historic, archaeological, architectural or artistic interest. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have legal protection through designation. There are about 20,000 scheduled monuments in England representing about 37,000 heritage assets, of the tens of thousands of scheduled monuments in the UK, most are inconspicuous archaeological sites, but some are large ruins. According to the 1979 Act, a monument cannot be a structure which is occupied as a dwelling, as a rule of thumb, a protected historic asset that is occupied would be designated as a listed building. Scheduled Monuments are defined in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979, in England, Wales and Scotland they are often referred to as a scheduled ancient monument, although the Act defines only ancient monument and scheduled monument. A monument can be, A building or structure, cave or excavation which is above or below the surface of the land, a site comprising any vehicle, vessel, aircraft or other moveable structure. In Northern Ireland they are designated under separate legislation and are referred to as a historic monument or a monument in state care. The first Act to enshrine legal protection for ancient monuments was the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882 and this identified an initial list of 68 prehistoric sites, which were given a degree of legal protection. This was the result of strenuous representation by William Morris and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, which had been founded in 1877. Following various previous attempts, the 1882 legislation was guided through parliament by John Lubbock, the first Inspector of Ancient Monuments, as set up by the act, was Augustus Pitt Rivers. At this point, only the inspector, answering directly to the First Commissioner of Works, was involved in surveying the scheduled sites and persuading landowners to offer sites to the state. The act also established the concept of guardianship, in which a site might remain in private ownership, however the legislation could not compel landowners, as that level of state interference with private property was not politically possible. The Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1900 extended the scope of the legislation to include medieval monuments, in a speech in 1907, Robert Hunter, chairman of the National Trust, observed that only a further 18 sites had been added to the original list of 68. Charles Peers, an architect, was appointed as Inspector in 1910 in the Office of Works becoming Chief Inspector in 1913. The job title Inspector is still in use, scheduling offers protection because it makes it illegal to undertake a great range of works within a designated area, without first obtaining scheduled monument consent. However, it does not affect the owner’s freehold title or other interests in the land
6.
English Heritage
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English Heritage is a registered charity that manages the National Heritage Collection. This comprises over 400 of Englands historic buildings, monuments and sites spanning more than 5,000 years of history, within its portfolio are Stonehenge, Dover Castle, Tintagel Castle and the best preserved parts of Hadrians Wall. English Heritage also manages the London Blue Plaques scheme, which links influential historical figures to particular buildings and it was created to combine the roles of existing bodies that had emerged from a long period of state involvement in heritage protection. The British government gave the new charity an £80 million grant to establish it as an independent trust. Over the centuries, what is now called Heritage has been the responsibility of a series of state departments. There was the Kings Works after the Norman Conquest, the Office of Works, the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues and Works, and the Ministry of Works. Responsibility subsequently transferred to the Ministry of Public Building and Works then to the Department of the Environment and now the Department for Culture, Media, the states legal responsibility for the historic environment goes back to the Ancient Monuments Protection Act 1882. Central government subsequently developed several systems of protection for different types of assets, introducing listing for buildings after WW2. The Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission was formed under the terms of the National Heritage Act 1983 on 1 April 1984, soon after, the commission gained the operating name of English Heritage by its first Chairman, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu. A national register of parks and gardens, was set up in 1984. Registration is a consideration in the planning process. In 2010–2011 it recorded 4.3 million unique online user sessions, in 2012 the section responsible for archive collections was renamed the English Heritage Archive. As a result of the National Heritage Act 2002, English Heritage acquired administrative responsibility for historic wrecks, the administration of the listed building system was transferred from DCMS to English Heritage in 2006. It was retained on grounds of performing a function which should remain independent from Government. However the department also suffered from budget cuts during the recession of the 2010s resulting in a deficit of £100 million. In June 2013 the British Government announced plans to provide an £80 million grant to enable English Heritage to become a self-financing charity, the national portfolio of historic properties remain in public ownership, but the new English Heritage will be licensed to manage them. The change occurred on 1 April 2015 with the planning and heritage protection functions remaining an independent, non-departmental public body. The new trust has a licence to operate the properties until 2023, English Heritage is the guardian of over 400 sites and monuments, the most famous of which include Stonehenge, Iron Bridge and Dover Castle
7.
Natural England
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Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that Englands natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and it also has a responsibility to help people enjoy, understand and access the natural environment. It has been criticised recently for ignoring scientific data and granting extended badger cull licences to DEFRA. Natural Englands latest corporate plan sets out its goals and detailed objectives and it is responsible for the delivery of some of Defras public service agreements. Natural England takes its finance, human resources and estates services from the Defra Shared Services organisation, information technology services are outsourced to IBM. Natural England joined the 10,10 project in 2009 in a bid to reduce its own carbon footprint, one year later they announced that they had reduced their carbon emissions by 13%. In 2008, Sir Martin Doughty, the chairman of Natural England warned the Prime Minister of the danger of genetically modified crops. In May 2008, Natural England published a report, State of the Natural Environment, the report was intended to be used by environmental organisations as a benchmark and source for policy development. These projects increased levels of activity and peoples connections to their local green spaces. However, it was not clear whether these projects really changed peoples long-term attitudes, Natural England is promoting the concept of green infrastructure as a way to deliver a wide range of benefits for people and the natural environment together. Natural England was challenged in High Court in 2006 by Peter Boggis, Natural England lost the case in 2009, when Mr. Justice Blair, the brother of the former Prime Minister, ruled that Mr. Boggis human predicament was more important than the sites SSSI status. Natural England won the subsequent appeal in October 2009
8.
Natural environment
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The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some part of Earth and this environment encompasses the interaction of all living species, climate, weather, and natural resources that affect human survival and economic activity. Even acts which seem less extreme, such as building a mud hut or a system in the desert. Though many animals build things to provide an environment for themselves, they are not human, hence beaver dams. People seldom find absolutely natural environments on Earth, and naturalness usually varies in a continuum, more precisely, we can consider the different aspects or components of an environment, and see that their degree of naturalness is not uniform. If, for instance, in a field, the mineralogic composition and the structure of its soil are similar to those of an undisturbed forest soil. Natural environment is used as a synonym for habitat. For instance, when we say that the environment of giraffes is the savanna. Earth science generally recognizes 4 spheres, the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the biosphere as correspondent to rocks, water, air, and life respectively. Some scientists include, as part of the spheres of the Earth, Earth science, is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. There are four major disciplines in sciences, namely geography, geology, geophysics. These major disciplines use physics, chemistry, biology, chronology, the Earths crust, or lithosphere, is the outermost solid surface of the planet and is chemically and mechanically different from underlying mantle. It has been generated greatly by igneous processes in which magma cools, beneath the lithosphere lies the mantle which is heated by the decay of radioactive elements. The mantle though solid is in a state of rheic convection and this convection process causes the lithospheric plates to move, albeit slowly. The resulting process is known as plate tectonics, volcanoes result primarily from the melting of subducted crust material or of rising mantle at mid-ocean ridges and mantle plumes. An ocean is a body of saline water, and a component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earths surface is covered by ocean, a body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans. More than half of area is over 3,000 meters deep
9.
Historic England Archive
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The Historic England Archive is the public archive of Historic England, located in The Engine House on Fire Fly Avenue in Swindon, formerly part of the Swindon Works of the Great Western Railway. It is a collection, with records being added to this day. The PastScape website allows searching of over 420,000 records, the Historic England Archive was part of English Heritage from 1999 until 2015, when the organisation divided into two parts and Historic England retained the statutory and advisory role. Between the declaration of war in 1939 and the first London air-raids in 1940 many moveable works of art, the RCHME worked closely with the NBR to carry out the extensive photographic recording of the towns in the eastern and southern counties at risk from enemy action. Although there were other voluntary and academic bodies at the time that some architectural records. Over the next few years the NBR attracted donations from amateur photographers, people who possessed drawings, by the end of the war the collection had grown to such as size and importance that it was continued and was funded by the Treasury. The recession of the late 1940s and early 1950s presented a different challenge from bombing and this time the destruction of significant buildings was due to deliberate demolition because the owners could no longer afford to maintain them. In 1946 the RCHME work was extended to include the recording of 18th and 19th century architecture, the 1950s also saw the start of aerial photography to discover and record ancient sites, as more intensive agriculture, forestry and gravel extraction threatened historic remains on ‘marginal land’. The NBR was merged with the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England in 1963, the name was then changed to the National Monuments Record to denote the inclusion of archaeological and photographic records. During the 70s and 80s the NMR increased its recording of industrial and commercial building records as well as ‘country’ houses, in 1983 the Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division was transferred to the NBR/RCHME which greatly expanded the records available. These are now digitised and available through the PastScape website, a further acquisition was the Industrial Monuments Survey, transferred from the Department of the Environment in 1981. This was followed by the RCHME taking on responsibility for the Survey of London following the abolition of the Greater London Council, the RCHME, including the NMR, merged with English Heritage in April 1999. In April 2012 the NMR was renamed the English Heritage Archive, in 2015 the archive and other statutory and advisory departments of English Heritage became Historic England, and the archive was renamed the Historic England Archive. Its collections arose from a number of sources, including the work of national institutions concerned with the buildings and archaeology of England, and from collections acquired from others. The collections are not only used by historians, architects and designers seeking inspiration, there is also a specialist reference library. Although photographs form the largest proportion of the Historic England Archive’s holdings, collections also include plans of houses, reports, correspondence. All of this material is available for viewing and a substantial number of images from the Historic England Archive are now available online. The original research material for RCHME inventory volumes are also in the archives, there is a selection of brochures advertising the sales of estate and properties across England from the late 19th and 20th centuries
10.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
11.
Holborn Bars
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Holborn Bars, also known as the Prudential Assurance Building is a large red terracotta Victorian building on the north side of Holborn in Camden at the boundary of the City of London, England. Located close to the Holborn Bar city boundary of the City of London it was built on the site of the former Furnivals Inn building of the Inns of Chancery and it was expanded again in 1993 by EPR Architects to a floor area of 34,931 square metres. The block is bounded by Holborn to the south, Brooke Street to the west, Leather Lane to the east, the building featured a library, restaurant, chapel, hall, rooftop promenade and a womens entrance. It was electrically lit and featured hot running water, the complex encloses a courtyard, Waterhouse Square, named after the original architect, who also designed the Natural History Museum and Manchester Town Hall. The building was listed Grade II* on 3 March 1972, Prudential moved out of the building in 1999 but retained ownership of it. It is currently occupied by De Vere Venues and also the London office of English Heritage at 1 Waterhouse Square. It is not to be confused with 1–4 Holborn Bars, a Grade I listed Tudor inn complex whose restoration was funded by the Prudential Assurance Society on the side of Holborn
12.
Official statistics
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Official statistics are statistics published by government agencies or other public bodies such as international organizations as a public good. They provide quantitative or qualitative information on all areas of citizens lives, such as economic and social development, living conditions, health, education. During the 16th and 17th centuries, statistics were a method for counting and listing populations, the term statistics comes from the New Latin statisticum collegium and refers to science of the state. Of course, governmental agencies at all levels, including municipal, county and this broader possibility is accommodated by later definitions. This bulk of data is usually called official statistics, official statistics should be objective and easily accessible and produced on a continuing basis so that measurement of change is possible. Official statistics result from the collection and processing of data into information by a government institution or international organisation. They are then disseminated to help develop their knowledge about a particular topic or geographical area. Official statistics make information on economic and social development accessible to the public, allowing the impact of government policies to be assessed, official statistics provide a picture of a country or different phenomena through data, and images such as graph and maps. Statistical information covers different subject areas and it provides basic information for decision making, evaluations and assessments at different levels. The goal of organizations is to produce relevant, objective and accurate statistics to keep users well informed and assist good policy. Statistical indicators provide an overview of the social, demographic and economic structure of society, moreover, these indicators facilitate comparisons between countries and regions. There are three types of users, those with a general interest, business interest or research interest, each of these user groups has different needs for statistical information. Users with a general interest include the media, schools and the general public and they use official statistics in order to be informed on a particular topic, to observe trends within the society of a local area, country, region of the world. Users with a business interest include decision makers and users with a particular interest for which they want more detailed information, for them, official statistics are an important reference, providing information on the phenomena or circumstances their own work is focusing on. For instance, those users will take some official statistics into consideration before launching a product, as with the business interest users, this group does not usually have a good understanding of statistical methodologies, but they need more detailed information than the general users. Users with a research interest are universities, consultants and government agencies, in this field, official statistics are also used to assess a governments policies. One common point for all users is their need to be able to trust the official information. They need to be confident that the results published are authoritative, producers of official statistics must maintain a reputation of professionalism and independence
13.
World Heritage Sites
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A World Heritage Site is a landmark which has been officially recognized by the United Nations, specifically by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Sites are selected on the basis of having cultural, historical, scientific or some form of significance. UNESCO regards these sites as being important to the interests of humanity. The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common culture, under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the Worlds Cultural and Natural Heritage, since then,192 state parties have ratified the convention, making it one of the most adhered to international instruments. As of July 2016,1052 sites are listed,814 cultural,203 natural, in 1959, the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested UNESCO to assist their countries to protect and rescue the endangered monuments and sites. In 1960, the Director-General of UNESCO launched an appeal to the Member States for an International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, the campaign, which ended in 1980, was considered a success. The project cost $80 million, about $40 million of which was collected from 50 countries, the projects success led to other safeguarding campaigns, saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia. UNESCO then initiated, with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the United States initiated the idea of cultural conservation with nature conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in 1968, the Convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of June 2016, it has been ratified by 192 states, including 188 UN member states plus the Cook Islands, the Holy See, Niue, a country must first list its significant cultural and natural sites, the result is called the Tentative List. A country may not nominate sites that have not been first included on the Tentative List, next, it can place sites selected from that list into a Nomination File. The Nomination File is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and these bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. There are ten selection criteria – a site must meet at least one of them to be included on the list, up to 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so there is now only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of outstanding value and meet at least one of the ten criteria. Thus, the Geneva Convention treaty promulgates, Article 53, PROTECTION OF CULTURAL OBJECTS AND OF PLACES OF WORSHIP. There are 1,052 World Heritage Sites located in 165 States Party, of these,814 are cultural,203 are natural and 35 are mixed properties
14.
Department for Communities and Local Government
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The Department for Communities and Local Government is the UK Government department for communities and local government in England. It was established in May 2006 and is the successor to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and its headquarters is located at 2 Marsham Street, London. The Permanent Secretary is Melanie Dawes who took up her post on 1 March 2015, henry Smith was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on 26 May 2015. DCLG was formed in July 2001 as part of the Cabinet Office with the title Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, headed by the then Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott. In May 2002 the ODPM became a department after absorbing the local government and regions portfolios from the defunct Department for Transport, Local Government. The ODPM was criticised in some quarters for adding little value, during the 5 May 2006 reshuffle of Tony Blairs government, it was renamed and Ruth Kelly became the first Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. Ministers have since established the Commission on Integration and Cohesion, planning Inspectorate Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre The department also was previously responsible for two other agencies. On 18 July 2011 Ordnance Survey was transferred to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, initially announced as Communities England, it became operational in December 2008. This also includes the Academy for Sustainable Communities and its main counterparts in the devolved nations of the UK are as follows
15.
Cadw
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Cadw is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. Cadw works to protect the buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage sites of Wales, so that the public can visit them, understand their significance. Cadw arranges events at its properties, provides lectures and teaching sessions, offers heritage walks. Members of the public can become members of Cadw and have such privileges as a magazine, reduced prices at the online shop and free entry to properties. It also offers reciprocal arrangements with similar organisations in other parts of the United Kingdom, Cadw offers employment possibilities and work experience placements. As the Welsh Government’s historic environment service, Cadw is charged with protecting the environment of Wales. Besides these, there were in 2011 in Wales 29,936 listed buildings, also in Wales were 4,175 Scheduled Monuments,6 Designated historic wrecks, and 523 Conservation Areas, these designations means that the buildings or objects concerned are protected by statute. A register of significant Welsh battlefield sites is also under preparation, many of these listed sites are in private ownership, but Cadw has a specific responsibility for the care and upkeep of the 127 historic sites that are in state ownership. Many of Wales great castles and other monuments, such as palaces, historic houses. Cadw has been appointed by the Welsh Government and is the body in Wales to the Ministry of Works. There are 58 Historic Landscapes and 376 Historic parks and gardens in Wales, Cadw is also undertaking urban character studies of urban areas. Eight had been completed by September 2013, combined with a register of buildings and ancient monuments at risk these aim to enable management decision making and grant allocation to strengthen the character of different areas. Cadw operates most of the sites in its care and opens them to the public. In 2010-11 there were an estimated 2 million visits to Cadw properties, in some cases, these are major tourist attractions and offer tours of the monuments, exhibitions and display panels. Cadw also produces books and guidebooks on many of their properties, however many of the sites are unstaffed, free to access, and have interpretation boards to explain their significance. Cadw Membership, formerly known as Heritage in Wales, gives the free admission to all Cadw properties. Other membership advantages are a magazine, reduced prices at the online gift shop. Cadw has also entered into agreements with English Heritage, Historic Scotland
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Historic Scotland
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Historic Scotland was an executive agency of the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotlands built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. Under the terms of a Bill of the Scottish Parliament published on 3 March 2014, Historic Scotland was dissolved, HES also took over the functions of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Historic Scotland was an organisation to the Ancient Monuments Division of the Ministry of Works. It was created as an agency in 1991 and was attached to the Scottish Executive Education Department, as part of the Scottish Government, Historic Scotland was directly accountable to the Scottish Ministers. In 2002, proposals to restore Castle Tioram in the West Highlands, by putting a roof back on, were blocked by Historic Scotland and this position was supported in an extensive local Public Inquiry at which the arguments for both sides were heard. It has been implied that this dispute has led to a review of the operations of the organisation, after widespread consultation, Historic Scotland published a comprehensive series of Scottish Historic Environment Policy papers, consolidated into a single volume in October 2008. The agencys Framework Document set out the responsibilities of the Scottish Ministers and its Corporate Plan sets out its targets and performance against them. Historic Scotland had direct responsibility for maintaining and running over 360 monuments in its care, about a quarter of which are manned and these properties have additional features such as guidebooks, books and other resources. Historic Scotland sought to increase the number of run at its sites. Similarly, new museums and visitor centres were opened, notably at Arbroath Abbey, there was also a hospitality section, which makes some properties available for wedding receptions and other functions. Lifetime memberships were also available, and all received a quarterly magazine Historic Scotland. Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland Scottish Ten Official website
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Manx National Heritage
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Manx National Heritage is the national heritage organisation for the Isle of Man. The organisation manages a significant proportion of the physical heritage assets including over 3000 acres of coastline. It holds property, archives, artwork, library and museum collections in trust for the Manx nation and it is the Isle of Mans statutory heritage agency and an Isle of Man registered charity. Manx National Heritages role is to lead the Isle of Mans community in recognising, understanding, valuing and promoting its cultural heritage and identity to a worldwide audience. Gob ny Rona Niarbyl The Sound and the Calf of Man Upper Ballaharry Raad ny Foillan http, //www. manxnationalheritage. im/ The Friends of Manx National Heritage
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Conservation in the United Kingdom
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This page gives an overview of the complex structure of environmental and cultural conservation in the United Kingdom. There follows a list of the legislation, conservation bodies, and conservation designations, a list of objects of conservation provides further links. Some of the key legislation which governs conservation issues in the UK, joint Nature Conservation Committee — co-ordination of regional bodies Forestry Commission — Forestry management English Heritage — cultural and built heritage. Natural England — nature and wildlife conservation, landscape protection, environment Agency — waterways, pollution, waste management
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United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
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Executive agency
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The model was also applied in several other countries. Agencies range from Her Majestys Prison Service to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the annual budget for each agency, allocated by Her Majestys Treasury ranges from a few million pounds for the smallest agencies to £700m for the Court Service. Virtually all government departments have at least one agency, the initial success or otherwise of executive agencies was examined in the Sir Angus Frasers Fraser Report of 1991. Its main goal was to identify good practices had emerged from the new model and spread them to other agencies. The report also recommended further powers be devolved from ministers to chief executives, a whole series of reports and white papers examining governmental delivery were published throughout the 1990s, under both Conservative and Labour governments. During these the agency became the standard model for delivering public services in the United Kingdom. By 1997 76% of civil servants were employed by an agency, the new Labour government in its first such report – the 1998 Next Steps Report endorsed the model introduced by its predecessor. The most recent review made two central conclusions, The agency model has been a success, since 1988 agencies have transformed the landscape of government and the responsive and effectiveness of services delivered by Government. Some agencies have, however, become disconnected from their departments, the gulf between policy and delivery is considered by most to have widened. The latter point is made more forcefully by Government critics. In the United States, the Clinton administration imported the model, in Canada, executive agencies were adopted on a limited basis under the name special operating agencies. Executive agencies were established in Australia, Jamaica, Japan
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The Royal Parks
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The Royal Parks is an organisation within the UK Government that manages the eight Royal Parks and certain other areas of garden and parkland in London. The Royal Parks is an agency of the Department for Culture, Media. The Chief Executive of the agency is Andrew Scattergood, the agencys primary focus is on management and conservation of the 1976 hectares of Royal Parks. The agency runs programmes of activities and events to outdoor recreation. It also allows parties to run such activities within the grounds to further these objectives. The Royal Parks also regulates filming, audio recording and the taking of photographs in these areas for anything other than personal use through the issuing of licences and it also issues news permits to the media for the specific purpose of covering breaking news items relating to the Parks. In September 2005, the agency was awarded the EST Best Practice Award at the GreenFleet Awards, the awards recognise achievements in green fuels and alternative transport technologies. The agency negotiated a contract for the installation of LPG fuel bunkers, each new contract awarded by The Royal Parks requires the contractor to use green fuel. The plan was welcomed by Royal Parks but has not yet been implemented
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The National Archives (United Kingdom)
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The National Archives is a non-ministerial government department. Its parent department is the Department for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom and it is the official archive of the UK government and for England and Wales, and guardian of some of the nations most iconic documents, dating back more than 1,000 years. There are separate national archives for Scotland and Northern Ireland, TNA was formerly four separate organisations, the Public Record Office, the Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information and Her Majestys Stationery Office. It is institutional policy to include the article, with an initial capital letter, in its name. The National Archives is based in Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south-west London, the building was opened in 1977 as an additional home for the public records, which were held in a building on Chancery Lane. The site was originally a World War I hospital, which was used by several government departments. It is near to Kew Gardens Underground station, until its closure in March 2008, the Family Records Centre in Islington was run jointly by The National Archives and the General Register Office. The National Archives has an office in Norwich, which is primarily for former OPSI staff. There is also a record storage facility in the worked-out parts of Winsford Rock Salt Mine, Winsford. For earlier history, see Public Record Office, the name remained The National Archives. This work helps inform todays decisions and ensure that they become tomorrows permanent record, the National Archives has long had a role of oversight and leadership for the entire archives sector and archives profession in the UK, including local government and non-governmental archives. Under the Public Records Act 1958 it is responsible for overseeing the appropriate custody of certain non-governmental public records in England, under the 2003 Historical Manuscripts Commission Warrant it has responsibility for investigating and reporting on non-governmental records and archives of all kinds throughout the United Kingdom. The National Archives now sees part of its role as being to enhance the archival health of the nation. The collections held by the National Archives can be searched using their online catalogue, entrance to The National Archives is free. Anybody aged 16 or over can access the documents at the Kew site. The reading room has terminals from which documents can be ordered up from secure storage areas by their reference number, Documents can also be ordered in advance. Once a document has been ordered, The National Archives aims to get it to the reader within 45 minutes, special arrangements are in place for readers wishing to retrieve large groups of files. A readers ticket is not needed to access records on microform or online, frequently accessed documents such as the Abdication Papers have been put on microfilm, as have records for two million First World War soldiers
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Arts Council England
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Arts Council England was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three separate bodies for England, Scotland and Wales. It is a public body of the Department of Culture, Media. Arts Council England is a body dedicated to promoting the performing, visual. Since 1994, Arts Council England has been responsible for distributing lottery funding and this investment has helped to transform the building stock of arts organisations and to create lots of additional high quality arts activity. Since October 2011, Arts Council England has been responsible for supporting and developing museums, at the same time, the National Lottery was established and the Arts Council of England became one of the distribution bodies. This increased responsibility saw the Arts Council of England grow back in size to the point where it was larger than before the 1987 restructure, Arts Council England has a national council of 15 members, including the Chair. The national council meets ten times a year and is made up of representatives of the community with five of the members also representing the area councils. Each area council has a board of 15 members made up of representatives of their arts community and local government. There are five area councils, The appointment of the Arts Council England Chief Executive is made by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, each area council has an Executive Director and each art form has a specialist advisor. She developed over 40 permanent artistic commissions integrated into the Olympic Park Arts Council England supports a number of museums as Major Partnership Museums. 16 single museums or consortia were supported 2012-2015, and a further five were added for 2015-2018 bringing the total to 21, there was also a series of costly capital projects such as the Royal Opera House and the Lowry Centre that required additional funding. In the case of the Royal Opera House the select committee found the Arts Council had broken its own procedures, in 2005 it was announced that the Arts Council Englands budget was capped resulting in an effective £30m reduction in its budget. The Arts Council of England funds a controversial cultural festival, the Festival of Muslim Cultures, Arts Council Englands music policy was controversial within the jazz world. Chris Hodgkins, in his 1998 paper Jazz in the UK, pointed out more than 90% of its music budget went on opera while jazz, with an equivalent audience size. The funding landscape has improved since with funding for NWJazzworks and Manchester Jazz Festival 2012, among other areas funding has diversified into youth music such as National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, National Youth Jazz Collective and South Asian Music Youth Orchestra etc. More recently it was raised in the House of Lords by Lord Colwyn on 11 May 2006 as documented in the Lords Hansard Columns. Creative Partnerships Community art Artsmark State planning Arts Council England consultation website Arts Council England Artists taking the lead Arts energy Arts jobs Own art Take it away
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British Film Institute
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The British Film Institute is a film and charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI maintains the worlds largest film archive, the BFI National Archive, previously called National Film Library, National Film Archive and National Film, the archive contains more than 50,000 fiction films, over 100,000 non-fiction titles and around 625,000 television programmes. The majority of the collection is British material but it also features internationally significant holdings from around the world, the Archive also collects films which feature key British actors and the work of British directors. The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and London IMAX cinema, both located on the bank of the River Thames in London. The IMAX has the largest cinema screen in the UK, and shows popular recent releases and short films showcasing its technology, BFI Southbank shows films from all over the world particularly critically acclaimed historical & specialised films that may not otherwise get a cinema showing. The BFI also distributes archival and cultural cinema to other venues – each year to more than 800 venues all across the UK, the BFI offers a range of education initiatives, in particular to support the teaching of film and media studies in schools. In late 2012, the BFI received money from the Department For Education to create the BFI Film Academy Network, the BFI runs the annual London Film Festival along with BFI Flare, London LGBT Film Festival and the youth-orientated Future Film Festival. The BFI publishes the monthly Sight & Sound magazine as well as films on Blu-ray, DVD, SIFT has a collection of about 7 million still frames from film and television. The institute was founded in 1933, the institute was restructured following the Radcliffe Report of 1948 which recommended that it should concentrate on developing the appreciation of filmic art, rather than creating film itself. Thus control of film production passed to the National Committee for Visual Aids in Education. From 1952-2000, the BFI provided funding for new and experimental filmmakers via the BFI Production Board, the institute received a Royal Charter in 1983. This was updated in 2000, and in the year the newly established UK Film Council took responsibility for providing the BFIs annual grant-in-aid. As an independent registered charity, the BFI is regulated by the Charity Commission, in 1988, the BFI opened the London Museum of the Moving Image on the South Bank. The Museum was temporarily closed in 1999 when the BFI stated that it would be re-sited and this did not happen, and MOMIs closure became permanent in 2002 when it was decided to redevelop the South Bank site. This redevelopment was itself then further delayed, the BFI is currently managed on a day-to-day basis by its chief executive, Amanda Nevill. Supreme decision-making authority rests with a chair and a board of up to 14 governors, the current chair is Josh Berger, who took up the post in February 2016. He succeeded Greg Dyke, who took office on 1 March 2008, Dyke succeeded the late Anthony Minghella, who was chair from 2003 until 31 December 2007. The chair of the board is appointed by the BFIs own Board of Governors but requires the consent of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media, other Governors are co-opted by existing board members when required
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British Library
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The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and the second largest library in the world by number of items catalogued. It holds well over 150 million items from many countries, as a legal deposit library, the British Library receives copies of all books produced in the United Kingdom and Ireland, including a significant proportion of overseas titles distributed in the UK. The Library is a public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media. The Librarys collections include around 14 million books, along with holdings of manuscripts. In addition to receiving a copy of every publication produced in the UK and Ireland, the Library adds some three million items every year occupying 9.6 kilometres of new shelf space. Prior to 1973, the Library was part of the British Museum, the Euston Road building is classified as a Grade I listed building, of exceptional interest for its architecture and history. The British Library was created on 1 July 1973 as a result of the British Library Act 1972. Prior to this, the library was part of the British Museum. In 1983, the Library absorbed the National Sound Archive, which holds many sound and video recordings, with over a million discs, the core of the Librarys historical collections is based on a series of donations and acquisitions from the 18th century, known as the foundation collections. From 1997 to 2009 the main collection was housed in this new building. Construction work on the Newspaper Storage Building was completed in 2013, the collection has now been split between the St Pancras and Boston Spa sites. The British Library Document Supply Service and the Librarys Document Supply Collection is based on the site in Boston Spa. Collections housed in Yorkshire, comprising low-use material and the newspaper and Document Supply collections, the Library previously had a book storage depot in Woolwich, south-east London, which is no longer in use. The new library was designed specially for the purpose by the architect Colin St John Wilson, facing Euston Road is a large piazza that includes pieces of public art, such as large sculptures by Eduardo Paolozzi and Antony Gormley. It is the largest public building constructed in the United Kingdom in the 20th century, in December 2009 a new storage building at Boston Spa was opened by Rosie Winterton. The building was Grade I listed on 1 August 2015, in England, Legal Deposit can be traced back to at least 1610. The other five libraries are, the Bodleian Library at Oxford, the University Library at Cambridge, the Trinity College Library at Dublin, in 2003 the Ipswich MP Chris Mole introduced a Private Members Bill which became the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003. The Act extends United Kingdom legal deposit requirements to electronic documents, such as CD-ROMs, the Library also holds the Asia, Pacific and Africa Collections which include the India Office Records and materials in the languages of Asia and of north and north-east Africa
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British Museum
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The British Museum is dedicated to human history, art and culture, and is located in the Bloomsbury area of London. The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician, the museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759, in Montagu House, on the site of the current building. Although today principally a museum of art objects and antiquities. Its foundations lie in the will of the Irish-born British physician, on 7 June 1753, King George II gave his formal assent to the Act of Parliament which established the British Museum. They were joined in 1757 by the Old Royal Library, now the Royal manuscripts, together these four foundation collections included many of the most treasured books now in the British Library including the Lindisfarne Gospels and the sole surviving copy of Beowulf. The British Museum was the first of a new kind of museum – national, belonging to neither church nor king, freely open to the public, sloanes collection, while including a vast miscellany of objects, tended to reflect his scientific interests. The addition of the Cotton and Harley manuscripts introduced a literary, the body of trustees decided on a converted 17th-century mansion, Montagu House, as a location for the museum, which it bought from the Montagu family for £20,000. The Trustees rejected Buckingham House, on the now occupied by Buckingham Palace, on the grounds of cost. With the acquisition of Montagu House the first exhibition galleries and reading room for scholars opened on 15 January 1759. During the few years after its foundation the British Museum received several gifts, including the Thomason Collection of Civil War Tracts. A list of donations to the Museum, dated 31 January 1784, in the early 19th century the foundations for the extensive collection of sculpture began to be laid and Greek, Roman and Egyptian artefacts dominated the antiquities displays. Gifts and purchases from Henry Salt, British consul general in Egypt, beginning with the Colossal bust of Ramesses II in 1818, many Greek sculptures followed, notably the first purpose-built exhibition space, the Charles Towneley collection, much of it Roman Sculpture, in 1805. In 1816 these masterpieces of art, were acquired by The British Museum by Act of Parliament. The collections were supplemented by the Bassae frieze from Phigaleia, Greece in 1815, the Ancient Near Eastern collection also had its beginnings in 1825 with the purchase of Assyrian and Babylonian antiquities from the widow of Claudius James Rich. The neoclassical architect, Sir Robert Smirke, was asked to draw up plans for an extension to the Museum. For the reception of the Royal Library, and a Picture Gallery over it, and put forward plans for todays quadrangular building, much of which can be seen today. The dilapidated Old Montagu House was demolished and work on the Kings Library Gallery began in 1823, the extension, the East Wing, was completed by 1831. The Museum became a site as Sir Robert Smirkes grand neo-classical building gradually arose
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Geffrye Museum
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The Geffrye Museum of the Home is located in Shoreditch, London. The Museum explores home and home life from 1600 to the present day, named after Sir Robert Geffrye, a former Lord Mayor of London and Master of the Ironmongers Company, it is located on Kingsland Road in Shoreditch, London. The museum is set in beautiful 18th-century Grade I-listed almshouses of the Ironmongers Company, surrounding the museum is a walled herb garden, and a series of period gardens which show how domestic gardens have changed over time. The herb and period gardens are open from 1 April to 31 October, inside the museum, evocative displays of London, middle-class living rooms and gardens illustrate homes and home life through the centuries, reflecting changes in society, behaviour, style and taste. The many aspects of home are brought to life through an imaginative and inspirational programme of special exhibitions, the museums popular Christmas Past exhibition is held annually each winter, with the eleven period rooms authentically decorated for the season. The museum has embarked on an ambitious £18. 1m development project - Unlocking the Geffrye
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Horniman Museum
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The Horniman Museum and Gardens is a British museum in Forest Hill, London, England. Commissioned in 1898, it opened in 1901 and was designed by Charles Harrison Townsend in the Arts and Crafts style and it is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and is constituted as a company and registered charity under English law. The museum was founded in 1901 by Frederick John Horniman, Frederick had inherited his fathers Hornimans Tea business, which by 1891 had become the worlds biggest tea trading business. In 1911, a building to the west of the main building, originally containing a lecture hall. This was also designed by Townsend, a new extension, opened in 2002, was designed by Allies and Morrison. The Horniman specialises in anthropology, natural history and musical instruments and has a collection of 350,000 objects, the ethnography and music collections have Designated status. One of its most famous exhibits is the collection of stuffed animals. It also has a noted for its unique layout. Composed of more than 117,000 individual tesserae, it measures 10 feet by 32 feet, the three figures on the far left represent Art, Poetry and Music, standing by a doorway symbolising birth, while the armed figure represents Endurance. The two kneeling figures represent Love and Hope, while the central figure symbolises Humanity, charity stands to the right bearing figs and wine, followed by white-haired Wisdom holding a staff, and a seated figure representing Meditation. Finally, a figure symbolising Resignation stands by the right-hand doorway, a 20-foot red cedar totem pole stands outside the museums main entrance. It was carved in 1985 as part of the American Arts Festival by Nathan Jackson, the carvings on the pole depict figures from Alaskan legend of a girl who married a bear, with an eagle at the top. There is also a pole in the Royal Albert Memorial museum in Exeter. It is displayed in their World Cultures galleries, the Horniman Museum contains the CUE building. This opened in 1996 and was designed by local architects Archetype using methods developed by Walter Segal, the building has a grass roof and was constructed from sustainable materials. Official website Forest Hill image gallery urban75 photo feature Review and Visitor Information for the Horniman Museum
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Imperial War Museum
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Imperial War Museums is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military war effort and sacrifice of Britain, the museums remit has since expanded to include all conflicts in which British or Commonwealth forces have been involved since 1914. As of 2012, the aims to provide for, and to encourage. Originally housed in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham Hill, the museum opened to the public in 1920. The outbreak of the Second World War saw the museum expand both its collections and its terms of reference, but in the period, the museum entered a period of decline. The 1960s saw the museum redevelop its Southwark building, now referred to as Imperial War Museum London, during the 1970s, the museum began to expand onto other sites. The first, in 1976, was an airfield in Cambridgeshire now referred to as IWM Duxford. In 1978, the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Belfast became a branch of the museum, in 1984, the Cabinet War Rooms, an underground wartime command centre, was opened to the public. From the 1980s onwards, the museums Bethlem building underwent a series of multimillion-pound redevelopments, finally,2002 saw the opening of IWM North in Trafford, Greater Manchester, the fifth branch of the museum and the first in the north of England. In 2011, the museum rebranded itself as IWM, standing for Imperial War Museums, the museum is funded by government grants, charitable donations, and revenue generation through commercial activity such as retailing, licensing, and publishing. General admission is free to IWM London and IWM North, the museum is an exempt charity under the Charities Act 1993 and a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. As of January 2012, the Chairman of the Trustees is Sir Francis Richards, since October 2008, the museums Director General has been Diane Lees. On 27 February 1917 Sir Alfred Mond, a Liberal MP and First Commissioner of Works and this proposal was accepted by the War Cabinet on 5 March 1917 and the decision announced in The Times on 26 March. A committee was established, chaired by Mond, to oversee the collection of material to be exhibited in the new museum, there was an early appreciation of the need for exhibits to reflect personal experience in order to prevent the collections becoming dead relics. Sir Martin Conway, the Museums first Director General, said that exhibits must be vitalised by contributions expressive of the action, the experiences, the valour and the endurance of individuals. The museums first curator and secretary was Charles ffoulkes, who had previously been curator of the Royal Armouries at the Tower of London, in July 1917 Mond made a visit to the Western Front in order to study how best to organise the museums growing collection. While in France he met French government ministers, and Field Marshal Haig, in December 1917 the name was changed to the Imperial War Museum after a resolution from the India and Dominions Committee of the museum. The museum was opened by The King at the Crystal Palace on 9 June 1920, shortly afterwards the Imperial War Museum Act 1920 was passed and established a Board of Trustees to oversee the governance of the museum
