Public Perceptions of Heritage 2018

Public Perceptions of Heritage 2018

This research was commissioned to provide an updated understanding of public perception of heritage and how it is valued.
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Public perceptions of heritage 2018 2.34 MB

This report presents the findings from a nationally representative survey of over 10,000 UK adults. It supported the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) with strategic planning for the 2019-2024 period.

Key findings:

The importance of heritage

The two most popular reasons why heritage matters to people are that:

  • it helps them to learn from the past (62%)
  • it preserves important things (61%)

The most engaged groups

The groups that are the most engaged in heritage are older people, ABC1s, those from a white ethnic background and women.

Notably, 45% of those aged 65 and over say heritage matters to a large/very large extent in comparison to just 14% of 16-24 year olds.

The most important aspects of heritage

The aspects of heritage with the highest levels of support are:

  • museums/libraries/archives (83%)
  • historic buildings/monuments (82%)
  • land/natural heritage (81%)

Issues for heritage to address:

  • environmental sustainability
  • economic growth
  • community development
  • social inclusion