Celebrating the City of Colchester

Colchester Castle © David Gill

Colchester is one of the new cities announced to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Remains of the Roman colony founded shortly after the invasion of Britain in 43 CE can still be seen including the foundations of the temple to the Divine Claudius in the foundations of the castle. Pliny the Elder, who was killed in the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE, mentioned the oppidum of Camulodunum (Camalodunum) in his Natural History (2.187). However the abbreviated name appears on the pre-Roman coinage of Cunobelinus.

For reactions to the news: BBC Essex.

The Balkerne Gate, Colchester © David Gill

City Walls © David Gill

Heritage Tourism in 2021: Museums in London

Compiled by © David Gill

The ALVA figures for 2021 allow us to gain a glimpse of visit numbers across the heritage sector. Visitor numbers in London have not bounced back; indeed, they are marginally down on 2020. Is this due to the lack of visitors from outside the UK? Are members of the public concerned about visiting such venues where it is not possible to maintain social distancing?

Such a dramatic drop in numbers (from 36.6 million in 2019 to 7.7 million in 2021) will have an impact on income in terms of special exhibitions, retail outlets and catering. What is not clear is if this will be reflected in the numbers retaining membership of friends’ organisations.

Heritage Tourism in 2021: Historic Royal Palaces

Compiled by © David Gill

Three Historic Royal Palaces feature in the ALVA visitor figures for 2021. The Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace and Kensington Palace attracted just over 1 million visitors in 2021: this is down from 4.5 million visitors in 2019, and slightly up from 730,816 in 2020.

Heritage Tourism in 2021: Treasure Houses of England

Compiled by © David Gill

The release of the ALVA visitor figures for 2021 allows us to see how the heritage sector has been responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The eight properties designated as ‘The Treasure Houses of England’ attracted 2.4 million visitors in 2021: the same eight attracted 1.4 million in 2020, and 3.1 million in 2019.

Heritage Tourism in 2021: National Trust for Scotland

Compiled by © David Gill

The 2021 visitor figures for National Trust for Scotland are now available through ALVA. The top 10 sites attracted 1.2 million visits: the same attracted 1.8 million visits in 2019.

Heritage Tourism in 2021: Historic Environment Scotland

Compiled by © David Gill

Visitor numbers for the top 10 sites in the care of Historic Environment Scotland (HES) suggest that the road to recovery will be a long one. These top 10 sites attracted 855,626 visits in 2021: in 2019 the same 10 sites attracted 4.3 million.

Heritage Tourism in 2021: English Heritage

Compiled by © David Gill

The 2021 visitor figures for English Heritage are now available. Stonehenge remains the most visited site: 334,087 visits in 2021 compared with 1.6 million in 2019. Brodsworth Hall and Gardens has made an appearance in the top 10 with 93,614 visits in 2021. Tintagel, with 267,094 visits, had a particularly popular season perhaps reflecting the popularity of Cornwall as a holiday destination: in 2017 it had 246,039 visits.

Heritage Tourism in 2021: The National Trust

Compiled by © David Gill

The visitor figures for the National Trust in 2021 are now available. The top 10 NT locations attracted 4.3 million visitors: the most popular was Attingham Park with 597,154 visitors, followed by Cliveden with 553,041. These same ten properties (except for Clumber Park where the information is not easily accessible) attracted 4.6 million visitors in 2019, and 3.2 million in 2020. The figures for 2021 are higher than those for 2018 (4.2 million).

Compiled by © David Gill

The top 20 National Trust properties attracted 7.2 million visits in 2021, up from 7.6 million for the same 20 in 2019.

Heritage Tourism in 2021: An Overview

Details of the impact that the pandemic has made on the heritage sector is becoming clear. Visitor figures for 2021 are now available. The top 10 properties in 2021 for the National Trust, National Trust for Scotland, English Heritage, Historic Environment Scotland, Historic Royal Palaces, and the Treasure Houses of England are collated here: 51 properties in all.

The National Trust has recovered best best with 4.3 million visits to its top 10 properties, down slightly from 4.6 million visits to the same 10 properties in 2019. In contrast Historic Royal Palaces attracted just over 1 million visitors in 2021, down from 4.5 million in 2019.

These 51 properties attracted 11.7 million visitors in 2021, compared to 21.8 million in 2019 (7.7 million in 2020).

Mwnt: Heritage Crime in Wales

Mwnt © David Gill

During December the small church at Mwnt in Ceredigion was vandalised not just once but twice (“Mwnt church vandalism prompts £20k fundraising appeal“, BBC News 3 January 2022). Windows and the entrance to the churchyard were damaged. These vulnerable structures need public protection.

A JustGiving page has been set up to help fund the restoration.