Leading Visitor Attractions 2018: National Trust

Waddesdon Manor © David Gill

The figures for Leading Visitor Attractions in 2018 have been published. The top National Trust sites are:

• Giants Causeway [35]: 1,011,473 [+2.7%]
• Clumber Park [59]: 657,443 [+4%]
• Carrick-a-Rede [72]: 491,947 [+13%]
• Attingham Park [73]: 484,581 [+4%]
• Cliveden [74]: 483,754 [-1%]
• Waddesdon Manor [77]: 466,158 [-0.86%]
• Belton House [83]: 422,682 [-5%]
• Stourhead [86]: 393,779 [+3%]
• Fountains Abbey Estate [88]: 388,500 [-8%]
• Calke Abbey [90]: 384,561 [-1%]
• Mottisfont [92]: 376,043 [+3%]
• Anglesey Abbey [93]: 370,506 [-5%]
• Nymans Garden [99]: 354,502 [+4%]
• Kingston Lacy [101]: 353,653 [+9%]
• St Michael’s Mount [103]: 347,773 [-1%]
• Polesden Lacey [104]: 347,149 [-2%]
• Dunham Massey [110]: 310,093 [+7%]
• Sheffield Park [111]: 306,692 [+8%]
• Wimpole Estate [113]: 304,191 [-12%]
• Tyntesfield [116]: 301,765 [-3%]
• Hardwick Hall [119]: 285,379 [+2%]
• Lanhydrock [120]: 273,149 [+4%]
• Killerton [121]: 267,383 [+7%]
• Bodnant Garden [125]: 254,227 [+1%]
• Ickworth [126]: 254,073 [-7%]
• Dyrham Park [127]: 251,631 [0%]
• Chartwell [128]: 246,336 [+3%]
• Quarry Bank [130]: 240,277 [-5%]
• Corfe Castle [131]: 237,992 [-4%]
• Wallington [132]: 236,825 [+1%]
• Cragside Estate [133]: 236,672 [+3%]
• Mount Stewart [137]: 226,577 [+4%]
• Baddesley Clinton [140]: 221,703 [+1%]
• Trelissick [141]: 214,034 [+7%]
• Saltram [146]: 209,755 [+7%]
• Stowe [147]: 208,644 [-1%]
• Charlecote Park [148]: 208,289 [-5%]
• Dunster Castle [150]: 204,625 [-2%]
• Speke Hall [151]: 204,134 [+6%]
• Shugborough Estate [152]: 203,652 [+27%]
• Packwood House [153]: 202,114 [-8%]

Stowe © David Gill

Leading Visitor Attractions 2018: English Heritage

The figures for Leading Visitor Attractions in 2018 have been published. The top English Heritage sites are:

• Stonehenge [20]: 1,555,868 [-1.7%]. 2017: 1,582,532 [+14.5%]
• Dover Castle [95]: 365,462 [-3.8%]. 2017: 379,740 [+13.9%]
• Osborne [112]: 304,927 [-1.3%]. 2017: 308,861 [+16.1%]
• Tintagel Castle [135]: 230,584 [-6.3%]. 2017: 246,039 [+7.1%]
• Carlisle Castle [158]: 177,247 [+285.4%]
• Audley End House and Gardens [160]: 170,042 [-5.1%]. 2017: 179,167 [+8.1%]
• Clifford’s Tower, York [163]: 154,701 [+0.4%]. 2017: 154,135 [+5.1%]
• Whitby Abbey [165]: 147,566 [-11.3%]. 2017: 166,362 [+9.6%]
• Kenwood [171]: 131,126 [-8.6%]. 2017: 143,490 [+6.8%]
• Wrest Park [172]: 128,980 [-5.9%]. 2017: 137,131 [+10.3%]
• Carisbrooke Castle [174]: 125,664 [-0.7%]. 2017: 126,584 [-0.3%]
• 1066 Battle of Hastings, Abbey and Battlefield [176]: 123,870 [+0.5%]. 2017: 123,220 [-10.6%]
• Eltham Palace and Gardens [180]: 110,034 [+0.5%]. 2017: 109,501 [+12.5%]
• Kenilworth Castle [181]: 110,012 [-6.8%]. 2017: 118,090 [+9.3%]
• Housesteads Roman Fort [182]: 109,675 [+0.9%]. 2017: 108,660 [+6.5%]
• Walmer Castle and Gardens [184]: 103,905 [-4.7%]. 2017: 109,005 [+18.8%]

Overall English Heritage seems to have been attracting fewer visitors during 2018.

Eltham Palace © David Gill

Leading Visitor Attractions 2018: National Trust for Scotland

Broughton House © David Gill

The details of the Leading Visitor Attractions for 2018 are now available.  The National Trust for Scotland locations are:

• Glenfinnan [89]: 385,352 [-2.8%]. 2017: 396,448 [+57.8%]
• Culzean Castle & Country Park [91]: 382,608 [+56.2%]. 2017: 244,930 [+11.6%]
• Burns Birthplace Museum [122]: 266,36  [+62.1%]. 2017: 164,316 [+1.2%]
• Brodie Castle [124]: 256,666 [+21.8%]
• Glencoe [142]: 213,343 [+29.1%]
• Culloden [143]: 213,343 [+10.9%]. 2017: 180,875 [+27.6%]
• Crathes Castle [173]: 127,695 [+4.8%]. 2017: 121,841 [+23.7%]
• Threave Castle [186]: 96,357 [+1.5%]
• Inverewe Gardens [192]: 80,913 [-57.8%]. 2017: 191,951 [+109.6%]
• Newhailes [199] 68,360 [+1168.7%]
• Pollok House [205]: 57,172 [+5.1%]
• Fyvie Castle [207]: 56,158 [-0.2%]
• Drum Castle [208]: 50,421 [+8.3%]. 2017: 46,574 [-3%]
• Falkland Palace [211]: 46,475 [-8.4%]. 2017: 50,726 [+15.1%]
• Bannockburn [212]: 45,208 [-18.3%]. 2017: 55,347 [+7.9%]
• Pitmedden Garden [213]: 41,694 [-3.1%]. 2017: 43,045 [+17.9%]
• Brodick Castle & Country Park [216]: 39,708 [-10.4%]. 2017: 44,361 [-38.1%]
• Georgian House [222]: 33,450 [-11.3%]
• Ben Lawers Visitor Centre [229]: 24,728 [-12.3%]
• Culross Palace [230]: 24,445 [+52.6%]
• Craigievar Castle [232]: 19,702 [+15.6%]
• Leith Hall [233]: 19,332 [-1.8%]
• Tenement House [237]: 17,053 [-5.3%]
• Kellie Castle [238]: 17,003 [+5.8%]
• Broughton House & Garden [239]: 16,843 [+8.2%]
• Greenbank Garden [240]: 16,327 [+2.4%]
• Hill House [243]: 12,150 [-57.4%]. 2017: 28,518 [+6.2%]
• Geilston Garden [244]: 12,110 [+17%]
• Gladstones Land [245]: 11,670 [-3.2%]. 2017: 12,061 [-44.7%]

There is wider coverage of NTS in the ALVA figures for 2018. Bannockburn’s visitor numbers are a surprise given the increase in HES numbers for Stirling Castle.

Glenfinnan © David Gill

Leading Visitor Attractions 2018: Historic Environment Scotland

Linlithgow Palace © David Gill

The figures for the Leading Visitor Attractions 2018 are now available. There are a number of sites in the care of Historic Environment Scotland:

• Edinburgh Castle [12]: 2,111,578 [+2%]. 2017: 2,063,709 [+16%]
• Stirling Castle [63]: 605,241 [+7%]. 2017: 567,259 [+18%]
• Urquhart Castle [69]: 518,195 [+6%]. 2017: 488,136 [+23%]
• Glasgow Cathedral [75]: 482,783 [+24%]. 2017: 389,101 [+36%]
• Doune Castle [170]: 142,091 [+14%]. 2017: 124,341 [+38%]
• Skara Brae [179]: 111,921 [+2%]. 2017: 110,028 [+18%]
• Linlithgow Palace [187]: 94,718 [+9%]. 2017: 86,596 [+16%]
• St Andrews Castle [188]: 91,302 [+1%]. 2017: 90,617 [+18%]
• Fort George [198]: 71,906 [-5%]. 2017: 75,798 [+24%]
• Iona Abbey [200]: 64,183 [-3%]. 2017: 66,224 [+2%]
• Blackness Castle [203]: 58,388 [+36%]. 2017 42,810 [+42%]
• Melrose Abbey [204]: 58,286 [-1%]. 2017:  58,989 [+11%]
• St Andrews Cathedral [206]: 56,249 [-4%]. 2017:  58,395 [+26%]
• Tantallon Castle [213]: 43,170 [-14%]. 2017: 49,955 [+17%]
• Elgin Cathedral [217]: 39,398 [+3%]. 2017: 38,201 [+25%]
• Craigmillar Castle [220]: 35,442 [+13%]. 2017: 31,269 [+35%]
• Caerlaverock Castle [221]: 35,305 [-8%]. 2017: 38,540 [+8%]
• Dirleton Castle [224]: 29,764 [-2%]. 2017: 30,219 [+8%]
• Dumbarton Castle [226]: 28,546 [+6%]. 2017: 27,033 [+12%]
• Maeshowe [228]: 28,414 [+11%].

Iona © David Gill

Ministry Guidebooks from 1955

(1961)

My study of Ministry Souvenir Guidebooks has appeared in the latest number of the Journal of Public Archaeology (2018).

Abstract
The first formal guidebooks for historic sites placed in state guardianship in the United Kingdom appeared in 1917. There was an expansion of the series in the 1930s and 1950s. However from the late 1950s the Ministry of Works, and later the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works, started to produce an additional series of illustrated souvenir guides. One distinct group covered Royal Palaces: The Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Queen Victoria’s residence of Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, and Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. This was followed by guides for the archaeological sites such as Stonehenge and Avebury, the Neolithic flint mines at Grime’s Graves, the Roman villa at Lullingstone, and Hadrian’s Wall. In 1961 a series of guides, with covers designed by Kyffin Williams, was produced for the English castles constructed in North Wales and that now form part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of ‘Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd’. These illustrated guides, some with colour, prepared the way for the fully designed guides now produced by English Heritage, Cadw, and History Scotland.

‘The Ministry of Works and the Development of Souvenir Guides from 1955’, Public Archaeology (2018). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14655187.2017.1484584

Austerity, Heritage, and Tourism

David Gill will be giving a lecture on ‘Austerity, heritage and tourism: UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Greece’ as part of the Edmund Lecture Series for 2017/18. The lecture will be in Suffolk House, Bury St Edmunds on Wednesday 18 April 2018 at 6.00 pm.

Abstract

Tourism is a significant part of the Greek economy and an important counterbalance to austerity. There are 18 UNESCO cultural and two mixed World Heritage Sites (WHS) in Greece. They range from the Bronze Age site of Mycenae, through the Classical site of Olympia, to the Medieval City of Rhodes. These locations stand alongside a rich range of archaeological and heritage sites as well as museums that serve as a repository for the finds. This lecture will review the value of these UNESCO recognised sites as focal points for tourist activity. This overview will be presented against the wider visitor figures for other archaeological sites and museums in the care of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports. This information will be mapped onto the wider visitor data for Greece, and contributes to the discussion over the economic impact of World Heritage Sites for local economies as well as the wider economy of Greece. The lecture will explore the likely impact of Brexit on the Greek tourist economy, and opens a wider discussion of why the UK Government should value our own UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

[Details]

Leading Visitor Attractions 2017: Historic Environment Scotland

Dirleton Castle © David Gill

The figures for the Leading Visitor Attractions 2017 are now available. There are a number of sites in the care of Historic Environment Scotland:

• Edinburgh Castle [12]: 2,063,709 [+16%]
• Stirling Castle [63]: 567,259 [+18%]
• Urquhart Castle [70]: 488,136 [+23%]
• Glasgow Cathedral [84]: 389,101 [+36%]
• Doune Castle [170]: 142,091 [+14%]. 2017: 124,341 [+38%]
• Skara Brae [173]: 110,028 [+18%]
• St Andrews Castle [186]: 90,617 [+18%]
• Linlithgow Palace [187]: 86,596 [+16%]
• Fort George [192]: 75,798 [+24%]
• Iona Abbey [196]: 66,224 [+2%]
• Melrose Abbey [198]: 58,989 [+11%]
• St Andrews Cathedral [199]: 58,395 [+26%]
• Tantallon Castle [207]: 49,955 [+17%]
• Blackness Castle [213]: 42,810 [+42%]
• Caerlaverock Castle [214]:38,540 [+8%]
• Elgin Cathedral [215]: 38,201 [+25%]
• Craigmillar Castle [218]: 31,269 [+35%]
• Dirleton Castle [219]:30,219 [+8%]
• Dumbarton Castle [222]: 27,033 [+12%]
• Jedburgh Abbey [223]: 26,906 [+13%]

Fort George © David Gill