What we do

We support all our member houses, be they owned by individuals, charities, businesses, or other support groups.

Advocacy

We advocate for a fair and practical fiscal, planning and regulatory framework – one that allows independent historic houses and gardens to thrive for the benefit of Wales, without burdening the public purse. We robustly represent our member houses’ interests in policy areas such as taxation, regulation, planning, sustainability, health & wellbeing and tourism. We regularly meet ministers, civil servants, and MPs across parties in London and Cardiff. We submit evidence and case studies in response to a range of consultations and reports, to aid policy-making. And we collaborate with colleagues across the heritage and tourism sectors.  Read about our policy for Wales here.

Advice

Our expert advisors and professional services sponsors are on hand to offer free technical, commercial, financial and legal advice, both on-demand and through an extensive archive of online resources. Our dedicated Learning Advisory Panel offers guidance on enabling access, interpretation and education – via access-related grants.  We run a range of seminars and workshops each year for those who own or manage historic houses, and make those sessions available for viewing online at any time.

Partnership

Historic Houses is long standing partner with Cadw and is represented on the Historic Environment Group. The Historic Environment Group (HEG) is a national forum, led by Cadw, that consists of public sector bodies and representatives of voluntary sector organisations and owners of historic sites.

We partner with the Institute for the Study of Welsh Estates (ISWE), a national research centre which exists to enhance understanding of the role of estates and country houses in the histories, cultures and landscapes of Wales. We recently participated in the ISWE workshops: “Historic Houses for the 21st Century –  Heritage, Innovation, Sustainability“, held at our member house Gregynog in mid-Wales.

You can read more about our partners in Wales here.

Historic Houses Foundation

The Historic Houses Foundation is the result of a 2019 merger between the Country Houses Foundation (CHF) and the Heritage Conservation Trust (HCT). Today, the HHF gives grants for the repair and conservation of rural historic buildings and structures located in England and Wales, including where appropriate their gardens, grounds and outbuildings. The Foundation also plays a vital role in the restoration and conservation of works of art in historic house collections open to the public, often helping where support cannot otherwise be found.

You can read more about the Historic Houses Foundation by visiting the UK site here.

Income generation

We provide a platform for our member houses to generate income from open days, tours, stays, weddings, events and experiences through our UK wide visitor memberships scheme. Our members have many years’ experience of ensuring that our houses are able to remain economically viable and can draw on a wealth of expertise and knowledge.

Network

We provide an important role in establishing a network through which members in Wales can engage and learn from one another. This is done through occasional events and gatherings to bring members together either socially, to share knowledge and information, or to meet with partner organisations. We invite all House Members living in Wales to an Annual General Meeting in June in addition to the UK Annual General Meeting held in London in November.