Heritage
Management, Interpretation, Identity
PETER HOWARD
continuum1
What Is Heritage?
eta ak cg ei cto nt fH
doe and concern everyone, Much oft divides poor bu tis ook
erm ce common areas of study Deveen i hes RPT
te 0 ina oro hartge tends to arly ony 0 th Doe
nn eer esen more meaning wnmancoed erie
erage bt ters I ops ive. Tents are made bot of Pu Se
et only the former ae the iit where profane
reser: and interpreters become ncoled
ie want to save, fom clean
‘te evening when I write this snot particulary usual The main UK pe
roe eit morta suburban housing estate fm Northern ireland, whee Pati
or tand by thew barricades to prevent a group of people marsha
ae te ain road, with banners fing and drums playing. and wearing
pow ashes They claim that this stheir heritage that they are celebrating
eat nich took place 300 years ago, and that itis the right of every fre
Tope to walk where they wish on public rights of way. The residents of
Cawaghy Road, ofa different religious persuasion and owing allegiance to &
Ghiferent identity, claim that because they have indeed tid their Hlentity
insulted fequently inte pasts no good reason fori to happen in the foture
IWithad not been Northern Irland it might have been Kosovo or Chechnya ot
ths Basa tertories or Corsica or Notting Hil, Bverywhere heritage matters,
‘entities ate being fought over; traditions are being insulted. Heritage is of
‘concern to all people who believe in something, or who simply believe they are
different.
‘On the same evening there is an hour of television, with an academic
‘presenter, in which the Wars of the Roses Society is reenacting the Battle 0“his book proposes todo preci that ~ to examine the heterogeneous
colt of ngs iat people want to sve and set outa eres oF eas By
cass canbe usfuy studied, more eflcvely managed and interpreted
‘is book docs not concern self much with techniques, Readers seeing he
ten method of restoring watercolour or how to release coped animals
the wr wl be disappointed. though hes may eed basking themselves i
they should wish fo do these things, General he Book does nat ak HOw
‘The main questions tasks are:"What ie heritage?” "Who wants os
“rom®" "Who te expected to pay for Ie” "Where is the best place fOr
Tentage? "Which i the proper period to which this Werte
‘eunned? The one techni! question which Is asked i How i hi
tt interpreted and presented and to whom? The techniques of
‘re bet left to experts from within the discipline traditionally
the objec, but Une other questions are common to all and byind the sae ne cal icant someone ea. Te
site Denes mene eo eves ch ea wor
athe mn Ay sed together, wah, the UK, the
Pe rtent of Naima Hen and eet
pareve maybe oer kinds of bei
mma mtb ae
ey rc ake wa they read ete me
Sue thy ae ke wo te
ofl
or
sweooh abu
pean al ose
eee Hwee
ring thy en pss 0
Ey otoagh o eo ile nan vale
sae sha, nol tes wo be fan: at iti bree
cn ‘rms for heritage are so dominant that this book
far the Teak resonal andthe
tarsidered as serious heritage, 2nd
c concerned with
thee two br i
pa tcnaing Ww esr 2 eager Boone, for eral
se aro ow rsa formed nd what 1 es fe
fe warn ben afer. Te sume te of ter
a ts nrg ote of he Tol eve, Dest great de
‘Ste about ft Mntity there are surprisingly fe tues which tke his
ease eon of balding mateal and veraclr acter, scent
ta ed by Common roa Presi od enki
oe eps fhe to wom hs book i eimai aimed,
ar rnahiy sage that thy are ely to be employed conering and
ogc my erage. Tat maybe the ese bu thy lo need 0
ere tala eve eingeHem has another ef personal meanings
{2 dncon and a cer stor ofl, managed beige aes wh
ero! tage conting a here which they reg a¢ much more
‘port
Mh lc ofan acadenic cin that concerns sel with eigen the
dersoment of some concepts at ow some understanding on a complex
fet shoul ot be academe ao be dvrced fom realty. There ae 2
tune of alarguedboks tat ae al he ek questions hat concer
the pustedar aspect of cate? Hertage can ineed be perched as a
dangerous concep Hs eqeny mans, ec sist ets and
Jcvardloking Quite fen tsa to easy ose the eit fr henge as
2 epic bythe ich o acu th propery ofthe poor. Ahouth oa
War is weRITAC
tlie or ein iy south dy psi fo tet
developed some idea of how to do it better. . a
wean be ca eolang as age canbe ad
te modu oun pe or Wen, nos or exe seenth Fe were in August 1485 Henry Tar dete Richard
the throne of Engnd rat last men wh owed alee tothe one
eaed men who owed alegance othe ether. On theft
le noone gets hur or at leat nt seid, ad ey all cet have an
tof fon though wheter aevthing ul the sta
sel be dacovered is doula Peape poe are embarassed ab
having fon 0 they want to legitimize Wir ene wth 9 serious
‘pose can tur to the focal ewig paper to se eto 3 na
"ck ral eld inthe rounds os nares (open othe pl ofa
‘epot of 3 lady areted and charged with defacing the Cenctaph Ia
vn as ben declared a National Nature Reserve and tat sucesso
‘ation fr tery fads as embed to be beter mana. Tere ot
>etage about eveyone sens o want lo sive somthing In Turcy an
nization has just been formed t prevent the dtintve Turi cer
's ousted in the cafés by esreso an eapucin. In Ponce, hundede of
eases ae being fled besa the res kil mots
ive the fscition for sving tings, ane need ot be surprzd to see
‘ee Sues or Here Management or Heritage Conservation becom
‘sr sabes in universes. Neither ds thee a shorage of hoola t
ee aters For anything you might want save or colle here vil bea
‘ed text desnbing its istry and characteristics en how o vei
bat
Fonmiable reo
seructure
hen
need it
“his theonysfollowed by an au
of heritage looking a some of themors exe,
fbession in collecting and. saving things White
het, defined in part by the aiviionsWhat is heritage?
ee
Fag eo Besta th
mean a ater te the oh
Sea a retage whch may tt == pol or Tay nt Be
BE ata oc exampte- Bean nited itl Indeed, the word is now
Feared ins holo sae to refer our nes. The oer fare
Ls Aww 'ccamstnces are accepted as her,
wereai anct sen th same weg beefs Tere isa sense which
Sr Mop the ea at we ol bert god thins fom he pas.
cece oP sches are henge but poverty sno. But the definition
see ce pound importance. Aca 8 widely assumed that
Bee eE toot: enone shuld have some, People are quite capable of
“tice fonsting and iowning heiage tht they would rather be
Shout Te does not mes that all erage is pleasant Aveo
TOocien ss Wold Henge Ste that people ve deed they do ot
Gor duven ort frp Auch conser because at last Some
Yeon vant wy be Equal, there wil be mary hig that cold be
Ronse bt about which no one wil ere enough o ensure a they ae
Mesinge hs ben dhe at amthing you want Volition sea
ahr oo become ee regaled ae
$e Kesifeaton ia Herge cane regarded
SS aeee eae at ooo ae eae
abe cs ‘to pass on to future generations.
“Trina, the scholars who stay erage come trom those disciplines that
sty some of the phenomena and artefacts that are commonly collected and
oe yet ene, ut may come into
“inion “ccumatances or benefits
sng Fees the close contact with the
ership to include
WHAT 1 HERITAGE? 7
‘omserved Indeed gute often these objects ist became hertae aa result of
‘sch scholarly terest However, a fous of interest on the motivation for
conservation and on the wilors to conserved things. demonstrates
‘mediately the smarts between otherwise disparate objects. The museum?
curator and the warden of» atonal ark have much in common, as Jo the
‘ive conservation officer and the antiques collect.
‘The above defiiton has the advantage of puting the emphasis firmly on
people People collect heritage for their own benefit or for the perceived
benefit of others although the nature of those Benefits is very varus. They
fet passionate about some quite extraordinary things and