The Stately Home Industry: The English country house and heritage tourism 1950-1985

In post-war Britain, the country's relationship to its heritage changed irrevocably. Shifts in political, economic, and societal structures meant that long-accepted attitudes towards national identity were forever altered. At the crossroads of these concerns was the English country house, which during the 1950s-1970s became the symbol of English national heritage. As the peerage struggled to reclaim fortunes lost in the late-19th century agricultural depression, it was also further stripped of official political powers, and the English country house-once a symbol of power and wealth-became a liability.

Following the Second World War, Britain saw another series of seismic shifts in economics and society. As the Empire disintegrated, a rise in national nostalgia began to take hold. Popular culture, bolstered by the BBC on both television and radio, turned to representations of aristocracy, monarchy, and the country house.

Identifying an opportunity, a small group of aristocratic land-owners repositioned themselves and the country house and its role in society as a heritage asset, making it culturally relevant and fiscally viable. By taking advantage of increases in leisure time and car ownership, and by adding 'attractions' to engage visitors beyond art and architecture, the country house became a new type of tourist destination; while peers themselves used professional public relations techniques to rebrand themselves as culturally relevant.

The success at houses such as Longleat House, Woburn Abbey, and Palace House in Beaulieu, was then replicated by other country houses using the same techniques, which were disseminated both officially-through workshops, conferences, and the publications of organisations such as the British Tourism Authority-and unofficially through networks of privilege and soft-power. These practices led to the heritage industry as it is known today, and influenced not only the professionalisation of the National Trust and shifts at English Heritage, but also the creation of lobbying organisations like the Historic Houses Association.

The heritage industry, so firmly embedded in the national identity today, can be traced back to initiatives at these privately run estates in the second half of the 20th century. The solutions were innovative and transformed a number of country houses into income-generating, viable economic units; but they were also intrinsically self-serving. Using a case-study model, this dissertation examines how the personal motivations of private estates are now embedded in today's planning and heritage policy.