‘Heritage in worse condition than it’s been for 50 years’

Simon Stephens, ‘Heritage in worse condition than it’s been for 50 years’, Museums Association, 9 April 2025

Funding cuts and rising costs mean sector is facing serious problems, says Heritage Fund chair Simon Thurley.

Simon Thurley is the chair of the National Lottery Heritage Fund Chris Ridley/National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Many museums, galleries and heritage sites are housed in buildings that are in increasingly poor condition, according to Simon Thurley, the chair of the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Thurley was speaking at an event at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, where the Heritage Fund has awarded Barts Heritage £4.9m to enable historic buildings on the site to be restored and opened to the public.

It is just over two years since the Heritage Fund launched its Heritage 2033 strategy, which outlined its plans to invest £3.6bn in the UK’s heritage over the next 10 years.

“We face a set of problems that are very, very serious,” Thurley said, referring to central and local government budget cuts. “It’s particularly problematic because the physical infrastructure of our heritage is probably in a worse condition than it’s been for 50 years.

Thurley said that many institutions are finding it difficult fund programming while also spending money on maintenance and repairs.

“We are facing a situation where museums, galleries and heritage sites have a huge problem because their buildings are in a very poor condition.”

Thurley said challenging financial circumstances for museums have been made worse by rising costs, including utilities, insurance and staffing.

“On top of that, there is a changing pattern in the way people visit heritage, and when you put all that together, it’s quite a hostile period,” Thurley said.

Since the launch of Heritage 2033 strategy, the Heritage Fund has received 1,832 applications, and has awarded 690 projects funding, with £291m committed.

The Heritage Fund has invested £8.7bn in more than 51,000 projects across the UK since it was set up in 1994.

A large, detailed mural covers a stairwell wall. A worker in a blue helmet and yellow jacket sits beside construction lights on the wooden stairs, resting or inspecting something. The artwork depicts various figures in an expansive scene. — Barts Heritage has been awarded £4.9m by the Heritage Fund to enable its historic buildings to be restored David Parry/National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The Sharing Historic Barts project is designed to tackle the urgent repairs that are needed in the historic spaces that are in the Grade I-listed north wing of the hospital, which includes the 18th-century Great Hall. The renovated spaces will be open to the public in October.

The Barts project includes the restoration of the Hogarth Stair, which feature two huge canvases painted by William Hogarth that depict two Biblical stories – The Pool of Bethesda and The Good Samaritan. The paintings are undergoing specialist cleaning and conservation to remedy structural issues.

Sharing Historic Barts also includes cultural and educational activities such as therapeutic artmaking courses, sensory heritage walking tours, and mindfulness activities. These are aimed at staff, patients, visitors as well as the general public.

The historic site at the hospital is managed by Barts Heritage, an independent charity formed in 2017.

Other funders include the Voluntary Board of St Bartholomew’s Hospital, the City of London Neighbourhood Fund, Wolfson Foundation, Foyle Foundation and Garfield Weston Foundation.