Social & Economic Research

Two children in wellies standing outside belsay hall peer in through a window.

There are three key strands to the social and economic research carried out by English Heritage. The first focuses on the economic benefits of the historic environment, specifically through tourism and regeneration schemes. The second looks at participation and visiting patterns and helps us to understand more about people's motivations and barriers to visiting historic places. The third strand looks at who works in heritage and their needs in terms of training and skills.

Heritage Counts

Heritage Counts is an annual survey of the state of England's historic environment. It looks at the key changes across the sector for the year, ranging from the funding available and the number of historic assets to participation figures.

Read the survey

Taking Part

Taking Part is a national survey that collects data about participation in culture and sport, and includes information on participation in the historic environment.

Statistics on heritage involvement

Who Works in Heritage?

The historic environment is a diverse sector offering a variety of employment opportunities. English Heritage commissions various research projects which explore the workforce in more detail, including workforce diversity and training needs.

More on heritage employment