Climate Resilience
Climate change is one of the greatest threats to heritage. We are working to understand how climate change will impact the sites and collections we care for and how we can adapt to ensure that English Heritage is climate resilient.
We are not alone in this challenge. We are working across the heritage sector to collaboratively tackle this issue and are committed to sharing our knowledge and expertise. Here we share resources that can help those looking after heritage sites – from homeowners through to large organisations – to become climate resilient.
We are grateful to The Benefact Group and Ecclesiastical for funding to support this work.
Climate Resilient House
The climate resilient house is a digital model that aims to engage users in understanding more about climate risk and adaptation for heritage. The 3D model uses Gainsborough Old Hall, in Lincolnshire, as an example of a heritage building, but the risks highlighted can be applied to all heritage buildings. Explore the different areas of the building and click on the hotspots to learn more about specific climate risks and how to manage them.
It is recommended that you view the model in full screen which can be accessed by clicking the three lines in the top right corner once the model has loaded. Further information on how to use the model can be found by clicking on the red hotspot at the centre of the model.
Model derived by the Geospatial Survey Team at Historic England on behalf of English Heritage.
This model has been produced as part of the Gainsborough Old Hall, New Beginnings project, which has been made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we are learning more about the Old Hall, revitalising the garden and hosting a range of activities and volunteering opportunities for the local community.
Climate Change Adaptation Report
In 2024 English Heritage produced a joint report with Historic England in response to the Government’s Fourth Adaptation Reporting Power (ARP4). This sets out the current and future projected impacts of climate change on the organisations, and proposals for adapting to climate change.
Climate Change Risk Assessment for Heritage
Our approach to understanding the risk posed by climate change to heritage sites is under development. We are undertaking a national climate change risk assessment to prioritise individual sites for site-specific risk assessments. This has been published online.
We collaborated with Historic England on research around site-specific climate change risk assessments. This identified the steps that heritage managers or owners can take to understand their site’s exposure to climate change, and to determine whether it is likely to be vulnerable to climate hazards. Three climate change risk assessment workflows were developed to reflect the varied levels of resources, expertise, time and funding available to heritage managers.
Further Reading
We are not working in isolation, and collaboration to tackle climate change is fundamental to ensure we use our limited resources across the heritage sector effectively. Below are some key resources from other UK heritage organisations.
- Historic England, Climate change risks and hazards
- Historic England, Improving climate resilience through adaptation
- Historic Environment Scotland, A guide to climate change impacts
- Historic Environment Scotland, Climate change risk assessment
- National Trust, Climate change adaptation guidance
- National Trust, How we’re adapting to climate change