About The Heritage Alliance

Established in 2002, the Heritage Alliance is England’s largest coalition of heritage interests. We are a membership body that brings together over 200 independent organisations, who represent the full breadth of the sector. We work to champion the needs, aspirations, and achievements of our members and the wider heritage sector – influencing policy and legislation, bringing diverse groups together, and helping heritage practitioners to innovate and grow. Our vision is for a society in which England’s historic environment and wider cultural heritage are valued, supported, and able to enrich everyone’s lives.

Who We Represent

We are a membership body that brings together over 200 independent heritage organisations, ranging from large institutions (such as English Heritage, the National Trust, the Canal & River Trust, and Historic Houses) to specialist charities, local museums, and community initiatives. Between them, our members represent over 8 million passionate volunteers, trustees, and staff, who work together to preserve, deliver, and represent:

academia, learning, and traditional skills;
archaeology;
built heritage;
community heritage and public engagement;
conservation;
culture and memories;
industrial, maritime, and transport heritage;
landscape, parks, and nature;
museums, libraries, and archives;
places of worship; and,
sector support.

To find out more about who we represent, please visit our Member Directory.

What We Do

We influence policy and legislation
We advocate for the interests of the independent heritage sector by putting our members’ key messages to opinion-formers and decision-makers. This includes advocating on broader issues such as the importance of heritage to national prosperity and wellbeing, conducting research and insight work, and stimulating new thinking and dialogue on heritage issues.

We bring the sector together
We connect our members and facilitate networking to enable shared learning across the sector through our Special-Interest Networks and Peer Groups. In addition, our Advocacy and Working Groups bring together members with shared interests for focused policy and strategy development, evidence gathering, and engagement with government departments,

We help our members grow
We strengthen the capabilities of our members through skills and career development initiatives that support their sustainability and resilience. We facilitate collaborative working and information-sharing to deepen understanding and commitment, providing advice and guidance, training, peer-learning events, resources, and publications – as well as hosting sector-wide events like our annual Heritage Debate and Heritage Day Conference.

Our vision

Our vision is for a society in which England’s historic environment and cultural heritage are valued and supported so that they can continue to enrich our lives. We strive to achieve this through the sympathetic, sustainable and imaginative stewardship of the past around us.

We work closely with our members to ensure that the vibrant independent heritage sector is fit for the future.

The Heritage Alliance has committed to providing equal opportunities, and to work towards ending racism in the heritage sector. For more information, please read our Equal Opportunities Statement and our Joint Anti-Racism Statement.

Our Mission

Our mission is to harness the skills, strengths and talents of our members and partners to achieve our shared objectives.

We champion the independent heritage sector to policymakers and opinion formers, convening a wide range of stakeholders to:

build a shared, deep and nuanced understanding of the importance and value of all kinds of heritage
enable networking and shared learning amongst practitioners across the sector to support skills and career development

We inspire, catalyse and support action to enhance the sustainability, resilience and capabilities of independent heritage organisations to achieve their full potential.