H 12 · Historic Houses Association
The Historic Houses Association (HHA) represents the interests of Britain’s historic houses, castles and gardens in private ownership. The HHA has 1,500 member properties of which nearly 350 are regularly open to the public and a further 250 open on a part-time basis. There are currently 24,000 Friends of the Association. The Association is expanding its work in the field of learning and outreach and has been working in partnership with the Black Environment Network, English Heritage and the HLF to reach out and welcome new audiences.
An innovative project was undertaken during 2003 with the Black Environment Network to link together historic houses and their local ethnic communities. In a series of eight pilot schemes, historic houses and their local black and multi-ethnic communities were partnered to encourage wider enjoyment and understanding of these places, many of which are not equally accessible to all communities.
In 2003, funding was secured from the Heritage Lottery Fund to appoint Education Officers with English Heritage for a one-year pilot project in the South East and North West, to develop the educational resource at HHA houses. The HHA and English Heritage are developing projects involving a variety of property types – from castles to manor houses, and gardens to landscapes – and audiences including schoolchildren, students in higher and further education, vocational trainees and informal and specialist learners. The aim is to develop a series of models to assist the development of education programmes at other historic houses. The HHA and English Heritage plan to roll out the programme on a national basis over the next few years.
Also in 2003, the Association launched an innovative tool to extend the heritage tourism resource and stimulate rural economies. www.historichousevenues.com will signpost people to fresh opportunities at HHA member houses and gardens. 300 houses, many of which have not been open before, are involved in the initiative which co-ordinates pre-booked groups to their houses on an ‘intimate and exclusive’ basis.
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