The conservation of historic buildings in Britain and The Netherlands: a comparative study

Abstract

Britain and The Netherlands both have a large stock of historic buildings dating from pre‐Roman to modern. Both provide some degree of state funding and each has a series of national bodies that concern themselves with historic building preservation both by the allocation of grants and the awarding of special “listing” status. In both cases the creation of societies to protect historic buildings dates to the second half of the nineteenth century. Despite these similarities, there are substantive differences in the current approach to the preservation of historic buildings. In terms of government intervention The Netherlands employs a far more localised approach than is found in Britain. Tax deduction and government subsidies provide a substantial incentive to building maintenance in contrast to the British laissez faire approach. The private sector in The Netherlands also contrasts substantively with that of Britain. Most conservation work is undertaken by a relatively small number of large firms who belong to a close‐knit federation, in contrast to the British approach of a large number of small firms operating in a free market.