How membership supports heritage

Every member of Historic Houses provides vital support for our important work.

We’re a cooperative association – Britain’s independent heritage working together – and our primary role is to represent and advise the heritage sites who have pooled their efforts in Historic Houses.

Helping to save independent heritage

Membership helps fund our policy work, research, and technical advice. First and foremost, your membership subscriptions are a way of contributing to that work. Yes, hundreds of our member places offer free entry to our members as a ‘thank you’ for supporting them, but don’t confuse membership with a season ticket or a payment for a service (we’re not like, say, a gym pass). It’s a donation to a good cause.

Find out more about our work representing and advising

Directly contributing to maintenance and restoration

We also contribute directly to the income of some of our member places through ‘member credit’ – a payment we make to member attractions who offer free admission to our members, each time you use your card to visit. In fact, we give the majority of the money we receive in subscriptions back to our member places. That extra cash is invaluable for houses, castles, and gardens that cost huge sums to maintain and repair.

Find out more about Find out more about how and why our ‘member-access scheme’ works