Making a public right easier to use

Britain's conditionally exempt heritage — 558 pre-eminent artworks, collections, houses and landscapes — comes with a public right of access written into tax law. The trouble has always been finding any of it.

The official record lives on an unindexed government database that you can only browse one region at a time, with no search, no map, and no photographs. It is technically public and practically invisible. Journalists have grumbled about it for years; most people have never heard of the scheme at all.

This site is an independent attempt to fix that. We take the public data, structure it, and present it the way a modern visitor expects: full-text search, filters, a map built from the register's own grid references, photographs of the houses and representative images of the artists, the binding access undertakings for each item, and a pre-drafted request email so you can arrange a visit in a moment.

How we handle the data

• Source. Every entry is drawn from the official HMRC register and links back to its official record. The data is reused under the Open Government Licence.
• Photographs. Images of named houses come from Wikimedia Commons. For artworks, we show a representative work by the named artist — clearly labelled as such, never passed off as the exempt object itself.
• Honesty about access. The register is updated irregularly and owners' arrangements change. We always tell you to confirm dates and charges with the contact before travelling.
• Privacy. Contact details appear in the official register precisely so the public can arrange access; we reproduce only what is already published for that purpose. Owners or agents who want an entry annotated or removed can tell us.

Who is behind it

The project is supported by Irving Scott, the London household-staffing agency, whose clients — distinguished families and the great houses they keep — share an audience with the heritage these listings celebrate. The site itself is independent and free to use.

Spotted an error, or know a collection that deserves a feature? Get in touch.