A great Gainsborough, a working library, a sweep of fell country — many of Britain's finest things are privately owned but yours to see, and asking is easier than you'd think.
There is a quiet bargain stitched into British tax law. When a family inherits something judged pre-eminent — a Stubbs, a Tudor manuscript, a Capability Brown park — they can defer the Inheritance Tax (and sometimes Capital Gains Tax) that would otherwise fall due. In exchange, they undertake to look after it, keep it in the UK, and let the public in. That last promise is the one that matters to you. It means a startling number of masterpieces hang not in museums but on the walls of working houses, and the law says you may go and look.
The catch is that these treasures don't advertise themselves the way a National Trust property does. You usually have to ask. Here is how to do it well.
Start by searching the register on this site, which lists works of art, collections, historic buildings and land that carry the exemption. Each entry tells you how access is offered — by published open days, by appointment, or via loan to a public gallery — and gives the contact for arranging it.
Note the item's register reference number as you go. It's your proof that the thing is exempt and that access is part of the deal — useful later if anyone hesitates. The fuller background, if you'd like it, lives on gov.uk under "Tax relief for national heritage assets".
For appointment-only items, a short, courteous email or letter is all that's needed. You're not asking a favour — you're taking up a public right — but warmth gets you further than law. Cover these points:
Every listing on this site gives you a pre-drafted request email that already does this — open the entry and press Email to arrange a visit.
This is where first-timers undersell themselves, so know the ground rules. For items viewable by appointment, owners are generally expected to:
A few things to expect. A reasonable charge may be made, so don't be surprised by a modest fee. The owner needn't be present, and the item won't always be shown where it normally lives — viewing may be offered at a reasonable alternative location, which is perfectly proper. And if you want to take photographs, ask first.
Most owners are gracious; some are reluctant, and a polite second nudge often does the trick. But you are not at anyone's mercy. The access undertaking is a legal condition of the tax relief, and failure to honour it can trigger a charge to Inheritance Tax under sections 31–32 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984.
If a reasonable request is ignored or refused, contact HMRC's Heritage Team at mailpoint.f@hmrc.gov.uk, quoting the item's register reference and a brief, factual account of what you asked and what happened.
The principle is simple, and rather generous: the public helped pay for these things to stay, so the public gets to see them. Asking is not an imposition. It is the system working exactly as designed.
So pick something wonderful and write the letter. A Rembrandt drawing, a moated hall, a hillside in spring — it is closer to hand than you think.
In association with Irving Scott
Many entries on this register are working family homes. Irving Scott places house managers, butlers, estate managers and private chefs for distinguished families — discreetly, since 2013.