England is a nation steeped in history. Our mighty castles, blood-soaked battlefields, stately homes, and ancient ruins that tell the story of a people who built, fought for, and shaped this land. But if you’re a native English person hoping to explore your own heritage, be prepared to pay through the nose for the privilege. Meanwhile, those with no ancestral connection to these sites are being granted free access under misguided government policies.
A visit to an English Heritage site these days isn’t a casual outing, it’s a financial commitment. Want to walk the corridors of your nation’s past? That’ll be £30 per person at some spots, before you’ve even grabbed a cup of overpriced tea in the visitor centre. For a family, the costs quickly spiral, turning what should be an educational birthright into an exclusive pastime for the well-off. And all this while museums and historic sites in European countries abroad offer vastly lower entrance fees, or even free access, for their own citizens.
Let’s be clear: maintaining these sites costs money. Nobody expects a crumbling medieval fortress to preserve itself. Staff need wages, roofs need repairs, and conservation work is constant. But here’s the insult: while native English people struggle to justify the cost of visiting their own cultural landmarks in a cost of living crisis, the government is granting refugees and asylum seekers free entry to these very same sites.
”The English people deserve better. This is our history, and we shouldn’t have to break the bank to connect with it.”
The reasoning behind this policy? “Integration” and “education.” But let’s be honest, how does offering free entry to Fotheringhay Castle, Battle Abbey, or Kenilworth help people from entirely different cultural backgrounds integrate into English society? Many of these sites hold deep, complex, and at times violent histories that are unique to the English experience, from Saxon resistance to Viking invasions, to the Wars of the Roses, to the brutal English Civil War-era struggles for power that shaped our monarchy. These aren’t casual tourist attractions; they are the beating heart of England’s story.
This policy isn’t about fairness; it’s about virtue signaling. If there’s money in the budget to let thousands in for free, then why are working-class English families being priced out? Why should the people whose ancestors built, fought, and died for this country be the ones left out in the cold while newcomers with no connection to these places are handed access on a silver platter?
A solution isn’t difficult. Charge a fair price that covers maintenance but stops short of extortion. Introduce a citizen discount, if you were born and raised in England, or have paid into the system through years of taxes, you should not be forking out the same as a foreign tourist. And if free entry must be granted to anyone, it should start with struggling English families before being handed out to those who have just arrived.
If we don’t change course, English heritage will become yet another commodity available only to the wealthy and to those who are simply given a free pass. The English people deserve better. This is our history, and we shouldn’t have to break the bank to connect with it.
