Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953

Year1953


Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act, 1953, 1953

(1 & 2 Eliz. 2) CHAPTER 49

An Act to provide for the preservation and acquisition of buildings of outstanding historic or architectural interest and their contents and related property, and to amend the law relating to ancient monuments and other objects of archaeological interest.

[31st July 1953]

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

I Preservation of Historic Buildings and contents thereof

Part I

thereofPreservation of Historic Buildings and contents

S-1 Historic Buildings Council for England.

1 Historic Buildings Council for England.

(1) There shall be established a Council, to be called ‘the Historic Buildings Council for England’, for the purpose of advising the Minister of Works (hereafter in this Act referred to as ‘the Minister’) on the exercise, in relation to England, of his powers under this Part of this Act.

(2) The said Council shall consist of a chairman appointed by the Minister and such number of other members so appointed as the Minister may from time to time determine, and the chairman and other members of the Council shall hold and vacate office in accordance with the terms of their appointments.

(3) The Minister may out of moneys provided by Parliament pay to the chairman of the said Council such remuneration and allowances as the Minister may with the approval of the Treasury determine.

No person shall be disqualified from being elected to, or sitting and voting as, a member of the House of Commons by reason of his being the chairman of the said Council; but, in relation to a chairman of the Council who is a member of the House of Commons, this subsection shall have effect with the substitution, for the words ‘remuneration and allowances’, of the words ‘allowances in respect of travelling and subsistence expenses, and in respect of other expenses (if any) necessarily incurred by him for the purpose of enabling him to perform his duties as chairman,’.

(4) The Minister may out of moneys provided by Parliament pay to the other members of the said Council such allowances as he may with the approval of the Treasury determine in respect of travelling and subsistence expenses and in respect of other expenses (if any) necessarily incurred by them for the purpose of enabling them to perform their duties as members of the Council.

(5) Subject to any directions of the Minister as to quorum or other matters, the procedure of the said Council shall be such as the Council may determine.

(6) The said Council shall, before such date in every year as the Minister may fix, send to the Minister a report in respect of the matters on which they have advised the Minister during the previous year, and the Minister shall lay a copy of the report before each House of Parliament.

(7) Without prejudice to the last preceding subsection, if at any time it appears to the said Council that there is need for action to be taken by the Minister under this Part of this Act, they shall forthwith make to the Minister such representations as they may think appropriate in the circumstances.

S-2 Historic Buildings Council for Scotland.

2 Historic Buildings Council for Scotland.

(1) There shall be established a Council, to be called ‘the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland’, for the purpose of advising the Minister on the exercise, in relation to Scotland, of his powers under this Part of this Act, and to advise the Secretary of State, in cases where he thinks it appropriate to consult them, on the exercise of his functions under sections twenty-seven, twenty-eight and thirty-eight of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act, 1947 (which contain provisions relating to buildings of special architectural or historic interest), and under subsection (2) of section ninety-six of that Act so far as it relates to building preservation orders.

(2) Subsections (2) to (5) and subsection (7) of the preceding section shall apply to the said Council as they apply to the Historic Buildings Council for England, with the substitution in subsections (2) and (5), for references to the Minister, of references to the Minister and the Secretary of State acting jointly.

(3) The said Council shall, before such date in every year as the Minister and the Secretary of State may jointly fix, send to the Minister and to the Secretary of State a report in respect of the matters on which the Council have advised either of them during the previous year, and the Minister and the Secretary of State shall jointly lay a copy of the report before each House of Parliament.

S-3 Historic Buildings Council for Wales.

3 Historic Buildings Council for Wales.

(1) There shall be established a Council, to be called ‘the Historic Buildings Council for Wales’, for the purpose of advising the Minister on the exercise, in relation to Wales, of his powers under this Part of this Act.

(2) Subsections (2) to (7) of section one of this Act shall apply to the said Council as they apply to the Historic Buildings Council for England.

S-4 Grants for preservation of historic buildings, their contents and adjoining land.

4 Grants for preservation of historic buildings, their contents and adjoining land.

(1) The Minister may, out of moneys provided by Parliament, make grants for the purpose of defraying in whole or in part any expenditure incurred or to be incurred in the repair or maintenance of a building appearing to the Minister to be of outstanding historic or architectural interest, or in the upkeep of any land comprising, or contiguous or adjacent to, any such building, or in the repair or maintenance of any objects ordinarily kept in any such building.

(2) Where a grant under this section is made to the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty or the National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, the grant may, if the Minister thinks fit, be made by way of endowment, subject to such provisions, by way of trust, contract or otherwise, as may appear to the Minister to be requisite for securing that, so long as it is reasonably practicable to give effect to the purposes of the endowment, the sum granted will be retained and invested by the Trust and used as a source of income for defraying the expenditure in respect of which the grant is made.

(3) A grant under this section may be made subject to conditions imposed by the Minister for the purpose of securing public access to the whole or part of the property to which the grant relates, or for other purposes, as the Minister may think fit.

(4) Before making any grant under this section the Minister shall consult with the appropriate Council under this Act, both as to the making of the grant and as to the conditions subject to which it should be made:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply in a case where the making of a grant appears to the Minister to be a matter of immediate urgency.

S-5 Acquisition by the Minister of historic buildings, their contents and adjoining land.

5 Acquisition by the Minister of historic buildings, their contents and adjoining land.

(1) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, the Minister shall have power to acquire by agreement, whether by purchase, lease or otherwise, or to accept a gift of—

(a ) any building appearing to him to be one of outstanding historic or architectural interest;

(b ) any land comprising, or contiguous or adjacent to, any such building.

(2) Subject as aforesaid, the Minister shall have power to purchase by agreement, or to accept a gift of, any objects which are or have been ordinarily kept in—

(a ) a building which, or any interest in which, is vested in the Minister, or a building which is under his control or management, being in either case a building appearing to the Minister to be of outstanding historic or architectural interest; or

(b ) a building of which the Minister is guardian under the Ancient Monuments Consolidation and Amendment Act, 1913; or

(c ) a building which, or any interest in which, is vested in either of the said National Trusts.

(3) Subject as aforesaid, the Minister may make such arrangements as he may think fit as...

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