English Heritage (officially the Historic Building and Monuments Commission for England)

English Heritage (officially the Historic Building and Monuments Commission for England)

English Heritage (formally the building and Monuments Commission for England).  is an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the British government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Simon Thurley has been CEO since 2002. Out of respect for the Built Environment, English Heritage complements the work of Natural England, which aims to protect the natural environment. He has a broad mandate to manage the built historic environment in England and advise the Secretary of State interested in politics and in individual cases, the recording of ancient buildings and monuments.

It was founded under the terms of the National Heritage Act 1983. The functions of the maintenance of ancient monuments of the past by the Ministry of the Environment, which was a continuation of the Ministry of Works. 1983 law also dissolved bodies, which have been previously independent advice - the government of ancient monuments and historic buildings of England Council for England and to include these functions, the new body. Another advisory body, the Royal Commission's historical monuments of England (RCHME) was merged with English Heritage on 1 April 1999.
The best-known role in English Heritage is also the custodian of over 400 important historical and archaeological sites, from Stonehenge to the earliest iron bridge in the world. It has direct ownership of some historic sites and also maintains contact with private owners of sites that are administered under the trusteeship agreements. It has major responsibilities in conservation, advice, registration and protection of the historic environment. It also maintains public records, the National Monuments Record (NMR).