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Puffins on the Farne Islands, Northumberland

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Coronavirus update Our latest media statement
The rear garden under flood water in autumn at Shugborough Estate, Staffordshire

Getting ready for COP26 

We're joining discussions on how to protect heritage and historic sites from the threat of climate change ahead of COP26. Our experts will be speaking at the Climate Resilience Heritage Summit, which is taking place on 27 October as part of COP Culture – a series of events focused on cultural heritage and the historic environment. Find out more about the event and our presence at COP26.

What we're doing at COP26
Two people are standing by the sides of a very large tapestry which shows a knight on horse back against a blue background covered with flowers.

Oldest tapestry in our care returns to Montacute House 

A rare 15th century tapestry – the oldest in our care – is returning to display at Montacute House in Somerset after spending four years away for conservation. The Tournai tapestry travelled to Belgium for a specialist wet clean to remove centuries of dirt and spent time at our Textile Conservation Studio in Norfolk. It took nearly 1,300 hours of work by skilled conservators. Learn more about the conservation and mysterious history of this special tapestry.

Photo Albums from the Lack and Wagstaff Collection

Historic image digitisation at Sutton Hoo 

Images from the archive at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk, have been digitised in their entirety for the first time. Find out more about the digitisation work carried out on archive images taken at the time of the excavation of the Great Ship Burial by Mercie Lack and Barbara Wagstaff, and how you can explore them today. The images, captured in 1939, helped record this fascinating moment of discovery.

Discover the collection
Woodlands for water

Tree planting along rivers will help prevent flooding  

A project to plant thousands of hectares of new woodland near riverbanks and watercourses in England will reduce the risk of flooding and improve biodiversity. Supported by Defra, the project will be carried out by experts from the Rivers Trust, National Trust, Woodland Trust and Beaver Trust, and see the creation of 3,150 hectares of trees in six river catchment areas from Devon to Cumbria by March 2025. Find out more about our work to keep rivers flowing.

Artist Richard Woods' Forever House installation at Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire

Fountains Abbey installation highlights the threat of climate change 

To raise awareness of the growing threat that climate change poses to places in the UK, and to mark the conclusion of Great Big Green Week, we've teamed up with The Climate Coalition and artist, Richard Woods, to create a new installation at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal in Yorkshire. The piece – Forever Home – depicts an upturned house in a lake in the grounds of Fountains Abbey, which is one of 31 UNESCO World Heritage Sites already seeing the impact of climate change.

Find out more
The River Thames at Runnymede

New report reveals the biggest threats to UK waterways 

We’re part of a new report with RSPB, Rivers Trust and others that has found that 88 per cent of people surveyed think our rivers, lakes and streams are national treasures and 87 per cent want more to be done to protect them. Find out more about the issues facing our waterways and the solutions for protecting them.

Aerial photo of the River Tamar

Bank breached in milestone moment for new wetland habitat 

A key milestone in the creation of a new intertidal habitat on the River Tamar in Cornwall has been reached with the 15 metre breach. It has allowed the tide to flood in and create a new habitat to help make the Tamar Estuary more resilient to climate change. The project is thanks to a £250,000 partnership project with the Environment Agency and supported by Natural England and Plymouth University.

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Charterhouse Heritage Park, Coventry

Four new blossom gardens announced 

Coventry is the latest city to confirm plans for a new blossom garden as part of our work with partners to create hundreds of blossom spaces in urban areas across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Newcastle, Nottingham and Plymouth have also confirmed their location and design ideas, funded in part by players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.

Looking across the salt marsh and the River Blackwater from Northey Island

Our work to protect vital saltmarsh habitat  

We're working with partners to save Northey Island's vital saltmarsh habitat, which is under threat from rising sea levels caused by the climate crisis. Find out more about how we're using new conservation techniques to protect the largest single block of saltmarsh habitat in the Blackwater Estuary in Essex.

Our work to protect vital saltmarsh habitat
Wellington Monument at sunset

Wellington Monument repaired after two-year project 

A memorial to the first Duke of Wellington, which stands high above the Somerset countryside is open to the public once more after a complex restoration project. £3.1m of repairs have restored the monument to a better condition than when first completed. At around 175 feet (53m) high, it is the tallest three-sided obelisk in the world.

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