Communities are being urged to nominate cherished traditions, from the vibrant Notting Hill Carnival to the ancient art of cheese-rolling, for a new UK register of “living heritage”.
This comprehensive UK-wide inventory aims to document practices passed down through generations.
It will include traditional crafts such as tartan weaving and dry stone walling, alongside popular events like Pancake Day and Burns Night suppers.
Crucially, it also seeks to recognise traditions introduced by immigrant communities, such as steel-drumming, reflecting the nation’s diverse cultural tapestry.
The government states that establishing this inventory is a vital step in safeguarding the crafts, customs, and celebrations that define the country’s unique culture and identity.
Beyond their cultural significance, these traditions hold substantial economic value.
Research from Historic England reveals the heritage sector contributed over £15 billion to the economy in 2022. Crafts alone generate £400 million annually, according to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), while events like the Lewes bonfire celebrations in East Sussex draw 40,000 visitors, boosting local economies.
This initiative follows the UK’s ratification last year of Unesco’s 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. The convention mandates signatory nations to compile an inventory of the traditions, practices, and skills integral to their communities’ cultural fabric.
Separate inventories will be drawn up for England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, combining into a UK register.
Submissions to the list must involve the communities or groups that practise them, and can come under seven categories: oral expressions such as poetry, song and storytelling; performing arts; social practices; crafts; sports and games; culinary practices; and nature, land and spirituality.
They could include anything from the National Eisteddfod of Wales to bagpiping, bog-snorkelling, soda bread or Ulster lace making, apple tree wassailing or solstice celebrations at Stonehenge.
Heritage minister Baroness Twycross told the Press Association that “every part of the UK is bursting with living heritage”.
“We want to start a national conversation about the craft, customs and celebrations that are valued by communities across the UK.
“And this isn’t just for the sake of having conversations, it’s about safeguarding them for future generations,” she said.
She pointed to the dozens of crafts on the heritage craft red list, which was helping draw attention to some endangered craft, and said the inventory of living heritage could drive the conversation about how to support crafts and traditions more widely.
Baroness Twycross also said it was important that the inventory was inclusive – and came from communities themselves.
“We think our living heritage is constantly evolving and taking influence from all the different communities that make up the UK.
“Traditions are what makes up the essence of our national story.
“They make us proud of who we are and where we come from, and I think it’s right that traditions brought by immigrant communities are also part of that,” she said, adding that conversations about what people care about could add to community cohesion.”
And she said: “We’re asking communities themselves to put forward things to the inventory of living heritage.
“This is about communities themselves saying what they value and what they think should be passed down and valued for future generations too.”
For information on submissions for the living heritage list, people can visit: www.livingheritage.unesco.org.uk
