Page:The Preservation of Places of Interest or Beauty, 1907.djvu/32

 . Archæology seems to have resulted merely in learned, but fragmentary, disquisitions, and in pleasant pic-nics. Still, with the abundant, though more or less chaotic, material in existence, there ought to be little difficulty in compiling some record of the Castles, Abbeys, Manor Houses, Mansions, City Walls and other notable remains of each county. The exact scope of such a Register would of course be a question of some difficulty. The fact, that the French Official List comprises between 2,000 and 3,000 monuments only, shows that it is confined to very prominent and notable Buildings and Remains. England is very rich in old timbered houses and cottages, not of great size, but of great charm. It is a question how far such buildings should be registered. It is quite possible, that there might be one Register for the Nation, and another for each County—the County being left to take care of the minor objects of interest. But the very discussion of such questions would be useful; and it is eminently desirable that some joint action on the subject should be taken by the many Societies interested in Historic Monuments.

In another direction proposals have already taken shape. Five years ago Sir John Brunner introduced a Bill "for the Dedication of Land for Public Places." The scheme of this Bill was to extend to places of natural beauty, and indeed to all land, a machinery analogous to that provided by the Ancient Monuments Act for Historic Monuments. The Bill proposed that any landowner might by deed declare, that "for the preserving of any natural features, or of a site or object of natural, historic, or scientific interest, the land shall be maintained in substantially the same condition, as that in which it is at the time of the execution of the deed." In addition, or alternatively, he might declare, that the land should not be built on, or should be placed under other restrictions; that the public