In Conversation With: Lady Violet Manners on Reshaping Heritage

Posted by Bedrock on 1st August 2025

Our In Conversation With series shares personal and thought-provoking insights from inspiring individuals across diverse industries and backgrounds. It provides practical perspectives on how different forms of capital — intellectual, social, and financial — can be harnessed to drive innovation, growth, and meaningful change, while also offering investors valuable insights into the key trends shaping different sectors.

In this edition, we speak with Lady Violet Manners, CEO and Founder of HertiageXplore — the first platform to bring together Britain’s independently owned heritage sites for an immersive discovery and booking experience.

On a mission to open up the stories, rich histories, and unparalleled beauty of these extraordinary estates, Lady Violet is bringing fresh entrepreneurial thinking to an often-overlooked sector — aiming to change how we value and interact with heritage.

Reinventing Access to Britain’s Past

Q: Let’s talk about HeritageXplore. For those unfamiliar with the platform, what is it?

HeritageXplore is both a storytelling platform and a digital marketplace dedicated to Britain’s independent heritage sector. Think of it as a two-sided platform: on one side, it helps owners share their stories and manage bookings; on the other, it gives visitors a single, easy place to discover and plan trips to these extraordinary places.

This kind of centralised aggregator has never existed for privately owned historic houses — despite the fact that there are nearly twice as many of them as those under the National Trust. When people think of heritage in Britain, they instinctively picture the Trust — a hugely successful charity with 5.5 million members and hundreds of millions in annual income. By contrast, the independent sector has remained fragmented and under the radar.

Our ambition is not to replicate the Trust or to take these estates away from the families who have often lived in them for 500 years or more. Instead, we want to harness their collective strength and make sure their stories and offerings are visible to a much wider audience. It’s about creating more balance between the public and independent sectors, drawing attention and visitors to these hidden gems.

“We want to harness their [estates] collective strength and make sure their stories and offerings are visible to a much wider audience.”

And here’s the reality: if you own a historic house today, you are an entrepreneur. You have to manage a 500‑year‑old building with modern business skills and an entrepreneurial lens — balancing preservation, visitor experiences, and commercial realities. That is a huge challenge and one that has only intensified over the last few decades. We believe our timing with HeritageXplore couldn’t be better to help them meet that challenge.

A New Era of Heritage Entrepreneurship

Q: You said you have to be an entrepreneur. What made you say that?

Gone are the days — despite what Downton Abbey might suggest — of life in a grand country house meaning late mornings with tea in bed and a purely leisurely existence.

Ever since the 1950s, when private estates were required to open their doors to the public for tax reasons, these houses have had to transform. What were once private homes are now complex business operations: part tourism destination, part land and asset management, part hospitality. Increasingly, they must be commercial just to survive.

The scale of responsibility is enormous. Repairs can cost millions — Blenheim Palace, for example, is in the middle of an £11 million roof restoration — and that kind of upkeep can only be funded by thinking entrepreneurially.

Today, running a historic house is about far more than preservation; it’s about participation. These families are custodians of collective history, but they also have to innovate — finding ways to engage visitors, diversify income, and keep these places relevant in a changing world. That, to me, is why entrepreneurial thinking has become essential.

“Today, running a historic house is about far more than preservation; it’s about participation.”

Providing a Blueprint for the Next Generation

Q: Do you find that entrepreneurial skill sets already exist in these estates, or do they need to be professionalised?

When these houses first opened to the public, the CEO was often the lady of the house — and in many places, that’s still the case.

But the complexity of these estates has grown enormously. What might once have been a 30-day-a-year house opening has become a multifaceted business, open 250 days, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors and operating across hospitality, tourism, and increasingly diversified farming. The complexity has grown, and so has the need for professional expertise.

That said, the vision still has to come from the generational line. That blueprint — the sense of continuity, history, and values passed down — is what gives the independent sector its unique character. It shapes how these estates feel when you visit.

I was determined that 12 of my investors would be next-generation heritage owners because I value their ideas and how they view their own legacy. Their mindset, combined with specialist expertise, is essential as we navigate this new chapter.

“I was determined that 12 of my investors would be next-generation heritage owners because I value their ideas and how they view their own legacy.”

Wealth Beyond Money: Building a Legacy

Q: What’s one way people can use their wealth to not just build their future, but to honour the past?

I grew up surrounded by five rooms of archives at Belvoir Castle — thousands of letters, records, and stories spanning centuries. My father now spends four days a week digitising them, a task that will take him ten years, and he loves it. Spending time there has taught me that wealth isn’t just about GDP.

I think true wealth lies in future planning — in creating a legacy that you can pass down to your grandchildren, something they can explore and connect with 60, 150 years from now. That, to me, is a form of wealth in its own right.

Fundamentally, we are a business. People often ask why I didn’t set up HeritageXplore as a charity, and my answer is always the same: these estates themselves operate with commercial intent, and it’s important that we are aligned with that reality.

That said, I believe deeply that wealth must be understood in a broader sense. To me, true wealth isn’t only financial — it’s the wealth of memories, stories, and history passed from one generation to the next. I think that’s what I’ve taken away from spending so much time in historic houses.

“To me, true wealth isn’t only financial — it’s the wealth of memories, stories, and history passed from one generation to the next.”

Heritage as an Asset for the Future

Q: What are the broader benefits that these houses have for society?

Independent historic houses are economic anchors for local and rural communities. Heritage tourism generated £17 billion for the UK economy last year — and that still underestimates their full contribution. These estates sustain jobs, support farms, and act as hubs of economic activity in their regions.

When it comes to the estates themselves, I don’t think they’ve yet come together to create something truly bold and commercially innovative beyond tourism. That said, their impact on local economies cannot be overstated. These places are like lighthouses, scattered across rural communities, providing both economic and social value.

They are one of the few things that bind us to our past as much as to our present, and that kind of cultural connection is hard to measure. Fundamentally, they represent a form of soft power for the country — subtle, difficult to quantify, but enormously important.

If we walked out on Oxford Street or Regent Street and picked on some person to answer the question about what you they team or value as wealth in the United Kingdom, one of the three ones they would say is our history. I think we need to be braver and more unapologetic about our history — not in a nostalgic way, but as an asset that can shape our future.

“These places are like lighthouses, scattered across rural communities, providing both economic and social value.”

Shaping a New Narrative

Q: What can the media do to help?

I think historic house owners have traditionally been rather bashful about who they are and what they represent. I believe that era is over. There’s no point in being shy about it anymore.

The value these estates bring to local and rural economies is real, tangible, and will only grow, especially as farming changes and consolidates. There are so many ways in which these places contribute.

The conversation around heritage has long been very narrow: “house opens, family drama ensues.” But heritage is so much more than that. It’s broader, more dynamic, and full of innovation. Focusing on who lives there or some family feud misses the point. There is so much happening that is genuinely valuable — I’d love to see the media shift its lens to tell those stories — the ones about creativity, entrepreneurship, and the real impact these estates have on communities.

“I’d love to see the media shift its lens to tell those stories — the ones about creativity, entrepreneurship, and the real impact these estates have on communities.”

Where Passion Meets Purpose  

Q: What drives you in the work that you do?

I believe heritage is one of the UK’s greatest cultural assets. Too often, it is measured only in visitor numbers or GDP, but its true value lies much deeper — in the cultural, social, and even emotional role it plays in people’s lives.

At HeritageXplore, our mission is to drive more people to the independent sector of heritage and really be that bridge between the next generation of heritage enthusiasts and these incredible places that are boundless across this country.

It’s also such an overlooked and under-served sector in this country. These historic houses are extraordinary physical assets, but they need fresh, creative thinking to stay relevant in today’s fast-paced world. My hope is that we can be the platform — the lily pad — that sparks and supports all that creativity.

“My hope is that we can be the platform — the lily pad — that sparks and supports all that creativity.”

To continue that mission, we are especially proud to offer HeritageXplore Luxe – an experience that grants guests rare, privileged access to personally guided tours with estate owners, exceptional hospitality, and elegant dining in historic state rooms. These intimate tours give select groups the opportunity to explore Britain’s grandest country estates in a truly unforgettable way. Our next HeritageXplore Luxe journey – a four-day, four-night exploration of six extraordinary privately-owned houses – will take place from 30 September to 4 October 2025.

To learn more or secure a place on their upcoming experience, get in touch with us at info@bedrockgroup.ch.