Alistair Hardaker | Image: Blenheim Palace (Blenheim Palace)
Historic house visits increased 14% to 21.3 million in 2025 but remain 18% below pre-pandemic levels, Historic Houses survey reveals.
Historic Houses member sites recorded 21.3 million visits in 2025, a 14% increase on the previous year, but visitor numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels.
The total represents an 18% shortfall compared to 26 million visits recorded in 2019. Nearly a third of respondents reported that revenue has also yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire recorded the highest number of visits with 980,678, followed by Chatsworth House in Derbyshire with 679,232 and Hever Castle in Kent with 389,928.
Historic Houses estimates the total economic benefit of its member places at £1 billion in 2025. Member places directly employed over 12,000 full-time equivalent staff but reported a 72% increase in insurance policy costs.
Full breakdown of top 10, based on paid visitor numbers only:
| House | 2025 Visitor Numbers |
|---|---|
| 1. Blenheim Palace | 980,678 |
| 2. Chatsworth House | 679,232 |
| 3. Hever Castle | 389,928 |
| 4. Beaulieu | 310,384 |
| 5. Waddesdon Manor | 306,061 |
| 6. Castle Howard | 289,000 |
| 7. Bamburgh Castle | 255,479 |
| 8. Alnwick Castle | 255,047 |
| 9. Arundel Castle Gardens | 192,000 |
| 10. Painshill Park | 178,094 |
“Historic Houses member properties currently face some of the most challenging trading conditions for decades.
“Increased costs of doing business compound the problems of ever-increasing levels of taxation and a slow and cumbersome planning system.
“A supportive fiscal and regulatory framework has never been more essential to ensure historic house businesses can deliver their full public value, ”said Ben Cowell, director-general of Historic Houses.
The figures were obtained through the Historic Houses 2025 annual survey. Some 338 respondents, roughly one quarter of total Historic Houses membership, participated in the survey.
