UNESCO: 80th Anniversary

Julie Minns Excerpts

Tuesday 18th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend and I share not only Gilsland but Hadrian’s wall. Members may not be aware that it is only in the last eight years that Hadrian’s wall has yielded its long-kept secret that the largest structure is to be found at Carlisle cricket club, thanks to a fantastic dig that is going on there. Does my hon. Friend agree that, as we mark 80 years of UNESCO, we definitely need a further 80 years to understand what we can learn from our shared heritage?

[Joe Morris]

We need significantly more than 80 years to unearth all the secrets that Hadrian’s wall yet has. I have been deeply concerned to read about some of the damage that climate change is doing to potential unfound objects at Vindolanda, where certain changes in the soil acidity may be wreaking havoc on things that we do not yet understand. Although its largest structure might be in my hon. Friend’s constituency, I think that mine contains the largest contiguous body of Hadrian’s wall—just to do a little bit of neighbourly point scoring.

As we celebrate the 80th anniversary of UNESCO, I note that Hadrian’s wall is not just an incredibly large structure that binds together the west coast and east coast of England; it is a really powerful message about the importance of our shared history and culture. Borders really can define large elements of where we see ourselves—there are large parts of my constituency that are built with stones from Hadrian’s wall. As history evolves, we must look at how we can preserve and celebrate it for the future. I commend my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Derbyshire for securing this debate, and for the manner in which he spoke about the achievements of UNESCO and the importance of marking and remembering our shared history.