Meticulously preserved monuments are disrespectful to the past

Because apparently writing 2.5k words earlier today wasn't enough...

One thing that's really been annoying me recently is our nation's ridiculous tendency to preserve all the old buildings - castles, stately homes etc - to be looked at (but not touched! You're grubby fingers might destroy this delicate 1000 year old wall!). Perhaps the first time I this bothered me was watching an episode of Grand Designs a couple of years back when a man fought for months for the permission to renovate a utterly decrepit, mostly-collapsed old keep. He turned it into an absolutely fantastic B&B that was respectful of the original building whilst making it comfortable. No one cared about the old building, it was in the middle of nowhere and the only thing preventing it from being refurbished sooner was the ridiculously stringent rules on listed buildings.

I find our tendency to elevate old things to untouchable status disrespectful of the past. You might not have realised it, but these buildings were lived in by real people. They were never intended to be pieces of history, and they should stay that way.

Most of the castles are pretty much in ruins anyway. There's not much to look at. There used to be an outer wall, but it was demolished during the Civil War, you say? Bollocks, I want to see it. Faithfully re-construct it. Once Britain's sorted its finances, I would actually like to see the old crumbling ruins knocked down, the faithfully rebuilt, using the same materials in the same design. After that, either someone could live in it, or it could be opened to the public; either way would be better.

Of course, that raises the massive debate over privatising our new old buildings. God knows we kicked up enough fuss over the privatisation of our forests (though that was justified). It might seem strange, but I would prefer to see these buildings sealed off to the public if it means they are actually being used for what they were intended, rather than just sitting forlornly like a museum piece.

Windsor castle is a model example. It's lived in by the actual royal family, is in great shape, but it also (mostly) open to the public. It's a perfect compromise that retains the integrity of such an awesome looking building. I've linked it before, but it looks so spectacular its worth another eye-full.

I don't think I've quite put into words what I want to express. It's like seeing a magnificent tiger in a cage, or a classic car sitting lonely in a garage, to be looked at but never enjoyed as it should be.