A rich man's world?

I feel like we have all been talking a lot about money in class lately, sadly not just because we love Abba. It's got me thinking about the pursuit of money and the heritage sector and kind of indirectly how I came to be here.

I used to work for English Heritage. They are a 'QUANGO' (A quasi-autonomus non-governmental organisation - try saying that after a few drinks) which basically means that they get money from the UK government and get told how to spend some, but not all of it and also have to follow some guidelines from a government department (in this case the Department for Culture, Media and Sport). Anyway, EH maintain over 400 historic sites in England from big ones like Stonehenge to the sites of ruined castles with hardly anything left to see. They are also in charge of listing buildings and telling other organisations that look after historic sites what they can and can't do. They are 'Le grand fromage' when it comes to heritage in England and let me say first off that I think, in general they do a great job.

I used to work at Eltham Palace in London -http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/eltham-palace-and-gardens/  (Oh and those Mediaeval tours they are advertising, I created those. Fact.)

It is a great, unique building, 1930s art deco mansion tacked onto a mediaeval great hall with mediaeval and Tudor ruins all over the grounds, Henry VIII lived there as a child (not in the art deco mansion though obviously). It is also one of the most popular wedding venues in London and hosts numerous events including film and photo-shoots every year. It makes more money than the 14 other EH properties in London combined and the money it makes helps to keep them open.

This was my problem, It was great that Eltham made money so that visitors could enjoy it and other EH properties but it wasn't great that film crews damaged the building (paint on Jacobean chairs, scratches on the roof from lighting rigs) and nobody did anything because they didn't want to lose the contract. We were supposed to close for the whole of January for preventative conservation work and this time kept getting eroded, (let's have a four day film shoot in a room you have just cleaned so you not only lose four days, you also have to clean it all again). The longer I worked there, the more depressed I became by how the house was used to make money at the expense of preserving the fabric of the building and the artefacts in it. The people in charge of managing the building only cared about making money (Sell more pencils! Sell more jute bags! Sell more Lemon Curd!) and the voices of the curators and collections care team didn't really get heard. I eventually left because I felt that what was happening was immoral and I knew that I couldn't change it from the position I was in.

Of course making money is important and necessary, but I wonder where you draw the line? Should the people who manage historic buildings come from a preservation or business background?