The pound, the pint and Parkinson voted National Treasures - 14 June 2006
Fish and chips, red telephone boxes and Dame Judi Dench top the ‘insurance’ list.The coffee shop may have taken over the high street. Text messaging may be endangering the art of conversation. But commonplace doesn’t necessarily mean popular, for when it comes to the things we treasure nothing stirs an Englishman’s - or woman’s - heart quite like the gentle thud of a tennis ball on lawn, accompanied, of course, by a cream tea.
That’s according to new research released today by Yellow Pages. The directory polled more than 1,000 Englishmen and women to discover the treasures they would insure, in addition to their house contents and car. Including objects, landmarks, people and body parts the response included the pint, the pound, chat show king Michael Parkinson and queen of the screen, Dame Judi Dench.
Most treasured objects
When it comes to individual items the research revealed our most valued national treasure is Fish and Chips, nominated by 66% of respondents, followed by red telephone boxes (63%), Wimbledon (45%), a pint of beer (40%) and cricket (30%).
| Most Treasured Objects | |||
| Rank | Object | Votes | Value* |
| 1 | Fish and chips | 66% | £2.6 billion |
| 2 | Red telephone boxes | 63% | £1,543 million |
| 3 | Wimbledon | 45% | £952 million |
| 4 | A pint of beer | 40% | £480 million |
| 5 | Cream tea | 35% | £225 million |
| 6 | The F.A. Cup | 31% | £180 million |
| 7 | Routemaster buses | 31% | £120 million |
| 8 | Cricket | 30% | £110 million |
| 9 | The pound coin | 23% | £52 million |
| 10 | Deck chairs | 20% | £26 million |
*Values calculated by Atrium 609, a leading insurer at Lloyd’s
The Mayor of London may need to rethink his transport policy after the few remaining Routemaster Buses picked up 31% of the vote, while Euro-sceptics can take heart from the fact that 23% of respondents feel the pound is a treasured object.
And even though the nation’s in the grip of World Cup hysteria, it’s the F.A. Cup we really hold dear – nominated by 31% of those polled.
And the bill?
But insuring such a line-up of national treasures comes with a hefty price tag. Christine Dandridge at Atrium 609, a leading insurer at Lloyd’s of London, has worked with Yellow Pages to estimate that the total value of all top ten objects comes in at a whopping £6.3 billion (£6,308,800,000)!
Most treasured landmarks
Almost 75% of those polled named Big Ben as the architectural icon they’d most like to insure. The capital provided four of the top ten skyline treasures including Buckingham Palace (69%), St Paul’s Cathedral (68%) and London Bridge (56%) while Hadrian’s Wall (50%) York Minster (48%) and Blackpool Tower (40%) staked a claim for the North.
| Most Treasured Landmarks | ||
| Rank |  | |
| 1 | Big Ben | 74% |
| 2 | Buckingham Palace | 69% |
| 3 | St. Paul's Cathedral | 68% |
| 4 | Stonehenge | 67% |
| 5 | White Cliffs of Dover | 60% |
| 6 | London Bridge | 56% |
| 7 | Hadrian's Wall | 50% |
| 8 | York Minster | 48% |
| 9 | Blackpool Tower | 40% |
| 10 | Clifton Suspension Bridge | 33% |
Most treasured men
Knights and Princes dominate the list of male national treasures – with Sir David Jason and Sir Trevor McDonald taking the number one and two spots, and Sir Jimmy Saville voted seventh. Prince William pips his father to the post at five, with Prince Charles voted eighth. England football captain David Beckham scores the ninth spot, hotly pursued by last summer’s Ashes hero Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff.
| Male National Treasures | ||
| Rank | | |
| 1 | SIr David Jason | 54% |
| 2 | Sir Trevor McDonald | 36% |
| 3 | Michael Parkinson | 31% |
| 4 | Bruce Forsyth | 27% |
| 5 | Prince William | 27% |
| 6 | Cliff Richard | 26% |
| 7 | Sir Jimmy Saville | 25% |
| 8 | Prince Charles | 25% |
| 9 | David Beckham | 24% |
| 10 | Freddie Flintoff | 20% |
Most treasured women
Famous for playing royals throughout history, Dame Judi Dench (58%) proved as popular as our current monarch, narrowly clinching first place in the list of most treasured women, with the Queen on 57%. Carry On and EastEnders star Barbara Windsor takes third place (33%) followed by Dame Maggie Smith (28%) and surprise, surprise, Cilla Black (24%).
| Female National Treasures | ||
| Rank | | |
| 1 | Dame Judi Dench | 58% |
| 2 | The Queen | 57% |
| 3 | Barbara Windsor | 33% |
| 4 | Dame Maggie SMith | 28% |
| 5 | Cilla Black | 24% |
| 6 | Judith Chalmers | 14% |
| 7 | French and Saunders | 14% |
| 8 | Kathy Burke | 11% |
| 9 | Vivienne Westwood | 10% |
Most treasured body part
No more can our US cousins make mock of poor English dentistry. Achieving that ‘Hollywood Smile’ has become as important over here as over there, with more than one in ten (12%) people saying they’d insure their teeth as their most important ‘personal treasure’.
No doubt prompted by Wayne Rooney’s recent injury problems, a further ten per cent say they’d insure their feet or hands, while one per cent have J-Lo aspirations, claiming they value their bottom so much they’d take out a policy to preserve it.
“It’s crucial to recognise and protect what’s special to us” says Richard Duggleby, head of external relations at Yell, publisher of Yellow Pages directories. “All of our nominated treasures have a place in the nation’s collective heart, and for that reason they’re priceless. While we can’t insure the White Cliffs of Dover yet, in a changing world where people are looking to protect more than just their carpets and cars, who knows what the future holds? Ten years ago no-one would have thought of insuring their pet – now it’s one of the fastest growing insurance classifications in Yellow Pages.”
