Britain is a nation of 'heritage hypocrites' whose ignorance of its most significant national landmarks belies the pride they so greatly place in them.

In the year when British citizenship has come under scrutiny, new research from Encyclopaedia Britannica to mark the launch of the new 2002 revision, finds a third of the nation fails to recognise the country's most celebrated landmarks - despite claims that her heritage is what makes Britain great.

Emperor Hadrian may have unified Rome's vast Empire, but few Britons can remember why he built his famous wall. One in twenty 'heritage hypocrites' believes it was designed to prevent the French from attacking England rather than to separate the Romans from their Barbarian neighbours, whereas half claim it divided the English from the Scots.

And the location of the stone barricade, the survey finds, remains as much of a mystery for a third of respondents. One in twenty thinks that the ancient structure can be found in Dorset, 375 miles away from its real setting in Northumberland, and a further one in six claim it stands in the Scottish town of Dumfries.

Even the spot on which Stonehenge sits has eclipsed many Britons - three in ten of who fail to recognise Wiltshire as the home of the archaeological site. Furthermore, one in ten believes the Neolithic statues were erected during Queen Victoria's reign - approximately 4900 years after the event - while one in twenty states the monuments were assembled when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

Their knowledge of more modern landmarks is just as vague, as six in ten fail to locate the theatre that launched our most notable playwright. Half claim Shakespeare's Globe Theatre can be found in Stratford-Upon-Avon, while one in twenty believes it's in York.

And though it would seem these 'heritage hypocrites' fare better on their knowledge of natural landmarks, a quarter fail to recognise Cheddar Gorge as Somerset's famous ravine - one in ten thinks that it marks the name of Britain's first cheese museum - and a further one in seven mistakes Everest for the nation's highest mountain.

But it's insular Londoners, according to the Britannica findings, whose awareness of our national treasures is most lacking. A third (34 per cent) do not know what Cheddar Gorge is, one in sixteen (6 per cent) believes Hadrian's Wall can be found in the Irish county of Londonderry and a fifth think Mount Snowdon is Britain's highest mountain.

Christine Hodgson, Direct Marketing Manager of Encyclopaedia Britannica said: "Britain is a nation whose heritage and landmarks are renowned throughout the world. Yet our lack of knowledge of such national treasures really puts us to shame - we don't even know where to find them!"

The new print Encyclopaedia Britannica 2002 - the first revision since 1998 - combines over 234 years of heritage with more than 65,000 articles and 24,000 photographs, maps and illustrations.

The new revision, the first since 1998, features contributions from some of the world's most esteemed scholars such as Milton Friedman, Carl Sagan and Michael DeBakey on topics including literature, science and religion. And for those more interested in contemporary culture, new entries include Queen of Pop, Madonna, Harry Potter author JK Rowling and British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson.

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Notes to editors:

1. BMBR was commissioned by Encyclopaedia Britannica to conduct a weekend telephone omnibus survey, questioning a sample of 1000 adults aged 16+ living in Britain during February 2002.

2. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. publishes the most authoritative and comprehensive encyclopedia products in the English language as well as encyclopedias in a number of other languages. The Encyclopaedia Britannica database forms the cornerstone of several products. Those products include Britannica.com (www.britannica.com), Britannica Online (www.eb.com), Britannica CD and Britannica DVD. The companies' headquarters are in Chicago.

Contact:

Alice Lythgoe-Goldstein Band & Brown Communications +44 (0)207 419 7320 alice@bbpr.com