How the National Trust Lost Its Way

Harry Mount | Issue 2 | Magazine

From the Archive

Bosherston Lily Ponds Bosherston Pembroke Pembrokeshire Wales

Faced with a £200m revenue shortfall and under fire for dumbing down its role as a cultural institution, the beloved heritage organisation must not damage its reputation irrevocably

Ever since 2011, I’ve been following the catastrophic dumbing-down process of the National Trust. This summer, the Trust hit two new lows. First came the Trust’s proposals for ‘Curation and Experience’, as part of its ‘reset programme’ to deal with the £200m loss of income resulting from Covid-19. The Trust proposes to get rid of all the lead curators in the regions and many junior curators. Instantly, brilliant scholars of architecture, archaeology, historic gardens, paintings, sculpture, furniture, textiles, silver and libraries would be sacked. Then, in a report called “Towards a 10-year vision for places and experiences. Version 2.1”, Tony Berry, the Trust’s Director of Visitor Experience, put forward his terrifying ideas for the future. He wants to “dial down” the Trust’s role as a big cultural institution and to move away from looking after English country houses. He also said the Trust intends to put its collections in storage and hold fewer exhibitions at its properties to prio...

Subscribe to The Mace

Join the member community shaping British politics and stay ahead of what's really happening in the world of politics and public affairs, with expert analysis, breaking news, and insider insights from Westminster and Brussels. The Mace is the leading news source and resource for the government affairs industry, offering required reading and lobby intelligence for professionals.

To see what you are missing out on by not subscribing to The Mace, click here to download our full membership info-pack. This includes having no paywall on op-ed content or profiles/interviews, allowing professional profiles to be read with maximum impact and visibility by government, special advisers, MPs, peers, civil servants, and policy and political decision-makers.