Opinion: Something never to do: bowl up to a house you used to live in and boggle at the atrocious taste of the new occupants.
This was the experience of the family that once owned Sudbury Hall, now converted into a children’s theme park by the National Trust, custodian of hundreds of beloved historical sites in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Heaven knows how many frantically clutched pearls have scattered across the parquet since the trust embarked on its rejuvenation drive. Bean bags, mirrored disco balls, treasure hunts and children’s dressing-up parties didn’t used to be part of the historical tourism experience – any more than giant speech bubbles tacked onto old paintings were. But this is what has started happening since a group of self-described progressive activists took charge.
The trust leadership is unabashedly saying 70% of staff are now “progressive activists”, concerned with climate change and social justice, and that its focus is being changed to reflect those priorities.
The impression that the board and staff are really rather embarrassed about the treasures in their custody, seeing them as monuments to colonialism and slavery visited primarily by boomers, is becoming irresistible. Inevitable charges of dumbing down are levelled, with policy changes appearing sometimes aimed at diminishing the estate’s traditional allure.
The reset began just a couple of years ago but already the gizzard-ripping is positively ambient. A recent vote-stacking row erupted that would dazzle any Westminster power-broker. A splinter group called Restore Trust has repeatedly tried to block what it – again, inevitably – calls the woke agenda.
The board has parried the onslaught by a cunning use of inertia: a “one-tick” option for board elections, sparing members the bother of voting for individual candidates. This naturally favours the status quo, as most members either aren’t into the politics or have already resigned because of it.
Restore is particularly aggrieved at plans to mothball some trust collections, and reduce accessibility, to fund further contemporary-themed advocacy. It’s also furious at modern art shows being staged in ancient spaces.
The two sides at least agree that history counts. Among the most profound things modern visitors can learn from these old estates is that most of their inhabitants did not practise or benefit from much in the way of social justice, nor did they know or necessarily care about safeguarding the environment.
Any adult visiting a National Trust site will know this already, but it’s held to be one of the strongest reasons for taking children – or more likely dragging them along after surgical separation from devices. The buildings are at once beautiful and alienating, uplifting and depressing, entirely because of the history of the people who lived in and around them.
The debate is whether visitors need this history spelt out and fervently apologised for, and whether the spaces need to be made less alienating and more relevant to younger visitors.
The trust’s board and staff say yes, but it’s too early to say whether they’re right. Membership is down 7% and a 5% rise in visitors overall this year is likely attributable to post-pandemic tourism increases globally. More promisingly, visits by non-trust members are up 12%. Britain’s economic woes have hurt the subscription base, but the visitor stats may also indicate the changes are drawing new customers.
The pandemic pause has also obscured the rejuvenation efforts of British churches, some having installed fun rides, mini-golf and other novelties in cathedrals to boost attendance in recent years. They, like the trust, are banking on the appeal of a new combo of modern-style fun and updated moralising.
Sudbury Hall’s new slogan is at least a change from McDonald’s or TikTok’s pitch to youth: Party like it’s 1699!
