In 2020, the National Trust released its ‘interim report’ on the connections between its properties and colonialism and slavery. It quickly became obvious that the report had not been commissioned in the spirit of free historical inquiry, but as a way to tarnish the National Trust and Britain’s history.
The report found that 93 properties or places owned by the Trust had a ‘link’ to colonialism and slavery, a fact that was widely reported in the news at the time.
According to the report, a ‘link’ could be anything from having wealth ‘connected’ to slavery, involvement in a colonial administration in a senior capacity, or even having a business with significant interests in a British colony. Using these criteria, even Winston Churchill’s family home of Chartwell was included.
Unsurprisingly, there was a significant backlash to the National Trust’s denigration of its own properties in this way.
Now, one of the main editors of the report, Corinne Fowler, a........