The future of Britain’s stately homes

Eleanor Doughty | The Critic | 6th September 2020

Britain’s stately country homes have among the greatest holdings of decorative art objects anywhere. Without visitor revenues, the National Trust (the “superpower of stately homes”) has gloomy plans for shutdowns. Denials that curatorial staff will be cut –  “we will not dumb down” – have failed to convince. Indeed, one commentator frets that the Trust intends “to ‘dial down’ its role as a major national cultural institution”.