The National Trust’s mission

To The Times

Those who doubt that Hilary McGrady (“National Trust told to learn from slave row”) is on a mission to lead the National Trust away from its core purpose of looking after the buildings and land placed in its care need only read the autumn edition of the trust’s magazine. In it, the director of volunteering, participation and inclusion says: “At the National Trust we have a duty to play a part in creating a fairer, more equitable society.” It is clear that the National Trust Acts from 1907 to 1971 place no such duty on the trust.

However, the actions of the director-general and her staff suggest they have this ambition at the centre of their strategy. The trust must not become a vehicle for those endeavouring to use it for social and political purposes. The trustees have a responsibility to ensure that the director-general and her staff focus on the trust’s charitable objects. If they fail to do that, the Charity Commission should step in and do the job for them. Dr Alan Hearne, Woodstock, Oxfordshire

To The Daily Telegraph

I have read the National Trust’s report on slavery and colonialism, and welcome its efforts to reveal more of the history behind its properties. If some want no further information on the history of Britain in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, so be it. But some of us want to know more.

My maiden name was Williams. However, my original family name was probably different, because my father was a black man from the Caribbean. It is likely that the name Williams had more to do with a slave owner. The British took more than three million Africans across the Atlantic. This may have happened a long time ago – but the reparations paid to slave owners lasted 182 years. The slave trade robbed me, and people like me, of my lineage. I do not blame anyone today, but I would like some recognition of the benefits that accrued to Britain from the inhuman practice of selling people. I will be taking out a family membership for the National Trust. Valerie Davies, Bridstow, Herefordshire