On the Rhodes to ruin

AFTER the calls to rip down a statue in Oxford of dead imperialist Cecil Rhodes, nearby Rhodes House, headquarters of the scholarships which bear his name, seems to be purging itself to avoid a similar fate.

Last week, part of the 1920s listed building (a strange but charming mix of Cotswold manor, Cape Dutch farmhouse and classical temple) was torn down so that lots of flashy glass and steel Blairite architecture can be incorporated in a transformed, sustainable structure.

Signs on hoardings outside squeal excitedly: ‘Take a look at our progress!’ The hoardings are also plastered with woke artists’ impressions of the groovy new world that is coming. They announce that they are ‘inspired by protests’ and add: ‘The Rhodes Trust acknowledges that racism continues to shape the unequal power structures and deep social inequalities of today’s world.’

They’re taking the knee before they’re forced to, like so many formerly solid institutions in this country. It’ll be ‘Mandela House’, and ‘Mandela Scholarships’ by the time this is finished. You wait and see.