A Museum of England

SIR – Neil MacGregor (Arts, March 6) asks why we don’t have a Museum of England.

I’m proud to say that we do: it’s just not contained within four walls. English Heritage cares for over 400 ancient monuments, historic buildings and their artefacts, which together form a truly national museum for England, telling the story of this country from prehistoric times to the Cold War.

Created in 1913 and massively expanded since, this unrivalled collection offers the chance to explore the great turning points in English history, including the Battle of Hastings and the writing of On the Origin of Species, as well as the backdrops to past everyday lives – like the deserted medieval village in the Yorkshire Wolds, and the Lakeland factory where the bobbins for the cotton industry were produced.

English Heritage celebrates history but, like Mr MacGregor, we don’t believe in showing only the “sunny side”. And we offer in abundance “space to think”.

Kate Mavor

Chief Executive, English Heritage Swindon, Wiltshire