Culture Wars, the National Trust, and ‘Green Heritage’ in Britain

Abstract

The National Trust, Europe’s largest conservation charity, found themselves in the midst of a bitterly unfolding ‘culture war’ over public histories of slavery, empire and colonialism in Britain following the publication of a report outlining connections between these histories and properties in their care in September 2020. The reaction that followed was largely spearheaded by Britain’s right-wing press, an internal pressure group, and several Conservative MPs. The debates focused on the National Trust’s perceived purpose (of ‘conservation’ not ‘politics’), that publishing these connections somehow brought ‘shame’ on great institutions and families, and that doing so was part of a ‘woke’ and highly politicized agenda. This article introduces this contested moment in the long and dissonant public memory of slavery and empire in Britain and argues that considering alternative forms of interpretation through green heritage and ‘Plant Public History’ has potential to expand public understandings of these histories and provide ‘alternative ways in’ to thinking about otherwise marginalized stories.