National Trust curator says focus on ‘privileged’ families in stately homes is ‘too heterosexual’

National Trust should not be emphasising the role of families because it ‘privileges heterosexual lives’, senior curator says

  • Rachael Lennon argued that the historic homes focused on the role of families
  • She added that the narrative ‘privileges heterosexual lives’ and does not provide enough on ‘same sex desire’ 
  • A National Trust spokesman said they did not favour any particular viewpoint

Stately homes in England place a heavy focus on heterosexual families, a National Trust curator has said.    

The National Trust’s public programmes curator, Rachael Lennon, argued that the historic homes offered a great deal of information about marriages, inheritance and the role of families.

The senior curator added that the current narrative ‘privileges heterosexual lives’ and does not provide enough on ‘same sex desire’.

National Trust curator Rachael Lennon, argued that the historic homes offered a great deal of information about marriages and the role of families but little on ‘same sex desire’

The senior curator, who organised The National Trust’s Prejudice and Pride LGBT exhibitions in 2017, claimed that the history surrounding stately homes gave ‘little space’ for gender diversity and excluded or misrepresented people belonging to the LGBTQ community. 

Ms Lennon told The Telegraph: ‘In the historic house, there remains an emphasis in the collective imagination on the experiences of ‘the family’ often resulting in a narrative that privileges heterosexual lives.

‘The lives of elites are similarly privileged.’  

However her comments were rebuked by the director general of the Historic Houses Association Ben Cowell who argued: ‘The danger for the Trust is that this is the point at which its adopted curatorial position starts to jar with the realities of history.’

The senior curator argued that the homes provided gave 'little space' for gender diversity and excluded or misrepresented people belonging to the LGBTQ community. Pictured: Country house Kingston Lacy near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England

The senior curator argued that the homes provided gave ‘little space’ for gender diversity and excluded or misrepresented people belonging to the LGBTQ community. Pictured: Country house Kingston Lacy near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England

A National Trust spokesman said: ‘We work closely with the Historic Houses Association and they raised the issue of primogeniture in their Autumn members’ magazine, in response to an extract from a scholarly publication we produced.

‘We don’t favour any particular viewpoint when telling the stories of our places, and try to present more than one perspective. 

‘It is very normal for organisations like ours to have debates like this, and it is partly the point of our more academic publishing. Such debate informs our future work.’

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