I fear that art critic Jonathan Jones is seriously mistaken if he thinks that British stately homes were created by a “dynamic modernising nation” instead of slavery (Why the disdain for Downton?, 11 May). If owners did not directly profit from the transatlantic slave trade then they certainly did from the proceeds of commodities grown through slave labour. Many stately homes were also built by those who made vast fortunes from the British mining, steel and cotton industries, all of which exploited their very poor workforce, often comprising vast numbers of children. None of these workers lived in homes of “architectural harmony” giving an “optimistic vision of a decent way of life” – far from it, as a visit to the National Trust’s Birmingham Back to Backs would show. Trying to conflate a Labour MP’s concern about the viability of the Palace of Westminster with a “the left disdain heritage” argument is ludicrous, especially when you consider the previous coalition government’s changes to the planning system. As a Green party and National Trust member I agree that visiting stately homes and gardens is an enriching experience, but I am under no illusions about the political and economic system that enabled the building and running of them.
Rebecca Fricker
Loughton, Essex
