To call English Heritage a “less-glamorous cousin” of the National Trust (Editorial, 3 February) is an insult to the history of heritage protection in England. English Heritage has a portfolio of more than 880 historical places collected by the government from the 1880s to the 1970s to form a national collection of built and archaeological heritage.
This amassing of places represents the state’s efforts to ensure the protection of the nation’s most significant prehistoric and medieval sites, which were often in great disrepair or at threat of demolition. The places managed by English Heritage remain in state ownership, but the charity is responsible for their operation and maintenance.
