Colonial Countryside was a child-led writing and history project that explored the African, Caribbean and Indian connections at 11 of the properties we care for. Collaborating with Dr Corinne Fowler at the University of Leicester, the project inspired a new generation of young people to advocate talking about colonial history.
Eleven National Trust houses participated. Over the course of the project, they held exhibitions, ran child-led tours and trained staff and volunteers to communicate the colonial stories of National Trust places.
This work ensures that robustly researched stories of empire are communicated accurately and sensitively to visitors. The project’s legacy is to ensure that colonial connections are integral to the stories that audiences discover during their visit. During the project, the Trust provided 100 children with a unique opportunity to initiate and lead local and national heritage conversations on country houses’ links to colonialism.