Elena Porter

Research Topic

National heritage in private hands: The political and cultural status of country houses in Britain, 1950–2000

Supervisors: Professor William Whyte, Dr Oliver Cox and Emma Robinson (Director of Policy & Public Affairs, Historic Houses)

Funding: Arts & Humanities Research Council Collaborative Doctoral Award

My research examines the methods and effectiveness of the country house lobby in Britain, with a particular focus on the Historic Houses Association (now known as Historic Houses). The country house was actively constructed as a symbol of national identity in the mid-to-late-twentieth century, and this process has been seen as both a symptom and cause of backward-looking politics and culture. My research revisits this narrative, by examining the detail of the political processes of policy change affecting privately owned built heritage. I intend to nuance our current understanding of how and why this form of heritage has been valued, and offer an alternative perspective on the influence of inherited wealth in British politics.

I was a Scholar on the 2020/21 Europaeum Scholars Programme, which engages academic thinking with policy making to develop solutions to the cultural, political and societal challenges facing Europe today.

I hold an MA in History of Design from the Royal College of Art and Victoria and Albert Museum, which was funded by an Oliver Ford Trust Scholarship, and a BA in History from Lincoln College, Oxford.