Bunnies spoil the view at Knole

Peter Rabbit in the Orangery at Knole

At Sissinghurst recently the entire Library - one of the most beautiful rooms - was entirely taken up by an ‘exhibition’ devoted to the sexual orientation and behaviour of the owners who donated it to the Trust. 

At Knole last week I was equally appalled to see the entire Orangery, as well as almost every room in the house including the stairwells, exhibiting endless cut-out characters from Beatrix Potter.

I love Beatrix Potter and I love her wonderful stories of Peter Rabbit. In response to ‘why is this deemed relevant?’ I was told by a volunteer, with something of a sigh, that ‘this is for the children. We need to bring them in, you see, to include them, they are the new generation after all’.

I remember visiting old buildings when I was a child in the 1950s and I was and still am fascinated by and drawn to everything they are and the stories they told then and still tell now. I did not need a comic character to entice me - or indeed, to divert my attention from what was of real and lasting import.

At Standen last year, in almost every room, they had stuck cut-out figures painted on card, of the various characters who had, or they imaged had, inhabited the house. Presumably the National Trust thinks that their treasures do not stand for themselves.

This reminds me of the equally woke established Church which imagines that by playing the tambourine, dancing and singing instead of worshipping, and changing the language to match the lowest form of English imaginable, they will ‘bring them in, you see, the new generation’.

I think not. It is a deep and lasting psychosis which only a rude awakening will dispel. Meanwhile we must give voice to our disapproval, vote against them, and remove our financial support.

Sincerely

Simon Ranger