Outside the Public: The Histories of Sezincote and Prestonfield in Private Hands

Abstract

Filor and Sibthorpe assess the ways in which historic houses under private ownership participate in public histories. Examining Sezincote, Gloucestershire and Prestonfield, Edinburgh they explore how owners of historic sites interpret the past for the public as fee-paying visitors and hotel guests. They demonstrate the ways in which histories are selectively retained and interpreted at these sites, while others are forgotten, showing the necessity of giving greater critical attention to how they contribute to current public interpretations of the past. While they profit from promoting appealing nostalgic histories, such sites must also bear a responsibility to recognize and engage with the more difficult (and violent) aspects of their past.