History lessons

Mr G Squire (Letters, 22 February) includes Historic Scotland (HS) as an institution whose staff "require a solid grounding in the history, culture and … the mores of Scotland". I worked at HS and its predecessors between 1977 and 2009, alongside people from all parts of the UK and beyond.

Many of the professional staff – inspectors, architects and so on – have worked there for much of their careers and, whatever their place of origin, have made a commitment to the conservation and understanding of Scotland's built and archaeological heritage, and form a significant part of the nation's repository of knowledge and experience. It is that commitment and experience, largely gained on the job wherever one was educated, that counts, not whether one was born north of the Border.

Mr Squire says that the staff bring to HS John Major's vision of archetypal Englishness; on what evidence does he make this claim? I and other former colleagues at HS have written about the distorting effects of English archetypes on the understanding of Scotland's past, and anyone trying to push a "little England" view on the agency would have been given a pretty rough ride.

As a Scot I have found the tone of this correspondence depressing and parochial.

DR GORDON J BARCLAY

Derby Street

Edinburgh