The head of the National Trust has said she received anonymous death threats during a “culture war” row over the organisation’s perceived “wokeness”. Hilary McGrady, the NT’s director general, said she did not report the intimidation to the police as “it comes with the territory”. The row was sparked by NT efforts to learn more about the history of its properties, including a report published last year that found connections between 93 of its historic places and colonialism and slavery. Criticism of what some saw as a politicised assault on heritage spilled on to social media and the press. McGrady said the academic author of the report “had a much harder time” than she had. More recently, a group calling itself Restore Trust sought to win seats on the NT’s governing council at its annual general meeting in October. The group claimed to represent grassroots opposition to what it characterised as the NT’s “woke” agenda, and said it wanted to steer the trust “back to its core purpose of looking after our heritage and countryside”. Three of Restore Trust’s candidates were elected to the 36-seat council, although one has denied he endorses the group’s concerns. McGrady said she suspected Restore Trust would continue its campaign despite its failure to realise its goal of six council members. “I would like to engage with them honestly and openly. What isn’t helpful is a war of words. I’m really up for having those conversations … I have to accept I can’t lead an organisation of this scale and not take on these challenges. It comes with the territory and I’m pretty sanguine about that,” she said. Some members and visitors had been “really cross and angry with us” over the issues raised by Restore Trust, she said. “There were also people really delighted and relieved that we’re finally looking at the history that they want to learn.” McGrady said the past two years had been difficult for the NT but there was “a sense of being able to draw a line” despite worries around the Omicron variant of Covid. There had been a “huge jump” in membership in the past few months, she said. The NT had been on the verge of reaching 6 million members when the pandemic struck. “We did lose a lot of people for all sorts of reasons – financial worries or just knowing that they wouldn’t be able to use their membership – but I think we’ll be back to 6 million this coming year,” she said. The trust has ambitious plans for 2022, including picnics, fetes, beacon lighting and tree planting to mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee, and an exhibition on Beatrix Potter in conjunction with the V&A in London. It has also set a goal of being net zero by 2030. “As a very significant landowner, we have a huge part to play in dealing with climate harm,” McGrady said. The trust aims to convert 10% of its 250,000 hectares of land to “nature rich”, and is planting 20m trees this decade. The NT plans to build on work after the report published last year detailing connections between 93 of its properties and colonialism and historical slavery. “Every day we uncover another bit of history. We have an obligation to tell this huge, complex, layered story of the history of the three countries we’re responsible for. The idea that history stands still is nonsense because you keep finding new things.” McGrady said the 2020 report was “first-stage research. The next step is, property by property, to [ask if] we need to do more research. And how would we weave that into the story so that we get a whole history of the place? It will take a long time, to be honest.” She insisted: “No one is forcing this down your throat. No one is trying to make you read this stuff. There’s no sense that we’re trying to preach and, certainly, definitely not judge. We’re trying to provide layers of information; we’re taking nothing away. We’re adding to the complexity of the information available. But if [people] want to come along and walk around the garden and have a lovely cup of tea, I am delighted about that. Why would I be prescriptive as to how people should engage with the National Trust?” When McGrady was appointed to lead the NT in 2018, she wanted to make it a “truly accessible” organisation, she said. “It certainly wasn’t an organisation that feels necessarily for everybody, and it still doesn’t. My mission was to take down any barrier that might get in the way of anyone feeling the trust is here for them.” That included practical measures such as wheelchair access and audio loops, and ensuring that the NT’s staff reflect “the UK as it is”. She said the demographics of its membership were changing from the perception of white, middle-class and middle-aged, but “it’s not as diverse as I want it to be. And I’m as interested in the socio-economic split as I am BAME and people with disabilities.” The organisation’s strategy was to reflect the communities it serves, but the community in the south-west was very different to the community in Birmingham, she said. “I’m very conscious that across the country there are different communities who want different things from the trust. That’s what I’m really focused on. How do we make ourselves accessible to the people who want to engage with us? But what a long way to go, and I’m the first to acknowledge that.”