Travel writer Bryson to help protect England's heritage

Bill Bryson, the American whose affectionate portrait of his travels around Britain became an international bestseller, is to become an official defender of England's historic environment.

The writer, a former Independent journalist who recently returned to live in the UK after a period in the United States, was named yesterday as one of six new commissioners for English Heritage. He will serve for four years, succeeding another Anglophile American, Loyd Grossman, the television presenter.

Mr Bryson told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It's not every day that an immigrant more or less fresh off the boat gets invited to help run a national institution.

"There's a tradition at English Heritage of having an outsider as part of the commission, and I think that's a very good thing. It does introduce a level of diversity and give a different perspective. There is nothing like coming from a country that has a very small stockpile of heritage to make you appreciate a place that has a great stockpile."

Mr Bryson lived in England for 20 years before making a farewell tour in 1994. In the book of that trip,Notes from a Small Island, he cast his affectionate but witty eye over urban and rural Britain.

He hopes to use the commissioner's post to encourage respect for new and old architecture. "What we are finding more and more in Britain now is really thoughtful, exciting modern architecture going up alongside the more historic stuff in a way that doesn't detract from or destroy the overall aesthetic,'' he said.

"In the 1960s and 1970s, we went through a very bizarre time architecturally in the world, in which an awful lot of dull and uninspiring buildings were built. It is wonderful to see something a lot more thoughtful and innovative going on.''

Commissioners are paid between £3,500 and £8,000 a year for their work for English Heritage, which manages more than 400 historic buildings and advises the Government on heritage matters