Sir - I was saddened but not surprised at the news that Nuffield College is to sell Nuffield Place the long-time home of Lord Nuffield.

For institutions that trade so heavily on their heritage and world reputation in the academic field, Oxford colleges have a less sensitive side when it comes to commercial matters.

William Morris was a giant of the world motor industry and through his charitable largesse created Nuffield College itself. Now the college is turning its back on its main benefactor and putting at risk a unique insight into the private life of this remarkable man.

Even at the height of British Leyland's woes when anything remotely valuable was being sold, great efforts were made to save Lord Nuffield's office by transferring it, piece by piece to the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon, before the Nuffield Press, where it was housed, was sold. Can we hope that Nuffield College will show some sense of its own history and keep his home and its contents intact for future generations to see?

Brian Johns, Oxford