This article concerns the way that research into Professional Memory (PM) in English teaching might re-connect the school subject with constituencies — the individuals, communities and social values — it once served. By PM I mean the collective memories of a generation of English teachers which, when brought into conjunction with existing histories, could offer critical perspectives on English today. In this article I will try to show how PM and the wealth of collective representations might afford much needed perspectives on the purposes and practices of secondary English in the UK.