The great mission of the National Trust
- Laura Mattei
- Jul 3, 2024
- 9 min read
If your next holiday in England includes a visit to a historic country house, a beautiful garden or an area of outstanding natural beauty on the British coast, chances are your destination is one of the many properties or places owned and managed by the National Trust.
With 5.7 million members, over 10,000 employees and 55,000 volunteers who play a crucial role in the day-to-day life of the organisation, the National Trust is in fact not only Europe's largest conservation charity and the UK's first private landowner, but also one of the great institutions of British society.
Loved and supported by millions with donations, annual subscriptions or volunteer hours (the 'gift of time', as Octavia Hill, one of the three founders of the National Trust, called it),
the National Trust has played a vital role in the protection and enhancement of the UK's natural and architectural treasures for almost 130 years
and owns an immense (and growing) portfolio of assets consisting of over 250,000 hectares of woodland, countryside and green spaces, 780 miles of precious British coastline (including the world-famous White Cliffs of Dover, the wonderful Kynance Cove in Cornwall and the majestic Seven Sisters, in East Sussex) and 600 among historic residences, castles, parks, villages, gardens, natural reserves and 39 historic pubs, as well as over a million works of art, for a total combined value of £1.7 billion.
As a testament to the relevance of this charity in the British nation, the President of the National Trust has been for many years the former Prince of Wales, now King Charles III who, after the death of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, and his accession to the throne in 2022, continues his decades-long support of the charity as its Patron.
The mission of the National Trust
The mission of the National Trust is as simple as it is ambitious: to protect and care for places of natural, historic and architectural significance in the three British nations where it operates (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) so people and nature can thrive, and to make this extraordinary heritage open for everyone to enjoy.
'For everyone, for ever' is the slogan that effectively sums up this noble mission. It was set 130 years ago by the three founders of the National Trust and has remained unchanged ever since.
The high moral value of its role and the unquestionable non-profit nature have made the National Trust one of the most beloved organisations in British society and a model for many conservation charities across the world. Among these, the Italian Environmental Fund (FAI), which expressly states on its website that it is was established in 1975 with the aim of protecting and enhancing Italy's historical, artistic and landscape heritage using the National Trust as a model.
Being a member of the National Trust, displaying the famous oak leaf logo (the quintessentially English tree) on the car windscreen and contributing to its mission as a volunteer or donor has been for decades a matter of great pride for generations of English, Welsh and Northern Irish people who love nature, the countryside and their country’s historical heritage and wish to do something to preserve its treasures and heritage.
The fact that so many historic places and properties in the English countryside have been preserved from speculation and neglect and are now open to the public is due in no small part to the intuition of the three enlightened individuals who, in the middle of the Victorian era, decided to set up the National Trust.
The origins of the National Trust
The National Trust was founded in the late 1800s by three English philanthropists inspired by Christian socialist ideals: Octavia Hill, a London activist and passionate social reformer who became the soul and voice of the new charity; Sir Robert Hunter, a solicitor active in the protection of historic buildings, who worked tirelessly to preserve the right to access common land against the notorious 'enclosures' and was the legal brain behind the National Trust; and Canon Harwicke Rawnsley, an Anglican priest who fiercely opposed the development of the Lake District and the destruction of the traditional way of life of the English countryside and donated to the new association his charisma and passion in preserving the natural landscape for everyone to enjoy for ever.
United by the common belief that nature, beauty, and history should be accessible to all, and determined to do something to safeguard Britain's natural and cultural heritage threatened by urban sprawl and decay, Hill, Hunter and Rawnsley set up the 'National Trust for Places of Historic Interest and Natural Beauty in England and Wales' on 12th December 1895.
The new charity was inspired by the ideals of the British Romantic movement that spread across the UK in late Eighteenth century.
Members of this new literary trend called for a return to the values of nature and the countryside against the inequalities of Victorian society and degradation of mass industrialisation. The concept of conservation itself stated to develop as part of this wider debate.
My blog 'Why do the English love the countryside so much' delves deeper into the crucial role of British Romanticism in shaping the special place the countryside holds in the heart of millions of British men and women today. You can read this blog here.
The aim of the new charity set up by Hill, Hunter and Rowsley was"to promote the permanent preservation for the benefit of the Nation of lands and tenements (including buildings) of beauty or historic interest".
129 years later, that mission remains at the heart of the National Trust.
The approval by the British Parliament of the National Trust Act in 1907 (the first in a series of namesake acts) marked a crucial moment in the life of the charity. The Act, drafted by Sir Robert Hunter, almost uniquely in the British legal system gave the Trust the power to declare its assets inalienable, meaning that, even today, once acquired, a National Trust property cannot be sold without parliamentary approval, thus really bringing to life the slogan 'for everyone, forever'.
In addition, the Act enabled the Trust to make by-laws. Further Acts would follow in 1919, 1937, 1939, 1953, and 1971.
Since the acquisition of Alfriston Clergy House in East Sussex, the first property purchased for £10 in 1898, the National Trust has continued to grow unabated.
Many British prime ministers, politicians, journalists, and intellectuals have over the years joined its cause, facilitated bequests and donations with major tax and regulatory innovations and encouraged active support from the public.
Among these personalities was Beatrix Potter, who became a great supporter of the National Trust and in 1929 donated to the charity the proceeds of her famous children's books, 14 farms and more than 1,600 hectares of land in the heart of the Lake District, the area where she used to go holiday with her family as a child and where she moved to live as an adult. The Lake District which was also the main source of inspiration for Potter’s fantastic characters that are drawn directly from country life.
Potter's Hill Top farm in Sawry is now one of the National Trust's most famous properties and a popular destination for fans of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny of all ages. I cannot wait to visit it during my umpteenth upcoming holiday in the Lakes!
How is the National Trust funded?
The National Trust is a charity and, as such, totally independent of the British government.
This means that, unlike other bodies with similar aims of preserving England's historic and architectural heritage such as Historic England, which is a government agency,
the National Trust does not receive any guaranteed annual 'grant-in-aid' and can't rely on government support to fund its day-to-day operations.
The money to maintain, exploit and increase its immense property portfolio and to develop many projects with local communities comes from donations and bequests, the annual membership fees paid by the 5.73 million members (£276 million in 2022-2023), tickets paid by non-members to visit its historic residences, grants for specific projects funded by UK or European competitive grant schemes, income generated by the gift shops, restaurants and cafes that are present in each property, tourist or residential rents of its many homes and cottages, income generated by its extensive agricultural estates and financial investment.
A massive operation, which generates a total annual income of more than £680 million that is used, among many other things, to manage the 600 historic residences and properties, whose overall maintenance costs in 2022 alone amounted to £179 million.
A significant part of this income comes from donations, which in the fiscal year to 31 March 2023, hit a record £117 million.
Added to these revenues are many bequests, which often include entire estates and that, over the past 100 years, have contributed decisively to growing the list of beautiful historic country residences owned by the National Trust and open to the public.
Among the hundreds of majestic country residences that have been bequeathed to the National Trust and I have had the pleasure of visiting over the years are Chartwell, Winston Churchill's former country residence in Kent, the beautiful Bateman’s, home of the famous writer and poet Rudyard Kipling in the lush West Sussex countryside, the medieval village and abbey of Lacock in Wiltshire, used as the set for Hogwarts in two Harry Potter films, and the majestic Petworth House, also in West Sussex, with its immense collection of paintings and sculptures and its incredible parkland and lake.
The National Trust today
Over the years, The National Trust has developed a number of new initiatives that have significantly widened its historic purpose.
These initiatives aim to promote a widespread culture of love and care for the natural and historical heritage, to involve communities in conservation projects of local ecosystems, and to proactively tackle climate change e.g. by planting over 1 million trees every year across the UK.
Membership benefits
Becoming a National Trust member costs £7.60 per month per person, £12.60 for a couple and £13.25 for a family of four with two children under 17.
There is also a lifetime membership, which costs £2,195 for individuals and £2,735 for couples.
Membership entitles to access and parking freely throughout the year (with no limit to the number of visits) to all 600+ historic houses and green spaces managed by the National Trust across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In addition to this, members receive every year the detailed guide to all the properties and places managed by the charity and the legendary sticker for their car's windscreen along with three annual editions of the National Trust's magazine.
Interestingly, members of the National Trust for England, Wales and Northern Ireland also benefit from free visiting arrangements with 14 similar heritage organisations in other countries via the International National Trusts Organisation (INTO). These includes the National Trust for Scotland, those for Australia, Canada and the Bahamas and the Fondo Ambientale Italiano (Italian Environmental Fund, FAI).
Vice versa, FAI members have free access to all National Trust properties in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Surely a great opportunity for Italian FAI members who plan to visit the UK!
My husband and I have been National Trust members for more than a decade and, beyond the opportunity to contribute to the worthy mission of this outstanding charity, have always benefited greatly from our membership.
National Trust's properties include not only some of the finest historic residences in the English countryside, but are also sympathetically refurbished, well maintained and managed. All have excellent cafés and, in many cases, beautiful gardens or parks curated by some of England's best gardeners - and, in the undisputed world capital of gardens, this surely means something!
In short, the £12.60 we pay jointly each month to be members of the National Trust are certainly well spent!
What are the National Trust's best residences?
The National Trust owns so many beautiful historic residences and places of outstanding natural beauty that it is really difficult to make a list of the best ones to visit, not least because these choices tend to be inevitably subjective.
My advice is to visit the National Trust website and use the filters available in the search mask to find the place that suits your tastes and interests.
The link is https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/search
In my personal opinion, in addition to the four I mentioned above, other beautiful country houses and gardens I visited and can recommend are Ham House in Richmond, South West London, Polesden Lacey near Dorking, Surrey, the imposing Bodiam Castle, an authentic 14th century medieval castle with crenelated towers, a moat and drawbridge that is located in East Sussex, Sissinghurst Castle Gardens, a charming country residence with beautiful gardens in Kent with close links to Virginia Woolf, Mottisfont and The Vyne in Hampshire, Kingston Lacy in Dorset, Snowshill Manor and Garden near Broadway, in the Cotswolds, and the beautiful Nymans and Hidecote, two lush gardens in Hampshire and near Chipping Campden, in the Gloucestershire Cotwsolds, respectively.
And these are just a few ideas, mostly in the South of England and the Cotswolds, based on some of my personal experience.
With the National Trust, you really are spoilt for choice!
Have you ever visited a National Trust historic house or place? If so, which one would you recommend in addition to the ones I have mentioned?
Let me know in the comments.
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