As Europe’s largest conservation charity, with millions of members, most of us are familiar with the National Trust (NT). It was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley, with the joint aims of saving important places and opening them up for everyone to enjoy. Over 125 years later, this mission remains central to the organisation’s work.
Along with hundreds of miles of coastline and thousands of hectares of countryside, the Trust also cares for over 500 historic properties and almost a million works of art and heritage objects across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. (Scotland’s conservation organisation is National Trust for Scotland.) Many items in its holdings – including internationally-significant collections of books, ceramics, furniture, paintings and textiles – were accumulated by former property owners, giving an insight into individuals’ lives and tastes, and into wider histories too. Countless artefacts are dazzling
