By Hollie Muir, Senior Editor
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust, is an independent charity and membership organisation for environmental and heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is Europe's largest conservation charity, and now, in 2020, the National Trust is celebrating 125 years since its founding in 1985.
All photos above are taken by Hollie Muir at various National Trust sites across England.
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust, is an independent charity and membership organisation for environmental and heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is Europe's largest conservation charity, and now, in 2020, the National Trust is celebrating 125 years since its founding in 1985.
In 1895, the National Trust’s founders, Octavia Hill, Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley, made a pledge to preserve historical and natural places all over the country. Their aim was not only to save important sites, but to open them up for everyone to visit and enjoy. Thanks to this trio of environmental pioneers, the National Trust was created - and their original values are still at the heart of everything the National Trust does 125 years later.
Within National Trust sites there are:
Over 780 miles of coastline
More than 25,000 hectares of land
Over 500 historic houses, castles, parks and gardens
Nearly one million works of art
These shared places stretch from Ireland to England and then to Wales, and are all taken care of by the 10,000 employees the National Trust employs and over 65,000 volunteers.
A few things that the National Trust have achieved in the past 125 years due to our help:
1895- The National Trust began its mission to look after nature, natural beauty and history.
1896- The first building, Alfriston Clergy House, in East Sussex was saved for £10
1929- Runnymede, a beautiful landscape by the Thames, and the place where the Magna Carta was sealed, was gifted to the National Trust in memory of Sir Urban Broughton.
1943- Beatrix Potter leaves 14 farms and 4,000 acres of the Lake District to the National Trust’s care.
1965- The Neptune Coastline Campaign was launched to help protect the coast for people and wildlife.
1981- A milestone of one million members was reached after 86 years of the National Trust.
2017- The number of volunteers reached over 65,000
2020- The National Trust turns 125!
There are many more milestones the National Trust has achieved due to the public's help. The best thing we can do is to help preserve natural places of beauty and nature for future generations. Now, with technology taking over and more and more people being born, we are forcing ourselves to build houses, destroy ecosystems, and worst of all causing the climate to change. Within the National Trust’s sites, plants are flowering earlier, high winds mean places are forced to close and surfaces of paint have blistered in the sun. These are just a few of the small things that are changing, and we need to preserve these special places no matter what. The National Trust has worked exceptionally hard to preserve places of historic beauty, and the least we can do is help them by visiting these places!
“We all want quiet. We all want beauty... We all need space. Unless we have it, we cannot reach that sense of quiet in which whispers of better things come to us gently.”-Octavia Hill, Co-founder of the National Trust
Some of my favourite National Trust sites to visit in Northumberland are:
Wallington Hall- With its grand house and beautiful walled gardens, there is much to explore for young and old, including spotting wildlife like red squirrels, crayfish, and if you are lucky, otters!
Cragside- Cragside was the first house in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity, making it a wonder of the Victorian age! Lord and Lady Armstrong’s estate had one of the most technologically advanced houses, along with their ambitious and amazing gardens.
Seaton Delaval Hall- Visit Seaton Delaval Hall to enjoy learning about the history of the Deleval family and the great scars of the fire at the house 200 years ago, as well as beautiful gardens.
Gibside- Gibside is a rare example of an 18th century landscape garden, with its tree-lined avenue, Palladian chapel and orangery as well as vast expanses of woodland walks.
Lindisfarne Castle- Experience the magical feeling of travelling across the causeway to Lindisfarne Castle, on Holy Island. You can visit the Victorian lime kilns and a quaint award-winning, summer-flowering walled garden, while experiencing the vast and beautiful views.
These are just a few of the many places you can visit through the National Trust in the North East, and there are hundreds more you can visit all over the UK if you are one of the 5.9 million members or first time visitors! Everything you do, from paying admission, buying gifts in the shops, to eating sweet treats sold in cafés helps the National Trust preserve and conserve these amazing places.
So, after reading this, I hope you all earn an appreciation for the places of historic and natural beauty in our country, and take time to visit and help preserve them. All National Trust sites and estates provide some of the best days out to have with your family or friends, and we could all do with a little stress free stroll through some woods, or being taken back in time as we wander through an 18th century house.
Visit the National Trust’s website for more information on how you can get involved with nature and help preserve places of beauty within the country: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk
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