Every year, The National Trust serves over four and a half million cups of tea.

 

The National Trust is an organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland with headquarters in Swindon, Wiltshire and over five-million members, making it the largest membership organisation in the United Kingdom. The National Trust is a charitable organisation registered under The Charities Act of 2006. It is governed by twelve trustees, appointed by a council of twenty-six people, elected by members of the trust and by other organisations whose work is related to that of The National Trust's, such as The Soil Association, The Royal Horticultural Society and The Council For British Archaeology.

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The National Trust's purpose is "the permanent preservation for the benefit of the nation of lands and tenements (including buildings) of beauty or historic interest and as regards lands for the preservation (so far as practicable) of their natural aspect features and animal and plant life". The charity describes itself as "a charity that works to preserve and protect historic places and spaces - for ever, for everyone".

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The National Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley and the organisation was given statutory powers in The National Trust Act of 1907. The National Trust has the power to prevent land being sold off or mortgaged, which can only be over-ridden by Parliament. The National Trust's first property was Alfriston Clergy House in East Sussex, which cost £10 in 1896 and it is theorised that a decorative cornice there may have given the trust its sprig of oak famous logo. The trust's first nature reserve was Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire and its first archaeological monument was White Barrow in Wiltshire. Beatrix Potter, the writer of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, used the income from her books to support work in the Lake District for the organisation.

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The National Trust looks after forests, beaches, farmland, over seven-hundred and seventy-five miles of coastline, woods, fens, moorland, islands, nature reserves, fifty-nine villages, gardens, over three-hundred and fifty historic houses, containing books, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, pictures and furniture in their historic context, archaeological remains, mills, sixty-one pubs and one of the world's biggest art collections. The organisation is one of the largest landowners in the United Kingdom, owning over six-hundred and ten-thousand acres of land. The National Trust's properties have been used in the Harry Potter film franchise, as well as providing settings for Downton Abbey, Poldark and a number of other successful films and television programmes.

 

The National Trust has over seventy-thousand volunteers and nearly six-thousand members of staff. The organisation has one-hundred and twenty volunteer firefighters, fifteen volunteer pilots, two beekeepers and two shepherds. It is funded by membership subscriptions, entrance fees, legacies and revenue from shops, cafes and restaurants within its properties.

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Recently, The National Trust has widened its type of properties by acquiring factories, workhouses, mills and the childhood homes of musicians, Paul McCartney and John Lennon.