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75-679: The Godolphin Estate is a National Trust property situated in Godolphin Cross , 7 km (4.3 mi) north-west of Helston in Cornwall , England. The house is a Grade I listed building . The estate was the seat of the Dukes of Leeds and the Earls of Godolphin . It contains a Tudor/Stuart mansion, complete with early formal gardens, dating from c. 1500, and Elizabethan stables of around 1600. The present house

150-482: A piggery , a barn, a granary , a cart shed, and two sets of farm buildings. The Godolphin Estate is part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape , a UNESCO World Heritage Site . A custom first recorded in the 18th century, but which may date to the 14th, was enacted yearly on Candlemas day (2 February) until 1921. Godolphin and St Aubyn wagered their respective seats on a race between two snails; Godolphin, losing, pricked his snail which curled up and lost

225-552: A 19th-century chapel as the focus of the park, which also contains a lake with wooded islands, a stable block, glasshouses, and two classical temples. The first country house to be acquired by the Trust, the Elizabethan manor house Barrington Court in Somerset, was bought in 1907 and came in a dilapidated state and devoid of contents. The experience taught the Trust a salutary lesson about

300-474: A further 53,000 acres (21,000 ha) covenanted. In May 1945, the Trust's London headquarters had moved to premises in Queen Anne's Gate . In 1965 the Trust launched Enterprise Neptune , a campaign to raise funds to buy or acquire covenants over stretches of coastline and protect them from development. The project was successful, raising over £800,000 in its first year, but it had unforeseen consequences for

375-851: A joint venture with Arts Council England and Arts Council of Wales . As part of this programme, the Trust has worked with over 200 artists to create new artworks inspired by their places including: Jeremy Deller , Anya Gallaccio , Antony Gormley , Sir Richard Long , Serena Korda , Marcus Coates and Katie Paterson . The National Trust is the largest private landowner in the United Kingdom. The Trust's land holdings account for almost 250,000 hectares (620,000 acres; 2,500 km ; 970 sq mi), mostly of countryside. A large part of this consists of parks and agricultural estates attached to country houses, but there are many countryside properties which were acquired specifically for their scenic or scientific value. The Trust owns or has covenant over about

450-471: A local man, who sold the house and estate to artist Walter Elmer Schofield in 1937. Schofield's architect son Sydney restored the mansion, and received it as a wedding present from his parents. In 2000, his widow, Mary Schofield, sold the wider estate to the National Trust, and in 2007 the Trust bought the house, gardens and farm-yard. The Trust carried out a major conservation project of the architecture of

525-677: A love of beautiful things among our poor brethren". Named after John Kyrle , the Kyrle Society campaigned for open spaces for the recreational use of urban dwellers, as well as having decorative, musical, and literary branches. Hunter had been solicitor to the Commons Preservation Society , while Rawnsley had campaigned for the protection of the Lake District . The idea of a company with the power to acquire and hold buildings and land had been mooted by Hunter in 1894. In July 1894

600-512: A private foundation; both are open to the public. Since its founding in 1895, the trust has gradually expanded its collection of art, mostly through whole property acquisitions. From 1956 until the post was removed in 2021, there was a curator of pictures and sculpture. The first was St John (Bobby) Gore, who was appointed "Adviser on Paintings" in 1956. He published catalogues of the pictures at Upton House , Polesden Lacey , Buscot Park , Saltram House , and Ascott House . His successor in 1986

675-573: A provisional council, headed by Hill, Hunter, Rawnsley and the Duke of Westminster met at Grosvenor House and decided that the company should be named the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty. Articles of association were submitted to the Board of Trade and on 12 January 1895, the Trust was registered under the Companies Act . Its purpose was to "promote the permanent preservation for

750-556: A quarter of the Lake District ; it has similar control over about 12% of the Peak District National Park (e.g. South Peak Estate and High Peak Estate ). Most National Trust land, about 200,000 hectares (490,000 acres; 2,000 km ; 770 sq mi), consists of tenant or in-hand farms, where public access is restricted to rights of way and sometimes additional routes. At Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire,

825-641: A supporter of, and donor to, the Trust, which now owns the land she formerly owned in Cumbria . A refit of the premises to accommodate increasing staff numbers was announced in June 2019. In 2007, the bicentenary of the official abolition of the slave trade , the Trust published the article "Addressing the Past" in its quarterly magazine, examining aspects of the Trust's "hidden history" and finding ways of "reinterpreting some of its properties and collections". Research carried out by

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900-468: A vivid picture of this man, who had originally been a carpenter but has served as reeve of a manor for many years and had grown old in service. " The Reeve's Tale " is the third story in The Canterbury Tales , in which Chaucer describes a highly efficient servant, impossible for any man to deceive or outwit, never in debt and knowing exactly how much the manor should produce. It is an early picture of

975-602: Is a general term that could refer to a variety of administrative officials. Royal reeves worked for the king, but nobles and bishops also employed reeves. Some reeves served as estate managers, while others held positions in towns and boroughs . In the late 7th and early 8th centuries, royal reeves oversaw royal estates. By the 10th century, royal reeves performed a variety duties in shires and hundreds . They enforced legislation and royal decrees. They presided over local courts, carried out police functions, and witnessed sales. A royal reeve's authority often overlapped with that of

1050-516: Is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England , Wales and Northern Ireland . The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill , Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the permanent preservation for the benefit of the Nation of lands and tenements (including buildings) of beauty or historic interest". It has since been given statutory powers, starting with

1125-464: Is the remnant of a larger mansion. From 1786 it was owned by the Dukes of Leeds who never lived there. In 1920 the 10th Duke of Leeds sold it to the sitting tenant Peter Quintrell Treloar. After Treloar died in 1922, the following year his wife sold it to James Penna, an agricultural engineer. Penna died in 1926 and his son James Henry lived there until his death in 1935. In that year it was bought C.B. Stevens,

1200-615: The National Lottery Heritage Fund , and £3.5 million from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs . In recognition of National Lottery funding, the Trust invited lottery ticket holders to visit over 100 properties free of charge for a few days in November 2017, 2018, and 2019. The Trust also takes part in the annual Heritage Open Days programme, when non-members can visit selected properties free of charge. In

1275-413: The National Lottery Heritage Fund . The Trust was incorporated on 12 January 1895 as the "National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty", which is still the organisation's legal name. The founders were social reformer Octavia Hill , solicitor Sir Robert Hunter and clergyman Hardwicke Rawnsley . In 1876, Hill, together with her sister Miranda Hill , had set up a society to "diffuse

1350-721: The Soil Association , the Royal Horticultural Society and the Council for British Archaeology . The members periodically vote on the organisations which may appoint half of the council. Members may also propose and vote on motions at the annual general meeting. At an operational level, the Trust is organised into regions which are aligned with the official local government regions of the UK. Its headquarters are in Swindon. In 2019/20

1425-620: The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal . The Trust was persuaded to take on the scheme by John Smith and the work was carried out by hundreds of volunteers. Between 1945 and 1965 the Trust, under the chairmanship of the Earl of Crawford , saw a growth in its membership from 7,850 to 157,581 and growth in its staff from 15 to 450. The area of land owned by the Trust increased from 112,000 acres (45,000 ha) in 1945 to 328,000 acres (133,000 ha; 1,330 km ; 512 sq mi) in 1965, with

1500-515: The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 led to greater cooperation between local authorities and the Trust, while the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953 allowed the Trust to receive government grants for the upkeep and maintenance of historic buildings on the same terms as other owners. A major project, begun in 1959 and completed in 1964, was the restoration of the southern section of

1575-491: The ealdorman . Specific offices within this wider category include: After the Norman Conquest, feudalism was introduced, forming a parallel administrative system to the local courts. The feudal system organised land on a manorial basis , with stewards acting as managers for the landlords. The Norman term describing the court functionary— bailiff —came to be used for reeves associated with lower level courts, and with

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1650-515: The 1930s and 1940s, the Trust benefited from the unconventional fundraising tactics of Ferguson's Gang ; a group of women with pseudonyms such as Bill Stickers and Red Biddy who wore disguises and carried out stunts when delivering money to the Trust. Their donations enabled the Trust to purchase various properties including Shalford Mill , in Surrey , and Newtown Old Town Hall , on the Isle of Wight . Bailey

1725-574: The 1970s, tea rooms and souvenir shops were opened in Trust properties, and in 1984 a company was set up to operate the trading activities. Programmes of events, including plays and concerts, and educational activities were organised at Trust properties. In 1986 the Trust appointed its first female chairman, Dame Jennifer Jenkins. When the Trust reached its centenary in 1995 it owned or looked after 223 houses, 159 gardens, 670,000 acres (270,000 ha; 2,700 km ; 1,050 sq mi) of open countryside, and 530 miles (850 km) of coastline. In

1800-577: The 1990s, there was a dispute within the Trust over stag hunting , which was the subject of much debate at annual general meetings. The Trust banned stag hunting on its land in 1997. In 2002 the Trust bought its first country house in more than a decade. Tyntesfield , a Victorian Gothic mansion in Somerset, was acquired with donations from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund as well as members of

1875-514: The Estate. The large village of Godolphin Cross (sometimes Crossroads), in the parish of Breage , adjoins the estate to the east. Amenities include a primary school. Godolphin House is located at grid reference SW 601 318 . Various events are held throughout the year. The house is approached from the north and consists of three wings around a square courtyard and the front wall of a further building on

1950-731: The Lake District were augmented by gifts in his memory, including part of the Great Wood on Derwentwater . In 1923 literary critic John Bailey took over as chairman of the Trust. Under his chairmanship, the Trust saw an increase in funds, membership, and properties. The 1920s saw the acquisition of more archaeological sites, including Cissbury Ring in West Sussex , and early buildings, including two medieval castles ( Bodiam Castle in East Sussex and Tattershall Castle, Lincolnshire ) bequeathed to

2025-447: The Manor, for the lord of the manor on the demesne land; such reeves acted generally as the overseer of the serfs and peasants on the estate. He was also responsible for many aspects of the finances of the manor such as the sale of produce, collection of monies and payment of accounts. He was usually himself a peasant, and was chosen once a year, generally at Michaelmas . In some manors

2100-787: The National Trust Act 1907. Historically, the Trust acquired land by gift and sometimes by public subscription and appeal, but after World War II the loss of country houses resulted in many such properties being acquired either by gift from the former owners or through the National Land Fund . One of the largest landowners in the United Kingdom, the Trust owns almost 250,000 hectares (620,000 acres; 2,500 km ; 970 sq mi) of land and 780 miles (1,260 km) of coast. Its properties include more than 500 historic houses, castles, archaeological and industrial monuments, gardens, parks, and nature reserves . Most properties are open to

2175-517: The North Range (the historic front) to prevent it from further decay and collapse. The house is open to the public on certain days. The estate measures 550 acres (220 ha) and includes Godolphin Hill which provides views over west Cornwall. More than four hundred recorded archaeological features range from Bronze Age enclosures to 19th-century mine buildings. The Trust has been improving public access to

2250-587: The Trust as the project director, Conrad Rawnsley (a former naval commander and grandson of one of the Trusts' founders, Hardwicke Rawnsley), fell out with the administration of the Trust and conducted a public attack against it. An extraordinary general meeting was called in February 1967 and, although the reform group's resolutions were defeated, the Trust recognised the need for change and set up an advisory committee to look at their management and organisation. The committee

2325-515: The Trust by Lord Curzon . In 1925 the Trust launched a national appeal to buy the Ashridge Estate in Hertfordshire , successfully raising a record £80,000. When Bailey died in 1931 The Times paid tribute to him: "The strong position which the National Trust now occupies is largely due to him, and it will perhaps never be known how many generous gifts of rural beauty and historic interest

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2400-401: The Trust has been increasingly reluctant to take over large houses without substantial accompanying endowment funds, and its acquisitions in this category have been less frequent, with only two, Tyntesfield and Seaton Delaval Hall , since 2000. As well as great country houses, the Trust also owns smaller properties, many of them associated with famous people. Examples include: Cherryburn ,

2475-583: The Trust revealed in 2020 that 93, nearly one third, of their houses and gardens had connections with colonialism and historic slavery: 'this includes the global slave trades, goods and products of enslaved labour, abolition and protest, and the East India Company'. The report attracted controversy and the Charity Commission opened a regulatory compliance case into the Trust in September 2020 to examine

2550-470: The Trust the unique statutory power to declare land inalienable . This prevents the land from being sold or mortgaged against the Trust's wishes without special parliamentary procedure. The inalienability of trust land was over-ridden by Parliament in the case of proposals to construct a section of the Plympton bypass through the park at Saltram , on the grounds that the road proposal had been known about before

2625-499: The Trust under the Land scheme was farmland at Hartsop in the Lake District; the first country house was Cotehele in Cornwall. Later acquisitions included Hardwick Hall , Ickworth House , Penrhyn Castle and Sissinghurst Castle Garden . The Land Fund was replaced in 1980 by the National Heritage Memorial Fund . The work of the Trust was aided by further legislation during this period:

2700-416: The Trust was employing 14,000 staff, including about 4,000 seasonal workers. Since 2009, customer services have been outsourced to Capita . The director-general of the Trust, Hilary McGrady, is paid an annual salary of £195,700, with a further eight executives being paid over £100,000 a year. The Trust is not a real living wage employer. In July 2020 the Trust announced that 1,200 jobs were at risk due to

2775-506: The Trust's collections include Rembrandt (whose Self-portrait wearing a white feathered bonnet which is now displayed at Buckland Abbey was recently re-attributed to the artist), Hieronymous Bosch , El Greco , Peter Paul Rubens , Angelica Kauffmann , and Stanley Spencer . From the 1980s to 2001 the Trust commissioned artists to create works depicting National Trust places with their "Foundation for Art", and in 2009 launched its contemporary art programme entitled "Trust New Art" in

2850-456: The Trust's powers and remit. The governance of the Trust was amended by the Charities (National Trust) Order 2005. The Trust is governed by a board of trustees (of between nine and fifteen members), appointed and overseen by a council consisting of eighteen people elected by the members of the Trust and eighteen appointed by other organisations whose work is related to that of the Trust, such as

2925-580: The Trust. In 1934 the Trust acquired its first village, West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire , which was donated to the Trust by the Royal Society of Arts , which had bought it from Sir John Lindsay Dashwood five years previously. Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire was donated to the Trust in 1939 with an estate including the village of Styal , which had been built for the mill workers by Samuel Greg . During

3000-465: The Trust. The scheme allowed owners to escape estate duty on their country house and on the endowment which was necessary for the upkeep of the house, while they and their heirs could continue to live in the property, providing the public were allowed some access. The first house offered under the scheme was Stourhead in Wiltshire, although it was not acquired by the Trust until after the death in 1947 of

3075-506: The benefit of the Nation of lands and tenements (including buildings) of beauty or historic interest". The Trust acquired its first land in early 1895; Dinas Oleu, on the clifftop above Barmouth in Wales, was donated by Fanny Talbot , a friend of Rawnsley. The Trust's first building was acquired the following year; Alfriston Clergy House , a 14th-century house in the Sussex village of Alfriston ,

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3150-491: The childhood home of Paul McCartney ; 251 Menlove Avenue , the childhood home of John Lennon , was bought by Yoko Ono in 2002 and donated to the Trust. The Birmingham Back to Backs are an example of working-class housing preserved by the Trust. Some properties have individual arrangements with the Trust, so for example Wakehurst Place is managed by the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew and Waddesdon Manor by

3225-475: The closure in March 2020 of National Trust houses, shops, and cafes, closely followed by all gated parks and gardens. At the same time, the Trust launched the # BlossomWatch campaign which encouraged people to share images on social media of blossoms seen on lockdown walks. Parks and gardens started to re-open from June 2020. In 2021, a group of members started a campaign, Restore Trust , to debate concerns about

3300-527: The coronavirus pandemic. In October 2020 the Trust announced 1,300 job losses. For the year ended February 2020, the total income of the Trust was £680.95 million. The largest sources of income were membership subscriptions (£269.7 million), direct property income (£196.9 million), enterprise and renewable energy income (£79.3 million), and legacies (£61.6 million). The Trust also received £20.8 million in grants, including £5.6 million from Natural England , £4.3 million from

3375-770: The cottage in Northumberland where Thomas Bewick was born; Smallhythe Place in Kent, home to Ellen Terry ; Shaw's Corner in Hertfordshire, the country home of George Bernard Shaw . The home of architect Ernő Goldfinger , 2 Willow Road in Hampstead , London, was the first example of Modernist architecture to be acquired by the Trust. In 1995 the Trust bought 20 Forthlin Road in Liverpool ,

3450-616: The early days, the Trust was concerned primarily with the acquisition (by gift or purchase) of open spaces and a variety of threatened buildings. The buildings were generally of modest size, an exception being Barrington Court in Somerset , the Trust's first large country house. Two of the sites acquired by the Trust in its early years later became nature reserves: Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire and Blakeney Point in Norfolk , both purchased with

3525-437: The equivalent role in the feudal courts of landlords. Courts fulfilled administrative, as well as judicial, functions, and on the manorial level its decisions could concern mundane field management, not just legal disputes. The manorial bailiff thus could be set tasks such as ensuring certain crops were gathered, as well as those like enforcing debt repayment. Sometimes, bailiffs would have assistants to carry out these tasks, and

3600-529: The future of the charity. At the Trust's 2023 annual general meeting the Restore Trust Group put up three candidates for the council and two resolutions, but all were rejected by the membership. The trust is an independent charity (no. 205846). It was founded as a not-for-profit company in 1895, but was later re-incorporated by a private Act of Parliament , the National Trust Act 1907. Subsequent acts of Parliament between 1919 and 1971 amended and extended

3675-501: The help of a donation by naturalist and banker Charles Rothschild . White Barrow on Salisbury Plain was the Trust's first archaeological monument, purchased in 1909 for £60. By 1914 the Trust, operating out of a small office in London, had 725 members and had acquired 63 properties, covering 5,814 acres (2,353 ha). In 1920 the Trust lost the last of its three founders, Rawnsley. The Trust's 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) of land in

3750-541: The home farm is open to the public. The Trust also owns forests, woods, downs, and moorland. These areas are generally open to the public free of charge, as are some of the parks attached to country houses (others have an admission charge). The Trust owns or protects roughly one-fifth of the coastline in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (780 miles (1,260 km)), and has a long-term campaign, Project Neptune , which seeks to acquire more. The National Trust Acts grant

3825-429: The house of after 1712 is very unlikely. The house is available as a holiday let for approximately three weeks each month when it is not open to the public. Godolphin House is a listed building , recorded at the highest designation, Grade I. Three other structures on the estate, the stables, the forecourt walls, and a blowing house used for the smelting of tin are also listed at Grade I. A number of buildings on

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3900-468: The most visited National Trust country house in 2019/20, is set in typical grounds with a walled garden and extensive parkland planted with trees to the designs of Humphry Repton . The most visited National Trust property in England in 2019/20 for which an admission charge is made was Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire, a park without a country house. Clumber House was largely demolished in 1938, leaving

3975-559: The nation owes, directly or indirectly, to his persuasive enthusiasm." The Trust, which already owned a large area of the Lake District, acquired its first piece of land in the Peak District in 1930. Four years later, Ilam Hall was presented to the Trust for use as a youth hostel . The 1930s saw an expansion of the Trust's interest in coastal conservation, with more than thirty small coastal properties in Devon and Cornwall alone given to

4050-399: The need for endowments to cover the costs of the upkeep of country houses. The Trust acquired the majority of its country houses in the mid 20th century, when death duties were at their highest and many country houses were being demolished . The arrangements made with families bequeathing their homes to the Trust often allowed them to continue to live in the property. Since the 1980s,

4125-431: The owners Sir Henry and Lady Hoare . The first property to be actually handed over to the Trust under the scheme was a relatively modern house: Wightwick Manor near Wolverhampton had been built just fifty years earlier. Lacock Abbey , also in Wiltshire, was another early acquisition, handed to the Trust by Matilda Talbot (granddaughter of Henry Fox Talbot ) after nearly seven years of negotiations. The house came with

4200-618: The park at Saltram was declared inalienable. In 2017 the Trust, in spite of criticism by members, supported the government's scheme to build a road tunnel under the Stonehenge World Heritage Site as part of the plans to upgrade the A303 road. The scheme would involve the compulsory purchase of land held inalienably by the Trust. The Trust's 2022–2023 Annual Reports lists all properties open at charge with more than 50,000 visitors. The top ten are: Reeve (England) Reeve

4275-417: The public for a charge (members have free entry), while open spaces are free to all. The Trust has an annual income of over £680 million, largely from membership subscriptions, donations and legacies, direct property income, profits from its shops and restaurants, and investments. It also receives grants from a variety of organisations including other charities, government departments, local authorities, and

4350-483: The public. Three years later, in 2005, the Trust acquired another country house, Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland. In 2005, the Trust moved to Heelis , a new head office in Swindon , Wiltshire. The building was constructed on the site of the former Great Western Railway factory and is intended as a model of brownfield renewal. The name Heelis is taken from the married name of children's author Beatrix Potter ,

4425-483: The publication of the report, much of the administration of the Trust was devolved to the regions. The last three decades of the 20th century saw a large increase in membership of the Trust from 160,000 in 1968 to over two million by the time of its centenary in 1995, much of it down to the Trust's employment of a director of public relations, as recommended by the Benson report, and regional information officers. Starting in

4500-545: The race. St Aubyn instead of claiming Godolphin's estate imposed an annual custom. The reeve of Lambourne knocked on the door of the great hall of Godolphin Court and demanded to be let in. He would jump on the table and demand 'rents duties and customs'. These were paid in a large quart of strong beer, a loaf of wheaten bread and cheese of similar value and 2s 8d. National Trust The National Trust ( Welsh : Ymddiriedolaeth Genedlaethol ; Irish : Iontaobhas Náisiúnta )

4575-417: The reeve was appointed by the lord of the manor , but in others he was elected by the peasants, subject or not to a right of veto by the lord. It depended on the custom of the manor, but there was an increasing tendency for election to be favoured. No doubt an elected reeve was more willingly obeyed, and sometimes the peasants would be made financially liable if an elected reeve defaulted. Although this reeve

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4650-715: The sites of factories and mines, 9 lighthouses, 56 villages, 39 public houses, and 25 medieval barns. Most of the land is farmed, either in-hand or by tenant farmers. The Trust also rents out holiday cottages, which are given a rating of 1–5 Acorns to reflect the quality of the property. The Trust owns more than 200 historic houses that are open to the public. Most of them are large country houses or stately homes set in gardens and parks. They contain collections of pictures, furniture, books, metalwork, ceramics, and textiles that have remained in their historic context. Service wings are preserved at many houses. Attingham Park in Shropshire,

4725-521: The slave trade in the wake of the murder of George Floyd . Between 2008 and 2013, the National Trust in Devon was defrauded of over £1 million by one of its employees. Building surveyor Roger Bryant was convicted in September 2024 of having submitted false invoices to the Trust and was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison. The fraud had only come to light when the Trust decided to update its procurement procedures in 2013. The COVID-19 pandemic led to

4800-465: The south side. The main buildings originally stood to the south of this with two projecting wings. One room of the 16th-century remains in the east range; this has linenfold panelling. Opposite the hall range is the Jacobean range; the north side is castellated and has a loggia of seven bays on the ground floor. Stylistic features here appear to be of the mid 17th-century and suggest that the accepted date for

4875-513: The subsequent decline of the feudal system, and the subversion of its courts by the introduction of justices of the peace (magistrates), this use of reeve fell out of practice. There is an exceptional literary portrait of a reeve in the second half of the 14th century. The reeve is one of the pilgrims who are making their way to Canterbury in Chaucer 's The Canterbury Tales , and the Prologue paints

4950-425: The term reeve now came to be used for this position—someone essentially assisting the steward, and sometimes a bailiff, by effectively performing day-to-day supervision of the work done on the land within a particular manor . This reeve has been described as "the pivot man of the manorial system". He had to oversee the work which the peasants were bound to perform, as an obligation attached to their holding of land in

5025-510: The trustees' decision-making. The Charity Commission concluded that there were no grounds for regulatory action against the Trust. In 2020 the Dunham Massey Hall sundial statue of "a kneeling African figure clad in leaves carrying the sundial above his head" was removed from its position in front of Dunham Massey Hall after calls were made for the removal of statues in Britain with links to

5100-458: The village of Lacock and an endowment of 300 acres (120 ha). After World War II the National Land Fund was set up by the government as a "thank-offering for victory" with the purpose of using money from the sale of surplus war stores to acquire property in the national interest. The scheme also allowed for the transfer to the Trust of historic houses and land left to the government in payment of estate duty. The first open space acquired by

5175-404: The wider estate have Grade II listings: two sets of gates and gatepiers on the drive to the house, and some garden walls; three buildings related to the tin works, a counting house , a cottage attached to the Blowing House, and a pound which may have been used for the storage of gunpowder ; and a range of ancillary agricultural buildings; a cider house , a piscina and parts of a cider press ,

5250-616: The year ending February 2020, the Trust had 5.95 million members (2.78 million memberships). Members are entitled to free entry to trust properties that are open to the public for a charge. There is a separate organisation called the Royal Oak Foundation for American supporters. The trust is supported by volunteers, who, as of 2020, numbered over 53,000. As of 2020, the Trust owns almost 250,000 hectares (620,000 acres; 2,500 km ; 970 sq mi) of land, 780 miles (1,260 km) of coast, more than 200 historic houses, 41 castles and chapels, 47 industrial monuments and mills,

5325-422: Was Alastair Laing, who cared for the works of art at 120 properties and created the exhibition In Trust for the Nation , held at the National Gallery in 1995–96. From 2009 until 2021, the curator was David Taylor, who approved photographs of the Trust's 12,567 oil paintings to be included in the Public Catalogue Foundation 's searchable online archive of oil paintings, available since 2012. Artists represented in

5400-452: Was bought for £10 and required a further £350 for repairs. In 1907 Hunter drafted the first National Trust Act, which was passed by Parliament and gave the Trust the power to declare its land inalienable, meaning that it could not be sold without parliamentary approval. In addition, the Act enabled the Trust to make by-laws . Further Acts would follow in 1919, 1937, 1939, 1953, and 1971. In

5475-404: Was chaired by accountant Sir Henry Benson , who was independent of the Trust. The other three members, Len Clark , Sir William Hayter , and Patrick Gibson , were all on the Trust's council. The Benson report was published in 1968 and, although broadly endorsing the Trust's policy, recommended a number of organisational changes, which were then embodied in the National Trust Act of 1971. Following

5550-563: Was followed as chairman of the Trust by the 2nd Marquess of Zetland , and in 1936 the Trust set up the Country Houses Committee, with James Lees-Milne as secretary, to look into ways of preserving country houses and gardens at a time when their owners could no longer afford to maintain them. A country house scheme was set up and the National Trust Acts of 1937 and 1939 facilitated the transfer of estates from private owners to

5625-413: Was subject to the steward, the steward might not always be resident within the manor, and might manage many, and would not usually concern himself with day-to-day working. A good reeve who carried out his duties efficiently, and was trusted by the lord and the peasants alike, was likely to stay in office more or less permanently. By the 14th century the reeve was often a permanent officer of the manor. With

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