128-621: Rodmell is a small village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex , England. It is located three miles (4.8 km) south-east of Lewes , on the Lewes to Newhaven road and six and a half miles from the City of Brighton & Hove and is situated by the west banks of the River Ouse . The village is served by Southease railway station , opened in 1906. The Prime Meridian passes just to
256-513: A London borough . (Since the new county was beforehand a mixture of metropolitan boroughs , municipal boroughs and urban districts, no extant parish councils were abolished.) In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 retained rural parishes, but abolished most urban parishes, as well as the urban districts and boroughs which had administered them. Provision was made for smaller urban districts and boroughs to become successor parishes , with
384-552: 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
512-515: A Special Expense, to residents of the unparished area to fund those activities. If the district council does not opt to make a Special Expenses charge, there is an element of double taxation of residents of parished areas, because services provided to residents of the unparished area are funded by council tax paid by residents of the whole district, rather than only by residents of the unparished area. Parish councils comprise volunteer councillors who are elected to serve for four years. Decisions of
640-453: A book/pamphlet with a number of editions recording the birds he has seen in the parish. In 2005 he recorded turtle dove , barn owl and little owl breeding in the area. He also recorded dotterel and yellow wagtail on passage on the flooded arable fields. St Peter's Church is the parish church and dates from the 12th century. It is a Grade I listed building and unlike many churches it has retained its original features. Consequently it
768-576: A boundary coterminous with an existing urban district or borough or, if divided by a new district boundary, as much as was comprised in a single district. There were 300 such successor parishes established. In urban areas that were considered too large to be single parishes, the parishes were simply abolished, and they became unparished areas . The distinction between types of parish was no longer made; whether parishes continued by virtue of being retained rural parishes or were created as successor parishes, they were all simply termed parishes. The 1972 act allowed
896-516: A busy Iron Age and Roman village. It used to be called ‘Isenden’, a Tolkienesque name, which sounds like it meant ‘Ouse dean’. Unusually, the long and convoluted dry valley behind the scarp does not drain southwards to the sea, but easterly, then northerly to the Brooks and the Ouse. There are also many surviving Down pasture sites that deserve to be known better. Michael Light, a worker at South Farm, has written
1024-472: A city council (though most cities are not parishes but principal areas, or in England specifically metropolitan boroughs or non-metropolitan districts ). The chairman of a town council will have the title "town mayor" and that of a parish council which is a city will usually have the title of mayor . When a city or town has been abolished as a borough, and it is considered desirable to maintain continuity of
1152-456: A city council. According to the Department for Communities and Local Government , in England in 2011 there were 9,946 parishes. Since 1997 around 100 new civil parishes have been created, in some cases by splitting existing civil parishes, but mostly by creating new ones from unparished areas. Parish or town councils have very few statutory duties (things they are required to do by law) but have
1280-548: A city was Hereford , whose city council was merged in 1998 to form a unitary Herefordshire . The area of the city of Hereford remained unparished until 2000 when a parish council was created for the city. As another example, the charter trustees for the City of Bath make up the majority of the councillors on Bath and North East Somerset Council. Civil parishes cover 35% of England's population, with one in Greater London and few in
1408-440: A civil parish is usually an elected parish council (which can decide to call itself a town, village, community or neighbourhood council, or a city council if the parish has city status). Alternatively, in parishes with small populations (typically fewer than 150 electors) governance may be by a parish meeting which all electors may attend; alternatively, parishes with small populations may be grouped with one or more neighbours under
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#17328474761221536-481: A civil parish which has no parish council, the parish meeting may levy a council tax precept for expenditure relating to specific functions, powers and rights which have been conferred on it by legislation. In places where there is no civil parish ( unparished areas ), the administration of the activities normally undertaken by the parish becomes the responsibility of the district or borough council. The district council may make an additional council tax charge, known as
1664-568: A common parish council. Wales was also divided into civil parishes until 1974, when they were replaced by communities , which are similar to English parishes in the way they operate. Civil parishes in Scotland were abolished for local government purposes by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 ; the Scottish equivalent of English civil parishes are the community council areas established by
1792-434: A designated scheduled monument . Unfortunately, modern ploughing has destroyed most of these remains. The village remains are now more obvious towards Fore Hill, near the flint-walled sheepfold ( TQ 404 043 ). There the pasture has preserved a muddle of field lynchets and round barrows there. To the east of High Dole is Fore Hill. The Greenwich meridian line runs through it. On its steep northern slope ( TQ 406 047 )
1920-474: 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
2048-851: 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
2176-677: 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
2304-517: A new code. In either case the code must comply with the Nolan Principles of Public Life . A parish can be granted city status by the Crown . As of 2020 , eight parishes in England have city status, each having a long-established Anglican cathedral: Chichester , Ely , Hereford , Lichfield , Ripon , Salisbury , Truro and Wells . The council of an ungrouped parish may pass a resolution giving
2432-431: A new smaller manor, there was a means of making a chapel which, if generating or endowed with enough funds, would generally justify foundation of a parish, with its own parish priest (and in latter centuries vestry ). This consistency was a result of canon law which prized the status quo in issues between local churches and so made boundary changes and sub-division difficult. The consistency of these boundaries until
2560-767: A parish (a "detached part") was in a different county . In other cases, counties surrounded a whole parish meaning it was in an unconnected, "alien" county. These anomalies resulted in a highly localised difference in applicable representatives on the national level , justices of the peace , sheriffs, bailiffs with inconvenience to the inhabitants. If a parish was split then churchwardens, highway wardens and constables would also spend more time or money travelling large distances. Some parishes straddled two or more counties, such as Todmorden in Lancashire and Yorkshire. National Trust The National Trust ( Welsh : Ymddiriedolaeth Genedlaethol ; Irish : Iontaobhas Náisiúnta )
2688-416: A parish council, and instead will only have a parish meeting : an example of direct democracy . Alternatively several small parishes can be grouped together and share a common parish council, or even a common parish meeting. A parish council may decide to call itself a town council, village council, community council, neighbourhood council, or if the parish has city status, the parish council may call itself
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#17328474761222816-503: A population of between 100 and 300 could request their county council to establish a parish council. Provision was also made for a grouped parish council to be established covering two or more rural parishes. In such groups, each parish retained its own parish meeting which could vote to leave the group, but otherwise the grouped parish council acted across the combined area of the parishes included. Urban civil parishes were not given their own parish councils, but were directly administered by
2944-512: 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
3072-630: 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
3200-556: 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,
3328-1079: A range of discretionary powers which they may exercise voluntarily. These powers have been defined by various pieces of legislation. The role they play can vary significantly depending on the size, resources and ability of the council, but their activities can include any of the following: Parish councils have powers to provide and manage various local facilities; these can include allotments , cemeteries, parks, playgrounds, playing fields and village greens , village halls or community centres , bus shelters, street lighting, roadside verges, car parks, footpaths, litter bins and war memorials. Larger parish councils may also be involved in running markets , public toilets and public clocks, museums and leisure centres . Parish councils may spend money on various things they deem to be beneficial to their communities, such as providing grants to local community groups or local projects, or fund things such as public events, crime prevention measures, community transport schemes, traffic calming or tourism promotion. Parish councils have
3456-409: A role in the planning system; they have a statutory right to be consulted on any planning applications in their areas. They may also produce a neighbourhood plan to influence local development. The Localism Act 2011 allowed eligible parish councils to be granted a " general power of competence " which allows them within certain limits the freedom to do anything an individual can do provided it
3584-589: A set number of guardians for each parish, hence a final purpose of urban civil parishes. With the abolition of the Poor Law system in 1930, urban parishes became a geographical division only with no administrative power; that was exercised at the urban district or borough council level. In 1965 civil parishes in London were formally abolished when Greater London was created, as the legislative framework for Greater London did not make provision for any local government body below
3712-938: A small village or town ward to a large tract of mostly uninhabited moorland in the Cheviots, Pennines or Dartmoor. The two largest as at December 2023 are Stanhope (County Durham) at 98.6 square miles (255 km ), and Dartmoor Forest (Devon) at 79.07 square miles (204.8 km ). The two smallest are parcels of shared rural land: Lands Common to Axminster and Kilmington (Devon) at 0.012 square miles (0.031 km ; 3.1 ha; 7.7 acres), and Lands Common to Brancepeth and Brandon and Byshottles (County Durham) at 0.0165 square miles (0.043 km ; 4.3 ha; 10.6 acres). The next two smallest are parishes in built up areas: Chester Castle (Cheshire) at 0.0168 square miles (0.044 km ; 4.4 ha; 10.8 acres) (no recorded population) and Hamilton Lea (Leicestershire) at 0.07 square miles (0.18 km ; 18 ha; 45 acres) (1,021 residents at
3840-514: A spur to the creation of new parishes in some larger towns which were previously unparished, in order to retain a local tier of government; examples include Shrewsbury (2009), Salisbury (2009), Crewe (2013) and Weymouth (2019). In 2003 seven new parish councils were set up for Burton upon Trent , and in 2001 the Milton Keynes urban area became entirely parished, with ten new parishes being created. Parishes can also be abolished where there
3968-641: 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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4096-516: 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
4224-439: Is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes , which for centuries were the principal unit of secular and religious administration in most of England and Wales. Civil and religious parishes were formally split into two types in the 19th century and are now entirely separate. Civil parishes in their modern form came into being through
4352-410: Is among the earliest surviving examples of Norman architecture in the country. There is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) within the parish. Lewes Brooks is of biological importance and is part of the flood plain of the River Ouse . It provides a habitat for many other invertebrates such as water beetles and snails. Monk's House is 16th-century weatherboarded cottage that is owned by
4480-507: Is at present the only part of England where civil parishes cannot be created. If enough electors in the area of a proposed new parish (ranging from 50% in an area with less than 500 electors to 10% in one with more than 2,500) sign a petition demanding its creation, then the local district council or unitary authority must consider the proposal. Since the beginning of the 21st century, numerous parish councils have been created, including some relatively large urban ones. The main driver has been
4608-539: Is evidence that this is in response to "justified, clear and sustained local support" from the area's inhabitants. Examples are Birtley , which was abolished in 2006, and Southsea , abolished in 2010. Every civil parish has a parish meeting, which all the electors of the parish are entitled to attend. Generally a meeting is held once a year. A civil parish may have a parish council which exercises various local responsibilities prescribed by statute. Parishes with fewer than 200 electors are usually deemed too small to have
4736-405: Is not prohibited by other legislation, as opposed to being limited to the powers explicitly granted to them by law. To be eligible for this, a parish council must meet certain conditions such as having a clerk with suitable qualifications. Parish councils receive funding by levying a " precept " on the council tax paid by the residents of the parish (or parishes) served by the parish council. In
4864-505: Is the district council. The parish of Rodmell lies within the Kingston ward of Lewes District Council , which returns a single councillor. East Sussex County Council is the next tier of government, for which Rodmell is within the Newhaven and Ouse Valley West division, with responsibility for Education, Libraries, Social Services, Civil Registration, Trading Standards and Transport. Elections for
4992-504: The 'Standards Board regime' with local monitoring by district, unitary or equivalent authorities. Under new regulations which came into effect in 2012 all parish councils in England are required to adopt a code of conduct with which parish councillors must comply, and to promote and maintain high standards. A new criminal offence of failing to comply with statutory requirements was introduced. More than one 'model code' has been published, and councils are free to modify an existing code or adopt
5120-742: The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which have fewer powers than their English and Welsh counterparts. There are no equivalent units in Northern Ireland . The parish system in Europe was established between the 8th and 12th centuries, and an early form was long established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest . These areas were originally based on the territory of manors , which, in some cases, derived their bounds from Roman or Iron Age estates; some large manors were sub-divided into several parishes. Initially, churches and their priests were
5248-1010: The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) to become the smallest geographical area for local government in rural areas. The act abolished the civil (non-ecclesiastical) duties of vestries . Parishes which straddled county boundaries or sanitary districts had to be split so that the part in each urban or rural sanitary district became a separate parish (see List of county exclaves in England and Wales 1844–1974 ). The sanitary districts were then reconstituted as urban districts and rural districts , with parishes that fell within urban districts classed as urban parishes, and parishes that fell within rural districts were classed as rural parishes. The 1894 act established elected civil parish councils as to all rural parishes with more than 300 electors, and established annual parish meetings in all rural parishes. Civil parishes were grouped to form either rural or urban districts which are thereafter classified as either type. The parish meetings for parishes with
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5376-411: The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73), which established elected parish councils to take on the secular functions of the parish vestry . A civil parish can range in size from a sparsely populated rural area with fewer than a hundred inhabitants, to a large town with a population in excess of 100,000 . This scope is similar to that of municipalities in continental Europe, such as
5504-563: 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
5632-413: 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
5760-599: The National Trust . It lies on the village's eastern boundary with the Lewes Brooks. It was inhabited by members of the Bloomsbury Group , Leonard and the novelist Virginia Woolf , from 1919 until Leonard's death in 1969. The historic Northease Manor is located between Rodmell and Southease . Originally a chapelry and then a private house, it has been a private school since the late 1960s. The main building dates from
5888-721: 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
6016-620: 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
6144-515: 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
6272-472: The break with Rome , parishes managed ecclesiastical matters, while the manor was the principal unit of local administration and justice. Later, the church replaced the manor court as the rural administrative centre, and levied a local tax on produce known as a tithe . In the medieval period, responsibilities such as relief of the poor passed increasingly from the lord of the manor to the parish's rector , who in practice would delegate tasks among his vestry or
6400-687: The communes of France . However, unlike their continental European counterparts, parish councils are not principal authorities , and in most cases have a relatively minor role in local government. As of September 2023 , there are 10,464 parishes in England, and in 2020 they covered approximately 40% of the English population. For historical reasons, civil parishes predominantly cover rural areas and smaller urban areas, with most larger urban areas being wholly or partly unparished ; but since 1997 it has been possible for civil parishes to be created within unparished areas if demanded by local residents . In 2007
6528-463: The (often well-endowed) monasteries. After the dissolution of the monasteries , the power to levy a rate to fund relief of the poor was conferred on the parish authorities by the Poor Relief Act 1601 . Both before and after this optional social change, local (vestry-administered) charities are well-documented. The parish authorities were known as vestries and consisted of all the ratepayers of
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#17328474761226656-526: The 17th Century; a large thatched barn known as the "Tudor Hall" and the walls of an adjacent building are significantly older. Running west from the Village up the scarp slope is Mill Hill ( TQ 412 052 ). This landscape is full of impressive viewpoints. Standing on Mill Hill is almost like being on a cliff from which you can see down to Seaford Bay and across to the long shoulder of Southease Hill. Often such steep slopes have been saved from intensive farming and
6784-515: 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
6912-574: 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
7040-577: 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
7168-564: The 19th century is useful to historians, and is also of cultural significance in terms of shaping local identities; reinforced by the use of grouped parish boundaries, often, by successive local authority areas; and in a very rough, operations-geared way by most postcode districts. There was (and is) wide disparity in parish size. Writtle , Essex traditionally measures 13,568 acres (21 sq mi) – two parishes neighbouring are Shellow Bowells at 469 acres (0.7 sq mi), and Chignall Smealy at 476 acres (0.7 sq mi) Until
7296-584: The 2011 census, Newland with Woodhouse Moor and Beaumont Chase reported inhabitants, and there were no new deserted parishes recorded. Nearly all instances of detached parts of civil parishes (areas not contiguous with the main part of the parish) and of those straddling counties have been ended. 14 examples remain in England as at 2022, including Barnby Moor and Wallingwells , both in Nottinghamshire. Direct predecessors of civil parishes are most often known as "ancient parishes", although many date only from
7424-505: The 2021 census). The 2001 census recorded several parishes with no inhabitants. These were Chester Castle (in the middle of Chester city centre), Newland with Woodhouse Moor , Beaumont Chase , Martinsthorpe , Meering , Stanground North (subsequently abolished), Sturston , Tottington , and Tyneham (subsequently merged). The lands of the last three were taken over by the Armed Forces during World War II and remain deserted. In
7552-583: The County Council are held every four years. The Liberal Democrat Carla Butler was elected in the 2013 election. The UK Parliament constituency for Rodmell is Lewes . The Liberal Democrat Norman Baker served as the constituency MP from 1997 but the Conservative Maria Caulfield was elected in 2015. As of July 2024, Liberal Democrat James MacCleary is the MP. Prior to Brexit in 2020, the village
7680-731: 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
7808-787: 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
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#17328474761227936-587: 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
8064-515: 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
8192-401: 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 ,
8320-583: 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
8448-470: 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
8576-499: 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:
8704-416: 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
8832-506: 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
8960-456: 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
9088-580: 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
9216-465: 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
9344-577: The Whiteway ( TQ 405 059 ) is a flowery spot in summer. Breaky Bottom is the name of a valley within the parish. It is owned by Peter Hall who created Breaky Bottom vineyard in 1974. The vineyard produces a well-known English wine and was a former gold medallist in the Wine Magazine International Wine Challenge. The slope to the southwest of the vineyard ( TQ 401 050 ) has retained some of its old Down pasture flora. Above it on
9472-724: The administration of the poor laws was the main civil function of parishes, the Poor Law Amendment Act 1866 , which received royal assent on 10 August 1866, declared all areas that levied a separate rate or had their own overseer of the poor to be parishes. This included the Church of England parishes (until then simply known as "parishes"), extra-parochial areas , townships and chapelries . To have collected rates this means these beforehand had their own vestries, boards or equivalent bodies. Parishes using this definition subsequently became known as "civil parishes" to distinguish them from
9600-537: The agrochemicals that implies, but unfortunately Mill Hill was not spared. Only at its base and along the old drove footpath on its northern edge does the old wildlife survive intact. Now it is well managed though and the herbs and insects are returning. Along the footpath edge you can still find bastard toadflax and horseshoe vetch . At the southern end the Northease White Way cuts a substantial bostal and there are two chalk pits by its side. The Down pasture above
9728-484: The author Virginia Woolf for twenty-one years until her suicide in 1941. The village is bisected by the road from Lewes to Newhaven which passes through Iford . This road also passes the neighbouring village of Southease . The village was part of the Holmstrow hundred until the abolition of hundreds in the 19th century. Like many of the county's southern parishes, Rodmell, is a long thin parish. From southeast to
9856-506: 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 ,
9984-506: The chalk grassland is well preserved, with lots of cowslips , harebells , devil’s-bit scabious and rampion . The steepest bit to the southeast overlooks Cricketing Bottom and many traditional flowers survive including dropwort, thyme and cowslips. Marbled white and common blue butterflies enjoy the sunny slopes. Rodmell Parish Council has seven councillors. Their responsibilities include footpaths, street lighting, playgrounds and minor planning applications. The next level of government
10112-399: The charter, the charter may be transferred to a parish council for its area. Where there is no such parish council, the district council may appoint charter trustees to whom the charter and the arms of the former borough will belong. The charter trustees (who consist of the councillor or councillors for the area of the former borough) maintain traditions such as mayoralty . An example of such
10240-491: 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
10368-475: 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
10496-527: 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
10624-770: 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 ,
10752-529: The council are carried out by a paid officer, typically known as a parish clerk. Councils may employ additional people (including bodies corporate, provided where necessary, by tender) to carry out specific tasks dictated by the council. Some councils have chosen to pay their elected members an allowance, as permitted under part 5 of the Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003. The number of councillors varies roughly in proportion to
10880-464: The council of the urban district or borough in which they were contained. Many urban parishes were coterminous (geographically identical) with the urban district or municipal borough in which they lay. Towns which included multiple urban parishes often consolidated the urban parishes into one. The urban parishes continued to be used as an electoral area for electing guardians to the poor law unions . The unions took in areas in multiple parishes and had
11008-466: The council will an election be held. However, sometimes there are fewer candidates than seats. When this happens, the vacant seats have to be filled by co-option by the council. If a vacancy arises for a seat mid-term, an election is only held if a certain number (usually ten) of parish residents request an election. Otherwise the council will co-opt someone to be the replacement councillor. The Localism Act 2011 introduced new arrangements which replaced
11136-453: The creation of town and parish councils is encouraged in unparished areas . The Local Government and Rating Act 1997 created a procedure which gave residents in unparished areas the right to demand that a new parish and parish council be created. This right was extended to London boroughs by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 – with this, the City of London
11264-463: The desire to have a more local tier of government when new larger authorities have been created, which are felt to be remote from local concerns and identity. A number of parishes have been created in places which used to have their own borough or district council; examples include Daventry (2003), Folkestone (2004), Kidderminster (2015) and Sutton Coldfield (2016). The trend towards the creation of geographically large unitary authorities has been
11392-616: 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
11520-439: The ecclesiastical parishes. The Church of England parishes, which cover more than 99% of England, have become officially (and to avoid ambiguity) termed ecclesiastical parishes . The limits of many of these have diverged; most greatly through changes in population and church attendance (these factors can cause churches to be opened or closed). Since 1921, each has been the responsibility of its own parochial church council . In
11648-521: The established English Church, which for a few years after Henry VIII alternated between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England , before settling on the latter on the accession of Elizabeth I in 1558. By the 18th century, religious membership was becoming more fractured in some places, due in part to the progress of Methodism . The legitimacy of the parish vestry came into question, and
11776-529: 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
11904-638: The gift and continued patronage (benefaction) of the lord of the manor , but not all were willing and able to provide, so residents would be expected to attend the church of the nearest manor with a church. Later, the churches and priests became to a greater extent the responsibility of the Catholic Church thus this was formalised; the grouping of manors into one parish was recorded, as was a manor-parish existing in its own right. Boundaries changed little, and for centuries after 1180 'froze', despite changes to manors' extents. However, by subinfeudation , making
12032-455: The government at the time of the Local Government Act 1972 discouraged their creation for large towns or their suburbs, but there is generally nothing to stop their establishment. For example, Birmingham has two parishes ( New Frankley and Sutton Coldfield ), Oxford has four, and the Milton Keynes urban area has 24. Parishes could not however be established in London until the law was changed in 2007. A civil parish can range in area from
12160-452: 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
12288-449: The hill. In the 1930s it was excavated and Roman bronze, iron, tiles, querns, pottery and two bronze coins were found. The huts of the village on the hilltop seem to have been arranged around a banked roadway, with other roadways nearby and many small fields and barrows. The findings suggested that the village was occupied shortly before the Roman invasion and abandoned in about AD 350. It is now
12416-491: 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
12544-422: The late 19th century, most of the "ancient" (a legal term equivalent to time immemorial ) irregularities inherited by the civil parish system were cleaned up, and the majority of exclaves were abolished. The census of 1911 noted that 8,322 (58%) of "parishes" in England and Wales were not geographically identical when comparing the civil to the ecclesiastical form. In 1894, civil parishes were reformed by
12672-465: The mid 19th century. Using a longer historical lens the better terms are "pre-separation (civil and ecclesiastical) parish", "original medieval parishes" and "new parishes". The Victoria County History , a landmark collaborative work mostly written in the 20th century (although incomplete), summarises the history of each English "parish", roughly meaning late medieval parish. A minority of these had exclaves , which could be: In some cases an exclave of
12800-410: 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
12928-559: 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
13056-399: 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,
13184-465: The new district councils (outside London) to review their parishes, and many areas left unparished in 1972 have since been made parishes, either in whole or part. For example, Hinckley , whilst entirely unparished in 1974, now has four civil parishes, which together cover part of its area, whilst the central part of the town remains unparished. Some parishes were sub-divided into smaller territories known as hamlets , tithings or townships . Nowadays
13312-653: The northwest, it runs from Saltdean over the South Downs to the Lewes Brooks and as far as the River Ouse . To the north is the Iford parish and to the south is Southease . There are many reasons why the Downland area is special as well. The South Downs Way crosses the scarp top. West from the track, on the Down between Highdole Hill and Fore Hill, there are many surviving marks from
13440-488: The other conurbations. Civil parishes vary greatly in population: some have populations below 100 and have no settlement larger than a hamlet , while others cover towns with populations of tens of thousands. Weston-super-Mare , with a population of 71,758, is the most populous civil parish. In many cases small settlements, today popularly termed villages , localities or suburbs, are in a single parish which originally had one church. Large urban areas are mostly unparished, as
13568-431: 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
13696-401: The parish the status of a town, at which point the council becomes a town council . Around 400 parish councils are called town councils. Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 , a civil parish may be given one of the following alternative styles: As a result, a parish council can be called a town council, a community council, a village council or occasionally
13824-404: The parish. As the number of ratepayers of some parishes grew, it became increasingly difficult to convene meetings as an open vestry. In some, mostly built-up, areas the select vestry took over responsibility from the entire body of ratepayers. This innovation improved efficiency, but allowed governance by a self-perpetuating elite. The administration of the parish system relied on the monopoly of
13952-562: The parish; the church rate ceased to be levied in many parishes and became voluntary from 1868. During the 17th century it was found that the 1601 Poor Law did not work well for very large parishes, which were particularly common in northern England. Such parishes were typically subdivided into multiple townships , which levied their rates separately. The Poor Relief Act 1662 therefore directed that for poor law purposes 'parish' meant any place which maintained its own poor, thereby converting many townships into separate 'poor law parishes'. As
14080-499: The perceived inefficiency and corruption inherent in the system became a source for concern in some places. For this reason, during the early 19th century the parish progressively lost its powers to ad hoc boards and other organisations, such as the boards of guardians given responsibility for poor relief through the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 . Sanitary districts covered England in 1875 and Ireland three years later. The replacement boards were each entitled to levy their own rate in
14208-411: The population of the parish. Most rural parish councillors are elected to represent the entire parish, though in parishes with larger populations or those that cover larger areas, the parish can be divided into wards. Each of these wards then returns councillors to the parish council (the numbers depending on their population). Only if there are more candidates standing for election than there are seats on
14336-417: 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
14464-483: 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 ,
14592-483: 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
14720-438: The right to create civil parishes was extended to London boroughs , although only one, Queen's Park , has so far been created. Eight parishes also have city status (a status granted by the monarch ). A civil parish may be equally known as and confirmed as a town, village, neighbourhood or community by resolution of its parish council, a right not conferred on other units of English local government. The governing body of
14848-715: 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,
14976-521: 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
15104-530: The spur is a round barrow ( TQ 401 049 ). To the east of farm is Access Land which continues north into the Iford parish and Whiteway Bottom. You can walk to Highdole Hill ( TQ 397 045 ) up the spine of Telscombe Tye. At the summit you have views of the sea, distant glimpses of the Weald and white cliffs and what strikes many walkers is the silence because, despite its height, the sound of roads do not reach here. The lost Romano-British village of Isenden sits on
15232-562: The time of the Norman conquest the manor of Rodmell was held by King Harold II . At the time the Domesday Book was compiled, there was a church in Rodmell, which was granted to Lewes Priory by William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey . The early Norman church is dedicated to St Peter . The font is believed to be Saxon , predating the building itself. More recently, Monk's House was the home of
15360-510: 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
15488-458: 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
15616-403: The west of the village. The village name has been variously spelled as Ramelle or Redmelle (11th century), Redmelde (12th century), Radmelde (13th century) and Radmill (18th century). It most likely derives from Brittonic where Rhod denotes a wheel and Melin refers to a Mill, hence mill wheel. A less likely derivation is from Old English read *mylde , "[place with] red soil". Before
15744-678: 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,
15872-549: 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
16000-452: 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
16128-404: 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
16256-563: 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
16384-582: Was part of the South East England constituency in the European Parliament . Rodmell was the venue of a local cricket match which was immortalised by A. G. Macdonell in his humorous novel England, Their England , in which it was called "Fordenden, Kent". Civil parishes in England In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government . It
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