The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and independent National Trust for Scotland.
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 of beauty or historic interest". It was given statutory powers, starting with 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. Country houses and estates still make up a significant part of its holdings, but it is also known for its protection of wild landscapes such as in the Lake District and Peak District. As well as the great estates of titled families, it has acquired smaller houses including some whose significance is not architectural but through their association with famous people, for example the childhood homes of Paul McCartney and John Lennon. One of the largest landowners in the United Kingdom, the Trust owns over 248,000 hectares of land and 780 miles of coast. Its properties include over 500 historic houses, castles, archaeological and industrial monuments, gardens, parks and nature reserves. Most properties are open to the public for a charge , while open spaces are free to all.
The Trust has an annual income of over £630 million, largely from membership subscriptions, donations and legacies, investments, entrance fees to properties, and profits from its shops and restaurants. It also receives grants from a variety of organisations including other charities, government departments, local authorities and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Petworth House in the parish of Petworth, West Sussex, England, is a late 17th-century Grade I listed country house, rebuilt in 1688 by Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and altered in the 1870s to the design of the architect Anthony Salvin. It contains intricate wood-carvings by Grinling Gibbons . It is the manor house of the manor of Petworth. For centuries it was the southern home for the Percy family, Earls of Northumberland. Petworth is famous for its extensive art collection made by George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont , containing many works by his friend J. M. W. Turner. It also has an expansive deer park, landscaped by Capability Brown, which contains the largest herd of fallow deer in England.
Petworth Cottage Museum, at 346 High Street, Petworth, West Sussex is a Leconfield Estate worker's cottage. It has been restored and furnished as it might have been in about 1910 when the occupier was a Mrs. Mary Cummings, an Irish Catholic. Mary worked as a seamstress at nearby Petworth House and at home. The collection also includes two oil on canvas paintings by an unknown artist. These show an exterior and an interior view of Petworth Gaol, or House of Correction, in the 1860s.The museum was opened by Lord and Lady Egremont in May 1996 and is run by an independent charitable trust, the Petworth Cottage Trust. Volunteer staff provide information and guided tours.
