About us

As Europe’s biggest conservation charity, we look after nature, beauty and history for everyone to enjoy. We do it with the help of millions of members, volunteers, staff, donors, communities and partners. Without this, we couldn’t care for the miles of coastline, woodlands, countryside and the hundreds of historic buildings, gardens and precious collections we protect.

Deep-rooted beginnings

In 1895, our founders, Octavia Hill, Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley pledged to preserve historic and natural places. Their aim was not only to save important sites, but to open them up for everyone to enjoy.

They created the National Trust, and more than 125 years later, their mission is at the heart of everything we do.

Who we are and what we stand for

Together we thrive

We all need nature; it’s a matter of survival. And we all need culture; it’s what humans do. It’s how we feel seen and connected. It tells the stories of who we are.

Together we care for the world around us

Together we restore nature and landscapes, give new life to old places and share beauty that gives joy to generations. We make spaces where people flourish. All this happens because millions of people have cared enough to join together. Now it’s your turn.

A shared inheritance

This mission isn’t ours alone. It’s open to everyone who cares about nature and culture. A way of joining hands with those who came before. And reaching forward to those who’ll follow.

A shared strength

When you join this movement you become part of something immense: a bond of trust that reaches across time and place. Embracing the traditions of different cultures. The stories of different histories. The ideas of a million minds. Alive. Open.

What we can do together, we could never do alone

Together we stand for the people who will walk these paths long after we’re gone. And speak up today on behalf of tomorrow. A living bridge between generations, to a future where people and nature thrive together.

Nature, beauty, history

With our staff, members, volunteers and supporters, we are the biggest conservation charity in Europe. Everyone can get involved, everyone can make a difference.

Your support keeps nature, culture and heritage flourishing. You help to care for:

More than 890 miles of coastline
More than 250,000 hectares of land
More than 500 historic houses, castles, parks, and gardens
Nearly a million works of art

“The work of the National Trust is always guided by our charitable purpose, which places on us a duty to promote the preservation of nature, beauty and history, for the benefit of the whole nation. We can only do that if we reflect the nations and communities we serve.”

Our commitment to inclusion and diversity

We’re committed to meeting the needs and expectations of a diverse society. Find out what we’re doing to create an inclusive, accessible and welcoming environment for our supporters, staff and volunteers.

Whether you’re a member, supporter, volunteer or staff member, it’s important that everyone has an equally positive experience of our work and feels welcome. We call this work Everyone Welcome and every part of the organisation is responsible for it.

We’ve created the Inclusion and Diversity Progress Report to share some of the work we’re doing to connect with those currently least represented among our staff, volunteers and supporters. This report also shares some of the progress we’re making and the impact it’s having.

We’ll be publishing a progress update every two years, so anyone can track this progress and hold us to account about meeting our commitments.

Our work for supporters

Most people experience the National Trust through the places in our care. We’re working hard to offer experiences that are welcoming, accessible and relevant to existing visitors, as well as new and more diverse audiences.

Some of the things we’re doing to make this happen include:

exploring new and improved transport methods to help more people reach the places in our care
improving the accessibility of more than 150 places since 2021, as well as developing a toolkit with Dementia Adventure to help places become more inclusive for people living with dementia
developing and sharing richer, fuller histories about the places we look after and the people who lived and worked in them
testing how we reach younger audiences by creating Children and Young People Hubs at 19 of the places in our care
funding walk leader training for people from minority ethnic communities to help tackle inequality in access to the outdoors
ensuring that our communications and advertising are accessible to everyone and reaching the groups that are currently the least aware of the National Trust.

Our work for staff and volunteers

We want our staff and volunteers to reflect the communities they serve, and we’re working to ensure that we’re an inclusive place to work and volunteer.

We collect staff data on age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, religion and belief, and sexual orientation. We’re working to improve our data on gender identity and socio-economic background and will share this in a future progress report.

Based on the staff who shared diversity data as of 31 December 2023 (these numbers exclude those that have chosen ‘prefer not to say’ or not shared their data):

42.3 years was the average age of our staff
3.8% of our staff are disabled
3% of our staff are people of colour
6.9% of our staff identify as LGBTQ+
56.6% of our staff are female
27.8% of our staff are male.

The diversity of our staff is gradually increasing each year, but we have lots more to do when it comes to recruiting – particularly in relation to ethnicity and disability.