The Landmark Trust is a British building conservation

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

, founded in 1965 by Sir John and Lady Smith, that rescues buildings of historic interest or architectural merit and then makes them available for holiday rental. The Trust's headquarters is at Shottesbrooke in Berkshire. Most Trust properties are in England, Scotland and Wales. Several are on Lundy Island off the coast of north Devon, operated under lease from the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. In continental Europe there are Landmark sites in Belgium, France and Italy. Five properties are in the United States — all in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

— one of which, Naulakha, was the home of

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work. ...

in the 1890s. The Trust is a charity registered in England & Wales and in Scotland. The American sites are owned by an independent sister charity, Landmark Trust USA. There is also an

Irish Landmark Trust The Irish Landmark Trust is an architectural conservation and educational organisation founded in Ireland in 1992. Similar to the British Landmark Trust (founded in 1965), it is a charitable organization, registered charity which renovates buildin ...

. Those who rent Landmarks provide a source of funds to support restoration costs and building maintenance. The first rentals were in 1967 when six properties were available. The Trust's 200th property, Llwyn Celyn, opened for rental in October 2018. Landmark sites include forts, farmhouses, manor houses, mills, cottages, castles, gatehouses, follies and towers and represent historic periods from medieval to the 20th century.

Governance and administration

The Trust employs a 400-strong workforce headed by a Director.

Anna Keay Anna Julia Keay, (born August 1974 in the West Highlands of Scotland), is a British architectural historian, author and television personality and director of The Landmark Trust since 2012. Early life and education Keay grew up in a remote ho ...

was appointed Director in 2012, succeeding Peter Pearce (1995–2012) and Robin Evans FRICS (1986–1995). The work of the Trust is overseen by a Board of Trustees chaired by

Neil Mendoza Neil Francis Jeremy Mendoza, Baron Mendoza, (born 2 November 1959) is a British businessman, academic administrator, and member of the House of Lords. Provost of Oriel College Oxford since September 2018, Lord Mendoza also serves as HM G ...

. Prince Charles became Patron of the Landmark Trust in 1995. A group of high-profile supporters act as Ambassadors for the Trust, helping to raise awareness of the Trust's role in rescuing and preserving remarkable buildings. As at March 2017 these were: David Armstrong-Jones; George Clarke;

Nicholas Coleridge Sir Nicholas David Coleridge (born 4 March 1957) is a British former media executive, author, and cultural chair. He is chairman of the Victoria and Albert Museum, chairman of the Prince of Wales' Campaign for Wool, chairman of the Gilbert Trus ...

; Simon Jenkins;

Griff Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. Rhys Jones came to national attention in the 1980s for h ...

; and

Natascha McElhone Natascha McElhone (; born Natascha Abigail Taylor, 14 December 1971) is a British actress. She is a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In film, she is best known for her roles in '' Ronin'' (1998), '' The Truman Show'' (1 ...

In media

The Gothic Temple at Stowe was filmed in March 1999 as the Scottish Chapel in the Bond movie ''

The World is Not Enough ''The World Is Not Enough'' is a 1999 spy film, the nineteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by Michael Apted, from an ...

''. In May 2015 five life-sized sculptures by Antony Gormley, titled ''Land'', were placed near the centre of the UK and at four compass points, in a commission by the Landmark Trust to celebrate its 50th anniversary. They were at

Lowsonford Lowsonford is a small village within the parish of Rowington in Warwickshire, England. The village lies north-east of Henley-in-Arden. General information The most famous of Lowsonford's buildings is the "Fleur de Lys" pub which is known for i ...

(Warwickshire),

Lundy Lundy is an English island in the Bristol Channel. It was a micronation from 1925–1969. It forms part of the district of Torridge in the county of Devon. About long and wide, Lundy has had a long and turbulent history, frequently chang ...

(Bristol Channel),

Clavell Tower Clavell Tower, also known as Clavell Folly or the Kimmeridge Tower, is a Grade II listed Tuscan style tower built in 1830. It lies on the Jurassic Coast, on the top of Hen Cliff just east of Kimmeridge Bay in the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, Engl ...

(Dorset), Saddell Bay (Mull of Kintyre), and the

Martello Tower Martello towers, sometimes known simply as Martellos, are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts. They stand u ...

(

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the international Alde ...

, Suffolk). The sculpture at Saddell Bay is to remain in place permanently following an anonymous donation and the granting of planning permission. The sculpture on Lundy was relocated to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. The work of the Trust was the subject of a six-part

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

television documentary, ''Restoring Britain's Landmarks'', first broadcast in October 2015. Four Channel 4 programmes, ''Great British Buildings: Restoration of the Year,'' transmitted from 23 March 2017, were co-hosted by Landmark Trust Director

and

Kevin McCloud Kevin McCloud, (born 8 May 1959) is a British designer, writer, and television presenter. He has presented the Channel 4 series '' Grand Designs'' since its debut in April 1999. Early life Born in Bedfordshire, McCloud and his two brothers, ...

. Buildings featured included Belmont.

Properties available for holiday lets

The following lists aim to be complete and illustrate both the variety of structures and geographical spread of the trust. In the Trust's early years, prior to the incorporation of the charity, properties were often bought with the support of the Manifold Trust. The Trust's current portfolio also includes properties bequeathed to the Trust, leased, or operated through a management agreement on behalf of other owners. Dates of acquisition and first lettings are shown where available from Landmark Trust or other published sources; time differences between dates often reflect previous/current ownership and the extent of restoration required. Detailed histories of each building are prepared by the Trust's Historian during its renovation. These include summaries plus before and after photographs of restoration works as carried out. Each building history is then left as an album in the property for visitors to peruse. All Trus
property history albums
were made available online for the first time in October 2018.

Channel Islands

Fort Clonque Fort Clonque is a 19th-century coastal fortress in Alderney, in the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. It was constructed at a time when French naval power was becoming an increasing concern to the British. It is built on a rocky outc ...

, Alderney * Nicolle Tower, St Clement, Jersey

England

Lundy

The Landmark Trust manages the Island of

in the Bristol Channel on behalf of the

, and operates a number of holiday cottages there. The properties managed by the Trust include: * The Barn * Bramble Villa East * Bramble Villa West * Castle and Keep Cottages * Government House * Hanmers * Millcombe House * The Old House * The Old Light * The Old School * The Quarters * Radio Room * St John's * Square Cottage * Stoneycroft * Tibbets File:The Jetty, Lundy.jpg, Jetty and harbour, Lundy File:Lundy Old Lighthouse - geograph.org.uk - 15437.jpg, The Old Light, Lundy File:St Helena's church, Lundy.jpg,

St Helen's Church, Lundy Saint Helen's Church, also often incorrectly known as Saint Helena's Church, is an Anglican church on the island of Lundy, lying at the mouth of the Bristol Channel, off the north coast, and part of the county, of Devon in England. As there ...

London and South East England

East of England

North of England

Midlands

Southwest

Scotland

Wales

Belgium

Hougoumont Château d'Hougoumont (originally Goumont) is a walled manorial compound, situated at the bottom of an escarpment near the Nivelles road in the Braine-l'Alleud municipality, near Waterloo, Belgium. The site served as one of the advanced defens ...

, close to the site of the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

. The Trust contributed to the Chateau Hougoumont farm's £3M restoration, from 2013. An apartment in the former gardener's cottage over the south gates has been let since 2015.

France

* La Célibataire, Le Maison des Amis and Le Moulin de la Tuilerie, Gif-sur-Yvette, Essonne. Let since 2010.

Italy

* Casa de Mar, San Fruttuoso – from summer 2016 * Casa Guidi, Florence – from 1995 *

Piazza di Spagna Piazza di Spagna ("Spanish Square"), at the bottom of the Spanish Steps, is one of the most famous squares in Rome, Italy. It owes its name to the Palazzo di Spagna, the seat of the Embassy of Spain to the Holy See. There is also the famed Colum ...

, Rome – from 1982 * Sant'Antonio, Tivoli – from 1995 *

Villa Saraceno Villa Saraceno is a Palladian Villa in Agugliaro, Province of Vicenza, northern Italy. It was commissioned by the patrician Saraceno family. History Villa Saraceno has been dated to the 1540s, which makes it one of Andrea Palladio's earlier w ...

, Agugliaro – restored 1984–1995 * Villa dei Vescovi, Padua (two apartments) – from 2006

United States

* Amos Brown House * The Dutton Farmhouse *

Naulakha (Rudyard Kipling House) Naulakha, also known as the Rudyard Kipling House, is a historic Shingle Style house on Kipling Road in Dummerston, Vermont, a few miles outside Brattleboro. The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1993 for its association wit ...

* Kipling's Carriage House, Naulakha * The Sugarhouse

Properties under restoration

As at March 2020, the following properties were being restored by the Trust for future lettings: * Chatley Heath Semaphore Tower - geograph

Semaphore Tower,

Chatley Heath Chatley Heath is part of 336 hectare reserve including Wisley Common, Ockham and parts of Hatchford. It is an area with a mixed habitats including heathland, ancient woodland and conifer woodland. On the top of Chatley heath (formerly known as Bre ...

, Cobham, Surrey. Only remaining semaphore tower from the Napoleonic era, listed Grade II*. An appeal for £160,000 representing the remaining 25% of its restoration cost was launched on 19 March 2019. The appeal has reached its target, and restoration work is now underway.

Projects in development

As at March 2019, plans for restoring and renovating the following properties were under active development: * Calverley Old Hall, Main Wing – adjacent to existing property let. The pre-qualification stage of an architectural competition for the Hall's restoration closed on 1 August 2017, when likely construction costs were estimated at £2.3m. On 13 February 2018 the Trust announced that the competition had been won b
Cowper Griffith
Consultation with local residents on the proposed designs took place in March 2018. Awaiting appeal launch, previously planned for 2019. *

Fairburn Tower Fairburn Tower is a recently resored Scottish castle near Inverness and the Muir of Ord in the parish of Urray. The tower house on a hill above the River Orrin is believed to have been built in 1545 for Murdo Mackenzie. Mackenzie of Fairburn Mu ...

, Inverness. Category A listed Tower House, built in 1545 for Murdo Mackenzie, Gentleman of the Bedchamber for King James V. Restoration proposals developed b
Simpson and Brown
as Project Architects. £500,000 grant pledged by

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

. Appeal for £800,000 launched May 2018. By autumn/winter 2019 all but £89,000 had been raised. Restoration work was expected to start soon thereafter for a planned completion in late summer 2021. New potential projects announced by February 2020 for development were:
Ibsley Watch Tower
Ibsley, Hampshire - Derelict watch tower at one of the twelve RAF airfields in the New Forest. Held on a 99-year lease by RAF Ibsley Heritage Trust. *Mayor's Parlour Block
Maison Dieu
Dover, Kent - Part of 1835 transformation of Grade I complex of civic buildings dating back to 1204.
Mavisbank
nr Edinburgh, Midlothian - Joint project with Historic Environment Scotland for Scotland's first Palladian villa.

Other projects previously considered for restoration

Other properties previously considered by the Trust, but not progressed to completion, include: * Almshouses, Denton, Lincolnshire – demolished by then owner Sir Bruno Welby, subsequently convicted in 1980 of unauthorised demolition of historic buildings and fined £1,000 plus costs *Falsgrave Signal Box, Scarborough, North Yorkshire - under consideration from 2016 to March 2019 *The Master's House, Maidstone, Kent – rejected 2002 on grounds of size * Mausoleum, Seaton Delavel – rejected for risk of repayment of Department of the Environment grant * Warder's Tower, Biddulph, Staffordshire – leased from Staffordshire County Council 2008–2010, returned when no acceptable solution could be found for dealing with four colonies of bats

Former properties

Properties formerly run as holiday lets and owned, leased or run by the Landmark Trust on a management arrangement basis include: * All Saint's Vicarage, Maidenhead – First floor flat in Vicarage complex designed by

G.E. Street George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford, London, Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Gothic Revival architecture, Vi ...

. Advertised as being prepared for opening for lets in 1990 and in 1991 but not listed in 1992. * Edale Mill,

Edale Edale is a village and civil parish in the Peak District, Derbyshire, England, whose population was 353 at the 2011 Census. Edale, with an area of , is in the Borough of High Peak. Edale is best known to walkers as the start, or southern end, ...

, Derbyshire – The Trust bought the mill in 1969 and converted it into seven flats. Six were sold after conversion with one being retained for holiday lets until c2012. * Fish Court, Hampton Court Palace – owned by

Historic Royal Palaces Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity that manages some of the United Kingdom's unoccupied royal palaces. These are: * Tower of London * Hampton Court Palace * Kensington Palace (State Apartments and Orangery) * The Banqueting Hous ...

. Withdrawn from property portfolio in 2014. * The Harp Inn,

Old Radnor Old Radnor ( cy, Pencraig) is a village and community in Powys, Wales. The community includes Old Radnor and the villages of Yardro, Dolyhir, Burlingjobb, Evenjobb ( cy, Einsiob), Kinnerton and Walton. In the 2001 census and the 2011 Census t ...

, Powys * Higher Lettaford, North Bovey, Devon – sold in 2013 as no longer appropriate to the Trust's property portfolio *

Hill House, Helensburgh Hill House in Helensburgh, Scotland is a building by architects and designers Charles and Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh. The house is a prominent example of the Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style). It was designed and built for the pub ...

– top floor flat returned to National Trust for Scotland in 2011. * The Master's House, Gladstone Pottery – The Gladstone Pottery Museum was transferred to Stoke-on-Trent Museums in 1994. * Meikle Ascog, Ascog, Argyll & Bute – sold in 2013 as no longer appropriate to the Trust's property portfolio * Sandford House, 7 Lower High St, Stourbridge, West Midlands * 30, St Mary's Lane, Tewkesbury – bought in 1969 and let to local tenants from 2006. * Wellbrook Beetling Mill, Cookstown, Co Tyrone – returned to National Trust

Legacy Estate – other properties owned by the Trust

In addition to properties let for holiday rentals, the Trust has been bequeathed other properties which it has refurbished and managed in other ways, through its Legacy Estate. These include: * Fountain Hotel, 92 High Street, Cowes, Isle of Wight – acquired 2010 * The Tower,

Netherne Hospital Netherne Hospital, formerly The Surrey County Asylum at Netherne or Netherne Asylum was a psychiatric hospital in Hooley, Surrey in the United Kingdom. History Design and Construction Netherne Asylum was founded on 18 October 1905 to alleviate ...

, Netherne-on-the-Hill, Coulsdon, Surrey – bequeathed 2015

Handbooks

Details of each property available to rent are available online, on the Trust's website, and in a Handbook. Twenty-five editions of the Handbook have been published to December 2016:

References

External links

* – official site
Landmark Trust
properties' photos on

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and profession ...

{{Authority control Architecture in the United Kingdom Historic preservation organizations Environmental charities based in the United Kingdom Lundy Organisations based in Berkshire Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Organizations established in 1965