The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty — usually just "the National Trust" — is a charity founded in 1895 that looks after over 500 historic places across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Its properties include great country houses, gardens, parks, ancient monuments, beaches and over 1,000 km of coastline. Scotland has a separate but similar body, the National Trust for Scotland.
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The Trust has over five million members, making it one of the largest membership organisations in the UK. Most properties are open to visitors; many are run with the help of unpaid volunteers, and the work is funded by a mix of membership fees, entrance charges and donations.
You may be asked which year the National Trust was founded (1895), or what kind of organisation it is (a charity).
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