The Landmark Trust is a British building conservation

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * 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 sha ...

, 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 Shottesbrooke is a hamlet (place), hamlet and civil parish administered by the unitary authority of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire. The hamlet is mostly rural: 88% covered by agriculture or wood ...

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 () 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 ...

. In continental Europe there are Landmark sites in Belgium, France and Italy. There are five properties in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, US, 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 journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

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. 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 person workforce headed by a Director. Anna Keay 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.

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

became Patron of the Landmark Trust in 1995. A group of high-profile supporters act as Ambassadors for the Trust, helping 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;

Simon Jenkins Sir Simon David Jenkins FLSW (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992. Jenkins chaired the National Trust f ...

;

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

; and Natascha McElhone.

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 List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the third to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent Jam ...

''. 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 (Warwickshire), Lundy (Bristol Channel), Clavell Tower (Dorset), Saddell Bay (Mull of Kintyre), and the

Martello Tower Martello towers 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 up to high (with two floors) and typica ...

(

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the English county, county of Suffolk, England, north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the comp ...

, 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 List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. 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 channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

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 Anna Keay and

Kevin McCloud Kevin McCloud, (born 8 May 1959) is a British designer, writer, and a 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, Lyme Regis Belmont is a Grade II* listed country house near Lyme Regis, South West England. In the early nineteenth century it was owned by the businesswoman Eleanor Coade, famed for supplying the artificial stone known as Coade stone. The picture of Belmo ...

. In May 2025, two

More4 More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content The i ...

programmes, ''Historic House Rescue'', were transmitted featuring Calverley Old Hall and Fairburn Tower.

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 Landmark 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, Alderney * Nicolle Tower, St Clement, Jersey

England

Lundy

The Landmark Trust manages the Island of Lundy in the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel (, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales (from Pembrokeshire to the Vale of Glamorgan) and South West England (from Devon to North Somerset). It extends ...

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

London and South East England

East of England

North of England

Midlands

Southwest

Scotland

Wales

Belgium

Hougoumont Château d'Hougoumont (possibly originally Goumont or Gomont) 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 o ...

, close to the site of the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

. 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.

Italy

* Casa de Mar, San Fruttuoso – from summer 2016 * Casa Guidi, Florence – from 1995 * Piazza di Spagna, Rome – from 1982 * Sant'Antonio, Tivoli – from 1995 * Villa Saraceno, Agugliaro – restored 1984–1995 * Villa dei Vescovi, Padua (two apartments) – from 2006

United States

* Amos Brown House, Vermont * The Dutton Farmhouse, Vermont * Naulakha (Rudyard Kipling House), Vermont * Kipling's Carriage House, Naulakha, Vermont * The Sugarhouse, Vermont

Properties under restoration

Projects in development

New potential projects:
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 to 1204.
Mavisbank
nr Edinburgh, Midlothian – Joint project with Historic Environment Scotland for Scotland's first Palladian villa. *The South Tower at

Wentworth Woodhouse Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house in the village of Wentworth, South Yorkshire, Wentworth, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It is currently owned by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation T ...

, near Rotherham,

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the north, the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north-east, Lincolnshire ...

- in partnership with the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust *The Clock Tower, Wemyss Bay,

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

- Category A listed Italianate tower attached to one of Scotland's finest railway stations

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

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...

– owned by Historic Royal Palaces. Withdrawn from property portfolio in 2014. * The Harp Inn, Old Radnor, Powys * Higher Lettaford, North Bovey, Devon – sold in 2013 as no longer appropriate to the Trust's property portfolio * Hill House, Helensburgh – top floor flat returned to National Trust for Scotland in 2011 *

, near Waterloo,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

- no longer listed for rent following the expiry of the previous lease * 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 * Le Moulin de la Tuilerie, Gif-sur-Yvette, Essonne, France (formerly let as three properties: La Célibataire, Le Maison des Amis and Le Moulin) – sold in 2020 by the landowner * 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-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-seven editions of the Handbook have been published to 2025:

References

External links

* – official site
Landmark Trust
properties' photos on

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{{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