As one of the foremost protectors of the UK’s cultural, built, and landscape heritage, the National Trust has a formidable task ahead of it. As a charity, it needs to survive in a very competitive world against other good cause organisations and visitor attractions. It has to balance this modern perspective with its original intended purpose. It was created out of fear for the future and what was going to happen to the country as a whole. It has over 5 million members, some of which contribute on a monthly and annual basis, with others making a one-off payment for Life membership. In addition, it requires a robust Visitor Management System UK specific, much like that provided by https://www.ofec.co.uk/visitor-management-system-uk.aspx.
In the Victorian period, many were worried. The economy and the Empire may have been booming, but there was a very acute sense of loss. Arts and Crafts, handmade items and the very landscape that had created them were being slowly eroded away. The industrial revolution had brought great prosperity to the country for some and abject poverty to most others. The migration of workers to the cities, mills and factories en masse saw this skill disappear. Even worse, the landscape of Britain was going to be turned into one of waste and industry. There would be no wild and open spaces anymore. Everything, like their stately homes, would be levelled and lost.
Several philanthropists, William Morris and Beatrix Potter, two of them formed the Trust to protect these unique places.
