|
|
Article: History in costly fairy-tale garbThe National Trust should stop being so smug and extravagant, argues Paula Weid eger
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- January 12, 1996
CopyrightCopyright 1996 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
The National Trust is 100 years old today. Let me join in the
happy birthday chorus - it is one of England's most remarkable
20th-century success stories - but let me not stop there. Although
the people managing the National Trust and their passi onate
defenders refuse to believe it, it is possible to be both a fan of
its outstandingly beautiful properties and a critic of the way it's
run.
For the first two-thirds of its history, the National Trust was
a decisive, campaigning body with a clear, if changing, purpose. It
was brought into being near the end of the 19th century by a trio
of socialist do-gooders who wanted to save beautiful countryside
from development in order that poor city ...