The National Trust in Britain The National Trust in Britain plays an increasingly important part in the preservation for public enjoyment of the best that is left unspoiled of the British countryside. Although the Trust has received practical and moral support from the Government, it is not rich Government department. It is a charity which depends for its existence on voluntary support from members of the public. The attention of the public was first drawn to the dangers threatening the great old houses and castles of Britain by the death of Lord Lothian, who left his great seventeenth-century house to the Trust together with the 4, 500-acre park and estate surrounding it. This gift attracted wide publicity and started the Trust's 'Country House Scheme'. Under this scheme, with the help of the Government and the general public, the Trust has been able to save and open to the public about one hundred and fifty of these old houses. Last year about one and three quarters of a million people paid to visit these historic houses, usually at a very small charge. In addition to country houses and open spaces the Trust now owns some examples of ancient wind and water mills, nature reserves, five hundred and forty farms and nearly two thousand five hundred cottages or small village houses, as well as some complete villages. In these villages no one is allowed to build, develop or disturb the old village environment in any way and all the houses are maintained in their original sixteenth-century style. Over four hundred thousand acres of coastline, woodland, and hill country are protected by the Trust and no development or disturbance of any kind are permitted. The public has free access to these areas and is only asked to respect the peace, beauty and wildlife. So it is that over the past eighty years the Trust has become a big important organization and an essential and respected part of national life, preserving all that is of great natural beauty and of historical significance not only for future generations of Britons but also for the millions of tourists who each year invade Britain in search of a great historical and cultural heritage. The National Trust is ______.