Membership of the UK National Trust has topped four million for the first time, the organisation said last Thursday.

Some 90 million visits are made to National Trust houses, gardens, coast and countryside each year

The Trust, which looks after more than 300 historic houses, more than 600,000 acres of land and 700 miles of coastline, has seen numbers rise from just 100 in 1895 when it was founded – with an annual subscription of 10 shillings.

By the outbreak of the First World War membership stood at 670. It reached one million in 1981, two million in 1990 and three million in 2002.

Membership of the organisation provided £120 million in the last financial year to support “vital” conservation work in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Trust said.

In total some 90 million visits are made to National Trust houses, gardens, coast and countryside each year.

Dame Fiona Reynolds, director general of the National Trust, said: “Whether it’s a love for their local place, a passion for anything from surfing to fine art, or simply the joy of spending family time together – there’s clearly a growing hunger for what we have to offer.”

She added: “In England you are never more than 40 minutes away from somewhere looked after by the National Trust.

“From the smallest sculleries and garden grottos to towering castle turrets and the wild expanses of Lake District countryside, the National Trust enables everyone to enjoy these beautiful, intriguing and exciting places forever.”

She said the Trust owed a “massive thank you” to members for their support.

She added: “We were set up 116 years ago to look after special places so that they could be enjoyed by all. Clearly that founding aim remains as relevant today as it was then.”

The four million mark has been reached as the National Trust leads the campaign against controversial proposals to reform the planning system which the organisation fears will lead to damaging development in the countryside.

Opposition to the Government’s proposals to slim down planning policy has drawn the ire of ministers who have labelled critics of the draft reforms – currently out for public consultation – as “left-wingers”, “semi-hysterical” and “nihilistic”.

The National Trust revealed that families make up more than a third of its members.

It also said Dorset was the county with the highest proportion of NT members, with almost a fifth (19 per cent) of the population signed up to the organisation.

Surrey has the most members – more than 180,000 – of any county outside of London, which boasts 300,000, while the Shetland Islands has 67 members who are 12 hours away from their nearest National Trust site – Lindisfarne Castle off the Northumberland coast.

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