The Landmark Trust is a British building conservation charity, 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 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. In continental Europe there are Landmark sites in Belgium, France and Italy. Five properties are in the United States—all in Vermont—one of which, Naulakha, was the home of Rudyard Kipling 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 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; Griff Rhys Jones; 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. 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 (Aldeburgh, 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. The work of the Trust was the subject of a six-part Channel 4 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. Buildings featured included Belmont.

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 Trust property history albums were made available online for the first time in October 2018.

Channel Islands

England

Lundy

The Landmark Trust manages the Island of Lundy in the Bristol Channel on behalf of the National Trust, and operates a number of holiday cottages there. The properties managed by the Trust include:

London and South East England

East of England

North of England

Midlands

Southwest

Scotland

Wales

Belgium

Italy

United States

Properties under restoration

As at March 2020, the following properties were being restored by the Trust for future lettings:

Projects in development

As of March 2019, plans for restoring and renovating the following properties were under active development: New potential projects announced by February 2020 for development were:

Other projects previously considered for restoration

Other properties previously considered by the Trust, but not progressed to completion, include:

Former properties

Properties formerly run as holiday lets and owned, leased or run by the Landmark Trust on a management arrangement basis include:

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:

Handbooks

Details of each property available to rent are available online, on the Trust's website, and in a Handbook. Twenty-five editions of the Handbook have been published to December 2016:

Archives

The Landmark Trust Lundy Island Philatelic Archive was donated to the British Library Philatelic Collections in 1991 and is located at the British Library.