The move to establish a ‘National Trust’ began in 1884 when the Victorian housing reformer Octavia Hill wanted to preserve the former house of the diarist John Evelyn, Sayes Court in Deptford, so that its gardens could be a public open space for the benefit of the east London poor. Octavia Hill turned for assistance to Robert Hunter, who as Chief Solicitor to the Post Office had prevented private capitalists from exploiting the mails for private gain and as Solicitor for the Commons Preservation Society had become prominent in the campaign to prevent the enclosure of the remnants of common land (see our article on Enclosures). In this body, Hunter, a gentle Christian, had advocated such direct action as the removal of fences where they prevented lawful rights of way, arguing that the…

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Citation: Clark, Robert. "National Trust Act". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 June 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1733, accessed 23 November 2024.]