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- founded in 1895 by Miss Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, exists to
promote the permanent preservation for the nation of land with outstanding natural features, flora
and fauna or buildings, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Membership now numbers over 2.5 million.
The National Trust did originally cover Scotland but had not been active and on the initiative of the
Association for the Preservation of Rural Scotland, who had been offerred land which it was not empowered
to hold, the National Trust for Scotland, was founded in 1931. The NTS has the similar ambition of
preserving places of historic interest and natural beauty "for the benefit of the nation" and now with
over 250,000 members is Scotland’s biggest charity. While the trusts are independent of each other,
they regard themselves as sister organisations and membership of one gives free access to the other’s
properties. National Trusts in some broadly recognisable shape or form, now exist in many of the
English-speaking countries.