On 12 January 1895, The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty was founded at Grosvenor House in London. Three moving spirits had worked determinedly towards this event: Octavia Hill, Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley. Each brought a different strength. Octavia Hill, famous for her housing improvement schemes, wanted 'open air sitting rooms' for the urban poor. Sir Robert Hunter, a skilful lawyer, had fought to preserve commonland from development. Hardwicke Rawnsley, Vicar of St Margaret's at Wray in Windermere, was devoted to the preservation of the unspoilt beauty of the Lake District for posterity. Over the past century The National Trust has built on those beginnings to become the world's most active conservation charity.

The first stamp shows a detail of a fireplace at Attingham Park, Shropshire, one of more than 230 historic National Trust properties open to the public. The second stamp depicts an oak seedling symbolising over 580,000 acres of countryside – from forest to fen – under National Trust protection. Attingham Park is renowed for its collection of furniture; the detail from a desk leg at Attingham on the third stamp represents the thousands of pieces of furniture and other works of art conserved by the Trust. The fourth stamp shows a tiny fraction of about 540 miles of coastline under Trust protection, at St David's Head, Dyfed. The final stamp shows a detail from Little Moreton Hall in Cheshire. Preserved by the Trust, it is one of the most perfect timber-framed manor houses in the country.

The three founder members of The National Trust: Octavia Hill (top), Robert Hunter (left) and Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley (right).

Conservation of countryside, coast, houses, their contents and gardens is an important part of the Trust's remit. Top: cleaning silver at Petworth House and (above) drystone walling at Crickley Hill, Gloucestershire.