The Royal Oak Foundation provides grants to support the National Trust’s conservation and acquisition priorities across all categories of the Trust’s work in the United Kingdom. Through four decades, the Foundation’s supporters have provided over $8 million to fund projects ranging from the acquisition of important coastline, to the conservation of historic architecture and interiors, to the acquisition of works of art separated from their original properties.
A fire broke out on 29 April 2015 at Clandon Park, the National Trust’s 18th-century mansion in Surrey. The fire spread throughout the building and the damage to the mansion has been devastating. We have received many messages from our supporters and the public following this. If you would like to make a donation to help the National Trust, we would be very grateful. We cannot say at this stage what the future holds, but donations raised will help Clandon Park face its uncertain future.
Over 150 National Trust houses contain some 55,000 pieces of furniture. Taken as a whole, it is probably the largest and most important furniture collection in the world, exceptional for remaining in its historic context. It deserves to be better known and understood.
These facts led The Royal Oak Foundation to provide substantial initial funding for the Furniture Research Project. The initiative will enhance information on the Trust’s online collection database, freely accessible to anyone, and to fully document an internationally significant collection that spans seven centuries. Since September 2015, more than 13,000 pieces of furniture have been catalogued and numerous publications released whose findings help showcase the collection in Britain and abroad.
Situated on the banks of the Thames in south west London, Ham House sits within an historic Arcadian landscape, with Hampton Court to the west and Kew Gardens to the east. Ham is one of Europe’s most complete surviving examples of a 17th century estate.
Hidcote is an Arts and Crafts garden in the north Cotswolds, a stone’s throw from Stratford-upon-Avon. Created by the talented American horticulturist, Major Lawrence Johnston its colourful and intricately designed outdoor ‘rooms’ are always full of surprises. Many of the plants found growing in the garden were collected from Johnston’s many plant hunting trips to far away places.
From 2012 to 2013, The Royal Oak Foundation has campaigned to raise money for the conservation of Knole’s Ballroom and its contents, with members from across the U.S. having made an impressive $1.25 million contribution. This campaign has been the most successful fundraising project for a single National Trust property to date.
Knole is a legendary house. An ancient manor refashioned as a seat of power, Knole passed through the hands of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and thirteen generations of the Sackville family. Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset, transformed it into a Renaissance palace, and it remains the largest house in England. Occupying a footprint of four acres, it is a calendar house of 365 rooms, 52 staircases, 12 entrances, and seven courtyards. It is also one of the National Trust’s most misunderstood and least visited great houses.
Mount Stewart is one of the most inspiring and unusual gardens in the National Trust’s ownership. The garden reflects a rich tapestry of design and great planting artistry that was the hallmark of Edith, Lady Londonderry. The mild climate of Strangford Lough allows astonishing levels of planting experimentation. The formal areas exude a strong Mediterranean feel and resemble an Italian villa landscape; the wooded areas support a range of plants from all corners of the world, ensuring something to see whatever the season
In 2014, The Royal Oak Foundation raised funds to support three major projects at Stourhead, Wiltshire: Temple Apollo, the Grotto and the Pinetum. Stourhead is foremost amongst the most beautiful and historically significant landscape gardens in the world. The Pantheon, based on the Pantheon in Rome, is one of the most iconic buildings in the landscape. Designed by Henry Flitcroft and built in 1754, it contains a beautiful interior with sculpture, fine friezes and furniture.
The 2014 Timeless Design Gala raised funds to restore three of Flitcroft’s original benches and to reinstate two neo-classical busts of Homer and Horace in the entrance porch for the first time in 20 years.
One of the finest examples of Neoclassical architecture remaining in Ireland and one of the very few by the great neo-classical architect Robert Adam, the Templetown Mausoleum was erected in 1789 by the Hon. Sarah Upton in memory of the Rt. Hon Arthur Upton. The National Trust acquired the mausoleum in 1962, when Castle Upton passed from the family.
The Royal Oak Foundation has supported many more National Trust properties. If your project or property is not listed here, please contact Executive Director Ian Murray, at 212.480.2889 ext. 202 or imurray@royal-oak.org.
To donate to a property not listed on this page, you may use this form to contribute by mail. (PDF)
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