ABSTRACT
It was another full decade before any steps promoting access to the countryside reached the statute books. The intervening war has often been blamed for the delay, but in reality the Act, when it came, was a direct result of the war. For during those dark years, a whole new concept washed over Britain: the concept of a brave new world, of a land fit for heroes. All that was best about Britain would be made available to the masses. The landscape would be theirs to enjoy, returned into the hands of the common man from those who had annexed it over the years. The leisure to enjoy it and the freedom of the open spaces would maintain the nation in physical and mental health, after the black horrors of war. The countryside took on a rosy hue, just as it had when industrialisation and when colonialism had exiled so many from it, but this time the current of opinion was stronger. The first concrete result of official resolve to thank the British people for victory in war was the National Land Fund, established in 1946. Under this scheme, surplus wartime supplies were sold off to pay the Inland Revenue for land or historic buildings offered to it in lieu of death duties. The property thus acquired by the Fund was then given to the NT for the benefit of the people. In 1953, the scheme was extended to allow for the acceptance of chattels. The NT was resolute in remaining independent from central government, and this scheme was preferred to any which involved the award of a regular grant. By 1977, it had accepted through the fund, fifty buildings and 44,000 ha of land, worth £6 million. But it still remained wary of relying on government and so the fund was reconstituted as the National Heritage Memorial Fund, with independent trustees and wider terms of reference.
