National Trust members are in uproar after losing free entry to a manor house despite helping to raise £3million to fix its roof.
Members are now planning to boycott Grade I-listed Coughton Court, in Warwickshire, after its new owners announced they would revoke their right to free visits from February.
Visitors to the 600-year-old estate, which is linked to the Gunpowder Plot, had been asked to help raise £3.3m to fund roof repairs.
They donated £20 each to decorate recycled tiles that were placed on the roof as part of the ‘biggest conservation ever made at Coughton Court’ which was completed after two years in June.
But the Throckmorton family have since taken over management from the Trust and have barred members from entry free of charge.
The family, who have resided at the house since 1409, have already been accused of ‘reaping the benefits’ of the development.
And Magnus and Imogen Birch Throckmorton, who currently live at the manor, have now sparked further outrage among National Trust members, with some threatening to never return to the property.
The Throckmorton’s have offered Trust members free entrance on 10 days across 2026, claiming they have ‘no obligation’ to provide free visits.
Terry Powell supported the roof project and said he hoped people would ‘veto’ the estate after the ‘kick in the face’.
‘Trust members forked out and raised millions to carry out repairs to this property, and the reward from the family is a kick in the face,’ he told the Sunday Mercury.
‘The Trust needs to ensure member-generated funds can never be used on this property again. It should be obliged to carry out any work only from monies generated on site.’
Coughton Court has been owned by the National Trust since 1946 with a 300-year hereditary lease that granted the Throckmortons residancy at the sprawling estate and to manage it as a visitor attraction.
In 2005, the charity took over managing visitor operations on a 15 year short-term arrangement at the Grade I-listed mansion. This had been extended on a rolling yearly basis.
Twenty-one generations of Throckmortons have lived at the property.
A spokesperson for the National Trust said: ‘We understand the disappointment felt by some people over the changes to access arrangements.
‘We are working closely with the Throckmorton family, as we have for many years, and they have said there will be 10 selected days next year where our members will be able to enjoy the house and gardens free of charge. These will be bookable, and exact dates will be announced in the new year.’
The spokesman added: ‘The Trust had to replace the roof at Coughton in order to safeguard the property. This work was needed regardless of whether the Trust or the Throckmorton family were managing the property, and work began in 2023.’
Magnus Birch Throckmorton said he understood people might be ‘disappointed’ but added ‘we’re under no obligation to open for free to National Trust members’.
