ALMOST 100 members of the National Trust Association and guests enjoyed this month’s speaker Adrian Green, director of Salisbury Museum, enlightening them on the history of the fascinating Lieutenant-General Pitt-Rivers.

He is regarded today as one of the founders of modern scientific archaeology and famous for the museum in Oxford that bears his name.

Born Augustus Henry Lane Fox in 1827 into a wealthy Yorkshire family, he changed his name to Pitt-Rivers on the unexpected inheritance in 1880 of Rushmore Park, near Tollard Royal, along with 28,000 acres of parkland in Wiltshire and Dorset, including Cranborne Chase, the ancient royal hunting ground.

In 1880 he began work on the pleasure garden at Larmer Tree, which was to become the first private garden open to the public in the United Kingdom. It housed a staged area for plays and recitals, a racecourse, golf course, bowling green and picnic areas, and in one year attracted over 44,000 visitors.

He continued to excavate a range of exceptionally well-preserved archaeological sites on his land and accrued thousands of ethnographic items from all over the world, forming the basis of the museum in Oxford and a second museum in Farnham, Dorset, sadly now closed.

In 1975 his Wessex collection of archaeological finds was gifted to Salisbury & South Wilts Museum by HM Treasury and forms an important part of the museum’s collections. He also helped save many of our ancient monuments, which may have perished without his intervention.

The National Trust Association’s next lecture at the Michael Herbert Hall, Wilton is on March 4 at 2pm when Dr Amy Frost, curator of Beckford’s Tower, will talk on William Beckford (1760-1844).

For more information on the activities of the National Trust Association call Celia Smith on 01722 744539.