The diarist James Lees-Milne is usually credited with playing a central role in the main phase of the trust's country house acquisition programme, though he was in fact simply an employee of the trust, and was carrying through policies already decided by its governing body.
O xornalista James Lees-Milne foi unha figura clave nesta fase do programa de adquisición de casas de campo, aínda que era un simple empregado da National Trust que levaba a cabo as políticas xa decididas polo seu equipo de goberno.