Julian Prideaux, National Trust manager who steered the organisation through turbulent times
Julian Prideaux, who has died aged 82, spent nearly all his career at the National Trust, rising to be Deputy Director-General and Secretary from 1997 until his retirement in 2002.
More the power behind the throne than star of the show, he oversaw an increasing professionalism in the Trust's management of land during a time of exceptional growth in both membership and property, and steered the Trust calmly through a series of crises.
The first catastrophe came in 1989, when Uppark, one of Britain's finest William and Mary houses, high on the Sussex Downs, was gutted by fire. Its restoration was the largest and most complex ever attempted by the Trust, and it was Prideaux, as the Trust's chief agent, who led the recovery, first negotiating with lawyers and insurance brokers (even appearing in the High Court) to secure the funds needed, then working with Peter Pearce, the Trust agent assigned to the project, to harness a vast range of contractors, craftsmen and experts.
Scraps of wallpaper were traced to their original manufacturers in France; the main staircase was reconstructed from a single surviving step and riser; freehand plasterwork was recreated in lime plaster strengthened with goat's hair.
The Daily Telegraph's Hugh Massingberd feared he would find 'dear old Uppark' feeling like a fake, but 'looking around the subtly faded decoration of such splendid interiors… it is difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish between what is new and what is old,' he wrote. 'The hackneyed post-Second-World-War whinge of country-house buffs that 'you simply can't find the craftsmen today' can finally be put to rest.'
In 1997 the National Trust banned stag hunting following its commission of the Bateson Report into the welfare of hunted red deer. Though fraught with difficulty, once the decision was made it was Prideaux's responsibility to ensure its implementation, and he worked hard to ensure that it was as fair and practical as possible in the contested circumstances. It came at some personal cost, as he received death threats and had to check his car daily for bombs.
By the time foot and mouth broke out in February 2001, Prideaux was Deputy Director-General and Secretary under Fiona Reynolds, who had just replaced Martin Drury as Director-General. As confidence in British meat and farming plummeted, large swathes of the countryside had to be closed.
This was immensely difficult to implement, but Prideaux oversaw the closure of most National Trust properties, followed by the equally complex process of reopening them when it was permitted to do so. Prideaux and Reynolds were both very proud to have secured some exemptions for the rare Herdwick sheep flocks of the Lake District – many of them direct descendants of Beatrix Potter's flocks – from slaughter in the contiguous culls.
Julian Humphrey Prideaux was born on June 19 1942, the second of four sons of Sir Humphrey Prideaux, soldier and former chairman of Naafi, and his wife Cynthia, née Birch Reynardson. Julian was educated at Eton and the Royal Agricultural College, qualifying as a land agent in 1966.
By 1969 he had joined the National Trust as its 'baby agent' (the youngest in post) working for the then chief agent, Ivan Hills. He was soon posted to Cornwall, where he negotiated many 'Neptune' (coastal) acquisitions, and learnt to manage the National Trust/donor family relationship with skill and diplomacy.
His next role, in 1978, was to lead the Trust's work in the Northern Home Counties, and he was promoted to Regional Director for the Thames and Chilterns Region in 1983. Almost immediately a ferocious row blew up about the Trust's decision to lease land on the Bradenham estate in Buckinghamshire to the Ministry of Defence for a nuclear defence bunker. Though it led to an Extraordinary General Meeting in a huge marquee in Hyde Park, Prideaux's calm pragmatism quieted the outrage and ensured that the Trust learnt lessons about listening to members.
He was promoted to chief agent in 1987. He was famous for remembering everyone's names – including their children and pets – all written down in a small notebook he carried with him. Always impeccably dressed, kind and firm in equal measure, he knew almost every inch of the Trust's extensive – and growing – estate, and took a deep interest in both people and places.
He was a trustee of the Chelsea Physic Garden, Dorneywood, the Rural Housing Trust and the National Gardens Scheme.
Julian Prideaux married, in 1967, Rosamund (Jilly) Roney Dougal, with whom he had two sons. After happy periods in Cornwall, West Wycombe, then Donhead St Mary, they settled in Coggeshall in Essex, where Prideaux was chairman of the Coggeshall Society and led services in the church of St Peter ad Vincula.
Julian Prideaux, born June 19 1942, died February 12 2025
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Post
18 minutes ago
- New York Post
Miracle passenger survives Air India plane crash that killed over 200 people: ‘There were bodies all around me'
A British passenger miraculously survived the deadly Air India plane crash that killed more than 200 people Thursday, according to local officials and video of him walking away relatively unscathed. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, who was in seat 11A when the Boeing 787-8 crashed into a residential neighborhood Thursday afternoon, is recovering in the hospital, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik told ANI news. He was found limping in the street amid the carnage after the passenger plane went down just moments after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport, he told the Hindustan Times from the hospital. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh miraculously survived the Air India crash, and was seen walking away from the wreck in video. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh is recovering in the hospital after walking away relatively unscathed. 'When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me,' The 40-year-old said. 'Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.' Ramesh recalled the horrifying moment the plane began rapidly descending and hitting a doctors' hostel in a residential part of the city of 5 million in northwest India. 'Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly.' There were 242 people onboard the plane. Ahmedabad's police chief told the BBC that so far 204 bodies have been recovered from the crash site — however it's not clear if all were on the plane, or if some victims were on the ground when the plane crashed.
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘No survivors' from India plane crash carrying 53 Britons, police chief says
There appear to be no survivors from a Gatwick Airport-bound plane carrying 53 British nationals which crashed shortly after take-off in India, a police commissioner has said. Ahmedabad police commissioner Gyanendra Singh Malik told the Associated Press that 'some locals would also have died' in the crash on Thursday. A video of the incident circulating online shows the Air India aircraft, which was carrying more than 240 people, flying over a residential area before crashing, creating what appears to be a huge fireball followed by large plumes of black smoke. Images of the aftermath of the crash showed parts of the plane embedded into a residential building as firefighters continued to tackle the smoke. Pieces of the aircraft's landing gear, fuselage and tail could all be seen protruding from the building. The airline said the flight was departing from Ahmedabad Airport with 242 people on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Air India also said 169 passengers were Indian nationals, 53 were British, one was Canadian and seven were Portuguese. We are deeply anguished by the tragic event involving Air India Flight 171. No words can adequately express the grief we feel at this moment. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost their loved ones, and with those who have been injured. Tata Group will… — Tata Group (@TataCompanies) June 12, 2025 Tata Group, the parent company of Air India, said it would provide 10 million rupees (around £86,000) to the families of those who were killed in the crash. The company said it would also cover the medical costs of those injured and provide support in the 'building up' of the medical college the plane crashed into. Local media outlets reported the plane crashed on top of the canteen at B J Medical College. Divyansh Singh, vice president of the Federation of All India Medical Association, told AP at least five medical students had been killed and around 50 were injured after the plane collided with the college. Campbell Wilson, the chief executive of Air India, expressed his 'deep sorrow' after the incident, adding: 'This is a difficult day for all of us at Air India and our efforts now are focused entirely on the needs of our passengers, crew members, their families and loved ones.' UK officials are being deployed to India to support the investigation, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said. The King said he was 'desperately shocked' by the incident and Buckingham Palace said he was being kept updated on the developing situation. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the crash was 'devastating', while his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi said it was 'heartbreaking beyond words'. Air India chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran described the incident as a 'tragic accident' and a 'devastating event', and said emergency response teams are at the site. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has stood up a crisis team in India and the UK, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said. The Reuters news agency reported 217 adults and 11 children were on board the flight. Gatwick said a reception centre was being set up for relatives of passengers on board the Air India flight. It is the first crash involving a Boeing 787 aircraft, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. Flightradar24 said flight tracking data shows after taking off, the plane reached a maximum altitude of 625ft, which is about 425ft above the airport. It then started to descend at a rate of 475 feet per minute. A message from His Majesty The King following this morning's tragic incident in Ahmedabad. — The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) June 12, 2025 Air India was acquired by Tata Group from the Indian government in January 2022 after racking up billions of pounds of losses. The airline's UK operations are at Birmingham, Gatwick and Heathrow, with routes to a number of Indian cities such as Ahmedabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. It started operating flights to Gatwick in March 2023, with 12 weekly departures and five weekly departures to Ahmedabad. Gatwick said there was no impact on wider flight operations at the airport, but a Thursday evening flight to Goa had been cancelled. Recent analysis by the PA news agency found it was the worst airline for delays to flights from UK airports last year, with planes taking off by an average of more than 45 minutes later than scheduled. The airline has gained a poor reputation for delays and cancellations in recent years, partly caused by a lack of funds to purchase spare aircraft parts, which led to some of its fleet being grounded. The first flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft involved in the crash was in December 2013. The plane was delivered to Air India during the following month. The FCDO said any British nationals requiring consular assistance, or who have concerns about family or friends, should call 020 7008 5000.


Newsweek
33 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Watch: Air India Survivor Claims He Walked Away From Plane Crash
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A video has emerged of an injured man walking to an ambulance having survived, he claims, the Air India plane crash. Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national, said he still had his boarding pass for Flight AI 171 and his seat, 11A. "Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly," Ramesh told the Hindustan Times from his hospital bed. Newsweek could not immediately verify the claim. Footage of the crash showed a huge explosion and local officials had initially said there were no survivors of the 242 people on board. Ramesh said he was in India to visit family and returning to London on the flight with his brother, Ajay Kumar Ramesh, who is still missing. "When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran," Ramesh said. "There were pieces of the plane all around me. Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital." #BREAKING Miraculous escape One survivor has emerged from the wreckage of Air India flight AI-171 Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, a British national who was in India to visit family has managed to survive He was travelling with his brother, who is still missing "When I regained… — Nabila Jamal (@nabilajamal_) June 12, 2025 This is a developing article. Updates to follow.