Nostalgia: Tatton was the top place to visit

According to the Shell Guide to England, Tatton House was believed to be the most visited stately home owned by the National Trust in the 1960s. 

The figures for the Trust spoke for themselves.

In 1968, there were 240,120 visitors, in 1969, 270,517. 

These figures put Tatton in the first place of the six most popular Trust properties. 

Chartwell, 40 years the home of the late Sir Winston Churchill, was second – 128,683 and 135, 517 visitors.

A million people visited Tatton in the first five years after it was opened to the public in 1962.

This upward curve was also echoed in the National Trust. 

In 1968, the total of new members was 15,000, in 1969 it was 20,000, and in 1970 there were 50,000 recruits.

The well-proportioned south front, classical in design and free of ornamentation, was seen to at an advantage below the long flight of steps and three-tier glass slope near the flower beds and centre pedestal.

The Trust’s growth was attributed to people travelling out and about in their cars. 

There were 17 million in the country at this time, meaning millions of families could escape to the countryside or the seaside for a day out.