 Having not bought a county house since the 1991 purchase of Chastleton House , which took seven years to open to the public , and competing with no special status amongst the bidders , the rumoured competitors to the Trust were listed by the media to have included composer Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber , and pop stars Madonna and Kylie Minogue . However , the new Director @-@ General of the National Trust , Fiona Reynolds , launched a £ 35 million appeal in May 2002 via the " Save Tyntesfield " campaign , with support from designer Laurence Llewelyn @-@ Bowen , newsreader Jon Snow and several top architects and historians . The Trust 's appeal collected £ 8 @.@ 2 million in just 100 days , with : £ 3 million + from the public ; and two substantial anonymous donations of £ 1 million and £ 4 million . The Trust also received funding from the National Heritage Memorial Fund , totaling £ 17 @.@ 4 million after negotiations with its chair , Liz Forgan , its largest single grant ever which caused some controversy . The National Lottery has earmarked a further £ 25 million for the major conservation work that is needed . 
