Volunteer opportunities at Baddesley Clinton

Two visitors chat to a volunteer in the Great Hall at Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire — Help our visitors have a great day out | © National Trust Images/Megan Taylor

A secluded, intimate estate set in the heart of the Forest of Arden, Baddesley Clinton holds 500 years of fascinating and unexpected stories. The volunteer team here play a vital role in looking after this historic estate and bringing those stories to life for others. Find out more about why our volunteers love being part of the team and how you can play your part.

Why join us?

There are lots of reasons to join us; making the move to volunteer could be the best decision you ever make.

Become part of a friendly and dedicated team
Meet people from all walks of life and forge new friendships
Utilise your existing skills and learn new ones
Strengthen your CV and help to develop your career
Enjoy the great outdoors
Learn about the history of this special place.

Visitors chatting to the gardener in the garden at Hanbury Hall and Gardens, Worcestershire — Volunteer in the garden | © National Trust Images/John Millar

Join our team

Our volunteers are the lifeblood of Baddesley and we've got lots of interesting roles in our friendly and enthusiastic team. With over 200 volunteers in varying roles, everyone plays a vital role in looking after Baddesley and helping visitors enjoy their day.

It’s also the perfect way to make new friends and give something back to your local community.

What our volunteers say

Sonia, a welcome volunteer, shares why she loves to volunteer at Baddesley: ‘I have volunteered for the National Trust at Baddesley Clinton for the past ten years. Baddesley Clinton is my favourite place to visit and volunteer. I enjoy meeting people from all walks of life and getting an insight into their lives.’

‘I enjoy history and sharing this knowledge with other people... My favourite part of volunteering is all the different people I get to meet and if I was to persuade a friend to volunteer, I’d say ‘just do it, you will never regret it’ because it’s fun and you meet some very interesting people.’

- Anne, house and conservation volunteer

Clive, the volunteer bookshop manager, says: ‘When I first came in March 1995, I spent just a couple of days in the bookshop. We realised quite quickly that many of our visitors are great readers and enthusiasm for the shop just grew and grew. From humble beginnings in a tiny first aid room, we have now expanded into several rooms… and I work a full week!’

Since the Baddesley Bookshop opened the work of the volunteers has raised over half a million pounds for the conservation of Baddesley.

Volunteer Experiences

Here are the thoughts of just a few of our volunteers

Jenny volunteers with the retail team at Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire — Jenny is on the left of this photo of the Retail team. | © National Trust

Jenny is one of our Retail volunteers.

Having raised four children and worked in the NHS for fifteen years, I retired in 2017 without being sure how to fill my time. I became a National Trust member whilst visiting Croome with my daughter and quickly realised I wanted to become more involved and so applied to volunteer in retail at Baddesley Clinton. I was lucky enough to be offered a shift and have made some really good friends and love the interaction with visitors. I have now been fortunate enough to secure a further role of admin assistant to Jen Nunn, Visitor Experience Co-ordinator and I look forward to continuing with both roles for years to come.

A photo of Rodney, who volunteers with the Food and Beverage team at Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire — Rodney volunteers with the Food and Beverage team at Baddesley | © National Trust/Abi Chandler

Rodney volunteers in the Restaurant.

Volunteering is something my wife and I we have been involved in, with other organisations, for many years. When we decided to move to Stratford last year it was natural to us to look for a volunteering opportunity which we could both do, but which catered for very different interests. The National Trust at Baddesley Clinton afforded us that opportunity. Jane has become a house volunteer whereas I opted for the F&B team. It has been possible to arrange my times around hers which means I can offer a longer shift and we help the environment by only needing one car. I was immediately made to feel welcome and helped into the role. It was harder trying to sign up to do the online training than it was to do the training, but all of it was and is relevant to the role and the need to update is understandable. As a person who is gluten intolerant it is very important to be able to trust what you are told when you buy food and it is this attention to detail that ensures that what is on the ingredients list for anything bought in a NT café is what is in it – with no substitutions. Be it making scones or coleslaw, collecting dirty crockery, stocking the shelves, or bringing in the deliveries everybody, employee or volunteer works together. It is an easy place to be able to take a pride in what we do.

A photo John, who runs the website at Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire — John is our volunteer website editor | © National Trust/Abi Chandler

John is our website volunteer

I began volunteering for the National Trust in 2017 as the Website Editor for Baddesley Clinton. Recently I took on Packwood as well. My job is to make sure the website is up to date with seasonal images and content, so it’s always busy at the turn of the seasons making sure everything is relevant. I also make sure our events are featured and that offers in the shop are highlighted. Each week I arrive at Baddesley thinking that it all looks OK and there’s not much to be done, but Abi, my manager, always presents me with a list of things to do which keeps me busy for my whole session! A brand-new National Trust website was launched last November and has taken a bit of getting used to. Not only did I have to get used to new ways of adding and editing things, but I had to get my head around a new philosophy behind how the site was structured. There are still things I'm discovering about how it all works and what I can and can’t do, and I'm sure there will be more tweaks to come. Nowadays over 70% of visitors to the website are accessing it on a mobile phone, something that the old website just wasn’t designed for. So the new one – while still working and looking good on a computer – is much easier to navigate on a phone. Last month over 13,000 people (we call them “Unique Visitors”!) had a look at Baddesley’s site and a similar number visited Packwood’s pages. It's a privilege, and quite a responsibility, to be the first point-of-contact for so many people who, we hope, will be enticed into paying us a visit.

A picture of Flavia who volunteers at Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire — Flavia is one of the house guides at Baddesley Clinton | © National Trust/Abi Chandler

Flavia is one of our volunteer House Guides

Volunteering as a House Guide at a National Trust property had long been an ambition of mine and, having taken (very!) early retirement, I scoured the National Trust volunteering pages and found the opportunity that I was looking for. The role has been everything I had hoped, and more! What could be better than spending a day in a wonderful, historic environment, talking to people who are interested about a subject that you are passionate about?   Being a new volunteer last September, I spent several shifts shadowing and gleaning information from the many, extremely knowledgeable existing House Guides. Everyone was so friendly and willing to share their knowledge and experience. I have found the experience of being in the peaceful rooms of Baddesley Clinton, oozing with history, and each room telling a different story, a most enjoyable, valuable and rewarding experience. The opportunity to attend a meeting of the Research Group has added to my interest to continually learn more – I think that’s the way it gets you, the more you learn, the more you want to fill in the gaps! I’ve also enjoyed doing a small amount of admin work and look forward to helping to maintain the My Volunteering pages in the future. The team ethos and friendships that exist amongst the volunteers, and the friendly and helpful staff, add to the pleasure of turning up to spend a day helping to preserve the past for the current and future generations and ensuring that the previous generations’ stories are told and kept alive – it’s the best way to spend a day working! I am looking forward to continuing my volunteering well into the future.

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An archivist at Quarry Bank Mill, Cheshire, looks at an old book which is resting on a support cushion and catalogues the information on her laptop. — Keeping the catalogues and inventories up to date. | © National Trust Images/David Watson

Join a local Supporters group

If you are interested in making the most of the National Trust near you, then you can join your local supporter group. They're great places to enjoy special interest talks, local walks, coach outings and other social and fundraising events, while also supporting the work of the National Trust in your area.

The National Trust Solihull Centre and Rugby National Trust Association are both near to Baddesley Clinton and generously support the work here.

Visit the regional Supporter group page to find out more about the work of Supporter groups in the area and how to join.

Get in touch about volunteering at Baddesley Clinton

Interested in finding out more about volunteering at Baddesley Clinton?

Pop in and speak to a member of the team, give us a call on 01564 783294 or email baddesleyclinton@nationaltrust.org.uk to find out more. You can also find our current vacancies and an application form on the National Trust volunteering website.

Why join us?

There are lots of reasons to join us; making the move to volunteer could be the best decision you ever make.

• Become part of a friendly and dedicated team
• Meet people from all walks of life and forge new friendships
• Utilise your existing skills and learn new ones
• Strengthen your CV and help to develop your career
• Enjoy the great outdoors
• Learn about the history of this special place.
• Contribute your time, energy and skills towards a worthwhile charitable cause.
• Make a difference and welcome everyone to enjoy Baddesley Clinton.