The National Trust has launched a campaign to raise £600,000 in order to save Nuffield Place – home to Lord Nuffield (formerly William Morris) from 1933 until his death thirty years later.

The house has been owned by Nuffield College since Lord Nuffield’s death, having been bequeathed it in his will. But it has now been offered to the National Trust, which intends to take over ownership of Nuffield Place and open it to the public.

Preserved in excellent condition and laid out as it would have been when Lord Nuffield first moved in, Nuffield Place still features many of the man’s personal possessions, including the fully stocked tool cupboard in his bedroom. The National Trust’s Richard Henderson explained: ‘His home is a wonderful time capsule without any of the “show” of a multi-millionaire, and reveals much about the man who changed many people’s lives for the better.’

The Morris Motor Company produced its first car in 1913, and within ten years had overtaken Ford to become the biggest car manufacturer in Britain. Its success brought huge wealth to Lord Nuffield, who went on to donate more than £30 million of his own money to support education, hospitals and to fund medical research.

To find out more about Nuffield Place and for information on how to help the National Trust’s campaign, go online to www.nationaltrust.org.uk/savenuffieldplace.