Jane and I were visiting the National Trust property at Snowshill today. The former owner, Charles Paget Wade was a wealthy and eccentric collector but with the distinction of being an experienced artist and architect with a fine eye for detail and a passion for the value of well-crafted goods.

The story of Snowshill and the National Trust is that Wade gave it to the Trust a few years before he died, preserving his collections for future generations. Every other Trust property also has a story. For example, Sunnycroft near Telford, which we visited last month, was notable for not having been redecorated since the 1920’s when it was handed over in the 1990’s, making it an invaluable house-sized time capsule.

I wonder what examples of early 21st century life, dwellings and possessions will be handed down to delight visitors in the future. We look back and imagine we are capturing the mood of a past age; what could we bequeath from our present time?