Ferguson's Gang: The Remarkable Story of the National Trust Gangsters

by Polly Bagnall, Sally Beck

1927: Britain's heritage is vanishing. Beautiful landscapes are being bulldozed. Historic buildings are being blown up. Stonehenge is collapsing. Enter Ferguson's Gang, a mysterious and eccentric group of women who help the National Trust to fight back. The Gang raises huge sums, which they deliver in delightfully strange ways: Victorian coins inside a fake pineapple, a 100-pound note stuffed inside a cigar, 500 pounds with a bottle of homemade sloe gin. Their stunts are avidly reported in the press, and when they make a national appeal for the Trust, the response is overwhelming. Ferguson's Gang is instrumental in saving places from Cornwall to the Lake District, a legacy of incalculable value. Yet somehow these women stay anonymous, hiding behind masks and bizarre pseudonyms such as Bill Stickers, Red Biddy, the Bludy Beershop, and Sister Agatha. They carefully record their exploits, their rituals, even their elaborate picnics, but they take their real names to the grave. Now Sally Beck and Polly Bagnall can reveal the identities of these unlikely national heroes and tell the stories of their fascinating and often unconventional lives. With the help of relatives, colleagues, and friends, we can finally get to know the women who combined a serious mission with such a sense of mischief.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

224 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2014

Reviews

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this in a second hand store and being a fan of the NT, it seemed worth a look! Great book about a group of fairly wealthy (for their time) eccentrics who pledged to support the acquisition of several NT properties/ land during the early 30's to the mid 50's. They adopted code-names and delivered collections in a variety of imaginative ways; always masked and rarely expected, to the HQ of the NT. The press caught on and raised the profile of the NT by reporting on these escapades which had a positive effect for the public donations to the Trust also. All bar one of the gang members identities are now known and this book follows their lives during and after the Ferguson's Gang days.
Great book about some great, if quirky folk.

[julian st.john eckersley · Rating 5 out of 5]

English spiritual history.

A wonderful window into the world of eccentric fun that is part of our collective English spiritual history and its buildings.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scrapes a four because the history was interesting but not as clear a read as it could have been.

[Valerie B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this, not usually one for historical non- fiction but this is a proper good read. Takes you back to the not so distant past when women were finding a little more freedom to be themselves and using that to do good things.
Ferguson's Gang: The Secret Society that Saved Rural EnglandFerguson's Gang: The Secret Society that Saved Rural England Daring-do , junket and costumes. How to have fun and do something worthwhile at the same time.

[Toast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well reads more like history than the real life adventures of a bunch of game gals who amazingly raised pots of cash for the National Trust and saved lots of buildings and Cornish coastline for the nation. OK they didn't rob banks and the like but for a group of young woman in the 1920s and 30s (and beyound but that was their hayday) to raise sheds lots of money, get maximum exposure for the cause of conservation without revealing who they were whilst tucking into Fortnam and Mason food hampers was no mean feat. They don't make them like that any more.
Lacks their umph but I'm glad I know of them.
Toast

[Wilde Sky · Rating 3 out of 5]

A group of eccentric people support the National Trust (a UK charity that maintains stately historic houses).

I found this book oddly fascinating - in particular the histories / biographies of some of the woman involved in the 'gang' were incredible.