On behalf of all 12,000 National Trust employees, the union says that low pay within the organisation has left many employees struggling below the poverty line.

It is calling on NT’s Board of Trustees to take a stand to ensure trust staff have employment that provides a level of dignity, rewards their skills and does not leave them reliant on state hand-outs, food banks and charity to survive.

John Stevenson, Prospect negotiations officer, said: “Downton Abbey is alive and kicking in the National Trust. The living standards of employees have plummeted in real terms despite the good financial performance of organisation.

“These are the guardians of our national heritage, yet they are left to struggle on with wages from a bygone era. Aside from the fact it is morally right, if we learn anything from history, it should be that getting money into people’s pockets is essential to securing a strong economic recovery.”