The Battlefields Trust was founded as a result of a resolution at an international conference entitled Ancient Battlefields as National Treasures at Leicester University, England in 1991 arranged by Kelvin van Hasselt.

The spur to set up the trust was the fact that the battlefield of Naseby, then a perfectly preserved site of the decisive battle of the English Civil War was to be bisected with a motorway link during 1992, the 350th anniversary year of the English Civil War. In any listing of the top 20 most important battlefields of the world, Naseby would appear. Never again would people be able to appreciate this battlefield in its entirety and follow the line of Prince Rupert's charge and his attack on the Parliamentary baggage train, an action which deprived King Charles of the bulk of his cavalry at the crucial moment of the battle - as his infantry were being surrounded.

Delegates at the conference resolved to set up an organisation to ensure such tragedies did not recur. In 1993 The Battlefields Trust was registered as a charity, with Tonie and Valmai Holt (founders of Major & Mrs Holt's Battlefield Tours) making a most generous donation which helped pay the legal costs.

The Battlefields Trust immediately enrolled 'founder members' including leading historians Dr David Chandler, Professor Richard Holmes, Mr John Kinross, Mr Martin Marix Evans, Dr Ian Roy, Mr William Seymour, Mr David Smurthwaite.

Kelvin van Hasselt became the Trust's first co-ordinator and Michael Rayner took on the roles of treasurer and membership secretary, later becoming co-ordinator in 1995.

The first trustees included Mr Robert Hardy CBE who has ever since taken an influential part in the affairs of the Trust. The first chairman of trustees was Sir John Stokes, a former Conservative MP and stalwart champion of Britain's heritage and history in the House of Commons. In 1997 Dr Ian Roy became acting chairman on the retirement of Sir John Stokes; and in 1998 Air Marshal Sir John Curtiss, air commander during the Falklands War, took over as chairman with David Buxton as treasurer.

In 2004 Prof. Richard Holmes became the Trust's first President, while Iain Dickie was elected Chairman. This year also saw the launch of the Battlefields Trust Resource-Centre, completed by its Project Officer, Glenn Foard and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Hartnett Trust.