The following links are conservation organisations and other bodies which may be of use to clients and conservators alike. Please note that hyperlinks are to locations outside Tobit Curteis Associates and we can offer no guarantee as to the accuracy of the content. Links change from time to time and other websites are the last to know. If you find that any of the links below fail to connect, please inform webmaster@tcassociates.co.uk. The links below are separated into the following four sections:

Conservation & Heritage Organisations
Funding for Conservation
Conservation Courses in the UK
Conservation Resources

Conservation & Heritage Organisations

This is a rather broad category which lists some of the main institutions involved in historic conservation in Great Britain and Ireland. However, particularly at local level, there are numerous small conservation and historic buildings organisations which can be immensely helpful.

English Heritage is the Government's statutory adviser on the historic environment in England.

Historic Scotland is the department within the Scottish Executive's Education Department and is responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage.

CADW : Welsh Historic Monuments Executive Agency, is the department of the National Assembly for Wales with responsibilities for the conservation of the built heritage in Wales.

Office of Public Works (Heritage) is the statutory advisor on the built heritage in the Republic of Ireland.

The Institute for Conservation (ICON) is the representative body for professional conservators and restorers in private and institutional practice in the United Kingdom.

The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (IIC) is the principal international conservation body.

The Institute of Historic Building Conservation is the professional body of local government conservation officers in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The Council for the Care of Churches is a commission of the Church of England's governing body, the General Synod, whose principal duty is to assist parishes to maintain their church buildings, contents and churchyards.

The Church of England Church Care website provides extensive information on the conservation of church buildings and their contents.

The Church of England Diocesan Offices. A list of contact details for all diocese in the Church of England.

The Churches' Conservation Trust provide care for Church of England churches no longer needed for parish use.

The Courtauld Institute of Art, Conservation of Wall Paintings Department. The leading teaching and research institution for the conservation of wall paintings, which also houses the Survey of Medieval Wall Painting.

The Department of Culture Media and Sport is the governmental department which has policy responsibility for museums, galleries and the built heritage (including listing).

The National Monuments Record, English Heritage's public archive.

The National Trust, is one of the largest independent heritage organisations in the United Kingdom.

Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) provides extensive information and support for museums, archives and libraries.

Funding for Conservation

Fundraising for conservation is rarely an easy matter, particularly for the PCC or private owner who has little or no experience of conservation funding.However, with a certain amount of hard work and determination, it is possible to raise a remarkable amount of money for the conservation of historic buildings and artefacts. The following list of contacts is by no means comprehensive, but it is intended to help the new fundraiser gain an idea of the grant giving bodies in the UK and the method by which funds can be applied for.

In addition to providing advice, English Heritage provides a significant level of funding for the conservation of historic buildings. Extensive funding for the conservation of historic buildings is also available from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Details of the funding available and the application procedures are available on their website. Large scale funding relating to the conservation of church buildings is generally dealt with under Repair Grants for Places of Worship in England, in partnership with English Heritage. For smaller projects, the Your Heritage or the Awards for All programme may be more appropriate.

Funding for the conservation of historic buildings and their contents is sometimes available from local government. In order to obtain advice on this you should contact the Conservation Officer in your local council. Contact details for all councils can be found at the government website UKonline (under A-Z of local councils).

The Council for the Care of Churches provides funding for specific areas of conservation, including church buildings and contents. In addition, small grants for essential repairs to churches are sometimes available from the The Historic Churches Preservation Trust (HCPT). The HCPT can also give details of the specific County Churches Trusts which may be able to provide advice or funding.

A detailed listing of funding organisations can be found in the Directory of Grant-Making Trusts and The Directory of Smaller Grant Making Trusts, published by The Charities Aid Foundation. Another very good source of information is Funds for Historic Buildings - A Directory of Sources, now available on line from the Architectural Heritage Fund, which lists many of the main sources of funds for historic buildings. In addition, The Church of England's excellent Churchcare website has an extensive section on fundraising and the grant giving bodies involved. 

Under the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, certain repairs to listed church buildings are now eligible for grants to cover part, or all, of the VAT.

Conservation Courses in the UK

Training in conservation varies from short summer schools to detailed post-graduate programmes. A list of some of the main conservation courses in the United Kingdom can be found on the Education and Training page at the Institute for Conservation (ICON) website. More comprehensive information on conservation courses can be found in the The Directory of Conservation Training (1999) published by the Scottish Conservation Bureau.

Conservation Resources

There are numerous conservation resources on the web. The links below are to a few of the most useful.

The Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts (AATA), now available at the Getty Conservation Institute website and the Conservation Information Network are two of the the largest conservation bibliographic databases available online 

Conservation On Line COOL, is one of the largest international conservation sites on the web, with numerous links to other organisations and conservation information.

English Heritage Free Publications, include numerous useful conservation publications (following the links to publications>free publications).

The Building Conservation Directory Provides useful information for building conservation.

The Conservation Register is a register of many of the conservators working the the UK.