Conservation professionals to embark on our heritage training programmes in 2025

Our Scholarship and Fellowship schemes are designed to broaden the skills and experience of conservation professionals working with old buildings, and we're delighted to announce the new cohort for 2025. 

Craftspeople 

Every year, we select four craftspeople with a passion for old buildings and send them on a journey across the UK and Ireland, to deepen their knowledge of traditional building crafts. 

We’re delighted to announce our new Fellows: (clockwise from top left) Ross Harris, carpenter and millwright; Tom Stevens, thatcher; Gerard Edwards, bricklayer; and Viv Walker, carpenter. 

From March to December, these four craftspeople will travel the country together, learning traditional craft techniques from experts in the field, and developing their approach to building repair. 

The Fellowship programme covers a wide variety of craft skills, including timber framing, lime plastering, thatching, blacksmithing, pargeting, flint knapping, stained glass, stonemasonry, bricklaying, slating and tiling. 

Scholars

While the Fellowship is designed for craftspeople, we continue to run the Scholarship, a unique and well-repespected training programme for architects, surveyors, and engineers to help gain the skills and knowledge they'll need to work with traditional buildings. 

2025's Scholars are (clockwise from top left): Charlie Porter, architect; Ashley Turner, architect; Katie Campbell, architectural assistant; and Olivia Britt, structural engineer. 

Like Fellows, the Scholars will travel the country learning on site from specialist craftspeople and building conservation experts.

Crucially, Scholars and Fellows spend some of their time travelling together, sharing knowledge and learning about each other's professions, bridging the gap commonly faced in the workplace. 

The journey ahead  

Bricklayer Gerard Edwards says "it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to get to take part in the SPAB fellowship program... travelling the UK and learning from the top craftspeople and academics"

Architectural assistant Katie Campbell says "I cannot believe I get to spend 2025 sketching and learning about historic buildings from their guardians. I hope to spend my career fighting for the repair and reuse of all our built heritage, and what an incredible place to start. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to become part of the SPAB community: I think I've found my people!"

Scholars and Fellows will start their adventures in March. Want to see their journeys upfold? Follow us on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. 

We are grateful to everyone who makes the Fellowship and Scholarship programmes possible, including Alan Baxter Foundation, The Drake Trust, The Dance Scholarship Trust, Historic England, Delves, William Morris Craft Fellowship Trust, Scholars and Fellows from previous years, volunteer hosts and more.