Other ways we support heritage conservation

Special Reserve Fund:  
We maintain a small fund to enable us to respond to urgent requests for support towards the acquisition of important items for museum and other historic collections. Prospective applicants should contact the Grants Director directly by phone or email in the first instance.

Conservation Bursaries: 
Each year we award three bursaries of £7,500 for young people undertaking training in specialist conservation and craft skills.  Applications are invited from a select group of academic and other training providers.  Recent awards have supported studies in textile, paper and painting conservation.

Wentworth Woodhouse Apprenticeship: 
From 2022 to 2024, in partnership with The Radcliffe Trust, we are supporting a 3-year apprenticeship at the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust, Rotherham, which is enabling a young person from the region to receive training in a wide range of practical heritage skills, working alongside skilled craftspeople who are in the process of restoring this important 18th century house and estate.

Learning and Research Fund: 
We maintain a small fund for supporting one-off projects that advance knowledge in the field of heritage and conservation. Recent examples have involved the scientific study of a large group of 16th century terracotta fragments in Westminster Abbey, and the British Museum’s project to restore some of the Roman and early glass vessels damaged in the Beirut port explosion in 2020, while also providing training for conservation staff from Lebanon.