Board of Trustees

Simon Thurley

Current

Managing Director: Architrave Historical Services Ltd

Member of Capital Projects Committee: British Library

Professorial Research Fellow: Buckingham University

Vice President: City of London Archaeological Society

Member (House membership for his property, Clifton House): Historic Houses

Partner: Kingstaithe Museum

President: London Appreciation Society

Patron: London Parks and Gardens Trust

Chair: Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Delivery Authority

Honorary Vice-President: Society for Court Studies

Architectural Advisor: Stephen A Schwarzman Foundation

Worked with as clients over past five years: Trent Park Estate, William Collins Publishers, Conholt Nominees Castle Howard Estate

Trustee now Chair: Andrew Lloyd-Webber Foundation

Simon Thurley’s spouse, Dr Anna Keay, is a current Director of the Landmark Trust and Trustee of the Royal Collection, and Pilgrim Trust.

Former

Worked with as clients over past five years: Access Entertainment, Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Medina Development Authority, Norfolk Archaeological Trust, The Chitra Collection, London

Parochial Church Council member and Fabric Officer: All Saints Church South Lynn

Board Member and Trustee: British Library

Trustee: Canal and River Trust (2010 to 2015)

Chief Executive: English Heritage (until 2015)

Trustee: English Heritage Foundation (2010 to 2015)

Visiting Professor and Provost: Gresham College

President: Huntingdonshire Local History Society (2004 to 2019)

Senior Research Fellow: Institute of Historical Research

Chair: Lloyd-Webber Theatres Drury Lane steering group

Council Member: St. Paul’s Cathedral (1999 to 2015)

Heritage expert: Palace of Westminster Restoration and Renewal Sponsor Body

Worked with as clients over past five years: The Royal Collection Trust, Theatre Royal Haymarket, Treasure Houses of England, Welsh Government

Paid guest lecturer: Wren300

Ian Bancroft

Current

Advisory panel member: DCMS Town of culture

Wales Commissioner: Democracy and Boundary Commission, and Chair: Elections Management Board

Vice Chair: Sport Wales

Director / Owner: Traverse Leadership Consulting (TLC) Ltd

Trustee: Brymbo Heritage Trust

Ambassador: Focus Wales

Honorary Trustee: Theatr Clwyd

Trustee: Centre for Local Economic Strategies

Former

Chief Executive: Wrexham CBC (2018–24)

Anna Eavis

Current

Trustee: Corpus Vitrearum (Great Britain)

Member: Oxford Balboa

CEO: Oxford Preservation Trust

Member: Salisbury Cathedral Fabric Advisory Committee

Anna Eavis’s brother-in-law is the commissioner of Historic England.

Former

Member: Canterbury Cathedral Fabric Advisory Committee

Trustee: Leeds Castle Foundation

Trustee: The Stained Glass Museum

Julian Glover

Current

Board Member: Buxton International Festival

Board Member: Countryside Alliance Foundation

Director: Derbyshire and London Limited

Chair: The School of Artisan Food

Roisha Hughes

Current

Chief Executive: John Whitgift Foundation

Taryn Nixon

Current

Trustee: National Heritage Memorial Fund

Principal: Taryn Nixon Heritage Works

Former

Chief Executive: Museum of London Archaeology

Trustee: National Trails UK

Carol Pyrah

Current

Company Secretary (Voluntary): Castle Bolton Water Company Ltd

Chief Operating Officer: Ripon Cathedral

Former

Commissioner: Cathedral Fabric Commission for England

Trustee: Churches Conservation Trust

Executive Director: Historic Coventry Trust

Assistant Director of Planning: Historic England

Director: Newcastle Parks Enterprises Ltd (trading company of Urban Green Newcastle)

Chief Executive: Urban Green Newcastle

Heather Reid

Current

Chair and Board Member: Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority

Board Member: NatureScot

Board Member: Water Industry Commission for Scotland

Deputy Chair and Trustee: Dynamic Earth Science Centre

Patron: Paisley Museum Re-Imagined

Heather’s husband, Miles Padgett, is Fellow and Council Member at the Royal Society.

Former

Trustee: Loch Lomond and the Trossachs Countryside Trust

Mukesh Sharma

Current

Director: Artsekta Ltd

NI Committee Chair: Barnardo’s

Director: Goliath Trust

Director: Moving on Music

Member: Northern Ireland Council for The Prince’s Trust

Chair: Northern Ireland Policing Board

Trustee: Royal Ulster Constabulary, George Gross, Police Service of Northern Ireland Benevolent Fund

Director: S and M Properties

Deputy Lieutenant – Belfast: The Belfast Lieutenancy

Director: Thriftway Travel

Former

Director: Hannon Travel

James Twining

Current

Managing Director: Greycoat Place

Chief Executive: Magnus Financial Discretionary Management

Liveryman: Merchant Taylors' Company

Governor: Merchant Taylors' School

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: Wren Sterling Financial Planning

Former

Deputy Chair and Trustee: English Heritage

National Heritage Memorial Fund Panel

Peter Barber

Current

Trustee: Hereford Mappa Mundi and Chained Library Trust

President: Hornsey Historical Society

Director/Trustee: Imago Mundi Ltd

Trustee: JB Harley Fellowships

Council member: Lauderdale House Society

Council member: London Topographical Society

Trustee: Memorial Scrolls Trust

Former

Vice-chairman: Friends of Kenwood House

Council member: Hakluyt Society

Committee member: Reviewing Committee for the Export of Works of Art (RCEWA)

Lennox Cato

No interests to declare

Aonghus MacKechnie

No interests to declare

Tessa Murdoch

Current

Trustee: 69 Brook Street Trust 

Deputy Chair: Acceptance in Lieu Panel, Arts Council England

Chair of Trustees: Huguenot Museum, Rochester

Volunteer, Specialist Subject Network: National Trust

Former

Curatorial Adviser: Handel & Hendrix

Member of Advisory Committee on Curation and Interpretation: National Trust

Research Curator, Rosalind and Arthur Gilbert Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum

Orlando Rock

Current

Co-custodian: Burghley House Preservation Trust

Chairman: Christie's UK

Trustee: The Cosmic House

Matt Thompson

Current

Conservation, Curatorial and Learning Director: English Heritage Trust

Former

Trustee: Newcomen Society

Trustee: Offa's Dyke Association

Investment Panel

Jamie Korner

No interests to declare

Katrina Norris

No interests to declare

David Smart

No interests to declare

Committee for England, London and South

Aimee-Anna Akinola

Current

Junior Project Management: Blenheim Palace Heritage Foundation

Judge: Oxford Preservation Trust

Gemma Collins

Current

Director of Property: Parliament UK

Trustee: Oakley Holidays

Nicole Collomb

Current

Principal Policy and Programme Officer: Greater London Authority

Nicole Collomb’s partner is a director of Peabody Housing Association.

Nick Holliday

Current

Nick Holiday’s partner is a current trustee of Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and of ACRE.

Former

Trustee: Campaign for National Parks

Board Member: Cotswolds AONB/National Landscape

Authority Member: Exmoor National Park Authority

Trustee: NAAONBs

Caroline Kay

Current

Chair of Board of Trustees: Wiltshire Museum (since September 2024)

Former

CEO: Bath Preservation Trust (2007–2021)

Trustee; Council Member: The National Trust

Richard Morsley

Current

CEO: Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust

Advisory Board Member: Creative Estuary Advisory Board

Advisory Board Member: Visit England Advisory Board

Anooshka Rawden

Current

Committee Member: Arts Council England – UK Museum Accreditation Committee

Cultural Heritage Lead: South Downs National Park Authority

Richard Smith

Current

Executive Director: Gresham College

Former

Director: Dorset LEP

Chairman: Dorset Tourism Association

Trustee: The Kimmeridge Trust

Member: The Kimmeridge Trust

Director, The Tank Museum: Ministry of Defence

Chairman: Tank Museum Trading Company ltd

Carole Stewart

No interests to declare

Katherine Thomas

No interests to declare

Committee for England, Midlands and East

Tony Butler

Current

Executive Director: Derby Museums

Emma Fernandes-Lopes

Current

Assistant Operations Director, South and East Region: English Heritage

Harr-Joht Kaur

Current

Senior Research Manager: Birmingham Museums Trust

Advisor: Guru Nanak Nishkam Education Trust

Non-executive Director/Trustee: Nishkam Civic Association

Advisor: Sangat Trust

Former

Research Programme Manager: Tate

Heather McLachlan

Current

Co-Chair (voluntary role): Stoke-on-Trent Future 100 Mission Board for Education, Skills and Communities

Glyn Morgan

Current

Deputy Lieutenant of Herefordshire: Herefordshire Lieutenancy

Advisor: HM Chapels Royal

Membership: Snodhill Preservation Trust

St Faith's Church, Dorstone

Trustee: Three Counties Agricultural Society

Former

Chapter Clerk & Chief Executive: Hereford Cathedral

Chief Executive: Hereford Cathedral Perpetual Trust

Trustee: Llangasty Retreat House, Brecon

Consultant: NMITE

Churchwarden & PCC member: St Peter's Church, Peterchurch

PCC member: St Peter's Church, Peterchurch, Herefordshire

Carolyn Postlethwaite

Current

Ecological Field Surveyor: Tyler Grange Group Limited

Former

Bee Inspired Outreach & Volunteer Officer: Bumblebee Conservation Trust

Chris Starkie

Current

Director of Growth and Investment: Norfolk County Council

Molly Stock-Duerdoth

Current 

Learning Host: Kettle's Yard

PhD Student: The Fitzwilliam Museum

PhD Student: The University of Leicester

Former

Engagement Freelancer: The Museum of Cambridge

Shaun Thomas

Current

Trustee: Butterfly Conservation

Trustee: Irvine Road Community Orchard, charity number 1183649

Committee for England, North

Gill Chitty

Current

Trustee and Bursary Officer: York Consortium for Craft & Conservation

Hannah Clark

No interests to declare

Jeremy Garside

Former

Member of the Management Board: Environmental Records Information Centre, North East

Trustee: Middlesbrough Environment City

Chief Executive: Tees Valley Wildlife Trust Limited

Tony Gates

Former

Director: Active Northumberland

Steering Group Member: Great North Bog

Director: Kielder Water and Forest Park Development Trust

Director: National Federation of ALMOS

Corporate Member: National Parks England

Corporate Member: National Parks Partnership Limited

Steering Group Member: Nature North

Council Member: North East Chamber of Commerce

Chief Executive: Northumberland National Park Authority

Director: Northumberland Tourism Limited

Chair and Director: Ouseburn Trust

Chair of the Group Board: Your Homes Newcastle

Edward Impey

Current

Governor: Bedales School, Hampshire

Patron: Castles Studies Trust

Chair: Fabric Advisory Committee for Bradford Cathedral

Former

Executive Board Director (Former employer): English Heritage (as was)

Master and Director General: Royal Armouries Museum

Addeel Khan

Current

Community Engagement Consultant: Co-operative

Senior Policy Professional: Department for Work and Pensions

Afzal Khan

No interests to declare

Sarah McLeod

Current

Chair: South Yorkshire Local Visitor Economy Partnership

Non-Executive Board Member: SYMCA Business Advisory Board

CEO: Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust

Catherine Mugonyi

Current

Director: Aunty Social CIC

Director: Aunty Social CIC/Blackpool Council/ Blackpool Heritage Action Zone

Development Group Member: Creative Blackpool (responsible body Grand Theatre, Blackpool)

Coordinator: North West Craft Network – Manchester Craft and Design Centre

Director & Programmer Blackpool Gardens Film Festival: Winter Gardens Trust, Aunty Social CIC

Company Member & Management Group Member: Blackpool Business Improvement District

Former

Clore Transform Fellow (2023–2024): Clore Fellowship: cultural sector leadership development programme. Supported by Arts Council England.

Equality Advisor: Blackpool Council

Researcher for Blackpool Heritage Action Zone cultural programme: Blackpool Council, Aunty Social CIC

Creative Producer (Freelance): Blackpool Council, National Piers Society, World Monuments Fund

Sea Change Conference Coordinator (Freelance): Blackpool Council, World Monuments Fund, ICOMOS UK 

Trustee: Creative Lives (Formerly Voluntary Arts) 2016–2023

Freelancer: Provided staff development sessions: Showtown Blackpool (Blackpool Museum Project)

Creative Programmer: The Harris, Preston City Council

Jonathan Nash

Current

Trustee: Arts And Heritage CIO (January 2018 – August 2021; January 2026 – present)

Transformation Manager: National Football Museum

Former

Chair of Trustees: Arts And Heritage CIO (August 2021 – December 2025)

Committee for Northern Ireland

Patricia Corbett

No interests to declare

Olive Hill

Current

Trustee: Home Start East Antrim

Former

Commissioner: Northern Lights

Ellen McCrossan

Current

Visitor Experience Officer: Mid and East Antrim Borough Council – The Gobbins

Nicola McVeigh

Current

Programme Manager: The Heritage Council

Member: Historic Buildings Council

Trustee: Grand Opera House, Belfast

PhD Researcher: Ulster University

Former

Project Manager: Foyle Civic Trust

Member: Hearth Historic Buildings Trust: Riddel's Warehouse Trust Committee

Senior National Consultant: National Trust

Chief Executive: Ulster Architectural Heritage

Sally Montgomery

Current

Chair / Director: Friends of Castlewellan Arboretum

Member: Historic Monuments Council

Trustee: National Museums Northern Ireland

Former

Commissioner: Irish Lights

Board Director: Maritime Belfast

Board Director: Mourne Heritage Trust

Chair, Castlewellan Forest Park Task and Finish Board: Newry Mourne and Down Council

Gemma Reid

Current

Director: Daisy Chain Inc

Member: Northern Ireland Museums Council

Co-founder: Quarto

Gemma Reid's husband, Wes Forsythe, is Professional Archaeologist and Senior Lecturer at Ulster University.

Darren Rice

Current

Member: Landscapes NI (Formerly Northern Ireland Protected Areas Network (NIPAN))

AONB and Geopark Manager: Newry, Mourne and Down District Council

Landscape Connections Applicant – Strangford and Lecale AONB: NMDDC

Landscape Connections Applicant – Mourne Gullion AONBs: NMDDC (lead partner National Trust)

Board of Directors: Northern Ireland Environment Link

Former

Member of the Board of Directors: Mourne Gullion & Lecale Rural Development Partnership

Lara Wilgaus

Current

Tour Guide: HMS Caroline – The National Museum of the Royal Navy

Committee for Scotland

Mike Benson

Current

Director: Scottish Crannog Centre

Robert Cawston

Current

Director of Digital and Service Transformation: National Libraries Scotland

Alice Connelly

Current

Trainee Archaeologist: National Trust for Scotland

Sophie Fraser-Dickson

No interests to declare.

Fiona McLean

Current

Non-executive director: Cairngorms National Park Authority

Board Member: Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland

Rector: University of the Highlands and Islands

Former

Non-executive director: Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service

Chair: Highland Home Carers

Non-executive director: Historic Environment Scotland

Vice Chair of Court: University of the Highlands and Islands

Andy Milne

Current

Contributing Member: The Foundation of Hearts (Heart of Midlothian football club)

Former

Chief Executive: SURF, Scotland's Regeneration Network

Diana Murray

Current

President: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

Former

Chair: Arts and Business Scotland

Trustee: Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh

Chief Executive: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (latterly Historic Environment Scotland) to 2016

Chair: Scottish Association for Marine Science

Trustee: Scottish International Education Trust

Trustee: Scottish Seabird Centre

Lizzie Swarbrick

Current

Steering Group Member: Belhaven Community Garden

Volunteer: Dunbar Harbour Trust

Trustee: Scotland’s Churches Trust

Employee: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

Committee for Wales

Caroline Crewe-Read

Current

Director: Army Central Fund

Interim Chair: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Wales

Former

Head of Partnerships and Philanthropy: Historic England

Mali Gupta-Archer

No interests to declare.

Karen Lewis

Current

Non-executive Member: Llais Cymru

Former

Non-executive Member: Ofcom Advisory Committee for Wales

Pedr ap Llwyd

Current

Non-executive Director: Coleg Cymraeg Genedlaethol

Member: Friends of the Friendless Churches

Honorary President: Friends of the National Library of Wales

Fellow: The Learned Society of Wales

Member of The Gorsedd: The National Eisteddfod of Wales

Professor: University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Former

Trustee: Friends of the National Libraries

Chief Executive and National Librarian: National Library of Wales

Maia Reid

No interests to declare

Emyr Roberts

Current

Member of Committee: Cymdeithas Enwau Lleoedd Cymru – Welsh Place Names Society

Member: Glas Cymru

Member: RSPB

Former

Chair of Council: Aberystwyth University

Chief Executive: Natural Resources Wales

Director General: Welsh Government

Shaheen Sutton

Current

Lead Specialist Advisor – Diversity & Inclusion: Natural Resources Wales

Diane Williams

Current

Freelance editor: National Trust

Former

Publications: Cadw, Welsh Government

Audit and Risk Committee

Jon Hayes

Current

Company Secretary: Belper North Mill Trust

Member of Advisory Panel: Financial Reporting Council

Member of Audit and Risk Committee: General Medical Council

Member of Joint Audit Committee: London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime

Non-Executive Director: NHS Counter Fraud Authority 

Robert Milburn

Current

Co-opted member of the Audit and Risk Committee: Canal and River Trust

Trustee and Chair: CodeBrave Foundation

Trustee, Treasurer and Vice-Chair: Paintings in Hospitals

Trustee and Governor: The Lady Eleanor Holles School

Trustee and Director, Chair of Audit & Risk Committee: Twentieth Century Society

Former

Non-executive member of Audit and Risk Assurance Committee: Department for Business and Trade

Trustee: London Parks and Green Spaces Forum

Independent member of the Audit and Risk Committee: Marie Curie

Partner: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Non-executive member of the Audit and Risk Committee: The National Archives

Non-executive member of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee: Valuation Office Agency

Former office holders

Zulf Ahmed 

Committee for England, North

Date left: 30 September 2025

No interests to declare

Stephen Boyce

Committee for England, London and South

Date left: 31 March 2026

Current

Trustee: Common Ground

Chair of Strategic Advisory Board: Museum Development South West

Advisor: St Barbe Museum & Art Gallery, Lymington, Hampshire

Former

Chair of Shadow Board: Artful Scribe Literature development agency, Southampton

Trustee: SPUD (developing collaborations in art, architecture, and education)

Founder and Trustee: Winchester Poetry Festival

Stuart Housden

Committee for Scotland

Date left: 31 March 2026

Current

Trustee: Highlands and Islands Environment Foundation

Company Director: Restore Nature

Honorary Fellow: Scottish Environment Link

Chair of Trustees: Scottish Seabird Centre

Trustee: The Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest Trust

Trustee: The Gillman Charitable Trusts

Former

Member: Crown Estate Scottish Advisory Committee

Rapporteur to the House of Lords EU sub-committee inquiry into European Biodiversity policy & practice: House of Lords

Trustee: National Trust for Scotland

Member of Natural Heritage Advisory Committee: National Trust for Scotland

Member of Scottish Forum on Natural Capital Executive Committee (unpaid): Partnership

Chair (unpaid): Peatland Alliance (SCIO)

Board Director: RSPB/RSPB Scotland

Chair: Scottish Government Rural Development Council

Member Scottish Power Environment Forum (unpaid): Scottish Power

Committee Member: Scottish Water Customer Forum

Denise Lewis-Poulton

Trustee and Chair of Committee for Wales

Date left: 5 February 2026

Current

Member: Hay Literary Festival Advisory Council

Non-executive Director: S4C (national television channel for Wales)

Executive Masters student: The Royal Academy and Maastricht University

Member of advisory board: Viramal

Ray Macfarlane

Trustee and Chair of Committee for Scotland

Date left: 31 July 2025

Current

Deputy Chair: Historic Environment Scotland

Chair: Hopetoun House Preservation Trust

Trustee: Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

Former

Chair: Hopetoun Foundation

Chair: Museums Galleries Scotland

Trustee: National Galleries of Scotland Foundation

Chair: Scottish Legal Aid Board

Jim McGreevy

Committee for Northern Ireland

Date left: 31 March 2026

Current

Member of Management Advisory Committee: Armagh Robinson Library

Warren Mead

Audit & Risk Committee

Date left: 30 June 2025

Current

Board Advisor: Cleveland & Co

CEO: Sumer Group Limited

Former

COO, Partner: KPMG LLP

Jo Smith

Committee for England, Midlands & East

Date left: 31 August 2025

Current

CEO: Derbyshire Wildlife Trust

Elected Member: EMCCA Nature Task Force

Landscape Advisory Panel Member: Natural England

Board Member: University of Derby Business School

Sally Thomas

Committee for Scotland

Date left: October 2025

Current

Charity Trustee: Andrew Raven Trust (SC039488)

Charity Trustee and Company Director: Plantlife International England and Wales (1059559) Scotland (SC038951)

Honorary Fellow: Scottish Environment LINK

Former

Director of People and Nature: NatureScot

Andrew Vines

Committee for England, London and South

Date left: 31 March 2026

No interests to declare