Our Appeals

APPEAL 2020

With all our historic places currently closed due to the Coronavirus crisis, we’re in urgent need of your help. 

Much-needed funding from admissions, new and renewing memberships, cafés and shops has been lost overnight. The majority of our staff have been furloughed. Conservation work has been put on hold. Major restoration projects have been postponed. There’s no escaping the fact that our ability to protect and preserve the sites and artefacts in our care is under threat now more than ever before. 

We urgently need you to help secure their future. Please help us with a donation today.

The potential for loss is truly profound

While we are continuing with critical maintenance and security, all other conservation and restoration work has had to be put on hold and the daily upkeep of estates has been suspended. 

Buildings in need of repair now will only become even more damaged. Restoration work that is difficult now will only become even more demanding. Many projects will need to be reviewed again when we are able to return to work. 

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We're in this together

We know England’s story is as precious to you as it is to us. When this crisis is eventually over, we will all need inspiring, culturally rich places to come back to. Places that excite the mind and stir the soul. Places that allow us to appreciate the beauty and sense of belonging that historic sites can bring.

Your support will help us be prepared and able to welcome you back when our sites can open again. It will help fund urgent repairs and enable restoration work to go ahead. It could mean that a priceless treasure is saved from loss forever.

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Conservation in Action

Image: Saxtead Green Post Mill

Saxtead Green Post Mill

Saxtead Green Post Mill is just one of hundreds of historic places that require continual maintenance. Your support now will help towards critical repairs, and help make sure we have the vital resources we need when our properties open up.

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Image: Hurst Castle (© Historic England)

Hurst Castle

Natural damage to the sea wall at Hurst Castle has led to cracking in the West Wing interiors and undermined the internal brick vaults. Without urgent repairs, there is a risk the brick vaults could fail, threatening the historic interiors.

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Image: Bolsover Castle

Bolsover Castle

Major planned renovation plans have been put on hold because of the coronavirus crisis. But without critical repairs to the roof, there is a risk of damage to the historic interiors, including the castle’s famous wall paintings.

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Image: Dover Castle

Dover Castle

Exposed to the worst of the British weather, the outer walls of Dover Castle require critical maintenance to protect them from the elements. Here, one of our expert staff is cleaning plant growth from the stonework.

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How your support helps

Our historic places may have stood for hundreds, even thousands of years, but without on-going care, we will lose them to time and the elements. As a charity we rely on your generosity to ensure that as many people and generations as possible can continue to enjoy the buildings, landscapes and objects that tell the story of England over the past 6,000 years. These are just some of the conservation projects we have been able to carry out in recent years thanks to the generous support of our Members, donors and supporters.

  • Witley Court fountain restoration

    Curator Win Scutt provides an insider's view of the historical significance of the once-spectacular 17th-century house at Witley Court and Gardens. He also tells the story of the project to refurbish the Perseus and Andromeda fountains, as well as providing an insight into the job of a curator and how English Heritage makes a difference.

  • Cannon conservation on the Isles of Scilly

    English Heritage’s intrepid conservators go to any lengths to protect the spaces and objects in our care. Follow Bethan Stanley, our Senior Collections Conservator, as she travels to the tiny St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly to work on some cannons.

  • Dover Castle anti-aircraft gun restoration

    English Heritage restored an anti-aircraft gun used in the First World War and placed it at Dover Castle, where identical gun batteries were used to see off German Zeppelins. Join Paul Pattison, Senior Historian, for a behind-the-scenes look at its incredible transformation.

  • Huysmans painting restoration

    Rachel Turnbull, English Heritage’s senior collections conservator for fine art, and curator of collections, Peter Moore explain how a group portrait by Jacob Huysmans (1633 – 1696) was painstakingly restored after being acquired to go back on display at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire for the first time in 100 years. 

  • Longthorpe Tower wall painting conservation

    Find out the history behind the wall paintings at Longthorpe Tower in Cambridgeshire, and how conservationists from the Courtauld Institute of Art used original techniques to restore them. Learn the science behind the restoration process and watch the paintings be restored before your eyes.

  • Rievaulx Abbey conservation

    Go behind the scenes at Rievaulx Abbey. See the historic objects that bring to life the rich past of this powerful medieval monastery, and the vital conservation work needed before they could be put on display in the on-site museum. Discover the tools of the trade and the methods used to reveal the detail in these objects.

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