Built Heritage Skills Hub ~ Introduction

BHSH meeting in the old chapelIn 2025 we secured funding from Historic England to undertake a feasibility study to establish the potential demand for a Built Heritage Skills Hub based at Tolpuddle Old Chapel.

Between November 2025 and February 2026 we ran three events for local owners and occupiers of listed and period properties. The first was a general consultation to find out what kinds of activities people were interested in.

This led directly to the second event being focused on planning and consent issues. We were joined by a representative from Historic England and the local Conservation Team Leader, who explained how the system works and answered participants’ questions.

The third event, in February, looked at the practicalities of maintaining listed and historic buildings. We had presentations by well known lime and paint specialists Rose of Jericho, a local firm of conservation builders, Shape Conservation, and a local Master Thatcher well known to many of the participants, Nigel Key.

a lecture at the Old ChapelA full project report has been submitted to Historic England and work is now under way to reflect on the findings and consider how to take the initiative forward and build on the key outcomes. To summarise here, we can say with some certainty that listed and historic property owners:

  • welcome the opportunity to meet one another and share knowledge and experiences
  • often struggle to find the specialist builders and other maintenance contractors with the knowledge of conservation techniques their buildings need
  • find the planning and listed building consent processes daunting and are unhappy with the newly introduced charges for seeking advice
  • want to understand their building even if they are not going to carry out the maintenance themselves
  • want to do the right thing for their building but at the same time need to be able to live comfortably
  • in some cases are keen to develop practical skills such as lime plastering and repairing cob so that they can, with permission, carry out minor repairs themselves

BHSH-meetingWe are currently working on two practical responses to what we have learned.

In particular, we are creating an online resource pack for local listed building owners, to provide easy access to the plethora of advice and guidance, including Historic England’s own comprehensive guides, in one place. This will be replicated in a set of hard copy resources stored at the Old Chapel for those without internet access to borrow.

We are also planning two further events under the auspices of the Historic England project, both of which are practical hands-on skills sessions. Details of these and all future events will be published on the Events page.

We are very grateful to Historic England for their support with this project and for sharing our vision for establishing the Old Chapel as a Built Heritage Skills Hub.

We are also grateful to all those who attended the project sessions through the cold, wet winter months and shared their experiences of listed and historic property ownership with us.