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Historic Buildings
Yorkshire is home to 2,300 scheduled ancient monuments and around 32,000 listed buildings. Sites are varied, from the historic Castle Howard in North Yorkshire to the landmark early 60’s development in Sheffield, Park Hill flats, made famous in recent years by the Arctic Monkeys.
Saltaire in Bradford is an example of a Victorian Model Industrial Village built by Sir Titus Salt to house his mill's workforce, and is one of two World Heritage Sites in the region.
Medieval monks sought out the remote places of Yorkshire to site their abbeys, and the county has some of the finest historic remains in the country. Fountains Abbey near Ripon is considered by many to be the best surviving example of Cistercian architecture in England and York Minster attracts up to 1.6 million visitors to the region every year.
Yorkshires historic buildings are expected to play a large role in the future of tourism in the county making up around half of all the regions attractions and employing 35,000 people.
Employment in this area for graduates normally centres on the areas of research and conservation. Conservation can range from the maintenance and restoration of historic buildings to maintaining their character and research opportunities exist over a broad range of subjects but are normally centred around the sustainability of historic sites and their history.
English Heritage report that there is a shortfall in the skills needed to support the historic environment. Nationally, the organisation is working with the Construction Industry Training Board to deliver a strategy to support traditional building skills and various courses and apprentices can be found in this area.
Although the field isn’t particularly competitive, jobs are rare and often in remote places. Good places to start while job hunting include The National Trust and English Heritage. Finding projects going on in your area and applying directly is often a good way to gain your first role.
The National Trust runs over 450 working holidays every year on conservation sites throughout England and these are a great way to experience work out in the field and get some great experience on your CV. Check out their website for more details as well as details of volunteer opportunities in your area.
Useful links:
Institute of Historic Buildings Conservation (IHBC)
IHBC is the professional institute which represents conservation professionals in the public and private sectors in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Historic Houses Association (HHA)
The HHA represents the interests of Britain's historic houses, castles and gardens that remain in private ownership.
The Civic Trust works with people to promote thriving towns and villages, developing dynamic partnerships between communities, government and business to deliver regeneration and local improvement. It is Britain's leading charity devoted to enhancing the quality of life in Britain's cities, towns and villages. You can find a list of the Civic Society Groups in Yorkshire and Humber .
English Heritage - Yorkshire region
English Heritage works to make sure that the historic environment of England is understood, discovered and protected. For information about the region, see their reports on Yorkshire’s Historic Environment .
The National Trust was founded in 1895 and cares for more than 200 buildings and gardens of outstanding interest and importance and over 250,000 hectares (612,000 acres) of beautiful countryside in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, plus almost 700 miles of coastline.
Hudson's Historic Houses & Gardens
Hudson's Historic Houses & Gardens provides a definitive guide to the best historic houses and gardens, castles and heritage sites that Britain has to offer.
DEFRA statistics of Yorkshire’s history
Information and statistics on the archaeology of the region and the number of Listed Buildings and Scheduled Ancient Monuments across Yorkshire.
Heritage Lottery Fund in Yorkshire
The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) was set up by Parliament in 1994 to give grants to a wide range of projects involving the local, regional and national heritage of the United Kingdom.
Yorkshire Historic Environment Forum
The Yorkshire Historic Environment Forum represents organisations and groups from across the whole historic sector.
Yorkshire and Humber Association of Civic Societies
The regional association of civic societies, supported by the Civic Trust in London and English Heritage.
The Historic Environment Record (HER)
HER is an index to information about archaeological sites, historic buildings and features in the county. HER information is used for research purposes, to assess development proposals, and to manage and enhance North Yorkshire's countryside.
Hallamshire Historic Buildings Society
The Hallamshire Historic Buildings Society was inaugurated in 1970 to protect the architectural heritage within its area (Sheffield and surrounding) and to promote interest in architecture and local history.