Surrey Historic Buildings Trust helps to conserve the built heritage of the county of Surrey, including buildings of particular historical interest or beauty. The Trust was formed in 1980 when a former High Sheriff of Surrey, Philip Henman, pledged the sum of £25,000 for heritage conservation in the county, which the County Council then matched.
The Trust is advised by the County Historic Buildings Officer. We are supported by a group of Friends and by architects and conservationists who assist with the Trust’s work. In recent years much of our work has been around the award of grants to help restore and conserve buildings in the county, especially those in the ‘at risk’ category, as well as promoting knowledge and understanding of Surrey’s historic buildings and good practice in their conservation, for example through the Surrey Heritage Awards.
By becoming a Friend of SHBT you can support our work to preserve these important places so that they can be enjoyed by future generations. We are a voluntary organisation working with building owners, local authorities and the community. We are financed largely by Friends’ subscriptions and donations.
SHBT is a member of the Heritage Trust Network, which represents historic building preservation trusts throughout the country, all of whom are dealing with challenges of buildings that are severely at risk. We also support major heritage organisations including the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), Historic England and the National Trust, and campaign bodies such as SAVE Britain’s Heritage and the Victorian Society.
Surrey Historic Buildings Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees. The current (2024-2025) Trustees are: Amanda Lewis (Chair); Nick Skellett CBE (Vice-Chair); David Davis DL; Angela Fraser DL; Hazel Morris; Sarah Sullivan; David Taylor. The Trust’s Conservation Adviser is the County Historic Buildings Officer, Chris Reynolds with support from Historic Buildings Officer, Serena Perez-Storey.
Amanda Lewis – Chair of the Board of Trustees
Amanda Lewis BA(Hons) Dip.Arch. ARB. MSc. PGTLHE. FHEA is a qualified architect who has been an academic at Kingston University for almost 30 years, most of which as a Principal Lecturer in the School of Surveying & Planning. She is now the Course Leader of the MSc Historic Building Conservation programme in the Department of Architecture & Landscape. Her current teaching focuses on the evolution of cities, in particular the impact of regeneration development within historic urban environments. She has only recently stepped back from co-ordinating the course research activities although she continues to supervise student research projects and dissertations. Having lived in Kingston for most of her academic career, she has been an active member of the Conservation Area Advisory Committee for Kingston Old Town, until her move to Guildford last year.
Nick Skellett – Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees
Nicholas Skellett CBE, MA(Cantab), CEng, MIChemE, ACG Chemical Process Engineer in UK and Venezuela. Elected as Surrey County Councillor 1993 to 2017, Leader of Surrey County1997 to 2009, Vice Chairman of Surrey County (2015/17). His public appointments include – Audit Commission, Surrey Police Authority, the Public Private Partnerships Programme, Community Foundation for Surrey, Local Government Investment Trust, Surrey Pension Committee, Improvement and Development Agency, Chairman of SE England Regional Assembly and the SE Regional Transport Board, Governor of Oxted School and Downsway Primary. Nick’s other interests include history, science, our natural and built heritage.
David Taylor
Dr David Taylor, historian, author and lecturer, has lived in the Surrey village of Cobham all his life. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and takes a keen interest in the history and cultural heritage of the county He is Chairman of the Surrey History Trust; President of the Esher District Local History Society; a Trustee of Painshill Park; and a member of the Surrey Archaeological Society and the Domestic Buildings Research Group (Surrey). He is also involved in many aspects of local community life and serves as an advisor to the Cobham Conservation Area Advisory Committee.
David Davis
David Michael Davis CEng MICE MIHT DL is a chartered civil engineer with many years’ experience of managing infrastructure and environmental projects. He was a Member of Surrey County Council for 16 years, most of them in a leading position, and served as Chairman of the Council for two years. David has lived in Surrey since 1971 – so knows the county well – and takes a keen interest in local affairs and the protection of its heritage.
Sarah Sullivan
Sarah Sullivan BA(Hons) MCIAT DipBldgCons(RICS) is a qualified historic buildings and conservation consultant providing an extensive knowledge of post medieval to pre-Modernism buildings throughout the UK. Responsible for delivery of residential, agricultural and recreational sector work with relevant industry experience designing within the built environment with a deep understanding of sustainable building in both the public and private sectors. Sarah has worked as an independent historic buildings consultant, involved with the construction, repair, adaptation and extension of a large number and variety of historic buildings. Work includes research and writing heritage statements, detailed analysis of existing structures including survey drawings to ensure correct design and execution of details. She has Chartered Status of the MCIAT and serves on her local parish council as part of planning advisory matters.
Hazel Morris
Hazel Morris DipBldgCons MRICS is a recently retired Chartered Surveyor. She has extensive experience over more than 35 years in the valuation of all commercial property sectors throughout the UK. However, her deep interest is in historic buildings and the built environment and some years ago gained the RICS Diploma in Building Conservation. Having lived in Guildford for over 35 years, she has a good knowledge and understanding of the county and the importance of protecting the character of the towns and villages. She is an active member of both the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and the London Parks and Gardens Trust. She recently co-authored a book about the local building stone, ‘Bargate: the stone that built Godalming’, with all proceeds going to support Godalming Museum.
Chris Reynolds
Chris Reynolds is the Senior Historic Buildings Officer at Surrey County Council. He has been providing advice to the authority for over 5 years. Prior to that he worked for War Memorials Trust as a Conservation Officer and in his spare time sits on the committee for the South East Branch of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation.
