"A unique opportunity to combine my love of historic buildings, travel and meeting new people. It enabled me to develop my own conservation philosophy based on the many different approaches we saw and the people we met. I feel very inspired and excited to continue my career as a conservation engineer."

- Triona Byrne, 2016 Scholar

Since 1930 the SPAB’s Lethaby Scholarship has offered an unrivalled training opportunity to architects, surveyors and engineers in the early stages of their career to travel countrywide together, learning on site from architects and specialist craftspeople working in building conservation. Many Scholars are now among the leading conservation experts in the UK and overseas, looking after a wide range of historic buildings and sites.

Funding

Unfortunately due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's programme has been suspended and will resume in 2021. Three or four Scholarships are awarded each year, depending on funding. There is no course fee and Scholars will receive a bursary in the region of £8600 to cover basic travel and living costs. Supplementary finance is usually required. Running between March and December, the nine-month full-time programme is highly rewarding but intensive (including some weekends) and it is not possible to combine it with work or other forms of study.

Programme

The majority of the nine-month programme is undertaken on site through visits guided by experts, with support from a SPAB mentor. There are no formal lectures or essay submissions, though Scholars are required to make periodic verbal reports and to submit a selection from their sketchbook at the end of the programme. The first six months of the Scholarship follow a programme arranged by the SPAB. The final three months (the Plunket Scholarship) give Scholars the opportunity to explore in depth a theme of their choosing relating to the history, arts and allied crafts of the country house.

Scholars observe and experience traditional techniques and sympathetic repair in situ and visit structures of every age, size and style. The SPAB favours a hands-on approach, giving Scholars chance to try skills such as timber framing, thatching, blacksmithing and stone masonry, and to travel from time to time with the SPAB Fellows (craftspeople).

The SPAB recruits Scholars and Fellows on merit and is committed to eliminating discrimination and encouraging diversity in the sector.  We particularly welcome applications by people from backgrounds under-represented in building conservation (such as those from a low socio-economic background, women and black and minority ethnic communities).

Please note that the offer of a SPAB Scholarship is subject to the applicant providing evidence of their right to live and work in the UK. The SPAB cannot guarantee that it will be able to sponsor any applicants with their visa applications. Applicants should first consider their eligibility for a UK visa, information can be find on the government website.

Read more about our Scholars and Fellows on our blog. Please feel free to contact us to discuss your application: catharine.bull@spab.org.uk.