Building Preservation Trust Trainee Update

 

Hello everyone, I have hit the 6 month mark of my Building Preservation Trust traineeship. This is part of the Historic Environment Skills project, subsidised by The Heritage Fund. This is a great opportunity to tell you about all of the exciting things I have been up to!

 

During my 6 months here I have learned that there are many career opportunities in heritage. Speaking to my colleagues here at Heritage Lincolnshire I wanted to investigate more about these different jobs. I have now started to shadow different heritage professionals. In February I shadowed the Heritage Strategy Officer at Nottingham City Council over the course of two days. I got the chance to attend various meetings from the local list panel to the guidance of the caves in Nottingham. I was aware that there was a cave beneath Nottingham Castle however I did not realise that there was a unique heritage of caves within the city.

 

During my experience in Nottingham I visited different Conservation Areas. I’m from Manchester and have always appreciated the cotton mills which are distinctive to the urban landscape of the city.

I have found that Nottingham shares an industrial landscape like that of my hometown although the buildings are slightly different in design. The building at the top of this page is a fine example and has now been converted into apartments.

I especially enjoyed visiting the Old Market Square Conservation Area in the heart of the city which is receiving grant funding and is a Heritage Action Zone. This is exciting as it allows Nottingham City Council to work with local owners to reinstate their historic shopfronts, making a bigger impact within the area. I got the chance to see a shopfront reinstatement whilst works were in progress as well as the end product.