Our Trustees: Dedicated to sustainable, heritage-led projects.

Trustees

Our Trustees come from a variety of backgrounds and bring with them a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience that helps us to deliver high quality, sustainable, heritage-led projects.

Georgina has worked in grant giving throughout her career, particularly in the heritage and conservation field. She was Director of the Pilgrim Trust until May 2020. She has been a member of the Historic Buildings Council for Scotland, Chair of Archives Revealed and Chair of the Women’s Diversionary Fund. She is currently Chair of the Charlotte Bonham Carter Charitable Trust, Deputy Chair of the Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery Trust, a member of the Finance and Audit Committee for the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and a member of the Development Board for the Royal Society of Sculptors.

Rosie Fraser, Vice Chair, was previously Executive Director of The Prince’s Regeneration Trust. She is now a freelance Projects Consultant. She is a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. As a Trustee she is responsible for overseeing improvements in communicating and measuring social impact, and was closely involved with the Resilient Heritage Project. She is chair of the line management committee. Rosie brings strategic flair to board discussions.

Sarah has had a strong interest in historic buildings and their restoration since completing her Environmental Science degree.

She is also a trustee of the Crossness Engines Trust in Thamesmead, SE London, and a regular volunteer at their open days.

Until recently she was CEO of the Nuclear Institute and is now combining her volunteer work with a new business in governance. She completed ICSA examinations in all aspects of governance in the 1990s. Her hobbies include all aspects of wildlife and the great outdoors.

David Gibson, is the founding partner of David Gibson Architects and Chairman of the Islington Society. He has been a member of the Islington Conservation Advisory Committee for over twenty years and served for five years as a professional advisor to the planning committee. He is a member of the Buildings Committee. David has a gentle but insightful sense of humour to warm our proceedings.

Alec Forshaw, is a former long-standing Conservation Officer with the London Borough of Islington and experienced campaigner with organisations such as SAVE Britain’s Heritage, the Victorian Society and the Churches Conservation Trust. Alec is a member of the Buildings Committee. Alec is closely involved in the development of projects, reviewing the schemes and attending project meetings. Alec provides a powerful energy and enthusiasm to both projects and organisational development.

Sarah Buckingham works in local government as the Conservation and Design Team Leader at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and as Course Director in Historic Building Conservation for the University of Cambridge. She was previously a planning inspector, and prior to that worked for Historic England’s policy team developing reforms to planning law, policy and practice, and previously as a Team Leader in the London Team. She is a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. Sarah sits on the line management committee.

Philip Smith is an experienced stakeholder engagement and communications specialist with a strong track record of success as a negotiator, problem solver and engagement strategist. He has worked in roles across the public, private and third sectors, providing specialist support to lead projects that are politically sensitive, time-critical and requiring engagement with multiple stakeholders, with varying interests. He is also passionate about historic building conservation, holding an MSc in the subject. As a Trustee of LHBT, he is a member of the Buildings Committee and Marketing Committee.

Howard is a retired solicitor of over 40 years’ experience, principally practising in the real estate field. He was an employed consultant with, and is a former partner of, Russell-Cooke LLP. He specialised in advising on private, public, commercial, charity and not-for-profit clients on all aspects of property development, investment, business leases and occupational matters. He has an affinity for buildings and also enjoys classical music, opera and gardening.

Paul Atkinson is an experienced corporate and marketing communications person. He has held a number of senior roles with Nationwide Building Society, RSA Insurance and Aon and has more recently worked as an independent consultant with a range of financial services firms, membership organisations and regulatory bodies. In addition to his practical communications expertise, Paul provides us with a strong corporate management perspective.

James was a senior audit partner and vice chair at Deloitte in London, prior to his retirement in 2024. He enjoyed a 37-year career with Deloitte, including 27 years as a partner. Whilst at Deloitte, James led the audit of the some of the largest public and private companies in the UK, as well a number of smaller and not-for-profit organisations. As a vice chair, James was one of the firm’s most senior client serving partners, and acted as an advisory partner working at board level with many organisations to promote good governance and address financial and risk issues.

James graduated with a degree in law (LL.B) and a diploma in theology (AKC) from King’s College London, and qualified as a chartered accountant, becoming a fellow of the Institiute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales (FCA). James studied and worked in London for 40 years, and has a keen interest in the history of London through historic maps and the city’s architecture, and in preserving historic buildings for the benefit of local communities.

Eleanor is Director of Strategy and Innovation at the National Lottery Heritage Fund with oversight of research, data, and insight, innovation and partnerships.

She has 20 years’ experience in the cultural and media sectors with a focus on maximising public value. Before joining the Heritage Fund, she spent a decade at the BBC in posts including in distribution, partnership, technology and public policy. That followed ten years in the Civil Service where Eleanor also held a variety of roles leading policy teams and advising Ministers.

Her career started working in museums, she has degrees in history and museum studies and lives in South London.

Chania has worked and volunteered for a number of heritage charities and organisations including; The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, The Holocaust Educational Trust, The Group for Education in Museums and The National Army Museum. In 2022, she became the first young person representative on the Blue Plaques Panel, assisting in the selection of plaque recipients across London.

Passionate about community engagement and widening accessibility to the sector, Chania works for English Heritage’s national youth participation team, delivering creative projects to engage young people with heritage across the South East region.

Chania has been volunteering as social media manager for London Historic Buildings Trust since 2020 and joined the Trust’s Marketing and Development Committee in 2021. She is proud to have been nominated for the Heritage Trust’s ‘Heritage Heroes’ Award for her work for LHBT and is really excited to be continuing her involvement as a Trustee.

Boryana is a Conservation Graduate at Alan Baxter Associates and is currently pursuing an MSt in Building History at the University of Cambridge. She is an active member of the heritage sector, serving as an Early Careers committee member for the Association of Critical Heritage Studies and a Young Advisor for Historic England.

Boryana is passionate about fostering inclusivity and encouraging community work within heritage. As a co-founder of a social outreach charity, Tackling Elitism, at the University of Edinburgh, she worked to connect communities and widen access. Her commitment to conservation and critical heritage studies is driven by a dedication to preserving the past while ensuring it is accessible and relevant for future generations.

Malcolm Crowder is our President. He is also a former treasurer and Project Organiser for the Trust.

Diana was the Chair of LHBT for 6 years and a trustee for nearly 20. She remains committed to the Trust and has now taken on role as a Vice President. She is also a trustee of the Wiltshire Building Preservation Trust, and chair of the South East area for the Heritage Network.

Ronnie Barden is our Vice President. Ronnie is also the Vice President and Member of the Executive of The London Mayors’ Association. He has extensive experience in finance both from his own companies, and from his Local Government Service as a former Leader and former Cabinet Member of Finance of the London Borough of Redbridge.

Get Involved

Whether you have a passion for saving buildings that lie unloved or for bringing buildings and communities together to generate social benefits, there are many ways in which you can get involved and help us to create a brighter future for the Capital’s built heritage.

Trustees

Georgina Nayler

Rosie Fraser

Sarah Beacock

David Gibson

Alec Forshaw

Sarah Buckingham

Philip Smith

Howard Swindall

Paul Atkinson

Victoria Liddell

James Leigh

Eleanor van Heyningen

Chania Fox

Boryana Ivanova

Malcolm Crowder

Diana Beattie

Ronnie Barden

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