I am an accredited member of Icon and in 1997 established and have since led Skillington Workshop, a private conservation firm.
Initially training as an archaeological conservator at Cardiff, I worked for a number of institutions and private firms prior to setting up on my own, whilst also studying for first a Masters and then a Doctorate in Conservation Studies at York in my spare time. Quite early in my career I started working with buildings and the built environment, with particular material specialisms in stone, architectural ceramics, and lime plasters.
I am also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, am a vice chair of Icon's Accreditation Committee, serves as Conservation Cases Recorder and Council member for the Church Monuments Society, and am a long-standing supporter of SPAB. I also acts as conservation advisor or FAC member for several English cathedrals.
Skillington Workshop Ltd comprises a team of highly skilled conservators undertaking often large, complex and prestigious conservation projects, all to the highest of standards. I take a very hands-on approach to managing projects and to on-going training of the team, and am regularly found on the tools.
Commissioned by English Heritage, this project focused on the monuments at Lanercost Priory, Cumbria, from early grave slabs to ornate memorials of the Vaux, Dacre, and Howard families. I was commissioned in 2018 to study and survey the monuments for conservation. In 2020, Skillington Workshop Ltd began repairs, which I managed, alongside carrying out some of the conservation work.
During 2017 excavations at the former Stibbe factory site, Leicester, ULAS uncovered large mosaic fragments. I was invited to propose their lifting, conservation, and re-backing for museum display. Skillington Workshop Ltd carried out the work under my supervision. The mosaics were carefully recorded, lifted, backed, and conserved, and the client was delighted to see them saved from reburial.
In 2017 I inspected three historic plaster ceilings at East Riddlesden Hall for the National Trust. Following a detailed survey by Skillington Workshop Ltd, I recommended lightweight suspension systems, crack-filling, and discreet fixings. These works, supervised by me and completed in 2018, allowed the removal of emergency props and the full reopening of the rooms to visitors.