About the Trust
Our History
Born out of the destruction of World War II, the British Historic Towns Atlas series is part of a programme founded in 1955 to promote the comparative study of Europe’s metropolitan centres.
Building on that original purpose, the charitable work of the Historic Towns Trust is now focused on inspiring future generations to understand, appreciate and preserve their urban heritage.
The Trust works in partnership with local historians, geographers and archaeologists to publish educational maps and atlases that give everyone a sense of belonging and custodianship.
Our unique multi-layer mapping techniques reveal a new way to visualise the complex development of Britain’s towns, enabling us to better analyse the impact of events and communities over time.
We use our research to develop teaching materials for schools and to engage the public with free talks, empowering them with the knowledge and confidence to influence future decisions about their built environments.
Meet the Trustees
The trustees form our governing body and meet four times a year. Additionally, each trustee is a member of one of three operational committees: Communications, Outreach and Marketing (COM), Programme and Projects (P&P), or Resources. The Executive Steering Committee (ESC) comprises the Chair of Trustees, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and the three committee Chairs.
Chair of Trustees
James Winterbotham
After spending 40 years in the finance industry, James is pursuing his passion for British local and landscape history with a focus on East Anglia and North Yorkshire, writing for local publications.
Honorary Secretary
Brigitte Albrecht
Brigitte has a professional background in Law, practicing as a company secretary in South Africa before moving to the UK in 2021. She has a strong interest in British history, particularly the Tudor period.
Chair of COM Committee
Hayley Wright
With a background in marketing and advertising, Hayley is a copywriter and historical researcher who has a particular interest in urban poverty, crime and disease (c.1750–1850).
Chair of P&P Committee
professor Sarah Rees Jones
Professor Emerita of Medieval History at the University of York, Sarah works on medieval social history and is the author of York, the Making of a City, 1068-1350 (Oxford, 2013).
Trustee
Bob Allies
Bob is a founding partner of architecture practice, Allies and Morrison. Originally focused on architecture, today the practice's work encompasses larger scale urbanism.
Trustee
professor Shane Ewen
Shane is a specialist in modern urban history and public engagement at Leeds Beckett University. He is also co-editor of the Urban History journal published by Cambridge University Press.
Trustee
Richard Fisher
Richard is a former Managing Director of Cambridge University Press who has served two terms as Vice-President of the Royal Historical Society.
Trustee
professor Helen Fulton
Helen is Chair of Medieval Literature at the University of Bristol and Vice-President of the Learned Society of Wales. Her research focuses on medieval literary history, regional history and urban culture.
Trustee
Dr Eliza Hartrich
Eliza is Senior Lecturer in Late Medieval History at the University of York. Her research focuses on urban politics and record keeping in England, Ireland and Wales between 1300 and 1500.
Trustee
Dr Chris King
Chris is Associate Professor in Archaeology at the University of Nottingham. His research focuses on medieval and early modern buildings, urban landscapes and heritage.
Trustee
john moore
John is a retired academic librarian from the University of Glasgow who has researched the history of cartography for more than 40 years and has a strong interest in the mapping of Scotland.
Trustee
Dr Keith Parry
After 30 years' research in the agrochemical industry, Keith 'retired' to develop his interest in history and now gives lectures at Oxford University and Maidenhead Heritage Centre.
Trustee
Dr Thomas Pickles
Tom is Associate Professor of Early Medieval History at the University of Chester. He researches the social/cultural history of religion, including the influence of religious communities on urbanisation.
Trustee
Giulia Robba
Giulia is an associate at Farrells. Working across different scales, she is involved in complex mixed-use urban design, regeneration projects and architectural designs.
Trustee
Professor Peter Vujakovic
Peter is Emeritus Professor of Geography, Canterbury Christ Church University and Visiting Professor at the Royal Agricultural University. He focuses on landscape history and map use in education.
Trustee
Dr Sally Watson
Sally is an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University. She focuses on 20th century urban and environmental history.
Trustee
Peter Whale
Peter is an entrepreneurial computer scientist with a track record of conceiving, developing and bringing technology-based products to market. He runs his own consultancy.
Our Cartographer
Giles Darkes
Giles is a specialist in thematic mapping. Formerly a senior lecturer in cartography at Oxford Brookes University, he has worked with the Historic Towns Trust supervising the mapping and publishing side of the Trust's work since 2009.
