Who we are
Our trustees and the committees they are on
Trustees of the Charity
The Trustees of the Historic Towns Trust form the governing body of the charity and meet four times a year. They are:
Professor Vanessa Harding (Chair of the HTT)
John Moore (Honorary Secretary)
Dr Keith Parry (Honorary Treasurer)
The Historic Towns Trust is looking for new Trustees
The story of Britain’s towns is full of interest: it tells of where we came from and who we are. Knowing more about the past of towns helps to make them better places to live in now and to plan them well for the future. The Historic Towns Trust exists to tell that story through the superb historical maps and atlases we publish and a range of lectures and events.
We have recently completed a major review to equip us to greatly increase the scope and number of our publications and to reach out to a wider community of interests. You can read more about the trust and our ambitious plans by downloading our report here:
To help us achieve our ambitions, we need to recruit new trustees. All our trustees have a lively interest in historic towns, urban history and maps. But we are looking now for additional trustees who share our forward-looking vision, and particularly those who can also bring one of more of the following skills: legal expertise; knowledge of marketing and publishing; and familiarity with the use of social media.
Also, we are keen to improve diversity on our board in terms of ethnicity, age and geographical spread. In this way we want to help develop new perspectives on our urban history that will engage a wider range of interests and communities.
If you think you might be interested, please contact adrian.phillips @ gmx.com (remove the spaces in the e-mail address) as soon as possible with a brief note about your background and why you are interested. We can then provide you with more information.
Vice-Presidents
The charity also has Vice-Presidents, who are former trustees and whose contribution to the project over many years continues to be highly valued. They include:
Cartographic Editor
The Trust's Cartographic Editor, Giles Darkes 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. He has also worked on many other mapping projects including the Atlas of the World's Languages and An Historical Atlas of Oxfordshire.
Educational Consultant
The Trust's Educational Consultant is Dr Paula Owens. Paula is a teacher by profession, and after her last five years as a deputy head in a primary school, she was curriculum lead at the Geographical Association for a number of years. Paula is now a self-employed consultant and a research fellow at Canterbury Christ Church University. Paula has extensive experience in creating educational materials based on both maps and history suitable for the demands of the curricula in England, Wales and Scotland. In 2022 she produced materials interpreting the HTT's map of Bristol in 1480 for educational resources; this meant writing a suite of activities and teacher notes, and trialling them at the Historical Association Conference with teachers. Paula is also involved in creating educational resources using the Historical Maps of Swansea and Mumbles (including the Welsh version) and the Historical Map of Canterbury.
Executive Steering Committee
The day-to-day business of the charity is co-ordinated by an Executive Steering Committe which meets about six times a year and reports to the Trustees. Current members include:
Vanessa Harding (Chair)
To find out about more about the Committee's terms of reference, please see our section on the Trust's Governance.
Programmes and Projects Committee
The P&P Committee co-ordinates the current projects being undertaken by the Trust and investigates new projects. It liases with the local committees responsible for each project and advises on procedures. Current members include:
In addition, the Trust's Cartographic Editor is also a co-opted member of the committee.
Communications, Outreach & Marketing Committee
The COM Committee co-ordinates the public face of the Trust. It is responsible for the website, for launching our publications, for lectures and other public engagement. Current members include:
In addition, the Trust's Cartographic Editor is also a co-opted member of the committee.
Friends and Fundraising Committee
The F&F Committee co-ordinates the financial management of the trust and raises funds for its work. Current members include:
Former Trustee Anthony Weale is also a contributor to the committee.
Trust Partners
The Historic Towns Trust has developed a long-standing successful arrangement of working with partner organisations to create the British Historic Towns Atlas and Town & City Historical Maps. To continue to build on this 50-year track record of publishing, the Trust welcomes new partnerships with organisations that share the Trust’s vision and mission.
Find out more about the role of our Partners including how to become a Trust Partner in Our Partnerships.
