The Hamilton Kerr Institute is a branch of the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, dedicated to the study and conservation of easel paintings. It is also part of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Facilities and logistics

The institute was founded in 1976 through grants from the

Baring Foundation Baring may refer to one of the following People * Baring (surname) * Baring family German-British Baring family * Family Name of the Earl of Cromer * Family Name of the Baron & Earl of Northbrook * Family Name of the Baron Ashburton * Family N ...

, the Esmée Fairbairn Trust, the

Gulbenkian Foundation The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation ( pt, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian), commonly referred to simply as the Gulbenkian Foundation, is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts, philanthropy, science, and education. One of ...

, the Isaac Wolfson Foundation, the Monument Trust, and the

Pilgrim Trust The Pilgrim Trust is a national grant-making trust in the United Kingdom. It is based in London and is a registered charity under English law. It was founded in 1930 with a two million pound grant by Edward Harkness, an American philanthropist. T ...

, and continues to finance itself through income from its work and its endowment fund. It is housed in a riverside property, donated by

Hamilton Kerr Sir Hamilton William Kerr, 1st Baronet (1 August 1903 – 26 December 1974) was a British Conservative Party politician and journalist. Early life Kerr was born on 1 August 1903. He was second son born to Americans Olive (née Grace) Kerr and ba ...

, seven miles south of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

in the village of

Whittlesford Whittlesford is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, and also the name of an old hundred. The village is situated on the Granta branch of the River Cam, seven miles south of Cambridge. Whittlesford Parkway railway station serves the village. Li ...

. The premises consist of a mid-eighteenth century house and converted mill buildings, containing offices and a scientific laboratory, restoration studios, studios for panel treatment and the relining of canvases, and studios for photography. In 1980, the institute opened a studio in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

.Hamilton Kerr Institute History Page
. Retrieved 24 December 2008.

Notable restoration accomplishments

*The

Westminster Retable The Westminster Retable, the oldest known panel painting altarpiece in England,Hamilto ...

: 1998–2004. The Westminster Retable of ca. 1270 was the main altarpiece for

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

during pre-Reformation

. When it was rediscovered in the 18th century, several poorly executed restoration attempts damaged the retable. In 1998, the institute acquired this work, and began work on repairing and restoring it. *The Thornham Parva Retable. This 15-ft long medieval altarpiece was restored after an eight-year plan. Estimated to be worth millions, the altarpiece is thought to have been created in the 1330s for a Dominican Priory in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. It now stands in a protective glass case in St Mary's Church,

Thornham Parva Thornham Parva is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located to the north of sister village Thornham Magna and around five miles south of Diss, in 2005 its population was 50. By the time of the 2 ...

.The Hamilton Kerr Institute in Cambridge has restored a 15-ft long medieval altarpiece
''

History Today ''History Today'' is an illustrated history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents serious and authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and pub ...

'', 2003.

List of major donors

The following have made donations: *

Council for the Care of Churches The Central Council for the Care of Churches of the Church of England was formed in 1917, developing from the Central Committee for the Protection of English Churches under the Archbishops' Council. It became the Church Buildings Council in 2007, ...

J. Paul Getty Trust The J. Paul Getty Trust is the world's wealthiest art institution, with an estimated endowment of US$7.7 billion in 2020. Based in Los Angeles, California, it operates the J. Paul Getty Museum, which has two locations—the Getty Center in the ...

* Idlewild Trust *

Samuel H. Kress Foundation Samuel Henry Kress (July 23, 1863 – September 22, 1955) was a businessman, philanthropist, and founder of the S. H. Kress & Co. five and ten cent store chain. With his fortune, Kress amassed one of the most significant collections of Italian R ...

Paul Mellon Centre The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art is a scholarly centre in London devoted to supporting original research into the history of British Art. It was founded in 1970 and endowed by a gift from Paul Mellon. Since 1996, it has been si ...

Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (affectionately known as QEST) is an art and craft educational trust created to sustain traditional British craftsmanship. It is a British institution committed to helping support craftspeople of all ages and fr ...

* Rayne Foundation * Woodmansterne Publications Ltd *

Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers The Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers is one of the livery companies of the City of London. An organisation of painters of metals and wood is known to have existed as early as 1283. A similar organisation of stainers, who generally worked o ...

National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies The National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS), operating under the name The Arts Society, is a national organisation in the United Kingdom promoting education in the arts and the preservation of artistic heritage. It was ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Research institutes established in 1976 Fitzwilliam Museum Organisations based in Cambridgeshire Conservation and restoration companies 1976 in art 1976 establishments in England