The Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust, also known as the Spitalfields Trust, is a British architectural conservation

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

. It originated in the

Spitalfields Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...

area of London, although it also operates elsewhere in England and Wales. The trust's founders include the architectural historians

Mark Girouard Mark Girouard (7 October 1931 – 16 August 2022) was a British architectural historian. He was an authority on the country house, and Elizabethan and Victorian architecture. Life and career Girouard was born on 7 October 1931. He was educ ...

and Colin Amery and the art historian and television presenter

Dan Cruickshank Daniel Gordon Raffan Cruickshank (born 26 August 1949) is a British art historian and BBC television presenter, with a special interest in the history of architecture. Professional career Cruickshank holds a BA in Art, Design and Architecture ...

. The Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust was founded in 1977 to rescue the remaining

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

houses in

, London, which were threatened with demolition by the expansion of London's financial district. The trust's work was important in the preservation of the network of early 18th-century streets in the area. The trust is largely funded by grants from

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

and

Cadw (, a Welsh verbal noun meaning "keeping/preserving") is the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and part of the Tourism and Culture group. works to protect the historic buildings and structures, the landscapes and heritage s ...

, and by loans from the

Architectural Heritage Fund The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) is a registered charity (No. 266780) founded in 1976 to promote the conservation and re-use of historic buildings across the United Kingdom. As the leading social investor in the UK for over 40 years, it provid ...

. The trust's work has been criticised as leading to the

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

of Spitalfields, changing a working-class area into "a gentrified enclave for writers, historians and the like", who are "all predominantly white European".

List of buildings restored by the trust

Other buildings with which the trust has been involved

* Malplaquet House,

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

, London *

Dennis Severs' House Dennis Severs' House in Folgate Street, London is a "still-life drama" created by Dennis Severs, who owned and lived in it until his death, as a "historical imagination" of what life would have been like inside for a family of Huguenot silk weav ...

, Spitalfields, London

References

External links

Official website
Charities based in London Heritage organisations in the United Kingdom Conservation in the United Kingdom Architectural history Spitalfields Building Preservation Trusts

List of buildings restored by the trust

Other buildings with which the trust has been involved

References

Further reading

See also

External links