About Us
Surrey Historic Buildings Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees. The current (2025-2026)
Trustees are:
The Patron of the Trust is HM Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey, Michael More-Molyneux who is the Chair of the AGM.
The Trust’s Conservation Adviser is Chris Reynolds, the Senior Historic Buildings Officer for Surrey County Council.
Surrey Historic Buildings Trust is an organisation and Registered Charity that exists to conserve the built heritage of the county of Surrey, such as buildings of historical interest or beauty, and their settings and to promote traditional building craft skills. The Trust was formed in 1980 when a former High Sheriff of Surrey, Philip Henman, pledged the sum of £25,000 for heritage conservation in the county, which the County Council then matched.
The Trust is advised by the County Historic Buildings Officer. We are supported by a group of Friends and by architects and conservationists who assist with the Trust’s work. In recent years much of our work has been around the award of grants to help restore and conserve buildings in the county, especially those in the ‘at risk’ category, as well as promoting knowledge and understanding of Surrey’s historic buildings and good practice in their conservation, for example through the Surrey Heritage Awards.
By becoming a Friend of SHBT you can make a difference by supporting our work to conserve these important places so that they can be enjoyed by future generations. We are a voluntary organisation working with building owners, local authorities and the community. We are very grateful for the finance provided by Friends’ subscriptions and donations, as they make a significant contribution to enabling our work in conserving Surrey’s architectural heritage.
SHBT is a member of the Heritage Trust Network, which represents historic building preservation trusts throughout the country, all of whom are dealing with challenges of buildings that are severely at risk. We also support major heritage organisations, often by commenting formally on planning applications. These organisations include the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), Historic England and the National Trust, and campaign bodies such as SAVE Britain’s Heritage, the Victorian Society, and the Twentieth Century Society.
The Trust in Numbers
Total grants over 25 years
£550,000
Average paid out per year
£22,000+
Average size of grant
circa £1,300
The Meath, Godalming
Governance Structure
Patron: HM Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey, Michael More-Molyneux CVO
Michael More-Molyneux has lived in the county of Surrey all his life. Loseley Park has been the residence of the More-Molyneux family for over five centuries. Since his appointment as Lord-Lieutenant in 2015 he has lent his support to an increasing number of businesses, charities, organisations in the voluntary sector and faith groups across the county. In the New Year’s Honours list 2026, Mr More-Molyneux was awarded the Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, the CVO.
Chair of the Board of Trustees – Amanda Lewis
Amanda Lewis BA(Hons) Dip.Arch. MSc. PGTLHE. FHEA qualified as an architect many years ago and, after a decade in practice, became an academic at Kingston University 30 years ago, most of which as a Principal Lecturer in the School of Surveying & Planning. She has recently stepped down as the Course Leader of the MSc Historic Building Conservation programme in the Department of Architecture & Landscape, although she is still involved in teaching, researching and knowledge exchange at the university.
Her current teaching focuses on the evolution of cities, in particular the theory and practice of regeneration development within historic urban environments. While continuing to supervise student research projects and dissertations, she has reduced her management activities to concentrate on her own research into the impact of climate change on listed buildings and conservation areas.
Having lived in Kingston for most of her academic career, she has been an active member of the Conservation Area Advisory Committee for Kingston Old Town, until her move to Guildford in 2022.
Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees – Hazel Morris
Hazel Morris Dip.Bldg.Cons. MRICS is a recently retired Chartered Surveyor. She has extensive experience over more than 35 years in the valuation of all commercial property sectors throughout the UK. However, her deep interest is in historic buildings and the built environment and some years ago gained the RICS Diploma in Building Conservation.
Having lived in Guildford for over 35 years, she has a good knowledge and understanding of the county and the importance of protecting the character of the towns and villages. She is an active member of both the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and the London Parks and Gardens Trust. She recently co-authored a book about the local building stone, ‘Bargate: the stone that built Godalming’ with proceeds going to support Godalming Museum.
Sarah Sullivan
Sarah Sullivan BA(Hons) MCIAT DipBldgCons(RICS) is a qualified historic buildings and conservation consultant providing an extensive knowledge of post medieval to pre-Modernism buildings throughout the UK. Responsible for delivery of residential, agricultural and recreational sector work with relevant industry experience designing within the built environment with a deep understanding of sustainable building in both the public and private sectors.
Sarah has worked as an independent historic buildings consultant, involved with the construction, repair, adaptation and extension of a large number and variety of historic buildings. Work includes research and writing heritage statements, detailed analysis of existing structures including survey drawings to ensure correct design and execution of details.
She has Chartered Status of the MCIAT and serves on her local parish council as part of planning advisory matters.
David Taylor
Dr David Taylor, historian, author and lecturer, has lived in the Surrey village of Cobham all his life. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and takes a keen interest in the history and cultural heritage of the county
He is Chairman of the Surrey History Trust; President of the Esher District Local History Society; a Trustee of Painshill Park; and a member of the Surrey Archaeological Society and the Domestic Buildings Research Group (Surrey).
He is also involved in many aspects of local community life and serves as an advisor to the Cobham Conservation Area Advisory Committee.
Jeremy Webster
Jeremy Webster has been a County, District and Parish Councillor in East Surrey for a number of years. Originally from Wells in Somerset, he was taught the value of architecture during his time at Lancing College in Sussex, where in the shadow of its magnificent gothic revival chapel, his Head of History urged him to appreciate buildings whether old or new. Through his Housemaster, who wrote Shell Guides including those for Lincolnshire and Derbyshire, he met Sir John Betjeman. He was allowed to observe Sir John making a documentary about Lancing in 1966 and the die was cast. From the documentary, Jeremy will always remember Betjeman using the phrase: “in good architecture one thing leads to another.”
Most recently he has put his appreciation of buildings to good use in drawing up lists of Non-Designated Heritage Assets for the Caterham, Chaldon and Whyteleafe Neighbourhood Plan. This list of buildings now numbers 94, across four parishes. It comprises buildings and structures which are valued by local residents, ranging from former craft workshops and Victorian public houses to World War 2 leftovers, including Air Raid Shelters and Artillery Emplacements.
Jeremy is very pleased to join the Trustees of The Surrey Historic Buildings Trust.
Dr Deborah Mays
Dr Deborah Mays is an architectural historian and heritage professional, currently Director of The Lutyens Trust and The Heritage Place She has spent more than 30 years in government roles working with heritage designation, casework, policy and grant awards in England and Scotland. Having served as Assistant Secretary to the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and as a Trustee of Berwickshire Housing Association, she has a breadth of experience across sectoral interests.
Deborah appreciates the depth of the benefits our historic environment returns and the unquestionable value of its conservation and continues to work to promote this across communities, amenity societies and professional bodies. To this end her further roles include full membership of the Institute of Historic Buildings Conservation and as a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and the Royal Society of the Arts. Surrey-born, she now lives in Farnham.
Perdita Hunt OBE DL
Perdita Hunt was Director of Watts Gallery Trust, leading the regeneration of Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village in Compton, Surrey. She is an Arts, Heritage, and Leadership consultant and has supported museums and charities on governance and strategy, including the Garden Museum and Bishop Auckland.
A Deputy Lieutenant for Surrey, Perdita is a volunteer Specialist Advisor for the National Trust on Munstead Wood, a former Board member of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and a Trustee of the Foundling Museum. She co-founded the Surrey Cultural Partnership, which recently launched Surrey’s first Cultural Strategy.
With a background in arts administration, Perdita has held senior roles at the Arts Council, NHMF, and WWF-UK. As Chair of the Friends of St Helen’s Church, Isle of Wight, and through her work regenerating Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village, she has deep experience in caring for historic buildings and preserving their character and purpose for future generations. She and her family have lived in Surrey since 1991.
Perdita was awarded an OBE in 2015 for her services to the arts and an honorary Doctorate from the University of Surrey in recognition of her contributions to arts and philanthropy.
Supporting the Trust
Chris Reynolds
Chris Reynolds is the Senior Historic Buildings Officer at Surrey County Council.
He has been providing advice to the authority for over 5 years. Prior to that he worked for War Memorials Trust as a Conservation Officer and in his spare time sits on the committee for the South East Branch of the Institute of Historic Building Conservation.
Ollie Sawyers
Ollie Sawyers BA (Hons) FCCA is a Finance Business Partner at Surrey County Council. He has been providing assistance to the authority since mid-2024.
Prior to that he qualified as a chartered accountant and gained 10 years of experience in practice, which included working with small charities. He is responsible for preparing quarterly finance reports for trustees, as well as the year end statutory accounts for submission to Companies House and the Charity Commission.
Moya Tytherleigh
Moya became Clerk to the Trustees of Surrey Historic Buildings Trust in November 2022. She is an experienced governance professional and supports the Trustees by providing advice on governance, constitutional and procedural matters, as well as helping to organise and support the Board in carrying out its work.
In addition to her role with the Trust, Moya supports another charity in a similar capacity and acts as Clerk to the Governing Bodies of two schools, bringing a broad range of experience across the charity and education sectors.
St. Bartholomews, Sarah Sullivan 2026