‘Historic buildings […] provide the means of studying the development of relations amongst peoples, the mutual influence of their cultures, and the mutual enrichment that has resulted…

‘Historic buildings […] provide the means of studying the development of relations amongst peoples, the mutual influence of their cultures, and the mutual enrichment that has resulted…

‘Historic buildings […] provide the means of studying the development of relations amongst peoples, the mutual influence of their cultures, and the mutual enrichment that has resulted…

...as an incarnation of the creative activity of mankind, historical monuments are the heritage of the whole of humanity’ Alexander Halturin

But only if you have a short memory.

In the twentieth century, the fragility of our inheritance became only too clear.

What became World Monuments Fund was founded in 1965…

…when Colonel James Gray found no US private preservation group to which he could contribute his talents and energy.

It was the decade of the Aswan Dam, the Venice and Florence floods.

The effects of war and redevelopment had been felt by all: not least in Britain.

The Euston Arch, 1844- 1963

St Michael, Coventry. Bombed 14 November 1940

Our aim is to protect the past and invest in the future.

A word from our Ambassador...

“World Monuments Fund have to be congratulated for preserving so many exceptional sites for future generations and for helping them to make that vital connection with their sense of place, community and history.” Kevin McCloud

University of Bath MSc Conservation Programme

Experienced conservators from Crick-Smith Conservation University of Lincoln work with student volunteers on Coventry Cathedral’s medieval glass

at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry

V&A Private view, April 2012

Sir Simon Jenkins at the Royal Geographical Society

‘Giving Our Past a Future’ at Sir John Soane’s Museum, October 2012- January 2013. Generously sponsored by The Pacificus Foundation with Symm.co.uk and The Paul Mellon Estate

Lima (WMF Peru)

Balaji Ghat, India, from the 2012 Watch

. More than 630 sites in 125 countries and territories have been included on the WMF Watches. Nearly half the sites featured on the 2008 Watch, representing 79 countries, have received WMF funds of $80 million. These WMF funds have leveraged an additional $170 million in assistance from other sources.

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Rice terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras Desert castles of Khorezm, Uzbekistan Gingerbread Houses of Haiti

Las Pozas, Mexico Misiones Jesuiticas de Chiquitos, Bolivia Phajoding, Bhutan

“Watch Listing brings recognition, international publicity and the application of pressure on local politicians. It is a powerful tool. Repeat listing brings repeat benefits and helps to sustain our work.” Dr James Parrent, Executive Director of FHR

“WMF’s reputation endorses small organisations and places them in the arena of international grant giving bodies. It does a wonderful job highlighting off-the-beaten-path places full of rich historic and cultural resources. The level of help the Watch brings is unquantifiable.” Eryn Brennan, Director of Development & Communications of FHR

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“The historic buildings were built between 1863 and 1872 [under] Edward Pugin, whose father helped design the Houses of Parliament. Gorton Monastery is considered one of his finest masterpieces. It was put on the World Monuments Fund Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites in the World in 1998, alongside Pompeii, Macchu Picchu, The Valley of the Kings and the Taj Mahal. This was a milestone that led to the Monastery being recognised internationally for its architectural and spiritual significance and gave rise to the nickname of ‘Manchester’s Taj Mahal’.”

Elaine Griffiths CBE

“The acoustic of the beautifully restored Hawksmoor church enhanced the lingering sounds of works by Gibbons, Parsons, Weelkes, Mendelssohn.” Peter Fowler, August 2008

Before WMF Watch listing and Wilson Challenge Funds, HLF support and partnership funding…

…and after! Our congratulations to the Strawberry Hill Trust

From a mess…

To a shared success.

Fifteen years ago, Stowe- an overlooked Georgian ducal palace of the Temple-Grenville family who generated several eighteenth-century Prime Ministers, was also a mess. Falling stone and plaster threatened its future. The Stowe House Preservation Trust nominated the house to the 2002 Watch.

In 2003-5, WMF and partners funded the restoration of the Marble Saloon at the centre of the mansion as an exemplar of what could be achieved.

Work to the exterior, managed by The Stowe House Preservation Trust, was completed in September 2011

Stowe House remains a major project, a £10 million challenge.

We have only £70,000 left to raise to complete our task. A whip-round might do it.

15 November 1940: Coventry, a ruined city.

2012: WELCOME TO COVENTRY

2012: WELCOME TO COVENTRY?

I know. It still doesn’t look pretty: planners have done their worst. But take that left turn into the city centre and you’re in for an historic treat.

York Minster’s East window (1405-8) is the largest medieval stained-glass window in the country. It is currently being conserved with major HLF support. It was commissioned from John Thornton of Coventry, some of whose work remains amongst the Coventry fragments which once filled the windows of the ruined St Michael’s Cathedral.

Shortly after this picture was taken in May 2011, this south-west corner of the ruins of St Michael’s Cathedral developed a two-inch crack.

It then featured on the 2012 WMF Watch.

Our campaign was launched on 14 November 2011. Since then we’ve raised over £370,000 from generous supporters. Now, the ruins are being preserved…

…the medieval glass has been catalogued, cleaned and repaired…

…all 12,068 pieces and 39 panels.

By bringing the conservation into Coventry, the whole city got involved.

We funded and managed a Conservation Management Plan, now completed, that will inform how the ‘Cathedrals Quarter’ can be optimally used. And we have been invited by the City Council to discuss how Coventry can better engage heritage tourism.

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Please sign up at info@wmf.org.uk or call Sarah Meaker on 02072518142