Learn a craft

QEST - The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust

Scholarships and apprenticeships funding craftspeople to train and develop, across around 130 disciplines. The route that funded the globemaker Jonathan Wright.

Heritage Crafts - Training Bursaries

Grants to begin or further develop training in a heritage craft - courses, tools, materials, apprenticeship-style learning.

Heritage Crafts - Endangered Crafts Fund

Small grants for projects that safeguard the crafts on the Red List of Endangered Crafts.

Crafts Council - Funding

The national craft charity’s funding hub: bursaries, business grants and development support for makers.

The Radcliffe Trust

Grants to UK not-for-profits for craft and conservation projects, training and skills development.

The Leche Trust

Conservation grants and annual bursaries for trainees in specialist conservation skills - textile, paper, painting.

Historic England - Traditional Building Skills Bursaries

Funded, work-based training in traditional building crafts and conservation.

Heritage Crafts

The national charity for traditional crafts and custodian of the Red List of Endangered Crafts, with grants, bursaries and a directory of makers.

Crafts Council

The UK’s national charity for craft, founded 1972 - training, mentoring, advocacy and a maker directory.

The Art Workers’ Guild

A guild of more than 400 artists and craftspeople across 60-plus disciplines, founded 1884 out of the Arts and Crafts movement.

The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers

The City of London livery company (1631) supporting horological training, apprenticeships and bursaries.

In the archive: Seth Kennedy

The Goldsmiths’ Company

City livery company running a gold-, silver- and jewellery-smithing apprenticeship scheme and funding the Goldsmiths’ Centre.

In the archive: David Hart, William Hart

The Carpenters’ Company

City livery company that founded and still backs the Building Crafts College - carpentry, joinery, masonry, conservation.

The Worshipful Company of Basketmakers

City livery company (1569) supporting basketmaking and its Yeoman basketmakers.

In the archive: Lewis Goldwater

The Basketmakers’ Association

The UK’s leading basketry membership body (1975) - courses and events in basketry, chair seating and fibre crafts.

In the archive: Lewis Goldwater

The British Horological Institute

The UK’s largest horology body (1858) - distance learning and short courses to professional MBHI accreditation in clock and watch work.

In the archive: Seth Kennedy

West Dean College of Arts and Conservation

Sussex college specialising in conservation and traditional crafts - books, ceramics, clocks, furniture, metalwork, historic-building repair.

City & Guilds of London Art School

Independent London art school (1854) with dedicated carving (wood, stone, gilding) and conservation departments.

The King’s Foundation - School of Traditional Arts

Traditional arts teaching and a building-craft programme (NVQ Level 3, summer school, live build and placements). Formerly the Prince’s Foundation.

The Building Crafts College

Stratford college founded 1893 by the Carpenters’ Company - fine woodwork, stonemasonry, conservation and construction apprenticeships.

The Royal School of Needlework

Hand-embroidery education at Hampton Court Palace, from short classes to a BA (Hons) degree and tutor training.

Weald & Downland Living Museum

Day-schools and longer courses in historic-building conservation and traditional rural crafts, near Chichester.

The Boat Building Academy

Lyme Regis school teaching wooden boat building and furniture making, plus short courses like oar making and traditional sailmaking.

In the archive: Stephen Dennett, Michael Dennett

The Goldsmiths’ Centre

Clerkenwell training charity for jewellery, silversmithing and precious-metal crafts - short courses, technical and business training.

In the archive: David Hart, William Hart

Rycotewood Furniture Centre

Oxford furniture-making centre (since 1938) - vocational furniture design and making from entry level to BA (Hons).

Hereford College of Arts - Artist Blacksmithing

An internationally recognised degree in forged-metal design, taught at the National School of Blacksmithing.

The Cathedrals’ Workshop Fellowship

Trains stonemasons and conservation craftspeople in working cathedral workshops, up to a foundation degree.

The SPAB

The UK’s oldest building-conservation charity (1877, founded by William Morris); its William Morris Craft Fellowship trains craftspeople in historic-building repair.

Grandeys Place - creative courses

The heritage and craft centre near Much Hadham where the archive met five makers in one morning. Runs courses across the crafts based there.

Lewis Goldwater - hazel basket courses

The basketmaker documented by the archive teaches split-hazel basketry, including the Welsh Marches swallow basket.

The Cardozo Kindersley Workshop

The Cambridge lettering workshop documented by the archive, where letter-cutting in stone is still taught by working it at the bench.

Heritage Crafts - Red List of Endangered Crafts

The definitive list of which crafts are endangered, critically endangered or already extinct in the UK - the urgency behind this whole page.

Heritage Crafts - Craft Directory

A searchable directory of makers, trainers and craft suppliers across the UK.

Crafts Council - Directory

A searchable directory of more than 900 UK craft makers across all disciplines.

Craft Courses

The UK’s largest marketplace of in-person and online craft workshops - strong for finding short heritage-craft courses.