At the suggestion of members, the Council of the London Topographical Society has decided to fund a new prize in honour of the late Dr Ann Saunders (1930-2019). Ann was an enthusiastic and distinguished historian of London and for thirty-five years the Society’s Honorary Editor and in that capacity helped many scholars, both young and old, to achieve publication of their work.

A prize of £1,000 will be awarded annually depending on the response and at the discretion of the Council.

It will be awarded for an original and unpublished research essay on the topography, development or buildings of London in any period.

Submissions are to be no more than 8,000 words including endnotes and should include an additional abstract/summary of about 200 words.

* Entries should be submitted as hard copy and as a Word email attachment.

* They must be accompanied by the name and address/contact details of the author.

Submissions for the prize will be considered for publication by the Society in the London Topographical Record, at the discretion of the Society’s Honorary Editor.

Entries for the prize should be sent to our Hon. Secretary, Mike Wicksteed, by 1 April 2023.  Please email your Word entry to him (mike.wicksteed@btinternet.com) and he will provide an address to which your hard copy version should be sent.

The prize winner will be notified in time to attend the Annual General Meeting of the Society in London to be held in the summer of 2023.

Questions relating to entries should be addressed to Council Member Caroline Barron (c.barron@rhul.ac.uk )

SURF’s annual awards process is delivered in partnership with the Scottish Government. It is open to all community regeneration projects in Scotland that are currently in place or that have been completed within two years of the closing date. The purpose of the SURF Awards is:

• To recognise and reward best practice and innovation in community regeneration;
• To promote and disseminate best practice across Scotland as means of sharing knowledge and experience, and thereby enhancing future policy and practice;
• To highlight the role that regeneration projects have in improving the wellbeing of individuals and communities.

The SURF Awards has been running since 1998. It provides an opportunity for regeneration projects of all sizes to demonstrate value to funders and partners, support team-building and develop a national profile. SURF Award winners also receive additional showcase opportunities through SURF activities throughout the following year.

For more information see here.

Applications to QEST for funding of up to £18,000 to help you improve your skills are being invited between 11 July and 15 August.

Since it was founded in 1990, the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) has awarded more than £5.2million to 675 individuals working in 130-or -so different crafts.

And it continues to support its Scholars throughout their careers, often putting them forward for prestigious exhibitions and awards.

It defines craft broadly and welcomes applications from people involved in skills ranging from stonemasonry to thatching and jewellery design to glassblowing and millinery.

You can see some of the people who have benefitted from a QEST scholarship on its website (www.qest.org.uk), where you will also find details about how to apply to become a QEST Scholar. 

For more information and how to apply see here.

The Scottish Lime Centre Trust aims to promote and further the understanding and care of Scottish traditional buildings through it’s traditional crafts and skills training and education programme.

Once again, SLCT will be offering bursaries to eligible applicants for our time tabled training courses with the help of the funding grant generously awarded by Historic Environment Scotland through their HES Support Fund scheme.

Check out the eligibility criteria and download the application form!

We are also offering a number of fully funded practical training days for P7s and High school groups, as well as technical training to College and University groups.