Meet Some of the Team
Hear what it’s like to work at Historic England, from those who know best.
Rosie Hill
Executive Assistant to Head of IMT
I worked in lots of different admin and office manager roles before joining Historic England as EA to the Head of IMT in 2020.
Here, there are lots of opportunities to learn and develop your career. My role is much broader and more complex than the job title implies; I’m helping to organise a department of 80 people and getting involved in lots of varied projects too. If you’re curious and look for opportunities to contribute, there’s a whole world of opportunities open to you.
Working here’s different to how I imagined it. Historic England is a really forward-thinking organisation; it’s not only about curating a list of protected buildings, our projects are also really relevant to modern life.
Take Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings, for instance. Few people know that’s where we get modern skyscraper architecture from! And the project to give it a new lease of life is what we’re all about – making sure historic places are fit for the future.
I love the diversity of my role and the people I work with. So many of my colleagues are at the top of their game in terms of their knowledge, and everyone’s passionate about supporting the historic environment and engaging others with our work.
Daniel McNaughton
Senior Building Services Engineer
What’s special about working at Historic England? You’re in a unique position to influence heritage. I’ve been in the air force, a teacher, and have 11 years of engineering experience - but here, I’ve got the opportunity to drive positive change across a wider audience.
There’s a very diverse skill-set within the organisation, which means you get to meet and work with interesting people every day. I’ve been really well looked after here. And being able to come back in a professional capacity to some of the places I spent time at as a child is very satisfying.
Gareth Lopes-Powell
Public Engagement - 'Enriching the List' Officer
There’s a perception that everyone who works here is middle-class - but that’s not true! And you don’t have to come from a heritage background either. I did my MA in Sports Coaching and worked all over the place before I joined Historic England.
It took me a while to land a role here as I’m severely dyslexic so struggled to get through the application process initially. But when I reached out and asked for help, there was plenty of support.
The work we do here is about protecting and championing the places and spaces we all care about. Some people might be put off by our name, but you shouldn’t be. If you think how much places from your own history mean to you, then you realise how important our work is. Like the King’s Arms pub in Swindon (for me), where my parents had their wedding reception.
And we’re actively working to make Historic England more open and accessible to everyone. For example, we’ve teamed up with Blueprint For All (formerly called the Stephen Lawrence Trust) to inspire more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue a career in architecture.
Hannah Hamnett
Project Officer - High Street Heritage Action Zones
Thinking about joining Historic England? It’s not just for people with PhDs - and you don’t need to be a historian or an architect to work here. There are plenty of opportunities for you to put your transferable skills to good use.
Historic England is the friendliest place I’ve ever worked. Everyone’s so interested and passionate about what they do here - it’s really nice to be surrounded by that enthusiasm. It’s more than just a job to us.
You might not expect it but there’s a real diversity to what we do here. It’s not just all about old buildings - there are incredible new buildings that are listed too because they’re seminal examples of design.
I think that, for younger people like me, the places and spaces Historic England care for can play a vital role in connecting us to older generations and relatives - helping us find and share common interests.
