Trustees and Staff

Nancy Bell (Chair)

Nancy joined in November 2021 and was confirmed as Chair in May 2022.  Nancy Bell has worked in the heritage sector for over twenty years, as a conservator and collection care manager for archives, libraries and museums including The Oxford Conservation Consortium, The National Archives, UK and The National Records Administration, USA, and currently The National Trust. In recognition of her services to heritage and environmental management she was awarded the Plowden Medal in 2015. She has served as a Trustee for several organisations including Wikimedia UK and held positions on advisory boards for grant awarding organisations. She is a committed ambassador for the cultural sector, believing the arts, and heritage can change lives and build communities. When not at her desk, she enjoys the creativity and challenge of gardening.

James Brooke Turner (Trustee)

James has been a trustee since November 2021. James has been responsible for investments at the Nuffield Foundation, a £500m grant making charity in the field of Social Research, for 20 years, now part-time alongside running a small business promoting good investment governance for charities. He studied at the Courtauld Institute (History of European Art) and subsequently at Birkbeck (Medieval Culture) and investment management at Yale and London Business School. He was one of Anthony Gormley’s 4th Plinth sculptures and has a love of opera, cold water swimming and of learning to draw.

Serena Davies (Trustee)

Serena has been a trustee since November 2021. Serena Davies is an arts editor and journalist with 20 years’ experience of covering UK culture. She is currently Director of Culture at the Telegraph. She has also experienced life on the inside of an arts organisation, having previously been Head of Press and PR at Glyndebourne Opera House. Her particular interests are in visual art, opera and theatre.

Dr Tessa Murdoch (Trustee)

Tessa has been a trustee since 2007. Tessa has forty years’ experience at the Museum of London and the Victoria and Albert Museum and is currently V&A Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Research Curator. She has curated exhibitions on furniture, jewellery and silver and contributed to the Museum of London's exhibitions on The Huguenots, V&A’s British and European, Sacred Silver and Gilbert Galleries. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, Chair of the Huguenot Museum and external adviser to Apollo Magazine and the Silver Society.  Her book Europe Divided: Huguenot Refugee Art and Culture completed as Getty Rothschild Fellow in 2019 was published by the V&A in November 2021. 

Rachael Williams (Trustee)

Rachael became a trustee in May 2022. Rachael is currently Chief Executive of Streetwise Opera, an arts organisation working with the homeless sector to empower people to realise their creative potential. Prior to this, Rachael was Executive Director and Joint CEO of Park Theatre, Executive Director for theatre company Improbable, and has also worked at the Gate Theatre Notting Hill, English National Opera and Oxfordshire based outdoor theatre company Creation Theatre. Rachael was previously Chair of the Board for Metta Theatre and is currently a Trustee of the National Centre for Circus Arts and The Running Charity. 

Robert Gowing (Trustee)

Robert became a trustee in May 2025. Robert is a partner in the Planning and Consenting Team at Eversheds Sutherland International LLP.   Prior to his career in law, and with professional qualifications in architecture and conservation, Robert spent over 11 years at English Heritage (now Historic England) as Head of Wall Paintings Conservation within their Building Conservation and Research Team.  He was a founding Trustee of the Institute for Conservation and has been trustee of a number of arts and heritage charities. Robert is also a member of the selection committee for the Plowden Medal (presented by the Royal Warrant Holders Association) and has regularly provided teaching in conservation and public funding. Given his diverse background, it is not surprising that Robert has a keen interest in heritage buildings and sites but also has interests in contemporary art and musical theatre.

Matthew Hargreaves (Trustee)

Matthew became a trustee in May 2025.  Matthew is Head of Scholarships and Artistic Planning at The Drake Calleja Trust, awarding scholarships to performing classical musicians studying in the UK. He is also the Head of Singing at Westminster School.

He studied singing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and has had a busy and varied career as a performer. He has appeared in productions for Welsh National Opera, Opera North and English National Opera, singing a wide variety of roles as well as working at The National Theatre. Further afield he has sung at La Scala, Milan, as well as touring widely across Europe, Japan and North America appearing in operas and on the concert platform.