Please note we have postponed the summer event due to red weather warnings for London. Tickets have been refunded.

ICOMOS UK’s summer event is always an opportunity to share news and expertise, meet old friends, and make new ones. This year, we are delighted to invite members to join us at St Martin in the Fields, the church designed by James Gibb in 1726, incorporated into the remodelling of Trafalgar Square by John Nash in the 19^th century, and now as much a focal point for social justice as it is for architectural history.

The evening brings together architectural heritage and the heritage of homelessness, in acknowledgement of St Martin’s continuing commitment to supporting homeless people in London. We will hear from Kathryn Harris, Architect to the Church, about her work in overseeing the conservation of the building and its adaptation to meet new challenges in the 21^st century.

We will also meet Matt Turtle, co-founder and co-director of the Museum of Homelessness, who has also worked with St Martin’s. The Museum is now based in North London, but it began without a home, functioning as a street museum with and for people with direct experience of homelessness.

Their work embodies so much of what ICOMOS UK seeks to do – to support the protection and conservation of outstanding architecture, and to understand and respond to the needs of communities and their own sense of identity and meaning in the world around them.

The evening begins with a brief introduction at 6.15pm. The talks begin at 6.30pm, followed by a drinks reception.

Kathryn Harris

Kathryn specialises in the creative adaption and conservation of historic buildings.  After studying architecture at Cambridge, she worked in London at Richard Griffiths Architects, before moving to Nick Cox Architects in Oxfordshire. Her appointments include being Architect for two cathedrals and several churches, including St Martin-in-the-Fields and St Mary Le Strand. Kathryn is also a member of Canterbury Cathedral Fabric Advisory Committee, the London Diocesan Advisory Committee and Treasurer of the Cathedral Architects’ Association.

Matt Turtle

Matt founded the Museum of Homeless with his wife, Jess, in 2015. The Museum worked with partners in London, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester, creating exhibitions, commissioning artwork, undertaking research, lobbying, and providing practical support to homeless people. It secured its permanent home in Finsbury Park in 2023, and is now is building the national collection for homelessness, preserving and sharing histories of homelessness, poverty and social action, a collective and community-led process.

“Together we collect and share the art, history and culture of homelessness and housing inequality to change society for the better. Together we find hope in deeply divided and difficult times”