Meet Henrietta and Haylie
Henrietta Arnfield grew up in Putney, southwest London, and first headed north to study History at Durham. After graduating, she was keen to explore a more practical approach, which led her to the University of York’s MA in Conservation of Historic Buildings. Combining history, archaeology and architecture, the accredited qualification appealed to her as a route to a wider range of career options.
Fellow student, Haylie Hale, is from Utah in the United States. After completing her BA in Geography, Haylie worked as a city planner for six years, before being assigned a role as preservation planner in the US. An experience that fostered a keen interest in how older buildings can be sensitively managed and adapted. Haylie was recommended to the York University MA as a way to strengthen her knowledge and career potential in heritage and conservation planning.
Learning from York’s historic buildings
The MA Conservation of Historic Buildings is an intensive one year programme, combining taught modules, on-site visits and placements. Henrietta and Haylie’s placement with us runs from February to May, one day a week, and is designed to include them in the Trust’s conservation activity.
As a conservation charity and landlord, this means hands-on experience of day-to-day building management and key decision making.
Technical skills and climate resilience
Haylie has gravitated towards the technical aspects of conservation and historic building preservation. Developing a feel for “best practice”; when careful repair will extend the life of original fabrics, and what replacement materials may be, if repair is not an option.
Henrietta is particularly interested in sustainable conservation and how historic buildings can be made more resilient to climate change. Particularly, the challenge of balancing the historic character of a building alongside the need to keep it dry, as rainfall increases across the UK.
A shared commitment to a career in conservation
Both realistic about the challenges of entering a relatively small and specialised field, Haylie plans to return to the US and build on her previous planning work in a dedicated preservation role. Henrietta is keeping her options open and is excited about expanding her experience. What unites them is a commitment to the long-term care of historic buildings and a recognition that people, as much as places, shape conservation around the world.
Through its placements, and support for bursaries in traditional crafts the York Conservation Trust continues to invest in the next generation, helping to support the skills, judgement and dedication needed to look after our historic built heritage.
With the Minster in the background, L to R, Henrietta Arnfield and Haylie Hale in the garden of York's Theatre Royal, one of York Conservation Trust's historic buildings.
