Training bursaries
for those experiencing financial hardship
Deadline for applications: Friday 7 March 2025, 5pm
Bursaries are now available for precious metal crafts, fashion textiles, leatherworking, calligraphy and illumination and maritime rope and twine crafts. A later open round (for any craft discipline) will open in early April 2025. Keep an eye out on social media and our website for specific dates nearer the time.
These training bursaries are targeted at new entrants and early-career craftspeople experiencing financial hardship. They are sponsored by The Royal Mint, the Costume Society, the Leathersellers’ Foundation, the British Leather Industry Development Trust, the Society of Scribes and Illuminators and the International Guild of Knot Tyers, and are part of a suite of awards and bursaries offered by Heritage Crafts to support and celebrate heritage craftspeople.
Apply for up to £4,000 to start training in a heritage craft or to further develop your skills.
Many people are dissuaded from training in heritage crafts because of the cost, and therefore the make-up of the sector is not truly representative of the mix of backgrounds that make up the UK as a whole. This bursary has been set up to help cover or subsidise the cost of training for someone who would otherwise be prevented from pursuing this career path as a result of the cost.
Bursaries are for:
- new entrants who have demonstrated a commitment to starting a new craft career and need to acquire the necessary hand skills;
- early-career practitioners who have not yet attained the hand skills required to achieve commercial success; or
- early- or mid-career craftspeople who need to acquire distinctly different hand skills to develop new ways of achieving commercial success.
What can these bursaries be used for?
You can apply for a bursary for any amount up to £4,000 which can cover or contribute towards the costs of:
- apprenticeship-style training with a craftsperson/people;
- attending a specialist training course (accredited or non-accredited);
- undertaking a self-directed programme of training with one or more craftspeople;
- the cost of specialist tools or materials, books or study materials, or supporting travel and accommodation (no more than 30% of total budget).
The bursary cannot be used for general living expenses, research, promotional activities or anything else.
Applications are now open until 5pm on Friday 7 March 2025. Click on the relevant bursary below for more details and to apply.
It can make you feel a bit insecure to not see people like yourself in the legends of your craft. It means so much to be part of Heritage Crafts for my confidence as a craftsperson, to meet others in the community and to feel less isolated and more part of a whole. This opportunity also gives me permission to dedicate time to being creative, which has otherwise been something I’ve had to neglect.
Hannah GirvanFurniture maker
Bursaries awarded to date
Heritage Crafts is delighted to have awarded 67 training bursaries for trainees to learn heritage craft skills since 2021, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation, The Royal Mint, the City & Guilds Foundation, the William Grant Foundation, the Costume Society, the Army Benevolent Fund, the Ashley Family Foundation, the Royal British Legion, the Principality Building Society’s Future Generations Fund, the Golsoncott Foundation, the Arts Society, DCA Consulting, the Newby Trust, the Anthony and Elizabeth Mellows Charitable Settlement, the D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, the Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars, Soane Britain, Kendrick Hobbs, Jennifer Chen and Malcolm and Rosalind Gammie.
- Ayham Aldoghim, from Bristol, to travel the UK to learn from experts in lime plastering.
- Richard Barber, from Preston, to train with renowned jewellery maker Robin Girling in all aspects of stone setting in silver, gold and platinum.
- Caius Bearder, from Glasgow, to train in silver spinning with Sheffield-based Warren Martin.
- Saul Beardsley, from Northumberland, to train one-to-one in blacksmithing with Alex Sowdon at Hammer and Hound Forge.
- Logan Beckford-China, aged 16 from Cornwall, to undertake 40 days Cornish hedging training with the newly-formed Cornwall Rural Education and Skills Trust.
- Marcia Bennett Male, sculptor from London, to train in portrait work, specifically how to use a traditional pointing machine for reproducing likenesses from a clay maquette.
- Amanda Boachie, from London, to take four bookbinding courses at CityLit and undertake one-to-one training with Piotr Jarosz.
- Mia Brennan, from Kent, to attend the BTEC Higher National Certificate in Millinery at Morley College on a part-time basis.
- Chanelle Brown, from East London, to train one-to-one with Mick Hanbury at Hope Woodturning.
- Sacha Chandisingh, from Brighton, to train one-to-one in tutu making with Federica Romano and take a short course at Hand & Lock.
- Isabella Cobby, from West Sussex, to train in production men’s hat making with Sue Crowle and Tyler Miller.
- Michael Dickson, aged 18 from Hertfordshire, to study a Foundation Degree in Clocks at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation.
- Rosie Elwood, from Tyneside, to train in metal thread embroidery with goldwork embroiderer Hanny Newton and the Royal School of Needlework.
- Roy Evans, metalsmith from Gloucestershire, to develop his coppersmithing skills at Newlyn Copperworks.
- Leon Fairbrother, from Leicestershire, to work alongside a local skilled dry stone waller and achieve the Dry Stone Walling Association Level 3 certification.
- Andrew Fisher, leatherworker from Buckinghamshire, to attend courses on leather restoration and repair, seat upholstery and industrial sewing machine repair.
- Elena Fleury-Rojo, from Essex, to train in scientific glassblowing with Brian Jones at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland.
- Roisin Gearty, from London, to undertake a year of one-to-one training in jewellery making and silversmithing with master craftspeople Paul and Tomiko Ravn.
- Hannah Girvan, from Devon, to undertake a one-to-one apprenticeship in furniture making at Woodlab.
- Andreia Gomes, from London, to train at the VS Jewellery School in Hatton Garden, focusing on stone setting and mounting, and casting using the lost wax method.
- Abby Gray, from Glasgow, to undertake an apprenticeship with renowned tailor and dressmaker Alis Le May.
- Iona Hall, from Bristol, to train in silver box making with Kent-based silversmith Ray Walton.
- Horatio Hawes, from Nottinghamshire, to extend his internship at Lancaster Armouries, with one-to-one training from master armourer Matthew Finchen.
- Jo Hills, from Berwickshire, to train in millinery with Sally Ann Provan in Edinburgh and Jenny Roberts in Harrogate.
- Kate Holmes, from London, to complete her Historic Carving degree at City & Guilds of London Art School, carving a life-size female form for her final project.
- Maya Howes, from Staffordshire, to attend the Corsetry Retreat in Lincolnshire to learn 18th century stay making, as well to gain additional one-to-one tuition.
- Nicola James, from Birmingham, to attend courses at the School of Master Jewellers, Stirchley School of Jewellery, and the British Academy of Jewellery.
- Nkosi Kerr, from London, to complete a Level 3 Bench Joinery course at the Building Crafts College, setting himself up to make significant progress in his carpentry career.
- Bodhi King, from Pembrokeshire, to undertake a number of specialised courses focusing on traditional and heritage blacksmithing.
- Oliver Kinge, from Wiltshire, to train one-to-one with blacksmith Melissa Cole.
- Joseph Lancaster, from East Sussex, to train in lime plastering at Ty-Mawr Lime and Carrington Lime.
- Toben Lewis, from the remote community of Iona, to study bookbinding one-to-one with 2018 Heritage Crafts Trainer of the Year Kathy Abbott.
- Ziyaad Lorgat, from Leicester, to train in bookbinding with 2023 Heritage Crafts Trainer of the Year Tom McEwan and others.
- Hannah Macfarlane, from the Scottish Highlands, to build on her new kiltmaking practice with dedicated one-to-one training with a master kiltmaker in her area.
- Michelle Mateo, basket maker from Monmouth, to train in split wood basketry and expand her repertoire from ask to hazel and oak splint basketry.
- Daahir Mohamed, lime plasterer from Bristol, to undertake six-month Fellowship with the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.
- Exauce Mondo, from London, to train in fashion pattern cutting and garment construction with Susan Backhouse.
- Claire Mooney, from Newry, Northern Ireland, to train in silver spinning with Sheffield-based Warren Martin.
- Barney Murray, from Denbighshire, to undertake the Dry Stone Walling Association’s Master Craftsman certification scheme, under the mentorship of Andy Loudon.
- Alison Pascoe, from Belfast, to study passementerie and braiding with Elizabeth Ashdown, Julie Hedges and Jacqui Carey.
- Leena Patel, from Edinburgh, to complete a one-year Foundation Course to provide an in-depth knowledge into the skills required to become a jewellery maker.
- Katie Raithby-Veall, from Lincolnshire, to undertake a punch needle certification course to enhance and deepen her skills, as well as learn the craft of spinning.
- Cai Gwilym Roberts, from Powys, to train one-to-one with master blacksmith Spike Blackhurst.
- Gareth Roberts, from West Sussex, to further his bookbinding training with Bound by Veterans and City Lit College.
- Kate Robertson, from the Scottish Borders, to train in sporran making with Nigel Armitage in Staffordshire.
- Emma-Jane Rule, from Leicester, to train in silver box making with Kent-based silversmith Ray Walton.
- Celina Sawicka, from Leicestershire, to attend pottery classes at Coombe Farm Studios and Whichford Pottery.
- Katie Sawyer, from Cheshire, to train one-to-one with historical textile expert Sally Pointer, as well as various courses at the Manchester School of Costume.
- Jamie Smith, from Argyll and Bute, to attend the International Boatbuilding Training College in Lowestoft.
- Lily Smith, from Dundee, to train with Sheffield-based Warren Martin in the craft of silver spinning.
- Lily Thomas, from Powys, to train on a one-to-one basis with renowned silversmith Rauni Higson.
- Devin Valentine, from Southampton, to continue studying the Musical Instruments FdA at West Dean College.
- Marcia Vidal, from London, to train one-to-one in silversmithing with Russell Lownsbrough and Charlotte Desyllas.
- Elliot Walker, from West Midlands, to learn mouth-blown flat glass making with Fremont Antique Glass and Monarch Glass Studio in the United States.
- Cameron Wallace, from Clackmannanshire, to learn hand lettercutting with master lettercutter Gillian Forbes.
- Leo White, from Oxfordshire, to study at Rycotewood Furniture in Oxford, where he will incorporate straw marquetry into his furniture.
- Ieuan Williamson, from Gwynedd, to expand his skills into timber framing through an intensive two-week residential course.
- Tim Wills, from Devon, to train in the endangered craft of Cornish hedging with the Cornish Rural Education and Skills Trust.
- Tobias Wright, from Norwich, to train on the Stonemasonry Heritage Course at the Building Crafts College in London.