Iain Boyd MBE, BSc, MSc Treasurer & Acting Chair

 

Iain is a conservation advocate living in the Hotwells area of Bristol who chairs the City’s Conservation Advisory Panel. As well as a range of business experience, he holds an MSc in Conservation of the Historic Environment.
Iain became a Trustee and then Chair of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) from 2008 until 2022. He also served as a Trustee of the Institute for Conservation (ICON) for six years and was an appointed Council member of the National Trust until 2024.
Iain is the co-author of New Designs for Old Buildings,
published by the RIBA and was awarded an MBE for services to heritage in 2023.

 

Geoff Wallis C.Eng. MIMech.E Secretary

 

Geoff has 50 years’ experience in the practical conservation of historic metalwork and machinery. He was a director of Dorothea Restoration Engineers for 30 years and has unparalleled experience with mechanical and industrial machinery. Geoff has had education and consultancy roles with several universities, English Heritage, Historic England and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

 

He co-founded the National Heritage Ironwork Group, is Council member of the Association for Industrial Archaeology and a former President of the Bristol Industrial Archaeological Society. He founded the Brunel Swivel Bridge Group in 2013 and continues to campaign for its restoration.

 

Nick Booker B.Com, FCIM Fund-raising and Marketing Lead

 

Nick was born in Bristol and has worked as a strategic business consultant in tourism for over 20 years as the owner of Attract Marketing and was elected a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing in 2006. He was a trustee of The Postal Museum until 2016, Chairman of Mail Rail Trading Ltd., and a member of the Fundraising Board. Until 2021 he was a member of the project board at Coventry Cathedral guiding the development of a capital project for City of Culture and was Vice Chairman of the Coventry Heritage & Arts Trust.
Nick is a specialist in industrial archaeology and the history of technology, writing for publications including The Guardian. Nick is chairman of the Welsh Highland Railway Heritage Group and a member of the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways Heritage Advisory Group.

 

Simon Hickman BSc, MSc

 

Simon was Historic England's Principal Inspector of Historic Buildings and Areas & Development Advice Team Leader in the South West for over ten years. He has extensive knowledge of every part of the region. Simon was a building inspector for English Heritage's London region, where he guided the restoration of some of the Nation's best loved buildings, including Kings Cross and St Pancras Stations, and the National Theatre.
Simon started his career in heritage managing a steam railway in Eastern Scotland, and maintains interests in transport heritage, serving as vice chair of Bristol Industrial Archaeology Society.

 

 

Bob Watkins BSc, MSc, CEng, FICE, Aff.IHBC Technical Lead

 

Bob is a chartered civil engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and holds a MSc. in the Conservation of Historic Buildings. He has more than 50 years of experience in the management of large projects, including civil engineering projects, bridges, marine works and buildings.
Bob specialises in the investigation and rehabilitation of structures and has written several papers in this field. He has been engaged as a consulting engineer in the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore. Bob has received extensive professional recognition from his peers, including the Historic Bridge & Infrastructure Award from the Institution of Civil Engineers in 2011.