“The public helps us find endangered buildings”
DR ANNA KEAY, 42, IS DIRECTOR OF THE LANDMARK TRUST. FOUNDED IN 1965, THE CHARITY RESTORES BUILDINGS AND RENTS THEM OUT FOR HOLIDAYS. SHE DIVIDES HER TIME BETWEEN LONDON AND KING’S LYNN WHERE SHE LIVES WITH HER HUSBAND, HISTORIAN SIMON THURLEY, AND THEIR EIGHT-YEAR-OLD TWINS.
I’VE ALWAYS LOVED HOW HISTORY CAN GET YOU EMOTIONALLY. I GREW UP IN A REMOTE HOUSE IN ARGYLL, WHICH SPARKED MY IMAGINATION. WE HAD NO MAINS ELECTRICITY OR WATER. DESPITE THE ISOLATION THERE ARE REMAINS OF ANCIENT VILLAGES ON THE HILLSIDES, SO A SENSE THAT A DIFFERENT LIFE HAD HAPPENED THERE.
THERE ARE OVER 10,000 HISTORIC STRUCTURES AT RISK IN THE UK. THE LANDMARK TRUST IDENTIFIES THE ONES THAT ARE THE MOST ENDANGERED, AND THEN SETS ABOUT RESTORING THEM. I’VE WORKED HERE FOR FIVE YEARS – I WAS PREVIOUSLY AT HISTORIC ROYAL PALACES AND ENGLISH HERITAGE – AND MY JOB IS VARIED. I’M VERY INVOLVED WITH THE RENOVATION OF BUILDINGS, THINKING ABOUT THE DESIGN WHEN WE HAVE TO ADAPT A MILL OR AN ENGINE HOUSE INTO A HOLIDAY HOME.
WE DON’T HAVE SCOUTS SCOURING THE COUNTRY FOR BUILDINGS; WE ASK PEOPLE TO SEND US SUGGESTIONS. IT MIGHT BE A BUILDING THEY OWN OR ONE THEY WALK PAST EVERY DAY. THE LANDMARK TEAM IS SMALL – ABOUT 40, SO EVERYTHING IS A TEAM EFFORT. THE BEST ADVICE
I’VE EVER RECEIVED IS TO REMEMBER THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT MATTERS AND WHAT IS DETAIL. FOR EXAMPLE, DON’T PANIC WHEN PACKING FOR A TRIP – YOU ONLY NEED YOUR PASSPORT AND CREDIT CARD. AND WHAT MATTERS IS LOVING YOUR CHILDREN, NOT HOW CLEAN THEIR HAIR IS.
WHAT KEEPS ME AWAKE AT NIGHT ARE THE THINGS I CAN’T CONTROL. THE LANDMARK’S BUILDINGS ARE BOOKED ALL YEAR, AND I THINK, “WHAT IF SOMEONE FALLS OFF A PARAPET?” WHAT HAPPENED AT CLANDON PARK, THE NATIONAL TRUST PROPERTY THAT WENT UP IN FLAMES A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, MAKES YOU THINK, “THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD…”
MY TWINS WERE BORN AT 28 WEEKS, AND WERE VERY SMALL. BUT THEY WERE, AND ARE, FINE. AFTER A YEAR’S MATERNITY LEAVE, I WAS A LITTLE SHAKY COMING BACK. HAVING CHILDREN HAS TAUGHT ME THAT YOU NEED TO BE FLEXIBLE WITH COLLEAGUES AND UNDERSTAND WHAT IS GOING ON IN THEIR LIVES.
BECAUSE THE TWINS ARE YOUNG, IT HASN’T OCCURRED TO THEM THAT VISITING CASTLES AND CHURCHES IS BORING. THEY’RE QUITE HAPPY CAREERING AROUND THEM. I GREW UP WITH SIMPLE PLEASURES AND WANT THAT LIFE FOR THEM.