Author: Castle Studies Trust

The Castle Studies Trust grants are now open!

1st September can mean only one thing: the Castle Studies Trust is now accepting applications for funding. The deadline for submissions is 15th December.

There is one very important change on previous years: the maximum award per grant has been increased from £5,000 to £7,500. Previous grants have provided excellent value for money, and the increase allows for more ambitious projects.

We have also broadened our criteria for sites for which we will award grants to include sites managed by major heritage bodies subject to caveats. For full details please view our grant giving criteria.

We already have a number of very interesting possible applications and we are looking forward to receiving more. If anyone would be interested in applying, please do not hesitate to contact the chair of trustees, Jeremy Cunnington at admin@castlestudiestrust.org

Want to learn more about previous grants or looking for inspiration? Read our grants page for details of projects from the last three years.

Announcing our grants for 2016

The Castle Studies Trust is delighted to announce the award of two grants for 2016:Pembroke Castle keep

  • Pembroke Castle – geophysical survey of the castle’s interior. Best known for its massive round keep built by William Marshal, the greatest knight of his age, little else is known about what exactly was in the castle’s interior. Dyfed Archaeological Trust with the guidance of well-known castle expert Neil Ludlow will use the latest geophysical techniques including ground penetrating radar to try and reveal some of the secrets.
  • Caus Castle – earthwork, geophysical and photogrammetric survey of the castle. Frequently referenced in medieval research as an example of a Marcher castle and associated failed borough on the Welsh borders, nobody has done any proper analysis of one of the most important medieval sites on the Anglo/Welsh border. This first detailed archaeological analysis will be carried out by Dr Michael Fradley who has previously undertaken ground breaking surveys of castles at Wallingford (Oxon), Sudeley (Glos), and Newhall (Ches) and Giles Carey. The focus of the project will be on the outer bailey where the medieval borough was situated.

Donate to Have Opportunity to Visit the Selected Projects 

Within the next year the Trust will be organising exclusive visits the selected projects during the initial research stages or at completion of them. These visits are only open to those supporters who have donated to the Trust.

If you would like to be invited to a site visit you can donate in a variety of different ways:

Not only will you have the chance to visit the sites you will also be increasing the amount we can give away to more exciting projects like the ones above next year.

Talking to our supporters

Site visits such as 2015’s trips to Gleaston and Pleshey are a good chance for the Trust to meet its supporters and learn about what motivates them. Of course it’s not just at the Trust’s events where you might meet our supports, and at Rochester Castle in October we caught up with Joy, one of our donors. She talked to us about why she donates to the Trust.

Some people dismiss me as a committed and pathetic castles anorak. Rather at heart, I am secretly a very thwarted and equally pathetic would-be archaeologist. So it pleases me to contribute in a small way via the Trust to the furtherment of discoveries, as much to provide new interpretations and understandings as to hopefully draw the interest of another generation to what I’m sure must be a very rewarding and dare I say frustrating occupation.

You can hear more from our supporters in the short testimonial video below.

In February we will be deciding which sites we will be looking at this year, doing our part to further discoveries and reach new interpretations and understandings. Keep following this blog for the news.

How the Castle Studies Trust Selects its Projects

The way the Castle Studies Trust selects the projects it will award grants to is a simple but thorough process that takes place in two parts:

  • Assessment of the projects by our team of experts
  • Based on the feedback from our assessors, the trustees decide which grants to award at a board meeting in February.

As you can see our experts are not only some of the leading experts in the field, they also cover all countries in the British Isles to have the local expertise.

Applications are sent to our assessors immediately after the closing date. They then assess each of applications on six criteria:

  • Will the project advance the study/understanding of castles?
  • Importance of site and/or castle studies topic being researched.
  • Does the applicant(s) have the necessary skills and expertise to complete the project to a satisfactory standard?
  • Is the aim achievable by means suggested?
  • Is the aim achievable within time frame (ie within nine months)?
  • Are costings realistic and achievable?

On each of the criteria the assessor is asked to mark the application – out of ten for the first two criteria, out of five for the rest – and to put the mark in context make comments explaining the mark. The higher a project’s score, the higher its assessment. As an additional check we will then ask each assessor to rank their top three or five projects, depending on the number of applications received.

This is a classic example of where great minds may not think alike. In both the first two years of grant award rounds at least half the applications have been ranked in their favourites by at least one assessor. Indeed, in the first two years, only one project has received universal support by assessors – the Wressle garden survey.

This provides both challenges and some flexibility for the trustees, who, having read through both the applications and the assessors feedback then have the difficult job of selecting the projects at an afternoon-long meeting. In making that choice the trustees also have the added consideration of not just the quality of the research but also how the projects can benefit the Trust, in terms or raising awareness of it and consequently funds for the following years.

The process of selecting the projects is carefully minuted so feedback can be given to the applicant if required. Decisions on grant awards are wherever possible made on unanimous decisions of the trustees. When this is not possible a majority decision will suffice.

The successful applicants are then informed. As is always the case for granting giving charities there are always more good projects that can be funded. In some cases where the project is just not quite good enough, we suggest they can apply next year.

To see which sites are being considered in 2016, read our summary.

Grants are now open!

There are two key dates for the charity over the next few months: 1 September and 15 December. The first marks the opening of our grants process. It is the start of the journey to understanding our history better. Applications close midway through December.

In that time we get to find out what people have been planning. After that comes the decision process which shapes what we do next year.

Our decision is informed by a panel of experts who have worked on castles across England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Their broad experience means we’re ready for just about any project which comes our way. We focus only on sites which aren’t managed by major heritage organisations. That way we can maximise how effective our work is, as these sites are unlikely to get attention otherwise.

You can help us by sharing the news that our grants are open. If you know a heritage group working on a castle, or some industrious soul with a passion for castles let them know about us. We offer up to £5,000 which can cover work like a digital reconstruction or a laser survey.

Want to learn more about previous grants or looking for inspiration? Read our grants page for details of projects from 2014 and 2015.