The Hamilton Kerr Institute Today 

Step inside the Hamilton Kerr Institute at University Printing House in the heart of Cambridge, and you will find a world-class conservation hub where conservation meets science. Activity fills every corner of the Institute: conservators work in an airy open-plan studio flooded with natural light, while cutting-edge scientific and microscopy laboratories buzz with research. Specialised facilities for photography and x-radiography capture hidden layers of artistic genius, and a truly unique collection of conservation literature brings together technical treatises, art-historical scholarship, archival treasures, and thousands of photographs and slides.  

The Institute also houses remarkable archival collections: 19th and early 20th-century records of two legendary colourman companies—Roberson & Co and Winsor & Newton—as well as historical conservators' archives and over 40 years of the Institute's own conservation documentation. Together, these resources provide students, conservators, and researchers with an extraordinary foundation for their work and research. 

Since 2024, the Institute has offered a three-year Master's degree in the Conservation of Easel Paintings, building on the legacy of its former Diploma Course. The programme is unique, as students are immersed in a busy working studio, training alongside a fantastic team of experienced conservators and heritage scientists who guide them through every stage of their development. This, combined with an intense programme of lectures and workshops, will prepare them for a career in conservation and research. 

The Institute's reach extends beyond Cambridge. Since 1980, the London Studio has offered students intensive hands-on experience in structural treatments during focused 5-week internships, under the expert mentorship of Simon Bobak and Anna Sanden. 

The Institute is one of the founding partners in the Cambridge Heritage Science Hub (CHeriSH), alongside the University Library and the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. Thanks to generous UK-RI/AHRC funding, the hub offers state-of-the-art imaging and analytical equipment—a superb infrastructure that supports object-based interdisciplinary research for conservators, curators, heritage scientists, academics, students, and visiting researchers alike. 

A Legacy of Vision 

This thriving institution was established nearly five decades ago. For 48 years, the Institute called Whittlesford, a village 20 miles outside Cambridge, home, the building a generous gift to the Fitzwilliam Museum from the late Sir Hamilton Kerr, Baronet and MP, whose name the Institute bears.  

In 1972, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation published a landmark report revealing a critical gap: Britain desperately needed specialised training in paintings conservation. The response was swift. Six leading foundations—Baring, Esmée Fairbairn, Gulbenkian, Isaac Wolfson, Monument Trust, and Pilgrim Trust—united to turn vision into reality, and in 1976, the Hamilton Kerr Institute opened its doors.  

The recent move to University Printing House marks an exciting new chapter, bringing this essential work into the vibrant heart of Cambridge itself.