Heritage Emergencies Study Day

Emma Dadson

Key Account Director, Harwell Restoration

Emma Dadson is the Key Account Director of Harwell Restoration, the leading service provider of specialist salvage for libraries, archives and museums in the UK and Ireland. She has twice been recognised as Business Continuity Consultant of the Year and is the author of Effective Emergency Planning for Libraries, Archives and Museums (Facet, 2013). Emma holds a Masters degree in Classics from Oxford University and is an accredited Disaster Recovery Specialist Restorer and Fellow of the British Damage Management Association

Julia Drysdale

Hampton Court Palace

Julia Drysdale is a Health, Safety and Environment Officer at Historic Royal Palaces, based at Hampton Court Palace. She works as part of the Safety Team, which has extensive experience in major incident planning, working closely with conservation and collections colleagues to mitigate risks and protect the historic collections and sites. Focused on salvage, her session will explore HRP's approach to emergency preparedness, including planning, training, live exercises and more.’

Claire Magill ACR

The Regional conservator for National Trust in Northern Ireland since 2008, supporting and advising House teams and General managers on preventive and remedial conservation to include Emergency Preparedness.

Claire has delivered several National Trust Emergency study days, and participated delivering training on the joint English heritage/National trust training days (Birmingham) 2013-16.

With direct experience of several major floods at NT properties in past years, and helping co create and deliver a series of internal webinars ‘ Ready to Respond’. These were rolled out during Covid to upskill NT staff managing historic houses and collections during the pandemic.

David Orr ACR

Castle and Collections Manager, Hillsborough Castle, Historic Royal Palaces

David Orr ACR is Castle and Collections Manager at Hillsborough Castle for Historic Royal Palaces. 

As an accredited conservator he has overseen the collections at the castle for over 8 years with building up experience that ranges from collections management, salvage to supervising on site treatment projects.  David graduated from West Dean College, setting up a business in metalwork conservation in Northern Ireland, he gained his experience from restoring, maintaining, and operating steam locomotives from a young age. 

David is a keen advocate for conservation, being engaged and challenged on completing projects that will help to protect collections but also highlight conservation as a discipline.

Fergus Purdy A-ICRI

Fergus Purdy is a freelance furniture and wooden objects conservator-restorer based in Belfast. A graduate of the London College of Furniture he has 35 years’ experience in conservation work, with a particular focus on historic house collections. He is an accredited member of both ICON and ICRI, and a member of the ICON Northern Ireland group.