46 CONTEXT 184 : JUNE 2025 New member profile Emma Wells My passion for heritage was sparked by my grandmother. As a child, she would whisk me away frequently to castles, churches or country houses, encouraging me to explore the past with wide-eyed wonder. She was unaware of the spark she had ignited. I later found myself drawn to the iconography and symbolism of the medieval church, a fascination I deepened while studying history of art at the University of York. There I discovered the incredible worlds hidden in stained glass compositions. I was equally fascinated by the world of Hogarth and the structures he interlaced within his satiric masterpieces. Eager to get closer to buildings themselves, I completed an MA in buildings archaeology. A PhD at Durham University followed on the sensory experience of pilgrimage in the late medieval church. Faced with the choice between academia and consultancy, I chose the latter, founding my own consultancy and gaining full membership of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists. Yet academia lured me back. In 2014, I was appointed programme director for the PGDip in parish church studies at the University of York, later creating and leading the MA in English building history – blending scholarship with practical conservation. After nearly a decade in academia, I returned to consultancy, joining SLR Consulting, becoming technical director and head of historic buildings. In 2025 I took on a new challenge as director of heritage at Planning Potential. My work has spanned projects of all types, designations, periods and scales, from timber-framed houses to landed estates, and includes both conservation and new development work – each project deepening my understanding of how we preserve and adapt our built heritage. It is this variety that truly sparks joy and my hope that the range of experience I have garnered can aid others in the field. Beyond consultancy, I write, broadcast and advocate for historic buildings and their associated organisations, CPD being a considerable part of this. My books include Heaven on Earth: the lives and legacies of the world’s greatest cathedrals (2022), which attempts to bring these gargantuan structures and their builders to life and to a wider audience. I contribute a weekly column on historic buildings for Welcome to Yorkshire. I sit on the Church Buildings Council stained glass committee, am a
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