Supporting conservation education
& research for over 50 years

Today the  TC Foundation supports conservation education and research primarily though the Kelvin Centre for Conservation & Cultural Heritage Research (part of the University of Glasgow), with its particular focus being the MPhil Textile Conservation and also the MPhil Book & Paper Conservation (launched in 2025).  The TC Foundation has a long history, having supported the development of textile conservation in the UK for over 40 years.  This section of the website briefly sets out the history.

1975-1999: The TCC at Hampton Court Palace

In 1975 the Foundation was established to run the Textile Conservation Centre (TCC), which was founded by Karen Finch OBE.   From 1975 until 1999 the TCC was based at Hampton Court Palace where it uniquely combined three activities: textile conservation education, research and practice.  Karen was instrumental in developing the specialism of textile conservation and is renowned internationally for her contribution to the sector; she retired in 1986.

2000-2009: The TCC in Winchester

In the mid 1990s the Trustees reviewed the future of the Centre and concluded that the development of the TCC's work could best be achieved as part of a university.  In 1999 the TCC became part of the University of Southampton, relocating from Hampton Court to purpose-built premises on the university's Winchester Campus. The merger with the University of Southampton was negotiated by the TC Foundation, which also launched a successful capital campaign to raise funds to support the move.  After the merger the Trust's role changed and Trustees focused their efforts on supporting the work of the TCC primarily through fundraising, with a focus on student bursaries.

The TCC enjoyed ten astoundingly successful years - which included training a more than 80 textile conservators and well over 100 curators on its MA courses in Textile Conservation and Museums & Galleries.  Nearly a dozen MPhil/PhD students also successfully graduated in this time.  The Centre's securing of a prestigious AHRC Research Centre grant enabled it considerably to increase its research, as well as the academic and public dissemination of the results of that work.

2010- Present: university of Glasgow - The Kelvin Centre

After the widely condemned closure of the TCC by the University of Southampton, the TC Foundation Trustees negotiated the development of a new successor Centre as part of the University of Glasgow and this has proved to be a huge success.  The Kelvin Centre for Conservation and Cultural Heritage Research goes from strength to strength.

The TC Foundation raised funds to support the relocation of the Centre to Glasgow and, since then, has continued to raise funds primarily for student bursaries but also for equipment and special projects. Since 2010 a total of over £2.7m has been raised, £2m of which has been used for bursaries.

The two-year MPhil Textile Conservation is renowned as a leading programme internationally. Graduates of this programme and its predecessors have an outstanding employment record: those who have graduated since 2010 are working in 17 countries. The new MPhil Book and Paper Conservation was launched in 2025 and its structure is modelled on that of the MPhil Textile Conservation and promises to be similarly successful.

Since 2010 the TC Foundation has provided bursary support for nearly 100 students on the MPhil Textile Conservation programme and is also now supporting students on the MPhil Book and Paper Conservation programme. In 2025, to reflect the developing range of the Kelvin Centre’s work and, consequently, the wider remit of the Foundation, its name was changed from Textile Conservation Foundation to TC Foundation and the objects of the charity were updated to reflect this broader role. You can find out more about these developments here.