Building the Future
For over 140 years, the Egypt Exploration Society has been at the forefront of supporting and promoting Egyptian cultural heritage. Over that time, we have surveyed and excavated more than 150 different sites and monuments across the northern Nile valley including at Abydos, Deir el-Bahari, Amarna, and Memphis. Thanks to a tradition of generous supporters, the EES has worked to preserve Egypt’s history for future generations in a lasting record to be shared with interested audiences around the world. Today we are the only UK institution with a permanent base in Cairo established to support archaeological research and promote its results to diverse and international audiences. Our mission is far from accomplished: in the face of global threats such as the impending climate crisis, the safety of this precious heritage cannot be taken for granted.
Yet while the need for our work grows every day, it is becoming increasingly difficult to continue it. Our unique archives, a lasting record of British-Egyptian relations in the field of archaeology, and our internationally significant collection of papyri, the largest in the world, remain largely inaccessible due to the limitations of our London premises. Structural issues with the building put our users, staff, and irreplaceable collections at risk, and the uncertainty of today’s world makes it vital that we find financially and environmentally sustainable ways of securing our future.
We face a great challenge, but we have a plan. Over the next three years this campaign will raise the necessary capital and awareness to allow us to redesign our London premises. This will empower us to fulfil our mission to its fullest potential through accessible and welcoming facilities, proper storage for our unique collections, and new income streams to support our work for years to come. But we need your help to make it happen.
What the EES premises could look like if our Building the Future campaign is successful
Our goals
We will create an accessible, innovative, and environmentally and financially sustainable London base. To achieve these aims, we need to raise the necessary funds to redevelop our premises in Bloomsbury.
The three pillars of the Building the Future plans
We worked with Studio Becoming, a London-based architect, to develop plans with these three pillars at its core.
The new premises will include:
- A ground-floor learning hub to engage interested audiences and school groups (in-person and online) with heritage throughout Egypt. This will be a place for holding public events, building relationships with the local community, and running educational activities. Flexibility will enable the space to be welcoming to those wishing to explore displays of EES collections, use the lending library, or refreshment facilities.
- Climate-controlled storage for the Society’s unique collections of archive, papyri and cartonnage where they can also be accessed by scholars requiring cutting-edge research facilities.
- A dedicated space for the secure storage of our papyri collection will, for the first time, provide an opportunity to develop a centre for the study and research of this material in central London. Estimated to contain over 500,000 fragments, the vast potential of the collection for telling us more about daily life in the ancient world through Greek literary texts, fragments from New Testament gospels, contracts, correspondence, and more has not yet been fully realised.
- A subject-specialist library and rare/antique book store to nurture the next generation of Egyptologists.
- Accommodation which the Society can let to provide a regular income stream.
- A roof garden will offer a space for reflection. In the stressful world we live in, outdoor spaces (rare in central London) will provide a moment to connect with the wider world through educational activities and planting exercises, perfect for children all the way to care givers and those suffering from dementia. Truly a place for lifelong learning.
- This regenerated EES will bring Egyptian cultural heritage to wider audiences alongside facilitating pioneering research, offering the social and mental health benefits of heritage engagement as well as world-leading contributions to the field of Egyptology. It will enable the Society to continue its important research in Egypt by safeguarding its financial future.
As we near our 150th anniversary, we have an opportunity to work together toward these goals. If we succeed, then we would gain a base whose facilities and generated income will secure the future of UK Egyptology and enable us to fully realise the Society’s mission to support and promote Egyptian cultural heritage.
We need your help to make our plans for transforming the EES premises into a reality. Early leadership gifts offer the additional support of not only securing the transformation, but the Campaign itself.
Join a Giving Group
The generosity of our supporters is vital for making this vision a reality, and we will recognise donors around our new facilities. We appreciate that people may wish to align their gifts with the legacies of some of our most prominent historical figures: our founder, Amelia B. Edwards, and the former resident of 4 Doughty Mews, Argentinian-American Egyptologist, Ricardo A. Caminos. We also appreciate that some might be unable to give at those levels yet still want an opportunity to make a substantial contribution. You may, therefore, wish to make a gift and join one of our giving groups below.
Friends of Amelia B. Edwards
The Egypt Exploration Society was founded in 1882 by Victorian novelist and travel writer, Amelia B. Edwards. She envisioned a world in which the incredible monuments and heritage of Egypt would be preserved for posterity. Today, we continue her efforts by engaging audiences around the world with Egypt’s unique history.
Friends of Ricardo A. Caminos
A major contributor to the EES’ mission was the Egyptologist Ricardo A. Caminos. Ricardo conducted crucial work at important sites like Buhen and Gebel el-Silsila and once lived in the building that is now the EES library. Join a continuing story of discovery by becoming a Friend of Ricardo A. Caminos.
The Scribes
Scribes were creators and custodians of knowledge in ancient Egypt. Be a scribe to the EES by making a gift of £2,500 to our Building the Future campaign, helping us to ensure the understanding and appreciation of Egyptian cultural heritage will continue for generations to come. The Scribes will be recognised on a special plaque in the new Learning Hub, at the heart of our ongoing mission to expand and disseminate knowledge of ancient and medieval Egypt.
Make a donation
Gifts of any size are greatly appreciated and we know that our supporters want to contribute to this once in a generation opportunity. You can support the Campaign in many ways, from raising awareness of it through interested networks, to making a generous contribution yourself.
Don’t forget, supporters in the US may prefer to make a tax efficient gift via the BSUF - Read more here.
If you would like to talk to someone about supporting the Campaign, then please contact Dr Ed Scrivens (EES Development Manager) or Dr Carl Graves (EES Director) by emailing [email protected] or calling 020 7242 1880.
Thank you for your consideration.
Your donations will be managed in the Society’s ‘Capital Campaign Fund’ which is restricted for use solely in the maintenance and redevelopment of the Society’s premises. If more funds are raised than required, then the Society will use them to support the charitable purposes of the EES. If the campaign does not achieve its target in the allocated time, then the funds generated at that point will be held in a Development Fund and used to support the future of the Society which could include a phased approach for the redevelopment.
The Building the Future campaign was officially launched in 2022, though a year of consultations prior to that ensured that our plans would deliver activities requested by our international supporters. Below you will find updates, as well as an overview of the project so far.
2021-25: Planning stage
The Society surveyed members and supporters in 2021 and followed these up with several focus groups. This ensured that their views and suggestions informed our developing plans. We were assisted by Amy Stevens (Gifted Philanthropy) who spoke with many members during this process to assess what scale of project the Society could feasibly hope to achieve.
Based on these discussions, in early 2022, the Society invited submissions from architects to redesign its Doughty Mews premises. The winning applicant was Rory Harmer of Studio Becoming, a local architect in the Bloomsbury area. His plans clearly aligned the three pillars of our project: inclusive and accessible, innovative, and sustainable. By placing the Society’s internationally significant collections at the heart of the activities in the premises, Rory demonstrated how diverse audiences would be welcomed into Doughty Mews both physically and virtually to engage in creative ways with our work.
The three pillars of the Building the Future Campaign, from The Audience Agency (2025)
Sir Loyd Grossman launching our Building the Future Campaign at the Society of Antiquaries on 29th November 2022.
(Left) His Excellency Sherif Kamel, Egyptian Ambassador to the UK, and James Potts (Chair of the EES Development Committee, right) at the launch of our Building the Future Campaign at the Society of Antiquaries.
On 29th November 2022 the Society celebrated the launch of its plans at the Society of Antiquaries, London, hosted by Vice-President of the Society, Sir Loyd Grossman. This event brought together new contacts as well as previous donors to the Society and invited them to make initial pledges and donations to anchor the Campaign and secure further capacity to make the plans a reality. Recognising the importance of our international stakeholders, and following the success of the London launch, His Excellency Gareth Bayley, British Ambassador to Egypt, hosted a special launch event at his residence in Cairo on 14th March 2023 (see video below). As well as previous EES scholars, staff, and project directors, this event also introduced the Society and its ambitious plans to corporate contacts and prospective supporters in Egypt. The Egyptian Ambassador to the UK very generously offered his support following a visit to the current premises in 2023.
With the launch underway, we recruited several high-profile Campaign Champions to raise awareness among their networks and the wider public. We’re grateful to our Campaign Champions for their support and guidance throughout the project, including Aidan Dodson, Anthony Sattin, Ben Boulos, Bettany Hughes, Chris Naunton, Dan Snow, Fatma Said, Guy de la Bédoyère, David Leigh, Janina Ramirez, Joann Fletcher, Loyd Grossman, Margaret Mountford, Mary Beard, Raksha Dave, Salima Ikram, Stephen Buckley, and Toby Wilkinson.
In addition to making connections with prospective private donors, it was during this phase that we also began the process of scoping possible grant funding opportunities, a key focus being the National Lottery Heritage Fund. We submitted an Expression of Interest and were subsequently invited to prepare a full application for a Development Phase grant, this being an initial stage to develop proposals ahead of a final Delivery Phase application.
2023-26: Pilot stage
On receiving support from members and several new donors, we ran several events to raise further funds as well as awareness of the project. Some of these served as pilot events to check that models for future Activity Plans were feasible and sustainable.
Highlights included a book reading at Hatchards with Anthony Sattin on 20th September 2023 and another on 16th April 2024 with Mary Beard (see below), a dinner at the House of Commons hosted by Andrew Pakes (MP for Peterborough) in January 2026, and a screening of For the Love of Egypt (1982) at the Garden Cinema in February 2026.
Having progressed beyond the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Expression of Interest stage, we submitted our Development Phase application in February 2024 and were awarded a grant in July. We were then able to recruit an Activity Planner (Hayley Sharp) and Evaluator (The Audience Agency) to start planning a future programme of events.
Our Development Phase included a series of workshops and consultations to advance our plans for both the building itself and the new activity programme. We worked with Arts for Dementia, Camden Disability Action, Camden Learning, King’s College London, University College London, our members and service users, and members of the local community who we engaged with at Lamb’s Conduit Street fairs. Our pilot activities included ‘Muse and Make’ crafting sessions featuring talks by Pablo Barba and Christina Geisen and a spotlight exhibit (‘The Women Who Changed Egypt’) to help develop a new Interpretation Plan for displays in the redeveloped building. The pilot season of EES podcast ‘Away with the Pharaohs’, demonstrated the value that this kind of output can play for different audiences.
Ed Scrivens (EES Development Manager) with comedian Diane Morgan, as Philomena Cunk at the Lamb's Conduit Festive Fair on 21st November 2024.
Ed 'mummifying' Philomena Cunk - as he said, "learn to wrap more than just presents this festive season!"
The success of these pilot projects and development work meant that the Society was awarded a Delivery Phase grant by the National Lottery Heritage Fund in December 2025. In celebration of this turning point in our history and to further pilot elements of our new activity programme, in June 2026 we held the EES Fest, a month-long series of events which included movie nights, open days, and a set of takeover events delivered in partnership with the SWANA-led collective Hekayyatna.
2026: Phase one - Preparation
With the Campaign proceeding at a quickening pace, we began for the process of decanting the contents of our premises in Doughty Mews. Carefully rehoming, packing, and listing more than a century of archival documents was a mammoth task and we were particularly grateful that members supported an Annual Appeal in 2024 that enabled us to employ four interns from September 2025 to May 2026 to assist the staff team in this process:
- September-October 2025 – Maia Nolan
- February-March 2026 – Shamim Ghaderi
- March-April 2026 - Kit López
- April-May 2026 - Charley Buchan
Their hard work meant that the Library was closed to visitors in April 2026 before being packed and relocated. This was closely followed by the archive between May and October 2026 which is now being stored off-site by Restore in their dedicated heritage storage facilities.
This enormous undertaking means that staff are now working remotely or from a satellite office based on Theobald’s Road, a short walk from Doughty Mews.
2027: Phase two – Enabling works
2027-29: Phase three – Main works
2029-35: Phase four – Activity plans
Working with Hayley Sharp and The Audience Agency during the Development Phase of the project, three core activity threads were identified:
The latest updates
The EES team
Alongside the staff team, the Board appointed a dedicated Development Committee to oversee the Building the Future Campaign and Project.
James Potts
James Potts joined as a Trustee of the EES in 2021. He is a barrister at 3 Verulam Building chambers, specialising in commercial litigation and arbitration in London, the Middle East, the Far East, and the Caribbean. Having travelled widely in Egypt over several years, he joined the EES in 2016 and began studying ancient Egyptian language on the EES short courses. Inspired by this, he recently completed a part-time MA in Archaeology at Birkbeck, with his dissertation research focusing on trade networks and interactions between Middle Kingdom Egypt and the Horn of Africa.
James also holds a degree in English Literature from Oxford University and an MPhil in Eighteenth Century Studies from Cambridge University. He was twice a Hawthornden Fellow for creative writing. James has chaired the Society’s Development Committee since 2022, steering the future redevelopment of the EES London Office.
Hilary McGowan FMA FRSA
Hilary McGowan FMA FRSA is a graduate in History from the University of Edinburgh, holds the Fellowship of the Museums Association, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the Bath Heritage Services Advisory Committee. Like many of us, from the age of 7, following a visit to a museum, Hilary wanted to be an Egyptologist.
Hilary has a background as a museum curator who moved on to become Director of some of the most significant collections in the UK, in York, Exeter and Bristol. She set up her own business over 25 years ago and has since worked with over 120 museums and heritage organisations. She now specialises in governance, leadership and supporting organisational change and is an experienced Trustee, after 11 years on the Board of Bletchley Park and 12 years with the Museums Association.
Hilary has considerable experience of capital projects leading to the transformation of museums, including successfully applying for National Lottery Heritage Funding, as well as winning a RIBA Building of the Year award as the Lead Consultant for Creswell Crags Museum & Education Centre in 2010.
She would look to use her clarity of vision and enthusiasm for museums and history to help the EES to continue to build financial resilience and to deliver a successful Building the Future capital project. Hilary also Chairs the EES Collections Committee.
Hilary is the co-author of Managing Change in Museums and Galleries: a Practical Guide with Piotr Bienkowski (Routledge, 2021) and in 2025 they published Cultural Leadership: a practical guide to building an Inclusive and Sustainable Organisation. She now lives in Somerset with her husband and two cats, in a house they rescued, in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Jenny Chong
Jenny Chong has 25 years of experience in technology, big data and AI. She was formerly the Global Head of eCommunications Surveillance at Credit Suisse in London. She now sits as a non-executive director on various boards and committees for Medway NHS Foundation Trust, Orthopaedic Research UK, The Design Museum and Imperial College London. She is also an advisor to various social impact startups. Jenny has a keen passion for archaeology, Egyptology and Islamic art which she has cultivated through her membership of the Egypt Exploration Society. She has been co-opted to the EES Finance Committee since 2020 and looks forward to contributing her skills in technology and management to the Board of Trustees.
Dr John Baguley MBA
Dr John Baguley MBA is a Fellow of the Institute of Fundraising UK and in 2016 received its Lifetime Contribution Award. He heads the International Fundraising Consultancy (groupifc.com), which he founded in 2000 to change the world. It now has offices in twelve countries.
His clients include the top UN organisations, international NGOs and game changers of all sizes and in all fields.
He has also developed the free Top Table breakfast discussions for heads of fundraising in the Gherkin, London and free First Friday fundraising clinics in several countries as well as Fundraising TV on YouTube. He is occasionally active on social media.
John has worked and lectured around the world and is the author of several books on Amazon.uk including ‘Successful Fundraising’, his guide for fundraisers of all disciplines, which is also available in Russian. His PhD thesis “The Globalization of NGOs” is published by VDM.
Dr Leire Olabarria
Dr Leire Olabarria holds a DPhil in Egyptology from the University of Oxford. She is Associate Professor in Egyptology at the University of Birmingham, where she delivers courses on the archaeology, history, and language of ancient Egypt. She is a committed teacher who tries to instil in her students a passion for the archaeological and cultural heritage of Egypt and Sudan. Her main research deals with kinship and the way it is expressed on the monumental record of the Middle Kingdom, a topic that she explored further in her 2020 monograph ‘Kinship and family in ancient Egypt: archaeology and anthropology in dialogue’. Leire is also interested in the construction of Egyptological knowledge and its colonial roots, as well as in the reception and popular perceptions of ancient Egypt. As a field archaeologist, she has worked for the Dayr al-Barsha Project (KU Leuven) in Middle Egypt. She is delighted to join the EES to contribute actively to its goals of promotion and preservation of Egyptian and Sudanese heritage.
Robert Lee
Robert Lee is a real estate lawyer at London international law firm DACBeachcroft where he is a partner involved in major housing regeneration projects. Robert has worked in the legal sector for some 40 years and lives in London and North Devon with his wife Helen and their four children.
Robert has a keen interest in ancient Egypt which was sparked when he took his late father (who did his national service in Port Said and Cairo) for a holiday to Egypt some 20 years ago. This led Robert to read into the subject and to join the Egypt Exploration Society. Robert is a keen champion of the EES and previously served as a Trustee between 2010 and 2016 Robert has subsequently visited Egypt on many occasions.
In addition to an interest in both ancient and modern history Robert is a keen collector of antique silver particularly of the Georgian period.
Sue Preston
Sue Preston is a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Tax Adviser. She worked in the oil industry for a number of years before taking a career break and moving to the Far East. Since her return she worked for a number of not for profits and was formerly the Finance Director of a grant giving trust.
Sue has wide experience of not for profit accounts and a particular interest in governance. She has also had a keen interest in Egyptology and studied at Birkbeck College.
Amanda Cusimano (Project Evaluator)
Amanda Cusimano is an independent consultant with over 17 years’ experience across the arts, culture and heritage sectors. She works with organisations including Art Fund, iniva and Art Explora to strengthen capacity, build resilience and maximise impact. Her practice spans evaluation, impact assessment, research and strategy development. In her previous roles she has worked with clients such as the British Council, the Barbican, and the UNESCO World Heritage Site At Turaif.
Chana Projects (Project Manager)
Chana Projects are an independent construction, heritage, and property consultancy providing professional services to the built environment. Chana Projects endeavour to create, innovate and inspire in all that they do and are keen to play their part in the preservation and celebration of heritage and cultural assets to ensure they are there to be enjoyed by future generations.
Contacts: Peter Chana, Josh Chana, and Ryan Thorpe
Studio Becoming (Architect)
Studio Becoming, create sustainable, responsive architecture that brings together people, place, and nature through innovation and sensitive design. Their work focuses on low-impact, adaptable solutions, that integrate natural materials to craft spaces that foster well-being and connection. Driven by collaboration and creativity, they design spaces for people that are not just sustainable, but regenerative - built to evolve and endure.
Contact: Rory Harmer
GIA (Party Wall Surveyor)
Over the last 30 years GIA has provided advice and analysis on some of the most high-profile developments in London, the UK, Ireland and globally. Passionate about tackling challenges in the built environment, they approach consultancy differently, using technology and creativity to find solutions where others see unsolvable problems.
Contact: Daniel Poynter
UPCOMING (Building contractor)