Carole Souter is currently Chair of the Heritage Alliance, which brings together over 200 independent organisations representing the breadth of the heritage sector. She also Chairs the Sulgrave Manor Trust, which cares for George Washington’s ancestral home in Northamptonshire, and the Fabric Advisory Committee of Salisbury Cathedral, where she has been a Lay Canon since 2016.
You can find a relevant announcement on Carole's appointment here.
Carole is a passionate advocate for culture and heritage, with an outstanding record of achievement in the sector. She led the Heritage Lottery Fund (now the National Lottery Heritage Fund) as Chief Executive from 2003-2016, overseeing the distribution of billions of pounds of investment in culture, heritage and the environment. From 2016 to December 2023 she was a Trustee of Historic Royal Palaces, and interim Chair from August 2022 to December 2023.
Carole served from 2016-2022 as Master of St Cross College at the University of Oxford, a graduate College with students from all over the world. She also chaired the Board of Visitors of the University Museum of Natural History and, as a Trustee, the Planning Committee of the Oxford Preservation Trust. She was an advocate for equality and diversity across the University, focusing particularly on the importance of supporting those with no prior connection to the University.
She chairs the Sulgrave Manor Trust, which cares for the ancestral home of George Washington in Northamptonshire, is currently a trustee of the Horniman Museum and Gardens and Oxford Preservation Trust, and is a lay canon of Salisbury Cathedral. From 2001 to 2003 she was Director of Planning and Development for English Heritage, joining that organisation after more than 20 years as a civil servant, during which she worked in the Departments of Health and Social Security and the Cabinet Office. She Chaired the Board of Visitors of the Oxford University Natural History Museum for 6 years including Chairing the Project Board for a major NLHF project.
Born in Cornwall, Carole has lived in south London for all her adult life, excepting her time in Oxford.