Institute of Conservation


The Institute of Conservation is a charity and the professional body for conservators and restorers in the United Kingdom. It has over three thousand members, including professional conservators working with heritage objects and buildings.

Background

Icon was formed in 2005 as a result of a merger between five smaller bodies: The United Kingdom Institute for Conservation, The Institute of Paper Conservation, The Scottish Society for Conservation and Restoration, the Photographic Materials Conservation Group and the Care of Collections Forum. These five organisations were known collectively as the 'Vanguard Bodies' of the National Council for Conservation-Restoration. In 2006 a sixth organisation, the Institute of Conservation Science, which had not been part of the NCCR, merged into Icon.
Seven other bodies which were also members of the NCCR opted not to merge into Icon in 2005. These were: