About the American Friends of Attingham

The American Friends of Attingham supports the work of The Attingham Trust, a British educational charitable trust, that organizes specialized residential courses to study British country houses, their collections and settings, and the history and contents of British royal palaces. The American Friends of Attingham is a 501(c)(3) educational organization that assists the Trust by recruiting and processing applications from candidates living in the United States, and raising scholarship funds for those in need.

The Attingham Trust and the American Friends of Attingham take their names from the great neoclassical country house in Shropshire, England in which the Attingham Summer School was first held in 1952. The original purpose of the course was to acquaint American curators with the history and art collections of British country houses. Ten years later three alumni established the American Friends of Attingham to recruit applicants, and raise scholarships to assist Americans with course tuition fees. Today the American Friends of Attingham services all candidates living in the United States, and more than 1,300 alumni.

Throughout the year the American Friends of Attingham arranges lectures, receptions, historic house visits, and weekend trips for alumni. A newsletter is published twice a year.