About Kate

Kate Ballenger is a heritage consultant specialising in collections care, disaster preparedness and operational support within historic properties and cultural institutions.

Her work is shaped by a particular interest in the practical realities of caring for collections in active heritage environments. Historic houses are often simultaneously homes, workplaces, visitor attractions and sites of cultural significance, and Kate’s approach focuses on helping estates manage this complexity in ways that are thoughtful, proportionate and workable in practice.

Through Caryatid Heritage & Culture, Kate works closely with estate teams to support the long-term care and protection of collections and historic interiors. Her projects have included disaster and salvage planning, collections care advice, filming support and exhibition planning within a range of historic settings.

Kate has a particular interest in emergency preparedness for historic houses and in developing clear, usable procedures that help teams respond confidently during incidents affecting collections and interiors.

She believes strongly in collaborative working and in approaches that balance conservation priorities with the day-to-day realities of managing active heritage sites.

Caryatid works with historic houses, estates and cultural organisations across the UK.