In many parts of the country, even if an owner recognises that they require builders with a knowledge of traditional skills to repair an historic building, it can be very difficult to find one. There are simply no longer enough firms with these skills. Many of these skills are not necessarily difficult to learn and could be acquired by general building firms, not only historic building specialists - but the will and motivation is often lacking.

The scale of the problem is vast. One solution, a long-term measure advocated by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), is to train the lecturers at further education colleges who teach trainee bricklayers, roofers, joiners etc, traditional building techniques and ensure that these skills are a component of GNVQ courses. SPAB also emphasises the incalculable importance of practical experience. At Stowe the National Trust is hoping to establish a project to take on trainee tradesmen and put them to work under supervision on the restoration of the miles of boundary walls as part of their training. The Getty Grant Fund pioneered making such training a condition of grant aid. It should now become a condition of repair and restoration projects grant aided by the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage, Historic Scotland, Cadw and the Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland.