John Barnes

John Barnes is the Chief Executive of Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity established by Royal Charter and contracted by the Secretary of State for DCMS and the Northern Ireland Office to look after six royal sites and 1,000 acres of formal gardens and lands. Prior to this appointment in 2017, he was Conservation & Learning Director from 2001 with responsibility for the care of the six palaces and their collections, their presentation, interpretation and learning activities, as well as strategic leadership of site development and the wider visitor experience.

John joined Historic Royal Palaces from English Heritage where he had been the Director responsible for professional services and then for major projects. Before that he had practised as an architect with a succession of leading conservation firms.

He is an alumni of the Getty Leadership Programme (2005), has taught on the Danish Museums Leadership Programme and mentored on the UEA Leadership course. He is currently a Trustee of Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich and a member of the Strategic Planning Committee of the International Council for Museums (ICOM).