Patricia Lovett

Patricia Lovett is a British scribe, calligrapher and illuminator from Kent. She is the author of many books on the subjects and teaches calligraphy, illumination and manuscript skills in the UK and worldwide. She was Chair of the Heritage Crafts Association between 2017 and 2022, having been Vice-Chair for several years previously and in 2013 was awarded an MBE for services to calligraphy and the protection of heritage crafts.

Professional biography Lovett was a secondary school teacher in London before becoming interested in calligraphy and heraldry in the late 1980s. She teaches traditional vellum manuscript illumination, heraldry and calligraphy in Britain and in libraries around the world and is the author of many books across a range of manuscript skills. and curated the museum’s 2012/13 exhibition of contemporary calligraphy from around the world, Calligraphy Today.

She was the Chair of the Heritage Crafts Association, between 2017 and 2022, having previously been the founder Vice-chair. She is a final Judge for The President's Award (The King) of Heritage Crafts. She was a judge for the National Schools Handwriting Competition and champions handwriting along with other manual crafts.

She has also produced many commissioned works including pieces for Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, the Woodland Trust, Courtauld Institute of Art, British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) and Dulwich Picture Gallery. She has also worked in film and television providing tools and materials for Wolf Hall (BBC series) (a replica Book of Hours), Treasures of the Anglo-Saxons (BBC Radio 4) and the Simon Schama BBC series A History of Britain. She has taught Mark Rylance and Tom Bateman how to prepare and use a quill for film and theatre performances and has appeared in “Numerous instances of being filmed as ‘the hand’, writing documents, signing documents, ‘being’ poets or historical figures, drawing maps etc.” for film and television. In addition she provided tools and materials and wrote the exhibition cards and introduction for the 2011/12 British Library exhibition Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination. and an honoured fellow of the Calligraphy and Lettering Arts Society (HFCLAS) having previously acted as chair. She is patron of the Lettering Arts Trust, a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), helped to set up, is an Associate member and provides the Secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Craft , and is a participant in the All-party parliamentary group for art, craft and design education.