NATIONAL CHURCHES TRUST - Key Persons
Blyth is a village situated on the old Great North Road, six miles north of Worksop. The walk will take about 2 hours at a very leisurely pace with good paths.
Catherine Pepinster is a journalist, broadcaster and author. She is a long-standing contributor to BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day. Catherine also works as UK Development Officer for the Anglican Centre in Rome, as a research consultant for St George's House, Windsor, and a visiting lecturer in journalism at City, University of London.
Job Titles:
- Director of Church Engagement
Catherine became Director of Church Engagement in 2021 having been at the National Churches Trust since 2015. She has a wealth of experience and skill in supporting churches and has worked in several organisations across the church and heritage sector.
Claire Walker has been Chief Executive of the National Churches Trust since 2011. During the past twelve years, the charity has celebrated its work with services at Westminster Abbey and St Paul's, launched memorable campaigns and published the widely acclaimed ‘House of Good' report - all of which have helped keep churches open and in good repair. Claire works with the Board, Vice Presidents, Patrons and high-profile ambassadors and meets with churches across the UK to raise awareness of the needs of church buildings and provide strategic direction for the work of the charity.
Clare is our Head of Finance and Governance. She started working at the National Churches Trust in 2014 and is responsible for managing the finances and HR of the charity.
David Muir is a political scientist and theologian. He began his career as a secondary school teacher in South London, teaching Religious Education. Since then he has worked extensively in academia, ministry, and for social justice causes. He has lectured in a range of universities, including Goldsmiths College, Simon of Cyrene Theological Institute, and Canterbury Christ Church University; he was a senior lecturer and director of the humanities programme at London Metropolitan University and is currently Head of Whitelands College.
David acted as chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority's Consultation Diversity and Outreach Committee and chairman of the Virdi Inquiry, the MPA's first public inquiry. He was awarded a National Social Justice Champion Award in 2003 for outstanding commitment and contribution to social action, and in 2021 was chosen a Racial Justice Champion for Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI). He serves as an Executive Member of the African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance, co-chairman of the National Church Leaders' Forum and is on the executive committee for the Transatlantic Roundtable on Religion and Race. David is a much-sought commentator in the media and Christian Press.
From the garden of England to rugged coastlines. From Gothic cathedrals to Georgian churches, there is no shortage of incredible architecture.
It is the most important day in the Welsh calendar to celebrate our culture and heritage, but who was Dewi Sant?
Donna McDonald has been project manager for several listed churches in the Diocese of London. For seven years she was the London arts correspondent for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, after which she moved into arts management and fundraising. A published author she is also a trustee of the Landmark Arts Centre.
Job Titles:
- Executive and Non - Executive
Gerald Corbett is a businessman who acted in executive and non-executive roles for some of the UK's largest and most recognisable companies for over 30 years. After attending the Tonbridge School in Kent, Gerald read History at Pembroke College, Cambridge and pursed a Master's degree with distinction in Business Studies at London Business School. He worked at a number of companies in the years following, and from 1997 to 2000 acted as Chief Executive of Railtrack Plc, a product of the privatisation of railways under the Conservative Party.
More recently, Gerald has been chairman of Woolworths Group (2001-2007), Moneysupermarket.com (2007-2014) and Britvic (2005-2017). He currently acts as chairman to SEGRO Plc, a FTSE 100 industrial and logistics property group. From 2007 to 2013 he was chairman of the Royal National Institute of the Deaf, and also chair of the St. Albans Cathedral Music Trust from 2010-2016, leading the cathedral appeal "Alban, Britain's First Saint". He has been a Deputy Lieutenant of Hertfordshire since 2015.
Buried in the countryside high in the Clee Hills, Heath is just about the plainest, simplest church you will ever see. A favourite of both Professor Mary Beard and Dr Kate Williams.
Henry Stanford qualified as a chartered accountant in 1992 and then moved to a corporate finance role at Close Brothers merchant bank. He subsequently became a director of Close Brothers' venture capital trust business and became a partner of Albion Capital. He has been a Reader in his local benefice in Suffolk since 2008 and was previously a churchwarden of his parish church, St. Mary's, Earl Stonham.
Henry Stanford qualified as a chartered accountant in 1992 and then moved to a corporate finance role at Close Brothers merchant bank. He subsequently became a director of Close Brothers' venture capital trust business and became a partner of Albion Capital when the business was bought out in 2009. He specialised in companies building or refurbishing and operating assets such as hotels, care homes, health and fitness clubs and cinemas, residential property development and renewable energy. He retired from a full time role in 2019.
He has been a Reader in his local benefice in Suffolk since 2008 and was previously a churchwarden of his parish church, St. Mary's, Earl Stonham, a very fine Grade 1 listed building, during which time a significant reordering project was carried out, refurbishing and adding to the church bells, creating a new ringing chamber and installing a kitchen and loo in the base of the tower. He has also previously been treasurer of a church in London.
Roger de Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, owned most of Shropshire, and it was he who founded this Benedictine abbey in 1083, he is said to have been buried here when he died in 1094.
Donna McDonald began her freelance career as a (very bad) disc jockey and concluded it rather more successfully as a fundraiser and project manager for several listed churches in the Diocese of London.
For seven years she was the London arts correspondent for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, after which she moved into arts management and fundraising, working in Glasgow, the East Midlands, London, Essex and Portsmouth. In the course of this work, she developed an interest in charitable governance and has assisted many organisations with the creation or revision of their governing documents.
Among her publications are a book on the popular Victorian children's writer, Juliana Ewing, a history of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble, and a biography of the Scottish-Canadian fur trader, financier and philanthropist, Lord Strathcona. She is also a trustee of the Landmark Arts Centre.
Karl is our Deputy CEO, responsible for supporting the Chief Executive in providing strategic and operational leadership for the charity. He joined the charity in 2023, having previously worked at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the University of London and the London School of Economics.
Luke March has served as Chairman of the National Churches Trust since 2012. He has also served as a Lay Canon on the Chapter of Salisbury Cathedral.
Luke has been a non-executive in the NHS since 1988 including as Chair of Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust and of the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases.
During his private sector career, he has held senior regulatory roles in TSB Group, the BT Group, Chief Executive of the mortgage industry regulator, and more recently as Group Compliance Director of the Royal Mail Group.
Nigel Walter is a Specialist Conservation Architect; through his Cambridge practice he works with church communities across many denominations to create a better fit between their buildings and their communal life. He is inspecting architect for some 50 historic churches, mostly listed, many grade I, and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA).
He is a member of the Church Buildings Council (CBC), which provides casework advice and develops policy for the care, conservation and development of church buildings within the Church of England. As a DCMS nominee to the CBC, he also serves on the Statutory Advisory Committee on Closed and Closing Churches. He is also a member of the Baptist Union Listed Buildings Advisory Committee.
Nigel holds a PhD in historic building conservation at the University of York, where he is a Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture. His academic research focuses on living heritage, which he defines as the nexus - literally the binding together - of people and place. He advocates a narrative-based approach to conservation that addresses living buildings, including in his recent book Narrative Theory in Conservation: Change and Living Buildings (Routledge, 2020). He is a member of two ICOMOS International Scientific Committees.
He is a Licensed Lay Minister in his local parish church and has a keen practical interest in how church buildings work for worship and broader community use.
The first chapel on this site was a meeting room in a building also used as a pub called the Plough, which stood here in the 17th century.
Queen Victoria's personal attendant, John Brown was buried in Crathes Kirk graveyard, along with others who served here. Some have headstones with personal epitaphs from Victoria.
Lucy Winkett was one of the first generation of women to be ordained in the Church of England. She was the first woman priest appointed at St Paul's Cathedral, later becoming Canon Precentor. She has been Rector of St James's Church, Piccadilly since 2010. With degrees in history and theology, she broadcasts regularly on religion, gender and contemporary culture.
Lucy Winkett was ordained in 1995, having worked previously as a professional soprano. One of the first generation of women to be ordained in the Church of England, she served her title in Manor Park, Newham before becoming the first woman priest appointed at St Paul's Cathedral, later becoming Canon Precentor. She has been Rector of St James's Church, Piccadilly since 2010.
With degrees in history and theology, she broadcasts regularly on religion, gender and contemporary culture and is a long-standing contributor to Radio 4's Thought for the Day. She was a founding advisor for the public theology think tank "Theos" and the co-founder of "Leading Women", a national development programme for women clergy. She is a Governor of The Queen's Theological Foundation in Birmingham.
Her book "Our Sound is Our Wound" (Continuum 2010) was the Archbishop of Canterbury's Lent Book. In 2014, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Winchester University.
One of Scotland's most remarkable buildings, Rosslyn Chapel has been in the ownership of our family since its foundation in 1446 and is still used today as a place of worship.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of Governors at Gateshead College
Sarah Stewart has had a wide-ranging career in marketing and business development, holding executive and non-executive positions in the private, public, and third sectors. Sarah is currently Chair of Governors at Gateshead College alongside roles with Beamish Museum, Newcastle Cathedral and Newcastle University. She was awarded an OBE for services to the North East economy in 2016.
Sarah Steward has had a wide-ranging career in marketing and business development, holding executive and non-executive positions in the private, public, and third sectors. She graduated from Cambridge University in 1981 and spent her early career with Procter & Gamble, Price Waterhouse and Sage Group plc. From there she became increasingly involved in regional development projects, holding a diverse range of non-executive roles, including Chair of Beamish Development Trust and Deputy Chair of Tyne and International Centre for Life. She served as Chief Executive of the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative 2010-19 (a tourism, inward investment and major events agency) and as a member of Visit England Advisory Board and North Area Council of Arts.
Sarah is currently Chair of Governors at Gateshead College alongside roles with Beamish Museum, Newcastle Cathedral and Newcastle University. She was awarded an OBE for services to the North East economy in 2016. From 2020 to 2021 she was High Sheriff of Tyne & Wear, and was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Tyne & Wear in 2020.
Shirley Adams has worked within the voluntary/charitable sector for nearly all of her professional working life. She has worked for national, regional and local charities finishing her career as Chief Executive of one of Manchester's oldest charities. She is currently a Trustee of five grant giving charities within the Greater Manchester area. She has been a magistrate for nearly 30 years and is also Chair of Governors of local C of E primary school.
Shirley is a volunteer with the CCT and is a member of the Friends of St Edmund's Church, a historical grade one listed church in Rochdale. Her interest in churches is mainly focused on the historical and architectural elements of the English Parish Church.
Sir Paul Britton CB CVO is a retired civil servant. He served in various departments in the period 1971-97, chiefly the Department of the Environment, where he was, successively, Director of Local Government Finance and Director of Sustainable Development. Between the latter date and 2016, he worked mostly in the Cabinet Office where he was Director General for Domestic Policy and Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet 2001-09.
Taking partial retirement in 2009, he was Appointments Secretary to the Prime Minister until 2016. He is now deputy chair of Mind and a trustee of various other charities.
Sir Philip became Chair of the National Churches Trust in September 2022. He was educated at Cambridge and Harvard, joining the Civil Service in 1987. He served as Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport from 2012 to 2017 and at the Home Office from 2017 until 2020. Sir Philip was knighted in 2018 and is married with three children. His family are active members of Church of England congregations in London and Herefordshire.
Perhaps protected from Cromwell by its remoteness and from the Victorians by lack of funds for improvements, St Anthony's, hidden in the fell side, remains much the same as when it was built in 1504.
A beautifully proportioned cruciform church, St Peter's has been serving the parish of Stanton Lacy since the early 11th century, it's Saxon origins are still visible in the stonework.
Stephen studied Biochemistry at the Universities of Edinburgh and London. After working on the privatisation of the electricity and gas industries, and in the British Embassy in Washington, he served as Director of Communications for the DTI in the 1990s. He is a Freeman of the City of London, a Churchwarden at St Gabriel's Pimlico, and Trustee of a number of national and local charities.