New appointments bring expertise spanning conservation, heritage, philanthropy and finance
The Victorian Society has welcomed four new trustees to its Board.
Tom Ashley, Anna Dewsnap, Dr Sarah Flew and Andrew Willetts were appointed as trustees at the Society’s Annual General Meeting in Llandudno on 25th September.
Together, they bring extensive experience across architectural conservation, historic buildings and collections, fundraising and philanthropy, finance and charity governance. Andrew Willetts, a Chartered Accountant with senior financial and commercial experience across several sectors, becomes the Society’s new Finance Trustee, succeeding Lynn Pearcy, who is standing down from the Board.
The Society’s Director, James Hughes, said: “We are enormously fortunate to welcome four people of this calibre to the Victorian Society. Tom, Anna, Sarah and Andrew bring an exceptional range of knowledge and experience, as well as a shared commitment to the Victorian and Edwardian architecture that the Society exists to champion.
Victorian and Edwardian buildings across the country face enormous pressures, and the Society needs to be as strong and effective as possible if we are to help save and celebrate them. That means not only maintaining the first-rate conservation expertise at the heart of our work, but ensuring that the organisation behind it has the skills, resources and resilience it needs to thrive.
These four appointments significantly strengthen the Society. I am delighted that Tom, Anna, Sarah and Andrew have agreed to join the Board, and very much look forward to working with them.
I would also like to record the Society’s immense gratitude to Lynn Pearcy, who is standing down after ten years as a trustee. Lynn has given a decade of dedicated service to the Victorian Society, and as Finance Trustee has brought great care, judgement and commitment to the stewardship of the Society’s finances. We have benefited greatly from her expertise and wise counsel, and she leaves with the very warmest thanks of the whole Board.”
The Society’s Chair, James Grierson, added: “The role of the Board is to ensure that the Society is well governed and equipped to fulfil its purpose, and these appointments bring valuable additional experience and perspective to that work. Tom, Anna, Sarah and Andrew each have a great deal to contribute, and I am very pleased to welcome them as trustees. I look forward to working with them as we support James and his team in taking the Society forward.”
More information on the Victorian Society’s new Trustees:
Tom Ashley is Head of Cathedrals and Major Church Buildings for the Church of England. He studied at Cambridge and Yale, specialising in Victorian literature and culture, before moving into the heritage sector. A former Churches Conservation Adviser and Senior Conservation Adviser at the Victorian Society, he has since held a number of roles within the Church of England, working on the conservation and sustainable future of historic churches and cathedrals. He is a member of the Society’s Southern Buildings Committee.
Anna Dewsnap is a curator and heritage consultant with more than 20 years’ experience across the arts, historic houses and heritage sectors. Formerly Head of House and Collections at Harewood House, she has extensive experience working with private collections, internationally renowned arts and heritage organisations, and public museums. Through her consultancy, Curatus Arts, she advises on collections, historic interiors and the care of cultural heritage. Anna has recently become one of the founding directors of the Herbert Baker Heritage Trust, established to support education, advocacy and hands-on training for young people working with heritage crafts.
Dr Sarah Flew is an economic historian whose academic research centres on the financing of religious and philanthropic institutions in nineteenth-century Britain. She has particular expertise in the financing of nineteenth-century church building and the funding structures that supported the expansion of the Church of England during the Victorian period. Alongside her academic work, she is a philanthropy specialist and currently serves as Director of Development at the Royal College of Physicians.
Andrew Willetts is a Chartered Accountant who has worked as a finance director and in other senior finance and commercial roles across the healthcare, retail, wholesale and charity sectors. He has also served as a trustee of a number of charities and pension schemes. He has a longstanding interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture and lives in a Victorian Gothic house in Malvern, Worcestershire. Andrew becomes the Victorian Society’s new Finance Trustee.
