Lowther Castle and Gardens will be operated by a new independent charity, the Lowther Castle and Gardens Trust, (Registered charity No.1125075) whose objectives are the advancement of education, culture, arts and heritage and to promote local involvement, public access and community benefit.
The Lowther Castle and Gardens Trust has leased the castle and gardens from the Lowther Estate Trust from a peppercorn rent.
The charity's Patron is Lord Melvyn Bragg and the trustees are Bryan Gray, Sir Neil Cossons, Jim Lowther, David Taylor and David Horton-Fawkes.
The Rt Hon Lord Melvyn Bragg BA, DUniv, LLD, DLitt, DCL, FRSL, FRTS - Patron
Born in Cumbria, Melvyn Bragg is Chancellor of Leeds University (since 1999), President of the National Campaign for the Arts (since 1986) and a governor of the London School of Economics (since 1997). He was made Domus Fellow, St Catherine's College, Oxford, in 1990. He became a member of the Arts Council Literature Panel in 1969 and subsequently became Chairperson.
Bryan Gary MBE DL - Chair
Bryan is Chair of the Trust and until 2009 Chair of the Northwest Regional Development Agency. Bryan was Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman of Baxi Group Limited and, until 2001, Chairman of Preston North End and Founder Chairman of the National Football Museum. He is Pro Chancellor of Lancaster University, a member of the Lake District National Park Authority, a trustee of National Museums Liverpool, Chair of the Liverpool Culture Company, Chairman of Urban Splash Hotels, Chairman of Westmorland Motorway Services and Chairman of Peel Media.
Sir Neil Cossons OBE FSA FMA
Chairman of English Heritage until his retirement in March 2007, Sir Neil is also a trustee of National Museums Liverpool. He has worked extensively in the museums sector from the early 1960s, was Director of the Science Museum, Director of Ironbridge Museum, the Greenwich Maritime Museum and has broadcast and published widely in his specialist field of industrial archaeology, conservation and the environment.
Charles Woodhouse CVO DL
For more than 30 years, Charles Woodhouse was a partner of Farrer & Co, solicitors. He was a member of the Royal Parks Review Group and founder chair of British Association for Sport and Law and Sport Resolutions UK. As Hon Legal Adviser of Commonwealth Games England he was closely involved in structuring the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games. He is and has been a trustee of numerous charities including the Mulberry Trust, the Aim Foundation and the LSA Charitable Trust, which assists education in horticulture and in Cumbria the Cumbria Community Foundation and Hospice at Home: Carlisle and North Lakeland. He was chairman of Rural Regeneration Cumbria 2002-2006.
Jim Lowther
Jim manages the Lowther Estate's land, art and property interests. Jim has set up a range of businesses managed by the 75,000 acre estate, and is responsible for the upland livestock and organic farming in Lowther Park, the Lowther Forestry Group and management of mountains and moorlands in partnership with the National Trust. Jim is passionate about wildernesses and landscapes and has participated in 20 expeditions to the Greater Ranges including the Himalaya, Tibet and Greenland.
David Taylor
Chief Executive, Lowther Estate Trust. David came to Lowther as forestry manager in 1993 after managing a region of 250,000 acres in Sweden for paper company SCA. He built up Lowther's forestry and landscaping business and worked on other Lowther businesses, becoming Chief Executive of the Lowther Estate Trust in 2009.
David Horton-Fawkes
Director of Holkham Estates. For 8 years he was general manager of Althorp in Northampton, he is a former Director of the Heart of England Tourist Board, he was invited by English Heritage to lead a project to design a new visitor centre for Stonehenge and, as Director for the Lowther Castle and Gardens Trust, he lead the successful funding application for this project.
