Martin Lowry

Martin is a retired Chartered Surveyor and Land Agent, having worked in Winchester for 45 years. He is a former chairman of the Countryside Policies Panel of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and former board member of the Hampshire Economic Partnership. He was Regional Chairman for the south east for the Year of Food and Farming in 2007/2008. Raised in London, Martin is married to Rosie, and has four children and three grandchildren. He enjoys the countryside, Sunday morning tennis, watching rugby and trips to France. Martin was appointed a Trustee in January 1991; he serves on the Audit & Risk Committee and chairs the Property Development Committee.

Damien Carpanini

Damien is a long-time resident of Hampshire and has lived in Winchester for the past five years with his wife and two children. As a trained chemist, Damien worked for GlaxoSmithKline for 30 years, leading the Human Resources function in the Middle East and Africa and commuting regularly to London and other countries in the region. Now retired, he is an independent management consultant. Damien is the Bishop’s nominated Trustee for St John’s and he retains strong ties with Winchester Cathedral where he is a Non-Executive Director of Winchester Cathedral Enterprises and a member of the Dean’s Stewardship Committee. Damien also attends occasionally as a Sidesman for services. Damien has been with St John’s since 2015; he sits on the Care Committee and chairs the Governance & Staff Committee.

Dr Elizabeth Harrison

Elizabeth is a retired medical practitioner who has lived in Winchester since 1983. She has a BSc in Psychology as well as her medical post-graduate qualifications. She was Chair of the Board of Governors at Peter Symonds College for four years and a Governor for 13 years. Elizabeth also chaired Ataxia UK, a neurological charity, and has previously worked with prison charities and been a Samaritan. She is married to Mark and they have three children, all of whom are involved in caring professions. Elizabeth enjoys walking, sewing, garden, theatre and music. Elizabeth was appointed a Trustee in 2014 and serves on the Care Committee.

Christine Hayward

Christine is a retired physiotherapist who has worked extensively for the NHS, both in musculo-skeletal clinical practice and in managerial positions. She sat on the Professional Executive Committee of Portsmouth City PCT, working with a colleague to improve the health provision for local residents. She has two children and five grandchildren and volunteers as a Guide Leader in Stubbington. She particularly enjoys outdoor activities including camping and helping the girls learn and experience new skills. Christine was appointed a Trustee in 2014 and chairs the Care Committee.

Ian Tait

Ian is one of the Winchester City Council nominated Trustees. He has served as an elected member for 15 years and, away from the council, runs a sustainable energy consultancy. He is a passionate advocate for the provision of affordable housing for the area and is also involved with several other charities and voluntary organisations. With a background in finance and customer service, Ian has a broad range of skills with which to support the activities of St John’s. Ian was appointed a Trustee in 2013 and serves on the Almshouse Committee, Property Development Committee and Care Committee.

Liz Kennett

Liz is a chartered accountant and has a degree in Management Studies. She qualified with Arthur Andersen, became an Audit and Assurance Partner in 1999 and moved to Deloitte in 2001. She has worked with a variety of listed and corporate clients in several sectors, including charities and pension funds. For several years she was a volunteer for Arts and Business and was a Trustee of the Reading Agency, a small charity promoting libraries and reading. She is currently treasurer of St Mary’s Church, Twyford and Twyford Parish Hall. Liz was appointed a Trustee in 2012 and chairs the Audit & Risk Committee.

Michael Noakes

Michael is a senior civil servant at the Department for Business, having also had spells at the CBI as Head of Employment Relations and with HM Treasury covering corporate governance. After a period as Head of the government’s Regional Growth Fund, he now leads on Rail and Infrastructure for the Department of Business, maximising benefits from the associated investments for UK businesses. Prior to joining the Civil Service in 2000 he was a Regional Manager at the Agricultural Mortgage Corporation before spending two years developing a local business credit expertise for the principal rural bank in Malawi on a VSO posting. Michael lives in Winchester with his wife Judi. He is also a part-time mediator with the Winchester Community Mediation Service. He was appointed a Trustee in 2014 and sits on the Audit & Risk Committee.

Judith Rich OBE

Judith has worked in the charity sector for over 40 years. She initiated and built up Cards for Good Causes. She also ran the National Fundraising Convention for its first five years and her other public appointments include serving as a member of the Charity Commission’s first External Monitoring Working Group. Judith now specialises in governance and trustee advice, as well as working widely with statutory and voluntary bodies throughout the sector. She is currently Vice President of Diabetes UK, Fellow of the Institute of Fundraising, and Chair of Charity Appointments. Locally, Judith is also a Trustee for the City of Winchester Trust and Honorary Secretary on the National Trust Winchester Association. In London she is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians and Honorary Secretary of Board Street Ward Club. In 1993 Judith was awarded an OBE for her work in the charity sector, in 2006 the annual Individual Lifetime Award of the Third Sector and the Services to Humanity Award from the International Red Cross. Judith sits on the Audit & Risk Committee and Governance & Staff Committee.

Peter Gubb

Peter qualified as a Chartered Surveyor after graduating from Reading University in 1976, and for nearly 30 years headed a national commercial property investment and development business. Until recently he chaired the Newbury and Thatcham Hospital Building Trust and was heavily involved with the formation and running of Greenham Common Trust in Newbury, where he was also a school governor for 11 years.  Peter is married to Ali and they moved to Winchester in 2014.  They have three adult sons and he is a keen golfer and fisherman.

Dr Mervyn Suffield

Mervyn is a retired General Practioner and an elderly care specialist in Southampton. Mervyn and his wife Clare live in Winchester and are active members of a large local church. He has been involved in founding a number of care companies including Trinity Care PLC and Karis Group, which developed several care villages, domiciliary care agencies and housing for people with learning disabilities. Karis also developed a Hotel in Sierra Leone and is involved with several social care projects. These are currently being run by Mervyn’s daughter in the UK and son in Sierra Leone. He has also been involved with a number of national Health Care Charities.

Richard Corden

Richard has lived in and around Winchester since 1996. He was a civil servant in Whitehall for 25 years, working first at the Charity Commission, the regulator of charities. Latterly he worked on reform of the laws applying to charities and the way they are regulated, on the Government’s policies on the funding of charities, and on relations between the Government and the charitable and wider not-for-profit sector. After Whitehall, he was Director of Southampton Hospital Charity. He was a trustee of the Civil Service Benevolent Fund and of CTN, a charity set up to help small charities improve the quality of their governance. He sits on the Governance Committee at St John’s.

Martin Willey

Martin is retired but is still active as an independent strategic regeneration, management and partnership adviser. He has led many ventures through his work, such as the London Thames Gateway Social Infrastructure Framework. He was also the Chief Planning Officer at Harrogate Borough Council, the Managing Director of Beazer Projects (which created the Bridgewater Hall scheme in Manchester) and chaired the NHS London Healthy Urban Development Partnership Unit (HUDU). In 2005, he created the South West Housing Initiative, promoting more affordable housing in the region. He was the non-executive director of many bodies, notably Wells Cathedral Stonemasons as well as a communications company. He has acted as Chair for many Planning School Partnership Boards, currently Sheffield Hallum and The Chinese University Hong Kong, while also serving as an examiner and occasional lecturer. He has been a Trustee of the Community Self Build Association, helping ex-servicemen get into work and has been the Chair of charities as diverse as Children of Chernobyl and Carriage Driving for the Disabled.

 

Martin recently retired as the longest serving governor at The Bristol Academy. In his spare time, he is interested in rugby, art and antiques and has been married to Philippa for 48 years. They have 4 married children and, so far, 10 grandchildren!

Clive Cook

Clive joined St John’s in December 2013. He  is a  former partner of global law firm Baker & McKenzie where he enjoyed a 33 year career working in the city of London and emerging markets. As the Managing Partner of three of the firm’s offices  in South East Asia, Clive was based in Singapore for four years. Before that he was a Corporate/Commercial Partner and member of the managing board of Baker’s London office having responsibility for the firm’s finances. He and his wife, Desiree, have four children and during his spare time Clive enjoys photography, hill walking, yoga and following his favourite football team. Clive is a Rotarian and keen volunteer and has worked in the past with the Samaritans and Crisis at Christmas.

Sarah Weekes

Sarah joined the charity in  November 2016. With over 25  years’ experience within Health and Social Care Sarah is  passionate  about providing the highest standard of care and support for residents. She has worked as a Registered Manager, Regional Manager and a National Care Coordinator inspecting and directly managing several care services across the country. Before joining St John’s, Sarah worked with not-for-profit organisations, West Sussex Social Services and home care providers.  Sarah also has experience working with various services providing extra care housing, specialist housing and care in the community. In 2014 Sarah  graduated from Chichester University with a Masters degree in Leadership and Management  within Health and Social Care. Sarah lives in Chichester with her husband Michael and their two children Kelly and Stuart. She is a passionate supporter of charities and has raised money for her local hospice by completing long walks and the London Marathon. As a Vegan Sarah understands the importance of looking after your health and wellbeing including nutrition and exercise.  Sarah spends her free time walking with her dog Jessie along the south coast.

Nellie Redmond

Nellie  joined St John’s in 2016. She is a chartered accountant who specialises in the not-for-profit sector. Before joining St John’s Nellie spent seven years as a Senior Audit Manager in London working with several large national charities and then, during a break to have children, she was the Honorary Treasurer for a local agricultural society which organises one of the largest agricultural shows in the UK. Nellie and her husband Steve have two young children, and in her spare time she enjoys horse-riding, camping and cooking. She also supports other charities, and is still a volunteer for the agricultural society, and a Trustee for a charity supporting victims of crime.

Andy Ross

Andy  joined the charity in 2012 and is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of our four sites of almshouse accommodation, the nursing home and the charity’s commercial property portfolio.  Andy has been working mainly within the construction industry for the past 35 years.  He served as an apprentice carpenter and joiner, gradually  working his way up through into senior management roles. Andy is experienced in many aspects of building maintenance and refurbishment, as well as new-build projects for various local authorities and private clients. His hobbies include gardening and looking after his family.

Siân Duxbury

Siân is a Chartered Surveyor; she joined St John’s Winchester in November 2016 and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the charity’s investment property portfolio, the income from which directly supports the care the charity provides to its residents. Siân was a property manager working in London for a number of years both for and on behalf of several pension funds, before taking a career break to raise her family. During this break Siân volunteered for a number of local charities taking on a variety of committee positions and was actively involved in organising a number of fundraising events. Siân lives in Winchester with her husband John, twins and family dog. In her spare time Siân enjoys spending quality time with her family, walking the dog, skiing, gardening and playing tennis.

Sue Taylor

Sue joined St John’s in 2015. She specialised in orthopaedic nursing before joining the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service to  undertake general nurse training.  Sue has 40 years’ experience in various nursing specialities including Accident & Emergency, community nursing and elderly care.  After a short career break to bring up her two sons, she returned to nursing as a Care Manager working with Social Services in Scotland. She returned to the south of England working as a Community Nurse before managing a care home for five years. Before joining St John’s, Sue spent another 12 years as a Community Nurse and as a Senior Caseworker for a national occupational benevolent charity. In her spare time, she enjoys modern jive dancing, musical theatre, golf and cycling.

Deborah Macartney

Deborah joined the charity in 2015.  With 36 years as a professional nurse, Deborah brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to St John’s.  She started her career as a nurse for people with learning disabilities before achieving qualifications in Accident and Emergency Nursing and as a Nurse Practitioner. On completing her Masters degree and post-graduate teaching qualification, Deborah became a university Senior Teaching Fellow for Specialist Practice Nursing and then, as Programme Director, led developments in advanced practice and community nurse education.  During this time she was an Executive Director of a patient safety company with specialist knowledge in risk management.  She worked with the National Patient Safety Agency to deliver nurse education UK-wide, and continues to manage a private business in incident investigation. Her passion is to lead in the delivery of high quality care for individuals living with dementia. In her spare time, Deborah has a keen interest in Rotary and adores dancing. She has recently taken an interest in photography to combine with her interest in writing short stories and travel.

Alison Dobell

Alison spent most of her childhood in Surrey and, following a few years work in a boy’s prep school, also in Surrey, she felt a call to ordination. Alison’s selection and training saw her spend a year in the Midlands working in a parish, followed by two years in Manchester, first in a parish and the second year as a hospital chaplain. Her training was completed at Westcott House in Cambridge. She was ordained at Southwark Cathedral in 1995; she served as a curate for four years in Upper Norwood and then became vicar of St Barnabas, Mitcham for eight years.

It was during this time that Alison met and married her husband and following the birth of their son she returned to her husband’s home city of Southampton. The term her son started school coincided with the position of chaplain to St John’s Winchester becoming available. Alison has been chaplain for nearly six years. She says: “I very much enjoy my varied role, from leading worship in chapel and at our dementia home; to sick visiting and Lent groups. The residents have a wealth of experience and stories to tell and zest to still live their lives to the full within their capabilities.”

The place of the chapel at St John’s

There has always been a chapel associated with St John’s since its beginning in the tenth century. The chapel has stood on its present site since 1428 and continues to play a central role in the life of the charity today. Worship is offered twice a week where the needs of the residents and charity are prayed for. Chapel also offers opportunities to nurture and grow in the faith including Advent and Lent groups and termly meetings of the Christian Fellowship. Inevitably a significant number of funerals take place in the chapel and an annual service to remember the departed takes place in November.

Fellowship is also an important part of chapel life; every service and event always concludes with tea and coffee, cakes and biscuits, and a chance to catch up on the news.

Charitable giving is also important to us. Every Harvest, Advent and Lent we make a collection of goods for Winchester Churches Night Shelter, the Trinity Centre or the Basics Bank. We also make financial contributions to Christian Aid, WaterAid and several local, national and international charities as part of annual charitable giving.

Though chapel is primarily for residents of the Almshouses, ex-members of staff and other local people worship with us, and we are very grateful for all that they bring to the life of the chapel. The City Centre Branch of the Mothers’ Union, mostly comprising residents, also meets on our premises.

So that our lovely building can be seen by others, during the summer residents open the chapel for visitors once a week.

Chapel is steeped in centuries of prayer and worship and this gives the building a feeling of peace and holiness which is enhanced by the witness and worship of the current attenders.