Commissioner Biographies

Baroness Andrews OBE

 (Elizabeth) Kay Andrews, OBE Baroness Andrews of Southover (2000), was re-appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government in June 2007. She was first appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department in May 2005.
Before being appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary, Baroness Andrews was a Government Whip and Spokesperson in the House of Lords for Health, Work and Pensions, and Education and Skills (2003-2005).
Before being raised to the peerage, Baroness Andrews was a Fellow of the Science Policy Research Unit, Sussex University 1968 - 70; Parliamentary Clerk in the House of Commons 1970 - 85; and Policy Adviser to Neil Kinnock as Leader of the Opposition 1985 - 92. From 1992 - 2002, Baroness Andrews was the Founder and Director of Education Extra, the national charity for out of school learning and activities. She received the OBE in 1998 for her work in education.

Ms Lynda Addison OBE

 Lynda Addison is Managing Director of Addison & Associates, a small consultancy she established in 1996 to support the public sector in the inter-related fields of planning, sustainable transport and the street scene.  She currently works with both central and local government undertaking research and acting in an advisory capacity.                         

Lynda is a planner by profession and prior to 1996 had been Director of Planning and Transport at Hounslow.  She spent over 25 years in local government working in Harrow, Southwark, Norfolk, the City of London and Camden, having started out as a researcher for the Maud Commission. 

She was awarded an OBE for services to town and country planning in 2007 and the consultancy won the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Consultancy of the Year award for 2006 for promoting best practice. Lynda is a Visiting Professor in Planning at the University of Westminster and a Trustee of the Town and Country Planning Association. She was appointed as an English Heritage Commissioner in 2008 and became the Deputy Chair of the English Heritage Advisory Committee in May 2009.

Ms Maria Adebowale

 Maria Adebowale is the Founder and Director of Capacity Global. Capacity is the only non-governmental organisation and social enterprise in the UK focusing specifically on environmental justice and equality. 

Maria is the co-founder of the UK Environmental Justice Network and also the main author of the Third Sector Climate Change Declaration. She has a Masters in Public International Law (human rights and environmental law) and has written a number of publications on environmental justice, diversity, social inclusion and regeneration.

She is a former Commissioner for the UK Sustainable Development Commission and is the Chair of Waterwise, a Matron of the Women’s Environment Network and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Maria was appointed as an English Heritage Commissioner in 2003 and is a member of the Blue Plaques Panel.

Mrs Joyce Bridges CBE

 Joyce Bridges was a civil servant until 2002. Since then she has provided advice to Yorkshire Forward, the Heritage Lottery Fund and various government departments. She was appointed as a Commissioner for the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) in 2006.

Joyce has wide government experience in urban policy, planning, regeneration and housing. She held director level posts in the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and the Government Office for London where she advised successive Secretaries of State on planning in London. She chaired the World Squares Steering Group that oversaw the transformation of Trafalgar Square and played a leading role in opening up Somerset House and in providing new piers and river services on the Thames. Joyce was appointed to the Mayor of London’s Design Advisory Panel in November 2008.

She was awarded a CBE in 2001.

Joyce has been an English Heritage Commissioner since 2003 and a Regional Commissioner for London since 2007. She also chairs the London Advisory Committee and is a member of the Remuneration and Human Resources Committee.

Mr Manish Chande

 Manish is Chief Executive of Mountgrange which he joined in 2002 as a 50% owner.  He has been in the real estate business for 28 years.

Previously a Chartered Accountant, Manish became involved in property investment as Finance Director of Arbuthnot Properties and the Imry Group of Companies.  In 1997, he co-established the Trillium Group and was Chief Executive prior to its acquisition by Land Securities plc in 2000.  He joined the Board of Land Securities before resigning in 2002 to establish Mountgrange Capital. He has assisted in a number of important historic building restorations in central London, including the conversion of St George’s Hospital, Hyde Park Corner for the Lanesborough Hotel and the Royal Mint on Tower Hill.

Manish was appointed as an English Heritage Commissioner in 2003.

In 2004 he became a Director of English Heritage Trading Ltd. Manish is also a member of the London Advisory Committee and the Business and Finance Committees.

Professor Sir Barry Cunliffe CBE

 Barry Cunliffe’s university career spans more than 40 years.  After teaching at Bristol and Southampton Universities, he moved on to become Chair of European Archaeology at Oxford in 1972, retiring in 2007. 

During his long career in archaeology Barry has served as President of the Council for British Archaeology and of the Society of Antiquaries, governor of the Museum of London and as a member of the Ancient Monuments Board. He is currently a Trustee of the British Museum and of the Mary Rose. He has excavated widely, published numerous books on archaeology and for several years presented the Radio 4 programme Age to Age.

He served as a Commissioner of English Heritage (1986-92) soon after its inception and joined the Commission again in 2006.  He chairs the English Heritage Advisory Committee and serves on the Research Advisory Panel and the Remuneration and Human Resources Committee.

Barry was appointed by the Secretary of State as Interim Chairman of English Heritage from September 2008 to 26 July 2009. 

Mrs Gilly Drummond OBE

 Gilly Drummond was the founder Chairman of the Association of Gardens Trusts and is now its President.

She is a member of HHA Wessex (Historic Houses Association) as well as a member and previous Chairman of the South West Environment Forum. Gilly is a Trustee of Chiswick House and Park Trust, Learning through Landscapes, Gilbert White and Oates Museum, Countryside Education Trust, Chawton House Library, Llanthony Secunda Priory Trust and the National Maritime Museum with an interest in the buildings and landscapes of the Greenwich World Heritage Site.

Gilly is holder of the Gold Veitch Memorial Medal from the Royal Horticultural Society.

Gilly became an English Heritage Commissioner in 2002 and is the South West Regional Commissioner. She is also a member of the Historic Parks and Gardens Panel which she chaired from 2002 – 2006.

Professor Ronald Hutton

 Ronald Hutton is a Professor of History at Bristol University. His original prime area of research was into the Tudor and Stuart periods in England, but he has since much expanded his interests to include several broad themes in social and cultural history, in Britain and abroad.

Ronald took degrees at Cambridge and Oxford Universities and was a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. He moved to Bristol in 1981, where he has remained ever since. He is currently Head of the Department of Historical Studies and a Senator.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Society of Antiquaries and the author of fourteen books and forty essays. He also has a long career as a broadcaster and has written, presented and hosted various programmes on radio and television.

Ronald was appointed as an English Heritage Commissioner in 2009.

Mr Michael Jolly CBE

 Michael Jolly has over 25 years’ international experience in the leisure and tourism industry. He is currently Chairman of Park Holidays UK, chairs the Organising Committee of the annual National Conference of Visitor Attractions and has a number of advisory roles.

From 1994 to 2000 Michael was Chairman and Chief Executive of the Tussauds Group. From 2004 to 2006 he was also Chairman of Starparks SA., a European group of large visitor attractions.

He has extensive experience advising governments on tourism policies and was awarded a CBE in 2000 for “Services to Tourism”.

Michael was appointed an English Heritage Commissioner in 2002. In addition to this role, he chairs the Business Committee and the Remuneration and Human Resources Committee. Michael became a Director of English Heritage Trading Ltd in 2008 and is a member of the Audit Committee.

Ms Jane Kennedy

 Jane Kennedy is an architect with 30 years’ experience in historic buildings, both in private practice and as a Conservation Officer in local government. Her particular interests are in masonry, planning and managing major programmes of work and in new design in historic settings.

Jane is a senior partner in Purcell Miller Tritton LLP and is architect to Ely, Newcastle and Christ Church (Oxford) Cathedrals. Other projects have included the re-presentation and addition of a lift to Kew Palace (for Historic Royal Palaces) and work at Mansion House, Marble Saloon and Stowe House (where she was an architect for repairs to the North Front). Jane is currently working on the completion of the South Front and interiors at Stowe and the conservation of Ballyfin Demesne in Ireland.

Jane has been an English Heritage Commissioner since 2006. She is also a member of the Finance Committee and the Places of Worship Forum.

Lord Leicester CBE

 Lord Leicester was for many years involved in the administration of Holkham, a large agricultural estate in North Norfolk. In 2005 he handed over responsibility to his son.

Amongst the positions and offices held, Lord Leicester was Leader of the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk (1980-1985); Chairman of the Planning Committee (1987-1991);  Chairman of the Founder Members of Radio Broadland;  Founder Trustee and Chairman of the De Montfort University Global Education Trust; President of the Association of Drainage Authorities; and President of the Historic Houses Association from 1998 to 2003, in which capacity he was awarded a CBE for services to heritage. 

Lord Leicester was appointed as an English Heritage Commissioner in 2002 and is Regional Commissioner for the East of England. He is also a member of English Heritage’s Audit, Business and Finance Committees.

Mr Chris Wilkinson OBE

 Chris Wilkinson is a principal of Wilkinson Eyre Architects, which he founded in 1983 and has nurtured to become one of the UK’s leading architectural practices. He is committed to modern architecture but believes strongly in the importance of context and history. 

Chris was Chairman of the Southwark Design Review Panel from 2006 – 2008, served on the Royal Institute of British Architects Honours Panel in 2005 and 2006 and has been on the Architecture Panel of the Royal Academy since 2006.

Chris was awarded an OBE in the Millennium Honours for services to architecture, elected to the Royal Academy in 2006 and made an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 2007.

He became an English Heritage Commissioner in 2007.

Ms Elizabeth Williamson

 Elizabeth Williamson is a Reader in Architectural History at the University of London and Architectural Editor of the Victoria County History (VCH), one of the Research Centres of the Institute of Historical Research. She was previously Deputy Editor of The Buildings of England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales (now the Pevsner Architectural Guides), for which she revised and published several volumes. Through her research for that series and, since 1997, for the VCH, she has developed a wide understanding of the development of the British historic environment in a great variety of localities. She is also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.
Elizabeth has been a Commissioner of English Heritage since 2003, taking a particular interest in how research into the distinctive history and character of places can contribute to understanding, enjoying and protecting the historic environment. Since 2006, she has been Chair of the Historic Parks and Gardens Panel. She is also a member of the English Heritage Advisory Committee.