We are pleased to announce that Giles Reid will be the new Chair of West Horsley Place Trust.  Giles has served as a Trustee of our charity since 2019 and succeeds Adrian Lajtha, the Trust’s first Chair who has led the charity since 2016.

Giles has lived in East Horsley since 1977 and enjoys living in the village with his family. He has worked for a number of global corporates in UK and international roles and is currently on the main board of consulting business Grayce, a major UK employer of graduate talent giving young people career opportunities with major public and private sector organisations.

Giles, whose first introduction to West Horsley Place was as a six year old visiting on a school trip, brings valuable experience to the Board, both as a local resident and through his corporate expertise.  He is committed to ensuring the financial sustainability of the Trust so that it can thrive for the community.

As the first Chair of West Horsley Place Trust, Adrian Lajtha has led our charity through its critical early years. Working closely with our founders, Bamber and Christina Gascoigne, Adrian has developed a transformative vision for West Horsley Place which is enabling this Grade I listed Manor House and estate to be a welcoming space for the community to share and enjoy with arts, culture, history and nature at its heart.  He has overseen emergency repairs and the first phase of work to the Manor House, so that we could open our doors to the public at the earliest opportunity, and the remodelling of Place Farm Barn, creating a new and accessible community space and an important opportunity for the charity to generate income. 

Under Adrian’s leadership, our charity was able to secure an early grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund for our Historic Estate without Barriers programme which, delivered in collaboration with other charities and community groups is, for the first time, enabling a wide range of people from the local community experience how heritage spaces can transform health and wellbeing.

Giles Reid said: “On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Adrian for his extraordinary leadership of West Horsley Place over the past 7 years.  In order to enable West Horsley Place to open its doors to the public it has needed significant work which Adrian has pioneered. Since then, we have welcomed over 40,000 people to West Horsley Place to enjoy all it has to offer. I am excited to build on the excellent foundations Adrian has put in place for West Horsley Place since it was first established as a charity and he was appointed as Chair in 2016. At West Horsley Place we have a committed and high calibre team supported by a Trustee board, and I looking forward to delivering on Bamber’s vision for the house and estate.”

Adrian Lajtha said: “West Horsley Place has been a huge part of my life – somewhere I fell instantly in love with on my first encounter seven years ago, when I first met Bamber and Christina.  My love of the place and its purpose has just grown and grown, but the time is right for new leadership. Under the guidance of Giles Reid and Director, Ilona Harris, the Trust is entering an exciting next chapter. I look forward to witnessing Bamber Gascoigne’s vision for West Horsley Place brought to life.”

The appointment takes effect from 5 December 2022.