The trust
What we do
Wymering Manor Trust was founded to save, preserve, maintain and restore the Grade 2* listed building known as Wymering Manor.
Since 2013 we have been doing just that, building on earlier campaigning by the Friends of Old Wymering (see our Archive).
Our aim is to restore, convert and build a sustainable future for the manor, for local people to enjoy as their ‘home from home’, as we manage the building to earn its keep by letting rooms for events, meetings, education and training, putting on plays, ghost hunting, socialising and new activities.
Once restored, it will be a centre for the local community and a catalyst for regeneration of this deserving area of the city, offering help in wellbeing, tackling loneliness and isolation, developing personal skills and bringing the community together to shape its future.
We’re on track to raise the £5.9m we need with the application to the final stage of lottery funding and matched fundraising. We have consultants’ plans for business development, financial feasibility, design options, audience development, catering and weddings and interpretation. Now key areas of focus for the trustees are: developing our forward plans, strategy development and maintaining our financial viability.
Could you become a trustee?
We’d like to bring new expertise on board to join our trustees, particularly from people with experience in:
- community development and supporting volunteers
- fundraising
- small business development
- public relations and social media
- heritage and museum development
- commercial and/or property legal experience.
Volunteer team
Annmarie Ridgway Volunteer and Community Events Coordinator. History Hunters Lead
Jonathan Fost Commercial Events Planner
Board of Trustees
David Bourne Treasurer
David is the Trust’s treasurer and company secretary. He is a chartered accountant and
graduate of the University of Portsmouth. He is a senior manager in a local firm of chartered accountants and chartered tax advisers. One of his specialist areas is the charity and not for profit sectors having acted for national and smaller local charities for more than 10 years. He has provided advice to Boards and management regarding trading companies, VAT, business plans and internal control procedures as well financial reporting and auditing. He is a keen sports fan and in particular rugby union.
Belinda Mitchell Chair and Volunteer Lead
Belinda Mitchll is a Senior Lecturer in interior design at the Portsmouth School of Architecture where she is course leader for the MA Interior Architecture programme and overall course leader for MA Architecture. She is also a practising artist. Belinda’s engages with experimental heritage practices to represent the intangible qualities of historic settings. Publications include Matter of the Manor (2018) Journal of Interior Design, Wiley,Thresholds of the Future (2019) Interior Futures, Crucible USA and Drawing, Ecologies of care: drawing//cleaning interiors (2024) Taylor Francis Online. She exhibited at the Espacio Gallery, London with degrees of freedom, in Osmosis (2022) a collaborative exhibition with artists working at the intersection of language, place and materiality.
Ryan Taylor Social Media Lead
Ryan is a planning consultant and an Architecture graduate from the University of Portsmouth, with a particular interest in conservation and historic buildings. He is a member of the fabric committee of St. John’s Catholic Cathedral and has been involved in local council campaigning. He is passionate about local history and has been a member of The Trust since 2023. He is our lead for social media and sits on the Operations Subcommittee.
Ben French
Yana Nanovska
Sarah Dryden
Melanie Marsh
Melanie is currently the Head of Programmes at the National Army Museum, London, leading the Museum’s public and supporter programmes and the annual Chelsea History Festival. Prior to this, she was Director of Cogges Manor Farm, Property Manager of Fishbourne Roman Palace and a manager in the National Trust, as well as manager for The Rifles Museum. She brings a wealth of experience in heritage site management and is passionate about heritage sites being connected with their local communities. She joined Wymering Manor Trustee Board in 2023 and sits on the Funding Subcommittee.
Would you like to join the Board of Trustees?– apply here.
Trust President Rt Hon. Penny Mordaunt