Governance

Chiswick House and Gardens Trust was set up in April 2005 to oversee the restoration, management and protection of this important historic site in west London.

The Trust, a registered charity, was created jointly by English Heritage and the London Borough of Hounslow in order to integrate the management of Chiswick House and Gardens.

The Trust is dedicated to the protection and enhancement of this outstanding Grade I-listed villa and registered Grade I gardens, which have been enjoyed as a public park since 1929.

Trustees

Our trustees oversee the management and monitor the performance of the charitable trust.

They help to ensure we meet our stated objective to advance education by the preservation, restoration, maintenance, repair and enhancement of Chiswick House and its Gardens, for the benefit of the public and of the historical and architectural heritage of England.

Our current trustees are:

Sian Alexander (Chair), Paula Ghosh, Jimmy Weir, Lycia Lobo, Liz Smith, Mark Stuart-Smith, Vicky Taylor, Sebastian Edwards, Seema Cunningham, Councilor Amy Croft and, Councilor John Todd.

Meet our Trustees

Sian Alexander (Chair)

A Chiswick-senior management consultant working in the arts, Sian was appointed as Chair of the Trust in June 2023. Prior to this she was Executive Director of the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and Executive Director of the Bush Theatre. As Associate Director of Julie’s Bicycle, she established a national programme to support the UK theatre industry to become environmentally sustainable.

Sebastian Edwards

Sebastian has been the Deputy Chief Curator and Head of Collections at Historic Places for over 20 years. He was the curator for exhibitions on royal beds and the gardener Capability Brown. He has also worked in the private world of King Henty VIII at Hampton Court and was a curator for English Heritage's historic houses.

Liz Smith

Liz is a member of the board co-opted for her expertise as a senior architect with a practice who has listed building expertise. Liz's passion lies in progressive conservation. Liz is the Chair of Purcell, working as the Regional Director for London & South East, and has taken on key roles in several high-profile projects across national museums, historic houses, and listed buildings, including Hampton Court Palace, Windsor Castle, and the British Museum. Liz also features as Conservation Architect in the television series Phil Spencer’s Stately Homes, on Channel 4.

Lycia Lobo

Lycia is the Commercial Director at English Heritage where she is responsible for the development of commercial activities, (including retail, food and beverage, rental properties, events and licensing). Lycia, has previously worked for a number of high street retailers and heritage organisations, including the V&A and as the former Commercial Director at the Ashmolean Museum. She is the board chair for the Charles Dickens Museum and trading board chair for the Queer Britain Museum, both in London. Lycia is a local resident, living in Chiswick.

Councillor John Todd

John is a former Senior Officer for the City of London Police. He has worked as Head of EU/UN Fraud Unity for UNMIK in Pristina, Kosovo, and was elected Councillor for Hounslow in 2006, representing the Chiswick Homefields Ward. During this period, John has chaired the Pension Fund Panel, involved in Hounslow Council’s Audit Work, Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the Planning Committee, and Chiswick Area Forum. John is also a former member of the independent monitoring board at HM Prison, Wormwood Scrubs, and was a Director at Habitat for Humanity in Southwark.

Vicky Taylor

Vicky started her career working for local Newspapers in Newcastle and has been a journalist for over 30 years, working for influential news channels, including the BBC as a Producer and Editor, covering a range of news and current affairs, from Newsnight, Breakfast, Political Programmes and News online. In 2008, Vicky joined Channel 4 as a Commissioning Editor in News and Current Affairs. Vicky now works as a Freelance journalist and writer and has resided in Chiswick for over 30 years.

Paula Ghosh

Paula became a CHGT trustee in April 2021. She is an experienced commercial property lawyer. Her practice has been as in- house legal counsel and a solicitor in national commercial law firms. Paula has also been a mentor to law students and junior property professionals,as part of structured mentoring programmes.

Jimmy Weir

Jimmy has worked in senior financial and operational roles in media and retail businesses for over 30 years. He started his career in Edinburgh and after roles in France, Hong Kong, Japan and Poland he returned to London and now lives in Grove Park in Chiswick and is a regular visitor to Chiswick House with his family and dog. He is a Trustee of Hounslow Community Rowing Trust, based in Brentford and is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Direct Wines, a family owned producer and wine merchant.

Councilor Amy Croft

Councilor Amy Croft became a trustee in June 2022 and is the nominated trustee from London Borough of Hounslow, and a ward Councillor for Chiswick Riverside. She is an Academic Director of Quality and Engagement at a University based in London, and has a background in legal education. As part of her Council responsibilities she holds Vice Chair of the Licensing Committee and sits on the Audit and Governance Committee. Amy is also a trustee of Chiswick Pier Trust.

Kate Foster

Kate became a Trustee in September 2022. For the last seven years Kate has worked as a School Business Manager at a Hounslow School. She is a finance professional who spent 20 years working for Deloitte, where she qualified as a Chartered Accountant. For 15 years, Kate specialised in internal audit and risk, with clients across central government and higher education. She is very involved in Girlguiding and leads two Brownie Units in Hammersmith and at the school where she works. Kate is a Chiswick resident.

Mark Stuart-Smith

Mark is Chief Financial Officer of English Heritage where his focus is to deliver a financially sustainable charity, no longer supported by annual Government subsidy. Previously, Mark was Chief Operating Officer at Somerset House, where he delivered significant improvements in financial performance, which funded a major conservation plan and an increase in the cultural programme, resulting in a substantial growth in visitor numbers. Mark qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PwC.

Our Senior Management Team

Xanthe Arvanitakis - Director

Xanthe is an experienced cultural leader in the heritage sector. In March 2020 she took up the role of Director of Chiswick House & Gardens Trust – with the brief to develop the future plan for the Trust responsible for 65 acres of grade 1 listed gardens and house. Previously she was Interim Director of Visitor Experience, Marketing and Commercial Services at the Old Royal Naval College. Most recently she led the launch of the new visitor experience with the re-opening of the Painted Hall following a £8.4million award winning conservation initiative. From 2011 to 2015 she was Director of Commercial and Operations at the Sir John Soane’s Museum where she also led a transformation project. An early career in tech, working for WPP an international marketing company, saw the successful growth and merger of two award-winning digital agencies. Xanthe is also a trustee of UP Projects.

Rosie Fyles - Head of Gardens

Rosie has previously worked as the Head Gardener of Ham House and also had a career in communications, running her own agency and working internationally before retraining in garden management. Rosie has experience of leading a garden that is open to the public and has been a National Trust ‘Garden Champion’, guiding other head gardeners. At Ham House, Rosie and her team received numerous accolades for their transformative, creative and nature-friendly gardening in an historic context, appearing in broadcast and print media. Rosie has written for ‘The Sunday Times’ and ‘Gardens Illustrated’, and has just finished a monthly series on historic gardening styles for ‘Period Living’ magazine. Rosie is a Trustee of Silent Space, a charity that promotes peaceful time in green spaces.

Ekaete Onipinla - Head of Finance

Ekaete joined the Chiswick House team in April 2024. She is a part-qualified CIMA accountant and has worked in various industries over the past 25 years particularly in Education having worked at ArtsEd also in Chiswick for over 11 years as the Financial Controller and Payroll Manager. Ekaete is very keen to bring her accounting experiences and take on the challenges of leading the Finance team in a dynamic and well-loved organisation that is committed to serving its local community.

Nicki Thomas - Head of Commercial

Nicki re-joined Chiswick House & Gardens in January 2020 as Head of Commercial having previously been Head of Events & Marketing at CHGT from 2014 – 2017. Prior to this Nicki spent time at Kew Gardens and 16 years in Investment Banking as Head of Events & Marketing. She is a highly talented commercial, events and marketing specialist with over 20 years’ senior event management experience. Expertise in producing world-class events, exceeding income targets, delivering strong brand values and an exceptional client experience. Committed to providing exceptional quality of service in an enthusiastic and positive manner. Living locally and having a young family Nicki brings a wealth of knowledge of the local market and audience.

Sue Sandle - Head of Development

Sue joined the Chiswick House team as Head of Development in June 2023. She is an experienced fundraiser and marketing professional with a broad portfolio of skills developed during a career encompassing charitable, educational and corporate sectors. With expertise in philanthropic giving, trusts and foundations and membership schemes, Sue joined from another great Chiswick institution, ArtsEd, where she was Director of Development & Marketing for seven years. Prior to that she was Deputy Director of Development at the Donmar Warehouse Theatre, a role that followed several years working as a fundraising consultant. As an Acton resident for over thirty years, Sue has long enjoyed the many delights of the House and Garden and looks forward to connecting more people with all that it has to offer.

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