Meet our President and the Trustees
Alan Titchmarsh MBE
President
Alan Titchmarsh, who joined as a Life Member of the Trust in 2012, says “My admiration for the work of the Hampshire Gardens Trust – and of Gilly Drummond’s achievements – knows no bounds and I am honoured and delighted to take over from her as President. Gilly has set the bar high, but I am confident that the Trust will continue to make its mark and demonstrate that the county of Hampshire is among the most blessed when it comes to the gardens it cherishes and the expertise and enthusiasm of those who do their bit as custodians of our enviable horticultural heritage. I’ll do my best to come up to scratch!”
Jill Walmsley
Vice Chair
Jill lives with her husband in Winchester and runs a gardening and planting design business with clients throughout Hampshire. She has two grown up children and a grandson already showing interest in growing things.
Michael Woodhall BEM
Trustee
Councillor Andrew Joy
Trustee
Qualified in aerosystems evaluation and defence procurement, he subsequently held senior sales and marketing posts with American multi-national companies dealing primarily with Defence and Government.
As Chairman of Hampshire County Council for 2012-13 he established the Making a Difference Awards Scheme which sought to recognise exceptional volunteer effort making a positive difference in the community. He has been a Cabinet Member since 2013 initially as Executive Member for Communities and Partnerships, since expanded to include External Affairs and Brexit. He is the Hampshire Armed Forces Champion, Chairman of the Hampshire Civilian Military Partnership Board and a Trustee of The Hampshire & Isle of Wight Community Foundation.
Married to Katie, they have a son and a daughter and have lived in Alton for over 40 years.
Ted Wake
Chairman
Sally Miller
Trustee
Richard Green-Wilkinson
Honorary Treasurer
He has been advising clients on corporate finance, personal finance, offshore and onshore personal, business and corporate tax planning and private company valuations.
Richard has been on the board of housing associations, and has been a director and trustee of a number of charitable trusts, companies and not for profit associations, including Community Action Hampshire, Young Enterprise, Harbour Trust, St George Foundation and Broadhalfpenny Down Preservation Trust.
Richard is married with three children and three grandchildren. His interests include tennis, bridge, cycling, gardening and theatre.
Katy McIntyre Brown
Adminstration and marketing
Katy is a keen gardener and a botanical artist. She is also artist in residence for the spinal unit garden charity, Horatio’s Garden.
Katy grew up in Islington, North London, and in the West Country countryside, and has always had a keen interest in the benefits of gardens and open spaces to our wellbeing. For this reason Katy and her family lived in Nairobi, Kenya, for ten years before returning to Hampshire in 2014.
Previous to her painting career, Katy worked with organisations such as The Prince’s Trust, Ferrari and Pepsi advising them in how best to manage their businesses and public relations in times of crisis.
Katy has a degree in Psychology, a Diploma in Psychotherapy and a Masters Degree in Textile Design from Winchester College of Art.
Michael Ricketts
Chairman, Conservation & Development Team
Hails from Bournemouth when the town was still in Hampshire, but now resides in Fareham. Married to Ann and with four children and six grandchildren. An architect and urban designer working for both the private and public sectors over the years in Bournemouth, London and Holland. Embarked on one of the first urban design post-graduate courses in the country at Oxford Polytechnic in 1973 and then put some of it into practice with the London Borough of Lewisham for two years. On moving back to Hampshire in 1978, worked for Fareham BC before moving to Test Valley Borough Council to manage the Design and Conservation Team. In 2003, left local government and formed a consultancy advising private clients, fellow architects and planning consultants, as well as providing design and conservation support for many of the local planning authorities in Hampshire, including HCC, Southampton CC and also Guildford BC.
First became involved with HGT with the formation of King John’s Garden in Romsey, when working for Test Valley. Invited to join the Trust’s Conservation and Development Team in 2003 and took over the Chair in 2018. A member of the Fareham Society and also the Winchester Diocesan Advisory Committee as an architect advisor. A member of the Test Valley Design Review Panel and Hon. Secretary of the Hampshire Advisory Design Review Panel.
Rachel Bebb
Vice Chair
Rachel is a trustee of the Hampshire Cultural Trust and a past chairman of the Hampshire Gardens Trust.
Photo by Michael Butters Photography
George Seligman
Trustee
George worked for 38 years for Slaughter and May, one of the major city of London corporate law firms, retiring in late 2012. His area of expertise was financial law and particularly the restructuring of banks and other companies in financial difficulties. Since
retiring from Slaughter and May, George has continued an advisory practice. He is also active in several charities focusing on the environment, education and disabilities. He is Chair of trustees of Wessex Chalk Stream and Rivers Trust as well as a trustees and finance committee member of Countryside Learning which specialises in the education of urban children about the countryside. George lives and farms in the Test Valley in Hampshire where he lives with his wife and three dogs. He has two grown up children.