Summer 2016
1 Lancaster Place, Strand, London WC2E 7ED NEWSLETTER
Bio-diversity New offices Lancaster Castle Comprehensive audit Savoy Street Restoration continues: of rural holdings refurbishment clocktower revealed Page 2 Page 4 Page 5 Welcome ‘The Queen, Duke of Lancaster!’
> Nathan Thompson, CEO
Restoration and renewal has been the theme of much of the Duchy’s activity over the last 12 months, with £2m of planned preventative maintenance completed and key historic buildings refurbished. We take our guardianship of the > Torch relay from courtyard to rooftop historic properties in the Duchy portfolio very seriously and believe that the improvements made this year have helped to protect and preserve the Duchy’s assets for future generations. I am delighted to report that the feedback from tenants has been extremely positive and we will continue with this programme of investment in the years ahead. We have also been working with some of our farming tenants to look at new and innovative ways to grow their businesses. We have supported their endeavours to use new technologies and energy sources to improve sustainability. We have also responded to concerns regarding succession planning and ambitions for expansion, taking a creative approach to ensure viable long-term solutions that are acceptable to all parties. > Commemorative beacons at the Castle Care of the countryside and the natural environment remains a key principle for While the country celebrated the 90th where the Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire the Duchy. We have commissioned a birthday of Her Majesty the Queen earlier lit the beacon and proposed the Loyal comprehensive bio-diversity audit across this year, the Duchy of Lancaster had cause Lancastrian Toast: ‘The Queen, Duke of our estates to help us identify, classify and for a double celebration. The Queen is now Lancaster’. The lit beacon was relayed to the protect the diverse habitats that exist on the longest serving Duke of Lancaster in the roof of the Castle Gatehouse by the Lord- Duchy land. Duchy’s 750-year history. A commemorative Lieutenant’s Cadet Daniel Wade, flanked by ....cont. on page 2 beacon-lighting ceremony was held at members of the Queen’s Own Regiment and Lancaster Castle to mark the occasion, cadets from Stonyhurst College.
Preserving the past, investing for the future 1 ....cont. from page 1 Bio-diversity audit Taste of Honey Our commercial portfolio continues to grow following further acquisitions Moot Point this year. In addition, we are refurbishing warehouses and office buildings in London and the Midlands. I hope that all Duchy tenants will feel that they have had more direct contact with the management team this year. First-class information systems are key to the success of any business and a direct dialogue with our tenants is key to informing those of us who are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Duchy estates > Prize-winning honey
Nathan Thompson, Chief Executive Following the receipt of a Duchy of the Duchy of Lancaster bee-keeping grant last year, tenant Debbie Green recently won her local > Jubilee Wood, Cheshire beekeeper association’s Cooper Cup for her honey, in the category of the best new exhibitor beekeeper. The Duchy of Lancaster has commissioned We are keen to support national ecological The nectar and pollen from which a bio-diversity audit across all of its rural initiatives, particularly those which the honey was made was gathered holdings in England and Wales. Working in encourage the survival of natural pollinators from flowers grown specifically for partnership with Natural England and the and protected species. This audit will bees and butterflies at Town Farm Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, the allow us to review existing habitats and on the Duchy’s Cloughton Estate in > (left to right): Barmaster Eddie Tenant, Duchy Solicitor Tim Crow, audit will take two years to complete and will accurately identify the wide variety of Yorkshire. Jury Foreman Jim Rieuwerts and Steward Michael Cockerton culminate in an action plan for protection species that currently exist in these different and conservation to be implemented in 2019. environments. Mr Jim Rieuwerts became the longest running of the Court, but the Chancellor of The Duchy’s rural estates include an We recognise that our farming tenants Primus 104 continuously serving juror of the 700 year-old the Duchy is responsible for the appointment extraordinary breadth of habitats, including have good local knowledge of the Duchy land Great Barmote Court in May this year, having of the Steward and the Barmaster on behalf woodland, water courses, grassland, which they farm and we hope therefore that completed 50 years of service as a member of The Queen in Right of Her Duchy. The arable farmland, hedgerows, field margins, they will take an active role in this initiative of the jury and 14 of those as the foreman. current Steward is Mr Michael Cockerton, > Protecting pollinators moorland, foreshore and more formal to help ensure that a sound ecological This ancient Court was originally established who has been in post since 1983. In line landscapes. balance is maintained at all times. in the 13th century to deal with disputes with tradition, beer, bread and cheese are and claims arising from lead mining in the provided before the jury is called and each Peak District. It consists of the Steward, member of the jury is given a clay pipe. the Barmaster and 12 jury members and A replica clay pipe, mounted and framed Seashell > Primus 104, Birmingham sits in the Duchy’s Moot Hall, Wirksworth, in a display case, was presented by the Derbyshire. Duchy to Mr Rieuwerts in recognition of his The Duchy of Lancaster has The Duchy is not involved in the actual exceptional record of service. recently refurbished a purpose- Trust built industrial/warehouse unit in In the North West, the Benevolent Fund is one of the country’s most central supporting the valuable work of the Seashell locations. Primus 104 is a large, Young Farmers Trust and its bursary scheme for residential premium quality warehouse, with One of the Duchy’s younger tenants has > Mr John M Barnett MBE DL > Lady Joy Smith DL > Mr James C M Davies OBE DL short breaks. Designed for families in crisis, associated offices and a large been chosen by the National Federation of the Trust is the first charity in the UK to delivery yard, located just 1.5 miles Young Farmers to represent the UK on a trip offer this type of respite care. The scheme from junctions 5 and 6 of the M6 to to Waikato, New Zealand this autumn. New High Sheriffs will provide short breaks for the families the north of Birmingham city centre. Nineteen-year old Tom Gardiner, of profoundly disabled children and young Formerly home to British heating who has grown up at Hadley Farm on the In April three new High Sheriffs were County Palatine. people aged between 3 and 25 years. systems and boiler manufacturer Needwood Estate in Staffordshire, will appointed across the County Palatine The office of High Sheriff is one Baxi who occupied the site since spend three months working on one of by Her Majesty the Queen as Duke of of Britain’s oldest, continuous secular 2002, the refurbished premises has New Zealand’s largest sheep, dairy and beef Lancaster. Mr John M Barnett MBE DL is appointments, dating back to Saxon times been relaunched as Primus 104. stations. serving as High Sheriff of Lancashire, Lady (circa 600 AD) when the ‘Shire Reeve’ was The 104,000 sq ft warehouse sits The trip is designed to help the next Joy Smith DL as High Sheriff of Greater responsible to the King for the maintenance alongside other distribution and generation of farmers learn about farming Manchester and Mr James C M Davies of law and order within a county, as well logistics centres of global brands methods in other countries. Tom is one of OBE DL is High Sheriff of Merseyside. Each as the collection and return of taxes. Today such as Amazon, Jaguar Land just four young farmers representing the UK will serve for a 12-month period until > Tom Gardiner, Hadley Farm, Staffordshire the role is largely ceremonial and focused Rover, Hermes, Stapletons and XPO on the trip. April 2017 and all three are supported by on support for local good causes through Logistics. Mr David Cam DL, Under-Sheriff for the charitable work. > Seashell Trust offers residential breaks
Preserving the past, investing for the future Summer 2016 | 2 Preserving the past, investing for the future Summer 2016 | 3 Savoy Street Leading Back To Life A Cheshire landmark has been brought before falling vacant at the end of 2015. back to life thanks to a comprehensive After a comprehensive programme programme of repair, refurbishment of refurbishment works to bring this The Field and restoration works. period property up to the new Duchy Amicia Tenement on the Crewe Design Standard, the team was able Estate in Cheshire was originally built to unveil the finished product to by Lord Crewe in the mid-19th century the general public. Set in three and and named after his daughter, the a half acres of garden and parkland Honourable Amicia Henrietta Milnes. with a commanding view over open Used by Lord Crewe as a private retreat countryside, its magnificent façade from his formal residence at Crewe Hall, is now matched by the quality of the the property was acquired by the Duchy interior finish, creating a home that is in the 1930s. Since then, it has been designed for modern family life and a used as a private residence, corporate new chapter in its long and illustrious > Amicia Tenement, Cheshire headquarters and an equestrian centre history.
> The Verity family, Radholme Laund Farm, Lancashire
Duchy tenant Mark Verity, who lives at Lancaster Castle Radholme Laund Farm on the Whitewell The regeneration of Lancaster Castle Estate in Lancashire, was named Dairy continues, with the restoration of the Innovator of the Year in this year’s > New offices, Savoy Estate, London historic clock tower and workshops around British Farming Awards and has been the Chapel courtyard and the opening of a shortlisted for Dairy Farmer of the Year standing exhibition detailing the history of The Duchy has appointed award-winning largely unaltered in terms of its external by Farmers Weekly. Mark’s father, Stuart the Duchy. A new ‘Prison Life’ exhibition has architectural firm Morrow+Lorraine to design since it was built in the early 1930s. Verity, took over the 243-hectare farm in been installed in the cells of the Pentonville- redesign one of its prestige office suites on Drawings exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1976 and Mark has been a full partner style ‘A-Wing’ which has now been opened the ground floor of 9 Savoy Street, London. 1933, together with photographs dating back in the business since leaving college in to the public for the first time as part of the This will include the creation of a new, self- to 1932, show the full extent of the Art Deco 2010. Employing contemporary farming guided tours of the Castle. Remedial and contained entrance onto the Embankment and styling to both the interior and exterior of the methods he experienced first-hand in New repair works to the fabric of the historic the remodelling of the interior floorplate to original property, known as Brettenham House. Zealand, Mark has made a great success buildings, including roofs, floors and transform it into a fully refurbished open plan The building is currently occupied by a of the business which is now held up as stonework is ongoing and due for completion space. number of commercial organisations and an exemplar to other dairy farmers across at the end of the year. This iconic five-storey building overlooking companies, including the administrative the UK. the Thames at Waterloo Bridge, has remained headquarters of the Duchy of Lancaster. For further information, visit our website: > Castle clock tower restored www.lancastercastle.com Mountain Rescue Tenants Garden Party Each year, guests from the Duchy of Lancaster are invited to one of the Garden Parties held at Buckingham > The new Land Rover Defender > Flood evacuations in Lancashire Palace and attended by Her Majesty The Queen. A small number of tenants are then formally presented to the Royal With the support of the Duchy of Lancaster purchase a Land Rover Defender, complete vehicle is registered as an ambulance and Party and introduced to The Queen as Benevolent Fund, the Bowland Pennine with roll bars, decals, “blues & twos”, can be reconfigured to carry a casualty Duke of Lancaster. This year, our guests Mountain Rescue Team has been able to radios and a stretcher bed. The off-road over rough terrain. included tenants from the Duchy’s > Duchy tenants meet Her Majesty The Queen Southern Survey.
Preserving the past, investing for the future Summer 2016 | 4 Preserving the past, investing for the future Summer 2016 | 5 Getting to know... Graeme Chalk, Head of Project Management
Q: What is your role within the Q: What do you do to relax? Duchy of Lancaster? Away from work, I like to travel and spend My role as Head of Project time with my wife and two grown-up Management is quite diverse. I work children. I am also a huge rugby fan and closely with the rural surveying try to spend time at my local rugby club teams on the maintenance and where I have been both a coach and a improvement of our property referee over the past 15 years. portfolio, including the historic monuments and castles owned by Q: Who would your ideal dinner guest be? the Duchy. As well as overseeing I have always been sports mad, but never > Graeme Chalk, Head of Project Management construction and development work, really liked boxing. However, one huge I am also responsible for the Duchy’s personality that transcended the sport create the perfect conditions whenever and foreshore and minerals Surveys. was Mohammed Ali. I would invite both wherever I went would be fantastic. him and Michael Parkinson along, just to Q: What does a typical day entail? watch them sparring verbally again. And Q: What is the best piece of advice you It is a bit of a cliché, but I do not to balance the numbers, I could always have ever received? really have a typical day. I spend invite my wife - she loves ‘Parky’! ‘We all make mistakes, but don’t make the around 50 per cent of my time on same one twice’. This was given to me the Surveys visiting properties Q: What super-power would you most when I was a young graduate after I made and looking at development like to have? a very costly mistake on a construction opportunities. The other 50 per cent That one is easy! I would like to have the project. The person who gave me the is spent in the London office. No two power to make perfect powder snow on advice was the one who had to clear up the days are ever the same! demand. I love skiing and to be able to mess I had made, so I never forgot it!
> Luxury holiday homes, Scalby Lodge, Yorkshire
leading industry experts, Visit England the quality of the visitor experience on the Luxury Retreats and TripAdvisor. A number of the luxury basis of reviews and testimonials posted The Duchy of Lancaster holiday cottages properties have been refurbished this year online. at Scalby Lodge near Scarborough have and additional play and leisure facilities once again received a five-star rating added. For further information, visit our website and a Certificate of Excellence from Certificates of Excellence are offered for www.duchyoflancasterholidaycottages.co.uk
Preserving the past, investing for the future Summer 2016 | 6