A Board of Trustees is responsible for the governance of Stephens House & Gardens
Our Trustees
Khalid Ghani
Khalid is the owner and manager of Ellis’s estate agency in Finchley. He has been a keen supporter of the Trust for some years, and was elected to the Trust Board in 2013. Apart from his managerial and property advice, Khalid is helping us develop our links with the local business community.
John Lancaster
John is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and has wide experience of Government, commerce and industry. John was co-opted to the Board of AHET in November 2010, and elected as a Trustee in 2012. John is also a director of Avenue House Services, and a regular volunteer.
Julian Trevelyan
Julian is a Chartered Accountant with over 22 years’ experience in the City. Julian and his family regularly use the grounds, and are regular volunteer helpers. In April 2013 the Board co-opted Julian as its Treasurer, and he was elected to Board that autumn.
Alison Dean
Alison is a former IT professional in the Banking and Educational sectors who has retrained as a horticulturalist and is now a professional gardener. Alison leads the Bothy Garden volunteers and is a regular volunteer in the grounds and at other events.
Philip Rubenstein
Philip is a marketing and communications professional who has worked in a range of roles across the commercial and not-for-profit sectors. He has served as a trustee for a number of charities over the past 20 years. Philip is a regular volunteer at the house and gardens and was co-opted to the Board of AHET in December 2016 and elected as a Trustee in 2018.
Simon Shaer
Hilary Hickey
Our Patron
Henry Edmunds
Henry Edmunds, Patron of the Avenue House Estate Trust, is the great-grandson of Henry Stephens.
Henry lives at, and manages, the Cholderton Estate, on the border between Hampshire and Wiltshire: this was Stephens’ country home, which he acquired soon after Avenue House, and developed along with it, and according to the same principles. Stephens left the Cholderton Estate to his grandson, Lewis Edmunds, who managed it from 1918 to 1975, when Henry, Lewis’s son, inherited it. Despite inheritance tax, the Cholderton Estate still comprises about 2,500 acres, about half its original size.
Henry has had a lifelong interest in natural history and he has been able to put this into practice in managing the Estate so modern farming methods co-exist with protecting habitats and conserving plants and wildlife. Henry has maintained and protected much of what makes Cholderton special, including the Hampshire Down sheep and Cleveland Bay horses which were introduced by Stephens.
Henry’s work has been recognised both professionally and in society at large. He is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, won the 2012 RSPB / Daily Telegraph 'Nature of Farming Award', and was also one of three finalists in Radio 4’s Food and Farming Awards the same year.
The Trust is delighted that Henry and his children maintain the link between the Stephens family and the Avenue House Estate Trust.
Our President
Andy Savage MBE
Andy is the Chairman of The Railway Heritage Trust and The National Railway Heritage Awards. He has had heritage voluntary commitments throughout his 50+ year career in the rail industry, which led to him running the RHT as Executive Director for 12 years, after holding a number of senior posts in both Engineering and Safety. He was awarded an MBE in 2021 for his services to the railway and heritage. Andy chaired AHET from 2011 to 2017, leading the redirection of the Trust to trade sustainably, and the £3m HLF project to redevelop and upgrade the gardens and listed buildings. He is still a regular volunteer at Avenue House, with particular roles including opening up every morning, and keeping the gardens litter-free.
