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Governors

The Worshipful Company of Carpenters

During the eighteenth century, the Carpenters’ Company looked to land and property investments for income. A 63-acre farm in the parish of West Ham, near Stratford, was a notable purchase in 1767.

The Company’s careful management of its property and investments continued into the nineteenth century and its growing prosperity was boosted considerably as property values and rents in London increased. The Company also benefited from the country’s general economic growth and the highly profitable sale of land to the Great Eastern Railway and other railway companies between 1830 and 1870.

New Developments

By the 1870s, the Company’s increased wealth enabled it to redevelop its Hall site and become more involved in charitable and educational activities.

In 1886, the Company opened an evening institute on its Stratford estate, offering classes in carpentry, joinery, plumbing, geometry, mechanical drawing and cookery. By 1891, the institute had become a day school for boys until its closure in 1905 when the local council opened its own school.

The present-day Carpenters and Dockland Centre grew from the Carpenters’ Institute, originally set up as a social facility in the early twentieth century, and continues to receive considerable support from the Company.

Supporting Craft Training

The Company was a founder member of the City and Guilds of London Institute in 1880 along with a number of other City livery companies, reflecting the Company’s growing interest in technical education.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, technical examinations, lectures and exhibitions on woodworking and joinery were regularly held at Carpenters’ Hall. After the Second World War, interest in the technical examinations declined, and in 1955 the Company launched an annual Carpenters’ Craft Competition which still runs today.

In 1890, the Company helped create a body for woodwork instructors and other craftsmen, known today as the Institute of Carpenters. The Institute was founded by 11 craftsmen who had achieved high grades in the Company’s examinations. Its role was to oversee training for carpenters and joiners at a time when many feared traditional skills were being lost.

The Carpenters’ Company established its own Trades’ Training School in 1893, now the Building Crafts College, in the West End of London. It relocated to a purpose-built building in Stratford, East London, in 2001 and continues to represent the Company’s commitment to training in the woodworking crafts.

Michael Morrison

Chair

Michael Morrison was appointed chair of the Governors in 2021. He is a retired architect having previously been managing partner and chair of the conservation architects ‘Purcell’. He has been a member of the National Trust’s Architectural Panel; a member of Heritage Lottery Fund’s Expert Advisory Panel; A Trustee of the Greenwich Foundation; a Commissioner for Historic England, and a member of the Wood Awards judging panel.

Chris Holt

Chris Holt is a strategic advisor specialising in complex and malicious risk, with experience across the insurance, security and public sectors. He founded and led the Lloyd’s of London insurance broker CHC Global and has held senior roles at other City firms, advising insurers, government departments and international organisations. Chris began his career as an Officer in the Royal Engineers and is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the Royal School of Military Engineering; he was appointed MBE in 2004. He brings particular expertise in governance, resilience and risk management, supporting the College’s overall approach to risk. Alongside his professional work, Chris has coached an age-grade rugby team since 2014. 

Alistair Gregory-Smith

A Governor of the Building Crafts College responsible for overseeing the finances of the College since 2017. Alistair has previously spent 40 years giving financial advice to companies and individuals, as well as holding a number of senior executive roles in the financial services industry.

Kay Buchan

Kay Buchan started her professional life as a furniture designer and maker having done a BA in 3D design at Middlesex Polytechnic. She spent two years in The Gambia (from 1993-1995) setting up a carpentry workshop with VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas). She then went on to train as an Integrative Psychotherapist and has been practicing for 20 years working with a broad range of clients in educational settings, charities and in private practice. Kay was a Governor at the BCC from 2015 to 2018 overseeing the Ofsted PDBW initiative (Personal Development Behaviour and Welfare) when it was introduced in September 2015. She has returned as a Governor for a further 3 years advising on mental health, well-being and safeguarding matters.

Rachel Bower

Rachel Bower, now retired, had forty years’ experience in the historic building industry working with architects, surveyors and engineers. She was the Education Officer of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings running the travelling Scholarships for building professionals and the William Morris Craft Fellowships for building craftsmen. She has been on the BCC Board of Governors for 11 years and was its previous Chairman. She attended evening classes at the College as a letter-cutting student in 2008-9. Rachel was a co-opted member of the City of London’s Education Board and its City Careers Festival sub-group 2019-22. She is a Trustee of the BCC Charity, the BCC Trading Co Ltd and of the Carpenters’ Company Charitable Trust.

Brigadier John Meardon

I have been involved with the College for over 20 years, first as a customer sending stone mason apprentices from Canterbury Cathedral and more recently as a governor through my appointments as a Liveryman, Warden and Master of the Carpenters Company. My background is military (Royal Marines ) followed by 18 years at Canterbury, where I became immersed in the cultural and practical aspects of maintaining historic buildings and the craft skills needed to sustain them.

Lawrence Mallinson

Paul Bennett

Andrew Wolstenholme

Ruth Avery

Rachel Luton