Chair of Trustees

We are looking for an enthusiastic, open-minded and forward thinking individual to join as chair our small and enthusiastic team of volunteers; and who will share our love of, and desire to, protect the special and historic gardens and landscapes of Essex.

What will you be doing?

Essex Gardens Trust was set up in 1996 with the aim of protecting the special and historic gardens and landscapes in our county.  We do this through: i) research, ii) conservation and iii) education.

Our charity provides our members and friends with a regular programme of talks and garden visits (both in and outside the County).  We also hope to continue our collaboration with our appointed Artist in Residence and look for other opportunities to extend our influence.

Our research team has recently completed a funded project to identify and record historic gardens and landscapes in the district of Thurrock.  The results of this research has been given to both the County planning authority and the Essex Records Office where it will join our existing inventories covering other Districts and Boroughs of Essex and will be freely available to all.

 In 2023 we will be starting a similar project to cover the City of Southend.

Our research team in Thurrock identified a number of important sites that had been lost to development. The results of the investigations carried out on these are covered in The Lost Gardens of Thurrock which was published in 2022.

Essex Gardens Trust is entirely volunteer-run.  There are currently eight trustees and three co-opted members of the Management Committee. The Committee is supported by a number of sub-groups covering different aspects of the Trust’s activities.

The Committee meets bi-monthly: at present mainly by Zoom. As Chair of Essex Gardens Trust you will be responsible through and with the Management Committee for:

• Providing overall leadership and oversight to EGT
• The overall health of EGT and its ability to continue to deliver the objectives for which it was founded;
• Chairing meetings of the Management Committee, ensuring that they are run efficiently and that decisions made are in accordance with good governance and are clearly recorded;
• Understanding the role and activities of each of the Trust’s core functions and, with this knowledge, being open to new opportunities for EGT to develop and extend its influence and activities;

• Being an ambassador for the Trust; Maintaining and developing external contacts and relationships with organisations such as, but not exclusively, The Gardens Trust, Essex Records office, Writtle University College and other County Gardens’ Trusts; Maintaining contacts with and attend relevant meetings of the movement’s national body, The Gardens Trust, and other external bodies.