Meet the Team, Cowdray Estate, Midhurst, West Sussex

Course Manager at Cowdray Park Golf Club

Jonathan Smith

“I have worked at Cowdray for 22 years, 20 of those as the Golf Course Manager. It has been a fantastic and rewarding job, and I take great pride in ensuring that the golf course is immaculately maintained. I love that Cowdray Park Golf Course is playable all year round due to its sandy soil.”

Polo Manager at Cowdray Park Polo Club

Chris Bethell

“Playing professional polo has really helped me as Polo Manager. If you haven’t played and don’t understand the nuances of the game, it is hard to debate with a patron or a professional polo player especially regarding contentious points such as handicaps or an umpire’s decision.”

Operations Manager at the Cowdray Farm Shop

Lizzie West

“A lot of time and energy has gone into getting Farm Shop Online set up. It was a real sense of achievement when we got over 150 products on our website in only 10 days. We are looking at developing meat boxes, BBQ packs and breakfast boxes. There is huge potential to create a whole new business online.”

Cowdray's Wellbeing Manager

Rachel Usher

Cowdray Hall and Therapy Rooms are a busy hub of activity. It’s a place where you can come to step aside from the challenges of daily life, take time to deepen your connection with yourself, your community and the wider world.

Estate Land Manager

Nick McDonald

The environment is now top of every Estate’s agenda, and at Cowdray we are working hard to do everything we can in the fight against climate change and to reverse environmental decline.

Gundog Trainer

Jason Mayhew

Good gundogs need to be enthusiastic, be keen to learn and to take instruction. A successful gundog in competitions needs to have excellent muscle and bone structure and be free of hereditary disease.

Peppi Cella

Being one of the longest serving employees has given me, I believe, a unique role on the Estate. The experience that I have gained from various roles enables me to support and assist all the businesses across the Estate with their varied requirements.

Sally Guile

We were absolutely delighted to have been awarded a £45,200 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund in 2020. This money enables the Trust to carry out an options and feasibility study to secure the long-term planning for the future of the site. Fundamental to the project will be innovative engagement and consultation activities with local audiences to help shape our ideas.

Director of Golf

Tim Allen

Professionally, I am proud of how the golf club has grown and improved year on year. The golf club membership is at capacity and for the first time we have a waiting list. Many members have chosen to join us from other clubs and our main aim is to maintain people’s commitment to Cowdray and to ensure that the club provides everything they need.

Forestry Department

Clive & Geoff

Obviously, the machinery has changed our working practices over the years in the Forestry team. When I first started, we used axes, we had chain saws but not used as much as they are now, forestry has got easier with the machinery that we use now. We used to load the felled timber on to the lorries by hand, that was hard work and took a lot of time...

Director of Events & Hospitality

Neil Georges

“Quite simply it is the rarity of the experience; it is a special place, a home. It is somewhere you can be at total peace with the ones you care most about; surrounded by private gardens, where activities are plentiful. Cowdray House is timeless and a rare form of luxury.”

Property Director

Lauren Cleghorn

"We have a wide range of residential properties from idyllic rural farm cottages tucked away in the West Sussex countryside to multi-let blocks of flats in Midhurst town centre – and everything in between..."

Deer Manager

Jason Griffin

"There is a long-standing connection between the Estate and deer. The first record of deer on the Estate was about 800 years ago."

Head Chef

Ben Jupp

Ben Jupp, Head Chef at the Farm Shop & Café, celebrates his 10-year anniversary. "There are many memorable moments but for me a highlight was cooking a Ten Course Taster Dinner in June 2019 to celebrate the Farm Shop’s 10-year anniversary."

Head Forester

Nina Williams

Meet Nina, our Head Forester who joined Cowdray in January, 'There are not that many women in forestry, but there is nothing about the profession that is gender restrictive in anyway - from driving ground machinery to wielding chainsaws...'