A new Master has taken charge at Warwick's Lord Leycester, pledging to put the Midlands' very own home for veterans on the map.

Daren Bowyer joins the Lord Leycester after heading up the Gurkha Museum in Winchester, during which time he led a £5.2million National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported redevelopment. Now, as the 34th Master of the Lord Leycester, he will take forward the work by his predecessors to ensure the historic site - which has provided a home for veterans for over 450 years - continues to thrive.

Nestled in the heart of Warwick, the Lord Leycester is not only one of the most significant medieval buildings in Europe, but is home to the Brethren - continuing its long history as an almshouse for veterans. The collection of half-timbered buildings was built by the powerful Warwick Guilds in the late 1300s to conduct Guild business from the town centre but in the reign of Elizabeth I, those Guilds gave the buildings to Robert Dudley, the Queen's favourite courtier, to create a home for soldiers injured in the wars of the Tudor age.

Centuries on, the site remains home to the Brethren who live within its walls and welcome visitors, conducting tours and sharing their own military stories.

As the newest Master and custodian of the site, Daren now plans to ensure the unique nature of the Lord Leycester is as well-known and cherished as that of similar sites such as London's Royal Hospital Chelsea. He aims to build on the legacy of his predecessor Heidi Meyer, who masterminded a £5 million National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported transformation to turn the Lord Leycester into a modern, authentic visitor attraction that could continue to keep the almshouse charity running and protect the Brethren homes within it.

Daren said: "The Lord Leycester really is a unique site - not only a collection of historically significant buildings, but a piece of living history. These buildings have been housing veterans continuously for over 450 years, and this rich history and the stories of those living here today should be shared far and wide. Our Brethren are the heartbeat of the Lord Leycester, and I'm keen that more people know about them and their lives here.

"In the coming months, we'll be working to show people that the Lord Leycester isn't just fascinating historically, but is like nowhere else. As a first step on that road, I hope to open up the monthly Brethren's prayers - a piece of ceremony conducted with exactly the same wording for the last 455 years - to give people a flavour of the longstanding traditions that run through the Lord Leycester."

Daren served for 26 years as an officer in the Royal Engineers, including operationally in the Gulf, Balkans and Afghanistan. Exercises and engineering projects also took him to Kenya, Cyprus, Germany, Denmark, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Belize. His staff appointments included posts in the Ministry of Defence, the British Embassy Washington and on the Directing Staff of the Royal Military College of Science. He commanded Cambridge University Officers Training Corps.

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Leaving the Army in 2008 to pursue a second career in charity and educational leadership, Daren's appointments have included Home Bursar at Pembroke College, Oxford, Director of the Sandhurst Trust, Chief Executive of the Newbury and District Agricultural Society and Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at Cumberland Lodge, a charity and residential retreat centre in Windsor Great Park.

In October 2020 he joined the Gurkha Museum in Winchester as Director, in which role he has been leading a £5.2M, National Lottery Heritage Fund supported redevelopment, the construction phase of which is now fully underway.

Volunteer roles have included 5 years as the Commandant of Oxfordshire Army Cadet Force, Vice-Chair of the English Speaking Union (Oxfordshire) and Chairman of the Oxford International Biomedical Centre, a science education charity.

While not a particularly keen sportsman (watching or playing) he was once a keen if slow

long-distance runner and twice completed the US Marine Corps Marathon. He is joined at the Lord Leycester by his wife, Jill. They have three adult children and one grandson.

During his Army service he completed an MA in Defence Management, MPhil in International Relations and PhD in military ethics, and was also gifted an MA by Oxford University when he was a Fellow of Pembroke College.

Lord De L'Isle Philip Sidney, current patron of the Lord Leycester and a descendant of its founder Robert Dudley, said: "We're delighted to welcome Daren to the Lord Leycester. He brings a wealth of experience in the military and charity and heritage sectors, and we're looking forward to seeing him take forward the valuable work his predecessors have made to ensure the future of the LLH."

For more information on the Lord Leycester visit here.

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