Trustees
& Staff
Our Trustees
St Peter’s Council of Trustees, are responsible for the direction, integrity and safety of this charitable organisation. We are fortunate to have a breadth of experience on the council that ensures the continued work at St Peter’s.
AnnMarie Newbigin
Chair
After moving to Marlborough from London in 2016, AnnMarie became involved with St Peter’s as a volunteer. After joining the Council as a Trustee in 2019 was voted Chair of St Peter and Paul’s Trust in 2023.
Alongside her role as Chair, AnnMarie is the Head of the Outreach Committee and responsible for increasing engagement with our local communities in Marlborough and the wider Kennet Valley through our updated website and other social media avenues. She is also a member of the Finance Committee.
From 2010 till 2019, AnnMarie was Chair of the Board of Green Corridor, a charity specializing in providing alternative education and training opportunities for young people with special needs. Previously, AnnMarie held trustee roles with charities involved in cultural conservation and volunteering such as CSV since 1995.
AnnMarie has extensive experience in the commercial sector in the areas of management consulting and financial services since coming to the UK from the US in 1988. In the early 1990’s, AnnMarie moved into Corporate Human Resources covering Foreign Exchange, Fixed Income and Corporate Finance with the investment Bank, UBS, where she became a Managing Director in 1998.
While at UBS, AnnMarie was a Trustee of the Pension Fund and a member of the Investment Committee and led the major transition to a defined contribution plan from a salary benefit plan.
Since moving to Marlborough, AnnMarie and her husband, Michael, have become active members of various local organizations. Since 2019, AnnMarie has led two Study Groups for the local branch of the u3a: Short Stories and American History.
John Yates
Trustee & Treasurer
John studied civil engineering at UCL and then worked for Halcrow in the UK and Dubai. He moved from London to Marlborough in 1984 and in 1993 became a Science teacher at Lavington School near Devizes. John became a Trustee of St Peter’s in 2007 and was elected Treasurer in 2012.
As Treasurer he reports to the Finance Committee. John administers financial transactions and keeps records. His duties include producing reports to inform Trustees on financial matters and supplying our accountant with data for the Trust’s annual report. He helps to consolidate future spending plans into an annual budget.
John writes plays and has had short pieces performed at fringe festivals. He’s currently writing a trilogy based around Neolithic Avebury and occasionally gives individual tuition in Science subjects.
Nicki Evans
Trustee & Secretary
Nicki joined St. Peters & St. Paul’s Trust early in 2021 bringing a wealth of local knowledge, charity experience and a diverse commercial background with her. Currently, she is the Trust’s Secretary and a member of the Outreach sub-committee; responsible for communication and social media, educational initiatives and business and membership development. The role demands good communication skills, teamwork and an interest in developing local interactions.
Having lived in the Marlborough area for 28 years she has been involved in a number of local and charitable organisations: Chair of Preshute Primary School, member of the Residents Association and for the last 8 years Chair of Manton Village Hall; responsible for raising funds and managing a total refurbishment. Being involved in the community and developing the resources that are available to be utilised by local people is of paramount importance.
Her business background began in retail management with Marks & Spencer, based all over the country, then progressed to managing their graduate recruitment programme. Finally, she joined M&SFS and was involved in the development of its banking arm. Over the last twenty years she has run her own property management company in the Marlborough area. Her commercial experience has demanded leadership, teamwork and communication capabilities all of which are utilised as a Trustee.
Paul Crerand
Trustee
Mike Stokes
Trustee & Tower Constable
Michael was elected to the Council as a Trustee in 2020, is the designated Head of the Operations Committee and became Tower Constable in 2023.
As Tower Constable, Michael undertakes regular guided tours of St Peter’s tower and is on hand to raise and lower flags, wind the clock, and help with other tower duties.
Michael is particularly interested in the history of Marlborough and is eager to bring to wider attention the town’s significant events through the activities of the Trust and the use of the Church for the benefit of the community and tourists.
Married to a Canadian in Salisbury Cathedral in 1967, Michael and Rosamund have owned a house in Marlborough since 1981, where they have lived whenever Service and other duties have allowed. Together they have enjoyed much foreign travel by land, sea and air, are social bridge players and own 2 oriental dogs.
Previously, Michael spent 33 years in the RAF involved flying Hercules tactical transport aircraft all over the world, often into inhospitable territory or climate, undertaking famine and disaster relief missions in addition to low level insertion and extraction of para-troops by day and night, training crews in air refuelling and as a meteorological research test pilot.
On retirement from the RAF as a Wing Commander in 1997, Michael spent the next 20 years training young men and women to become airline pilots at Oxford Airport, helping over 500 students develop their confidence, responsibility and the self-discipline required for this demanding profession.
Finally in 2017, after 50 years as a professional pilot and with 20,000 flying hours under his belt, he folded his wings. He hopes now to use all his experience gained as a Serviceman to enhance the opportunities for St Peter’s Trust to serve the community.
Jane Nicholson
Trustee
Since moving to Marlborough 25 years ago, Jane has been an active supporter of both local and international charities. Jane is well known for cycling and has participated in a number of sponsored rides in various countries.
Since 2012, Jane has been a trustee of St Peter’s eventually taking on the role of social secretary responsible for organizing a range of successful events. In addition, Jane conducts tower tours and contributes her gardening skills on a regular basis. Jane is also a member of the Operations Committee.
Jane also continues as a trustee of The Merchant’s House, the 17th century historic house at the east end of Marlborough’s High Street. Previously, Jane was a trustee of the Marlborough Brandt Group, a governor of Sherborne Girls’ School and an executive committee member of the local u3a.
After reading Biochemistry at University College London, Jane then married and moved to Uganda where she taught Maths in a Catholic Mission school on the Congo border.
Following a year in Lebanon where Jane taught chemistry for the British Council her husband joined the Foreign Office. Jane accompanied her husband to postings in Zambia, Romania under Ceausescu and Cyprus, in all of which Jane managed to find teaching work.
After spending six months working in Paris, Jane joined the Security Service (MI5) as a civil servant. Jane’s most memorable posting was as Security Coordinator in Downing Street. Jane had an office in No 10 and saw a good deal of the two Prime Ministers she served under: John Major and Tony Blair. Following her retirement, Jane spent 2 years working for the Government escorting visiting heads of state and their support teams for the Foreign Office.
Robert Pick
Trustee
Bob and his wife, Ali, have been associated with Marlborough since 1980 when Bob joined the chemistry department of Marlborough College following graduation from Durham and Leeds universities.
In his time at the College he was Master in Charge of both rugby and cricket, a Housemaster, Second Master and Deputy Master. He was also a governor of two Wiltshire preparatory schools for a total of twenty-five years. In 2009, following the College’s decision to expand overseas, he became Head of International Development and the founding Master of Marlborough College Malaysia. On retirement from Malaysia in 2017, Bob and Ali returned to their home in Marlborough. He has since been involved as an educational consultant, a tutor with Buckingham University for teacher training, an A’ Level chemistry tutor and holds a number of non-executive directorships.
Bob’s main interests revolve around his family (two daughters and two granddaughters) and sport, particularly golf, cricket, rugby and football. He is, for his sins, a misguided but passionate supporter of Leeds United.
Bob believes that becoming a trustee of St Peter’s provides an excellent opportunity for him to give something back to the Marlborough community.
Our Staff
As we grow so does our staff, from event organisation to the team in the coffee shop, we have an excellent team in all areas of St Peter’s community offering.
Sara Donaldson
Operations Manager
Sara joined St Peters as Events Manager in 2022. With a strong background in hospitality and event planning Sara brings a wealth of experience to St Peter’s.
Her role supports our aim to be a hub for the community by bringing together people with a range of events and activities.
Sara’s enthusiasm for events comes from a love of working with people, and curating great experiences.
Events for St Peter’s is a special responsibility as it is part of a fundraising mix that will help support and sustain the building for years to come.
Born in Wroughton, Sara was raised in Royal Wootton Bassett, and now lives in Blunsdon with her husband, four children, two dogs, a cat and guinea pig.
She has many fond memories of Marlborough all the way from childhood, through to now bringing her own children into Town.
Jane Dugan
Building Manager & Volunteer Coordinator
Jane was born and raised in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. After getting married in 1977 Jane moved, with her husband, to live in Germany for 2 years through the RAF. Eventually they settled in Swindon where they lived for 25 years and raised a family of 3 children.
In Swindon Jane did freelance typing and worked for The Bible Society. One of the projects she did was typing the entire Bible, page for page, word for word, including footnotes, in Italian, single handedly.
Jane began working in Marlborough in 2007 with adults with learning difficulties. After 2 years she set up a care business looking after the elderly in their own homes. After a very busy 10 years Jane decided to do something different and opened her home as a B&B.
A chance conversation led Jane to becoming the part-time administrator for St Peter’s in 2021. As part of this role, Jane has managed the volunteer rota for St Peter’s participation in Warm Spaces. Jane enjoys working with the team at St Peter’s, and now will also take on the part-time role of the caretaker position. In the role of caretaker Jane is responsible for maintaining the overall condition of the building, and all health and safety regulations. It’s a very diverse job with lots of flexibility and opportunity to be creative. From meeting volunteers and visitors at St Peter’s, organising a Carol Singing concert, to taking people up the wonderful tower.
Jane is very keen on fitness. Her hobbies are cycling with U3A. The longest cycle ride so far has been 45 miles around Marlborough and surrounding villages. Jane was also in an adult skipping group for 7 years, performing skipping routines at school fetes and charity functions. In addition, she is a regular table tennis player with U3A, and a participant in the Quiz night with friends in her local pub on Sunday evenings.