Our Patrons
The trustees are supported by
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Her Majesty the Queen
Our Patron
The Queen’s storyline is familiar to most. What is less well known is her close connection with the South Downs. Born Camilla Rosemary Shand, her family split their time between a London house in South Kensington and a country house in Plumpton, The Laines, looking due south to the scarp slope of the Downs only three hundred metres away. She was baptised at St Peter’s Church in Firle. At five, she attended Dumbrells, a co-ed school in Ditchling. Her mother volunteered at Chailey Heritage. From an early age, she has had a deep love of the countryside and a very real attachment to the South Downs.
Lord Egremont
Our Patron
Biographer and novelist, resides at Petworth House
John Max Henry Scawen Wyndham, 2nd Baron Egremont, 7th Baron Leconfield, generally known as Max Egremont, is a biographer and novelist. He grew up – and still lives – at Petworth House, read modern history at Oxford and succeeded to both baronies on his father’s death in 1972 when he was 24.
Max’s first book, The Cousins: The Friendship, Opinions and Activities of Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and George Wyndham was published in 1977 and won the Yorkshire Post Prize for best first book of that year. He has written four novels, the latest in 1993, but since then has concentrated on biography, including an official biography of Siegfried Sassoon (short listed for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize), history and travel. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2001.
He was a trustee of the Wallace Collection, of the British Museum and a member of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts. He has chaired the Friends of the National Libraries and the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust and is President of the Sussex Heritage Trust.
Gus Christie
President
Executive Chairman of Glyndebourne
Gus is Executive Chairman of Glyndebourne, the Opera House set in the heart of the Sussex countryside, founded by his grandfather in 1934. He took over from his father in 2000 and has now led the institution for over a quarter of a century.
Gus graduated from King’s College, London with a degree in zoology. He worked in various theatres, before becoming a cameraman and working on a number of natural history documentaries. His interest in natural history sparked an ambition to develop an environmental strategy for Glyndebourne based on the construction of a 67 metre wind turbine to power the opera house. This put him at odds with the Friends, which was concerned with the landscape implications, but the turbine went on to provide 102% of the organisation’s annual electricity requirements and is a key part of Glyndebourne’s long-term ambition of becoming carbon neutral.
He has also championed Glyndebourne’s education department, which has undertaken a range of projects within the local community, including working with HMP Lewes.
He is married to the Australian born international soprano, Danielle de Niese. They have two young children. In his spare time, he is often to be seen cycling in the Downs.
More to explore
Board of Trustees
Our trustees each represent a variety of backgrounds and professions from conservation, academia, finance, legal and marketing.
Meet the team
The Friends is run by a Council of trustees elected by our members and by a team of three part-time staff.
Our history
Founded in 1923 as the Society of Sussex Downsmen, the Friends of the South Downs is the only membership-based charity dedicated to the protection of the South Downs National Park.
Public documents
Details of various documents relating to our work as well as opportunities to join walks, strolls, and events.
Contact Us
Our complete contact details. Get in touch by physical mail, email, phone, or send us a message directly from the website.