Trustees / Manager

Mandy Medlyn

Red House manager

Mandy has been the manager for over twenty years. She says “I thoroughly enjoy my role, helping the trustees to keep this wonderful venue going and to provide a wide range of activities to help and support the community and village life”.

Whilst her employment as manager is a daily role for two hours (9am – 11am), Mandy works tirelessly for many hours every day supporting not just the Red House but the elderly and vulnerable in the community.

In normal times, she helps organise fundraisers not just to support the Red house but to support disadvantaged people from all sections of the community, raising many thousands of pounds

In the first lockdown Mandy working alongside the trustees persuaded the parish council to loan the parish flyer to the trustees and for 12 weeks, stocked the flyer as a mobile shop carrying fresh and dried provisions to those who were shielding. She also transported the elderly to the surgery for appointments. In her “spare” time Mandy is Chair of the Melville club, lunch club for the elderly and every week provides hot meals, for home delivery, for all members.

Derek Mattinson

Chair of trustees.

A former member of the Royal Air Force and a resident of Albrighton since 1995.  Now the Managing Director of Mattinson Training Ltd which has a training venue at the Red House.

I am also a trustee of the Albrighton and Cosford First Responders as well as an active responder.

I joined the Trustees of Albrighton Village Halls Trust in 2015 representing Albric Festival Lodge.  I became the Deputy Chair in 2021 and was elected as the Chair in July 2023.   Over the last 8 years I have seen the Red House become more of a focal point for village activities.  We continue to put on a playscheme for 4 weeks in the summer free of charge for Albrighton Primary age children, as well as the Christmas party for the elderly.  I am immensely proud to be part of and lead an organisation that not only provides an amazing venue but invaluable support to the local community.  Going forward we need to recruit more volunteers to help with our community functions and fundraising to maintain the fabric of the building.

We are always looking for new volunteers to ensure this work continues for our village.

Jenny Wynn DL

Formerly managing Director of the TTC Group and currently Director of Wynn Developments and a trustee of the Wynn Foundation.

Became a trustee of the Red House in December 2016 and Chair in July 2017. Re-elected Chair in July 2019 to July 2023.

Working with the other trustees and volunteers, we aim to ensure that the Red House always provides a warm welcome to users. We work in partnership with other organisations to benefit residents of Albrighton and the surrounding villages; this includes advertising events anywhere in the village, believing that by working together we can offer much to reduce social isolation and loneliness. We also keep a directory of local clubs and organisations throughout the village and run the Community Support scheme to help elderly and vulnerable residents.

We routinely offer many free activities especially for children, through the summer activities, and events for the elderly such as afternoon teas and the annual Xmas party all run by our wonderful volunteers. We are committed to working together to ensure the long-term future of the Red House, providing a wide range of activities and entertainment as well as fundraising to maintain the building to a high standard.

Peter Illes

I am currently the parish council representative for the Red House and am a proud Mancunian born in 1947. I moved to Albrighton with my wife and two children in 1985 during a 50-year career on the railways where I worked in Manchester, London, Cardiff and Birmingham as a Human Resources professional.

I quickly fell in love with the village and became involved with various voluntary groups including the Swimming Club and Scouts before joining the Parish Council around 2000 since which time I have been involved with the Melville Club, Footpaths, Christmas lights, Fayre, Nature Reserve and Civic Society.

I see the Red House as a fantastic and crucial facility in the village and will continue to seek effective and productive relationships with the Parish Council and encourage everyone to support and use the facilities as much as possible.

Mary Holden

I have lived in Albrighton since 1983. I am the chair of the improvement committee which organises various functions throughout the year to raise money to improve the facilities.

Mel Jones

Appointed Treasurer of the AVHT in 2020.   Glad to help such a great facility in the centre of the village and look forward to the end of the pandemic when it will be back in full use for the village

Joy Robinson

A resident of Albrighton since 1977.  Formerly a trained nurse working in many different settings.  I have been a Red House Trustee since 2012 representing Albrighton Flower Club.  I have held the office of Honorary Secretary for the last 8 years.

It is an honour and pleasure to be involved in preserving the most valued Red House for the use of the local community.

Val Kirton

A retired Nurse and a resident of Albrighton since 1987.

Have had involvement with the Red House since the early nineties, on the Management Committee and as a representative of WI as a Trustee since 2005.

I headed up Flicks in the Sticks in the late nineties bringing Cinema to the Red House for the Community.

Also in the Red House, manage a weekly Painting for Pleasure – Art Group, open to anyone wishing to join.

Hugh Kirton

I became a resident of Albrighton in 1987 and joined the Red House Management Committee in the 1990s becoming involved with overseeing of the extension and improvement of the Hall as we see it today.

I became Vice Chairman of the Management Committee in 2003 and Chairman in 2015.

In 2009 I became a member of the Trustees as representative of Donington Parish Council and remain so at present.

Robert Lansley (Bob).

Born in Wolverhampton, we moved to Albrighton in January 1975. I served as a Parish Councillor for 4 years in the early 1990s. I spent most of my working life as a Quantity Surveyor involved in various aspects of the building industry, before retirement.

I am the Trustee Representative of the Albrighton & District Historical Society, of which I am Vice-Chairman; in that capacity, I carry out various maintenance and repair works in the Red House and try to offer practical advice on building matters, based on my experience. I am also Vice-Chairman of the Melville Club, the club for our senior citizens in and around the village. I am very ‘Albrighton focussed’, as I consider this village to be a great, friendly and supportive place to live.

Rita Hester

I qualified as a Nursing Sister and Midwife in Yorkshire and came to live in the village in 1966. After my children were born, I worked at New Cross Hospital as a Midwifery Sister and then as a District Midwife.

Later I joined the Albrighton Medical Practice as a Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Management Nurse.

Since retiring I have been a member of the Red House Committee and its Improvement Sub-Committee, having been initially nominated to represent the Walking Group.

My main role has been to help run fundraising events for the benefit of the Red House and the village in general, particularly since the most recent extension of the premises.

Nigel Hester

I came to the village in 1966 to join the Medical Practice, which needed to expand to cope with the baby boom of the early sixties, and retired in 2001.

I have also had two spells, of four and five years, as a member of the Parish Council.

Shortly after retiring from General Practice I joined the Red House Committee as a representative of the Albric Festival Lodge.

I am not a voting member of the Management Committee, being currently a Holding Trustee, which means that my role is to hold the charity’s assets and carry out the instructions of the management, having ensured that those instructions are legally sound.