The Court
About the Livery Company
Incorporated in 1709 during the reign of Queen Anne but very active as the Guild of Fan Makers from at least the reign of Charles II, today’s Fan Makers’ Company is the youngest of the ‘old’ City Livery Companies being the last to receive a Royal Charter for nearly 300 years and becoming the 76th Livery Company in order of precedence. Those that have followed have usually been incorporated by the City alone.
The Master
Dinesh Naidu
Dinesh joined the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers in 2009.
He trained as a Mechanical Engineer and joined Ford Motor Company in the mid-1970s. However, his time as an engineer was very short lived due to the oil crisis and the ensuing three-day week, which caused the near collapse of the motor industry.
In 1978 Dinesh started his own enterprise in the energy conservation sector. Over the years he represented the industry at meetings with Government departments, assisting in the design and deployment of the various schemes to encourage homeowners, developers and Local Authorities to adopt higher standards of energy efficiency.
Dinesh entered semi-retirement in 2008 but continued to mentor entrepreneurs, assist charities in his spare time, in addition to becoming the Chairman of his Parish Council.
Born in London, Dinesh has been married to his wife, Valerie, for just short of forty years. Originally based near Colchester in Essex, their four children have now flown the nest, this has enabled them to retire to the Cotswolds.
Shooting has always been an important pastime for Dinesh, but he readily admits that he still is striving to be considered an average shot!
Other pastimes include walking, for which he is usually accompanied by his very lively Cocker Spaniel, who always wants to go the extra mile.
He has a keen interest in Georgian architecture and has restored a Grade 1 listed property in Bath.
Free Warden
Christopher Turner
Chris began his career as a pharmacist within the NHS before transitioning to manufacturing in the Pharmaceutical Industry. This enabled Chris to gain experience in quality assurance and regulatory affairs. His interest and aptitude for this led to him joining the MHRA (an agency of the Department of Health). He specialised in blood, tissues and biological products including vaccines and travelled extensively inspecting manufacturing sites world wide. Chris later joined the family engineering business which was successfully sold in 2021. His connection with the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers began over 35 years ago through his Father, Past Master Lawrence Turner OBE, and he became a Liveryman in 2005. Chris has been an active member of the Livery Committee. Chris is married to Angela, a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Nurses. They have two children and currently 3 grandchildren. Whilst their main home is currently in Shropshire, they spend a lot of time in Dartmouth where they plan to relocate, as well as spending more time in London. Chris and Angela enjoy sailing together and with friends, they like attending opera and music events.
Foreign Warden
Richard Jeffery
Richard's career has been focused on business process optimisation and operational excellence. He co-founded ActiveOps in 2005 and as Executive Chairman has led the company's growth in workforce management software, working with major organisations globally to improve efficiency and performance. A passionate advocate for building British businesses with worldwide reach, his professional background combines operational leadership with strategic international growth, particularly in technology-enabled business services. He is a past winner of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists' Enterprise Entrepreneur Award.
Richard's connection with the Worshipful Company of Fan Makers spans over three decades, having become a Liveryman in 1992 and joining the Court in 2014. He has been an active contributor to the Company's committees and activities throughout this time. His first exposure to the Livery Companies came as Vice President of the Student Union at City University in London, where the Livery Companies sponsored and supported social facilities.
Richard is married to Susie, and they have three adult children—Matthew, Jess, and Abi—and several grandchildren. Whilst they divide their time between Bath and Reading (particularly when Bath Rugby are playing at home), they enjoy rugby, sailing, and live music of (almost) any sort.
The Court & Committee Members 2025
Past Master John Hammond (1993)
Past Master Julian Crispin (1995)
Past Master Andrew Collins TD (1996)
Past Master Nicholas Crispin (1997)
Past Master John Allen (1998)
Past Master James Thomas (2004)
Past Master Lawrence Turner OBE (2005)
Past Master Antony O’Hagan TD, DL (2006)
Past Master Jeremy Connor KC (2007)
Past Master John Hayes (Curator) (2010)
Past Master John Hughes (2012) (Almoner)
Past Master Patrick King (2013)
Past Master Doug Clasby (2014)
Past Master John Naylor (2015)
Past Master Rear Admiral Paul Hoddinott CB OBE (2016)
Past Master Marshall Blaker * (2017)
Past Master Michael Smith * (2018)
Past Master Dr Jeff Bines * (2019)
Past Master Colin Bramall * (2020/1)
Past Master Jonathan Bewes * (2022)
Past Master Peter Dove * (2023)
Immediate Past Master Mike Lakin * (2024)
Master Antony Robson *
The Free Warden Dinesh Naidu *
The Foreign Chris Turner *
Senior Assistant Richard Jeffery *
Assistant Gary Blaker KC (Military Liaison Officer)*
Assistant HH Nicholas Cooke KC*
Assistant Judith Mosely (Comptroller)*
Assistant Bob Gatehouse*
Assistant Ian Block*
Assistant Carole Plant (Livery Committee Chairman)*
Assistant Mark Scogings (Premises Committee Chairman)*
Assistant Phillip Payne*
Assistant Antoinette Hayes*
Assistant Mark Jukes*
Assistant Dr Helen Marr*
Assistant Jacqueline Riley*
Assistant Honoris Causa Anne-Marie Benson (Keeper of the Fans)
Assistant Honoris Causa Richard King (CEO of the Fan Makers' Charity)
*Voting members of Court
GP & FC members in bold
Court Selection Committee: Past Master John Hayes (Chairman)
Past Master John Hughes
Past Master Marshall Blaker
The Master
The Free Warden
Climate & Biodiversity Committee: Liveryman Peter Anderson (Chairman)
Past Master John Naylor
Immediate Past Master Mike Lakin
Liveryman Dr Helen Marr
Liveryman Ruth Carter
Liveryman Tim Hayes
Liveryman Paul Eslinger
Premesis Committee: Assistant Mark Scogings (Chairman)
Master Antony Robson
The Livery Committee: Carole Plant (Chairman)
Communications portfolio: Assistant HH Nicholas Cooke KC
Recruitment portfolio: Assistant Carole Plant
Retention portfolio: Assistant Mark Scogings
Events portfolio: Assistant Mark Jukes
Social Media: Assistant Carole Plant, Liveryman James Robson, Jon Boot, Liveryman Kim Blake & Liveryman Simon Cole
Newsletter Editor: Liveryman Elizabeth Hayes & Freeman Emily Bray
Almoner: Past Master John Hughes
Curator: Past Master John Hayes
Comptroller: Assistant Judith Mosely
Deputy Comptroller: Assistant Jackie Riley
Keeper of the Fans: Assistant HC Anne-Marie Benson
Librarian: Liveryman Elizabeth Hayes
Young Members Group: Liveryman James Robson & Freeman Rachel Gatehouse
Military Liaison Officer: Assistant Gary Blaker KC
Golf Society: Liveryman Ken Burrage
Shooting Society: Liveryman Richard Lovell
Angling Society: Liveryman Paul Eslinger
Rowing Society: Assistant Bob Gatehouse