A dry and warmer spring saw the popular New Lodge pitch & putt course open much earlier than usual and in full swing by early April.  To the delight of our customers Andy our gardener had been secretly busy preparing the ground with a spring cleanup and busy keeping up with the mowing as the grass around the grounds continues to be lush and green.  The course as in previous years is 6 holes and a challenge for all our business occupiers and visitors, not only the keen golfers amongst the community.  The course is all about getting people away from their desks at lunchtime, stretching the legs, sampling the landscaping delights that New Lodge has to offer, avoiding that mid afternoon slump and at the same time simply having a little bit of fun!  The clubs and balls are provided complimentary which means everybody and anybody can have a go.  It’s a popular lunchtime pastime at New Lodge particularly in the hot weather…so make sure you book your round early with the reception desk!  Now I wonder who the Pro is in the picture???

Renowned wood sculptor, Graham Jones, has been commissioned to transform the remains of an ancient oak into an imaginative sculpture to capture the ‘spirit’ of the tree. Prominently located by the driveway at New Lodge, a neo-Gothic, Grade II* listed mansion near Windsor, the oak is believed to be between 300 and 500 years old. It collapsed dramatically during the Summer leaving a 10 foot stump, which has proved to be the perfect ‘canvas’ for Graham’s work.

Graham Jones is well known for his designs reflecting elaborate fantasies and imaginings. His New Lodge sculpture will reflect some of the features of the building; the Oak and Rose rooms, griffins on the gates and, reputedly, wood nymphs. In Greek mythology, nymphs were revered as the spirits of specific natural features – mountains, rivers and, of course, trees. Graham Jones says: “This is the oldest and largest tree I have ever worked on and it is in very good condition considering its age. I have never seen an oak so deep in colour. I would like my sculpture to reflect the depth and majesty of this wonderful tree”.

Graham’s first action was to assess the tree, the surroundings and its potential. He planned the works using rough sketches before creating more detailed drawings. As he progresses, he sketches, in chalk, on the tree in order to ensure that his positioning is right. He then carves out rough dimensions of the sculpture before finally carving in detail once the correct proportions are clear.

Graham Jones will be working throughout the Winter to complete his sculpture and hopes to finish by early Spring. More information about Graham Jones’ work is available by visiting www.gmjwoodcarving.co.uk.

New Lodge is located in the Berkshire countryside between Windsor and Ascot. It was designed in 1857 for the Belgian ambassador, Jean Sylvain Van de Weyer, by architect Thomas Talbot Bury. It is now a thriving business community providing prestigious offices for companies requiring outstanding connectivity and elegant surroundings. It is already 90% let with a few remaining offices in the main house and the stables. Over the decades a great deal of planting has taken place in its extensive grounds, with an outstanding collection of Wellingtonia trees being planted by members of the royal family including Queen Victoria, Edward VII and King Leopold of Belgium. An avenue of elms was planted by the parents of Queen Mary, the Duke and Princess Mary of Teck.

Every customer at New Lodge benefits from 24 hour security with external CCTV, a secure gated entrance, video entry systems, generous car parking, a dramatic reception area and impressive meeting/conference facilities. Customers and visitors can enjoy 55 acres of beautiful parkland along with a contemporary styled café within the courtyard of New Lodge House.

A conference venue with a difference is now available in Berkshire. Victorian neo-Gothic office refurbishment, New Lodge, a Grade II* listed former ambassador’s residence refurbished by Marchday Group plc, has opened up its historic interior to create a corporate venue which will add a touch of elegance to any business gathering. New Lodge’s modern cabling and wireless network capability ensures that event programmes can make full use of up to date audio-visual equipment and video conferencing facilities.

New Lodge is a premium venue in congenial surroundings, located in 55 acres of landscaped parkland in the countryside on the western edge of Windsor. The gated, secure entrance with video entry system, together with CCTV and number plate recognition offers the peace of mind necessary for security conscious clients. Event delegates can enjoy dramatic views across the Thames Valley and be just 10 minutes from the M4 and M25 and less than half an hour’s drive from London’s Heathrow airport.

Influencer marketing company, Tiger Lily, is based at New Lodge. Director, Melanie Oakley, says: “We offer high level consultancy to multinational corporations in the IT industry. New Lodge’s facilities are ideal for when our clients need to hold small select events and briefings for their most important influencers. The facilities complement the high quality service that we provide to our clients and are entirely appropriate for the style of event that we require.”

Mike Thomas is business change manager at Allianz Insurance PLC. “We don’t have office space at New Lodge, but the ambience and style of the building are great for holding focussed meetings and conventions away from our normal sites, when we need to escape to a more rarified atmosphere. We have held meetings for between eight and 18 people and it works brilliantly. The catering is excellent and ‘breaking-out’ into the café, the courtyard or the grounds is a delight. The location near the M4 with Heathrow nearby makes the logistics very easy.”

Van de Weyer Room
‘Grand’ style is available in the Van de Weyer Room, which celebrates the life of the first Prime Minister and ambassador of Belgium, for whom the house was built in 1857. The room has an ornate geometrically-patterned plasterwork ceiling and 10-light brass chandeliers. Its centrepiece is an elaborate fireplace surrounded by intricate wood half panelling. The fireplace is balanced by two huge bay windows that dominate the room, each creating a space the size of an ante-room in its own right.

The notable wood-carving, which gives New Lodge its Grade II* status, extends to every detail of the room; the door surrounds, the mantel edge and the mullion linings of the bay windows. The carving is complemented by the handmade elliptical board table to accommodate 18 people seated around it. The table can be removed to seat 60 people in theatre style.

New Lodge conference facility summary:
New Lodge offers:

• Dramatic meeting and function rooms, each with break-out space and access to a landscaped courtyard
• Impressive reception area
• State of the art video conferencing facilities
• Overhead digital projection and audio-visual equipped
• IT-enabled buildings with dedicated 10Mb broadband
• High specification IT packages and support services
• Wi-fi hot spots in grounds, café and communal areas
• Contemporary-styled café within the courtyard and bespoke corporate catering
• Manicured lawns and gardens with sculpture and historical landmarks
• Extensive and secure car parking
• Dedicated conference organiser to make event perfect
• Silver service to create that special impression

Cycling in the park is a great way to exercise and to enjoy the fresh air. Cycling in the park at work is even better! Neo-Gothic, Grade II* listed office development New Lodge, located in 55 acres of parkland to the west of Windsor, is now providing four bicycles for use by those working in the main house, the Garden Cottage and the newly launched Stables. The multi-terrain bikes offer a chance for New Lodge’s customers to get out of doors and exercise on the estate, as well as decreasing car use by making local road trips into Windsor or Ascot. Even commuter use could be possible.

“We have always wanted the people working in our business community to enjoy our estate,” says Paul Buckley, Estates Manager at New Lodge. “We have encouraged the outdoor business life with wi-fi in the grounds and outdoor benches for relaxing and informal meetings. Now we are going a stage further and providing leisure facilities as well. The grounds are a delight and they deserve to be enjoyed in as many ways as possible. We already have an informal running club at lunchtime to get the blood circulating. Our new bicycles take us a stage further.”

Secure bicycle parking is close to hand in the car park at New Lodge while helmets and safety equipment will be available from reception to ensure that all cyclists are sensibly equipped.

Originally built for the Belgian ambassador in 1857, New Lodge was designed by architect Thomas Talbot Bury, who was known for his Gothic architecture in the style of master architect, Augustus Pugin. The elegant and fully equipped business suites at New Lodge offer complete IT-enabled connectivity using CAT5e cabling, uncontested 10Mb broadband and a bespoke telecommunications package. Wi-fi hotspots have been created in the café, communal areas and parkland. Every customer benefits from 24 hour security with external CCTV, a secure gated entrance, video entry systems, generous car parking, a dramatic reception area and impressive meeting/conference facilities. Customers and visitors can enjoy 55 acres of beautiful parkland along with a contemporary styled café within the courtyard of New Lodge House.

Peter Ustinov by Alastair Morrison.

Alistair Morrison, the New Lodge ‘Artist in Residence’ has announced the date for his latest exhibition “The Self Exhibition”. Alistair has been is working closely with the Brigidine School, Windsor, asking the girls to create an exhibition of self-portraits.

These will be printed and framed by Alistair to be shown at a special exhibition titled ‘Self’ as a fundraising exercise for the school. All the portraits will be mounted on easels and displayed in the meeting rooms, conference room, fireplace mantlepieces and other suitable areas on both the ground and first floor of the Neo Gothic office building.

The launch of this exciting and innovative exhibition will be held at New Lodge on the 22nd March from 6.30pm – 8.30pm with a guest list of about 200 people.

IT-enabled Grade II* listed neo-Gothic New Lodge, to the west of Windsor in Berkshire, has now added the Stables as an attractive re-location venue, joining the Garden Cottage and the imposing Victorian mansion itself, New Lodge House. The Stables maintains the New Lodge tradition of offering fully-equipped business suites with a difference; its 4,657 sq ft of office space over two storeys encloses a delightful private courtyard landscaped to a contemporary and symmetrical design. Tightly crafted yew pyramids and French-style pleached hornbeams join elegant seating and wi-fi to offer the perfect chance to be out when you are in. The design blends perfectly the architectural elegance of the mansion with the modern, clean style that is so important to today’s businesses.

The availability of the Stables for letting co-incides with a new exhibition by New Lodge’s ‘artist in residence’, Alistair Morrison. Titled “A Day at New Lodge”, and displayed on the walls in the Stables, the exhibition features a series of personality profiles of the current occupiers and visitors to New Lodge.

The accommodation at the Stables contrasts with the traditional and domestically sized rooms in the main house. The bright, open plan space brings flexibility and modernity, but with a traditional atmosphere and a sense of elegance.

“Many visitors to New Lodge, while viewing the rooms in the main house, have expressed interest in bigger, open plan offices”, says Paul Buckley, Estates Manager for New Lodge. “Now with the Stables we can offer this too”.

Originally built for the Belgian ambassador in 1857, New Lodge was designed by architect Thomas Talbot Bury, who was known for his neo-Gothic architecture in the style of master architect, Augustus Pugin. The elegant and fully equipped business suites offer complete IT-enabled connectivity using CAT5e cabling, uncontested 10Mb broadband and a bespoke telecommunications package. Wi-fi hotspots have been created in the café, communal areas and parkland.

Every customer benefits from 24 hour security with external CCTV, a secure gated entrance, video entry systems, generous car parking, a dramatic reception area and impressive meeting/conference facilities. Customers and visitors can enjoy 55 acres of beautiful parkland along with a contemporary styled café within the courtyard of New Lodge House.

The Mayor of Windsor, Cllr Leo Walter, is helping to select a winner from entries submitted by pupils from Windsor schools in a competition to design an information leaflet to help preserve the memory of the designer of the Hawker Hurricane, world famous aero engineer and former Windsor resident, Sir Sydney Camm. The preliminary judging of the entries took place at the destination for the first airmail flight in the UK, neo-Gothic New Lodge to the west of Windsor Great Park, a Grade II* listed former ambassador’s residence and now business centre.

The winner of the competition will be announced on 7th July, with the final design helping to raise awareness of Sir Sydney and his achievements. Often described as the ‘Brunel of aeronautical engineers’, Sir Sydney Camm was born in Windsor and lived in Alma Road. From humble beginnings as a carpenter’s apprentice he went on to design the Hawker Hurricane and the Harrier jump-jet, both crucial to Britain’s success during the Battle of Britain and the Falklands War. His remarkable achievements led him to become one of the world’s greatest aircraft designers.

Future plans for the society include a scholarship and bursary scheme and the mounting on a four metre pole of one of Sir Sydney’s full scale replica aircraft in Windsor where a prospective site has already been identified and will be subject to planning approval.

Competition co-ordinator for The Sir Sydney Camm Commemorative Society, Karin Lohr, said: “Sir Sydney’s achievements are an inspiration to us all, especially young people. From humble beginnings with sheer determination, he rose to achieve so much for this country, and it is only right that his home town does something worthwhile to commemorate him. We will be working closely with the schools in Windsor and the borough council to promote the competition, which will form the basis of our education project”.

With localism and public sector cuts high on the political agenda a North East property company has called on the Government to live by its own words – and move to save cash and jobs. The company says that by closing the doors of the House of Commons and relocating, the Government could make massive savings on the cost of running the establishment. Figures provided by the House of Commons show that it costs a staggering £208,000,000 per year for the eight acres of accommodation, operating costs and security, not including MPs salaries or administration costs.

House of Commons for sale

Marchday the company behind the idea say it wants to put the House of Commons up for sale on behalf of the people of England – saving hundreds of jobs in the process. Marchday happens to own a huge 107 acre development Lingfield Point in Darlington, County Durham and could offer the Government a great deal at a fraction of the price. But to take advantage of it MPs would also have to be prepared to accept the advice of MP Iain Duncan Smith and move to follow the jobs.

John Orchard, of Marchday (which also owns New Lodge in Windsor and Cavendish Square in Central London) said:

“The Palace of Westminster functions as a giant office space with meeting rooms and chambers.

“It is very costly to run and maintain. Obviously there are cheaper places to be based – for example Lingfield Point – which is an award-winning sustainable business park that offers everything needed to run the country efficiently and cost effectively.

“Ok, this is a tongue-in-cheek poke at the Government but with several serious points behind it. For example in the past few years the Government has commissioned two reports into devolving civil service jobs to the regions, the Lyons Report and the Smith Review, the Lyons Report alone cost £2.22m and yet very little changed as a result

“News reports earlier this week made it clear how hard some of the poorest areas of England will be hit by the planned spending cuts and this is a great opportunity to resurrect this idea.

“The Government is asking everybody else to face the harsh realities that cuts will bring – it needs to take a top-down lead by example approach.

Office space at Lingfield Point is available at £10 per sq ft compared to the average of £35 per sq ft in London. The North East has a work-ready army of skilled people and logistical and transport links to Europe that are the best in England.

“This isn’t about making political points – it is a moral issue – we want the people in charge to think about the human cost of the proposals on the table and how easily some of the effects could be mitigated,” said Mr Orchard.

John Orchard at the Houses of Parliament

MP for Darlington Jenny Chapman supported Lingfield Point’s stance and said:

“The Government should listen to John Orchard.  David Cameron wants people to get on the bus to find work and I want them to come to Darlington.  We’ve got great schools, excellent transport links and great value real estate.  Darlington is a top place to do business and could save you money.   John says this is tongue in cheek, but I say the Government should listen up.”

A number of our customers are significant public sector organizations who are having to cut costs dramatically in line with Government targets. Marchday are actively working with customers to rationalize their occupational and service delivery costs.

In the midst of this atmosphere of frenzied cost cutting it is easy to forget quality of customer service. In a way, giving or expecting to receive excellent service almost feels too good, wrong even; extravagant in this harsh new world of austerity.

We believe you should be able to have both. At Lingfield Point we have committed to providing continued excellent customer service, remarkable workplaces, at the best price.

We wholeheartedly believe that the call to cut costs can still result in spaces where people enjoy coming to work, are efficient, productive and have fun. This is undoubtedly a huge challenge but, along with our exceptional teams we are in great shape to help our customers enjoy the best of both worlds.

Five Barnardo’s ‘boys’ returned to their former home for the first time in over half a century when they attended a reunion at New Lodge, on the edge of Windsor Great Park, on Sunday 20th May. The five ‘boys’, four of them brothers from the Townsend family, had not been back since they left the house in 1956, when the neo-Gothic mansion ended its stint as a Barnardo’s orphanage. The visit came as part of a reunion of 75 Barnardo’s ‘boys’ hosted by the current owners of the building, commercial developers Marchday Group. New Lodge is now a modern business community with fully-equipped and IT-enabled business suites and the owners were delighted to host the event to allow the ‘boys’ the opportunity to visit the house and the rooms that they remembered so well.

Reunions at New Lodge started in 1992 and had become an established biennial tradition under the ownership of previous owner, Barbour Index. Marchday Group has been delighted to maintain the tradition. Long-standing event organiser, Sue Burnand, said: “Barnardo’s boys lived at New Lodge between 1942 and 1956. When the end came, over 150 boys were split up and they have ended up all over the place, some even quite far afield living in America, Canada and South Africa. Having so many back is lovely; they have such good memories of their home and it is a very emotional and exciting event. It is particular wonderful to see new faces like the Townsend brothers and Charles Rickard, who lived at New Lodge between 1949 and 1956. They are so welcome.”

Not all the guests were ‘boys’. Everyone was delighted to see Sheila Mace, one of the daughters of former home superintendents, known to everyone as Mr and Mrs Mace, who are fondly remembered in their efforts to provide a real home for the boys. Sheila Mace and the ‘boys’ enjoyed guided tours of their former home and were amazed to see how everything has changed. A number of the current tenants opened up their offices to allow access for the tours, showing off the elegantly decorated rooms, now business suites.

Len Harpin, one of the ex-Barnardo’s boys, lived at New Lodge between 1942 and 1944 and loved the house. He has been a regular attendee at the New Lodge reunions over the years.

“I am most grateful to Marchday Group for their commitment in organising such a fantastic event, which is always a special occasion for us. Seventy-five visitors makes this year the biggest reunion so far; I have met so many new ‘boys’ and their families”, said Mr Harpin.

Traditionally, after Sunday lunch and welcoming speeches, many of the guests walk across the road to Braywood House, which used to be part of the New Lodge estate and where All Saints Church once stood. Many of the boys and staff of the Barnardo’s home were married at this church and held their receptions at New Lodge, leading to some poignant memories.

Originally built for the Belgian ambassador in 1857 and designed by architect Thomas Talbot Bury, the house was sold to Barnardo’s in 1942 for £24,000. Numerous internal modifications were made at this time, including extra toilets, wash and changing rooms and 16 dormitories upstairs.

The switch to commercial use in 1956 started the process that led to the purchase of the building in 2005 by Marchday Group and its current development into a business community of elegantly decorated offices. The modern and fully equipped suites at New Lodge offer complete IT-enabled connectivity using CAT5e cabling, uncontested 10Mb broadband and a bespoke telecommunications package. Wi-fi hotspots have been created in the café, communal areas and parkland.

Every customer benefits from 24 hour security with external CCTV, a secure gated entrance, video entry systems, generous car parking, a dramatic reception area and impressive meeting/conference facilities. Customers and visitors can enjoy 55 acres of beautiful parkland along with a contemporary styled café within the courtyard of New Lodge House.