The CCS Team

Meet our Executive Committee

Stewart Ross
Chair
Stewart is a writer and historian who has lived in Canterbury for over 45 years. When moving to the city, he was astonished to find so little of city’s rich history commemorated in public monuments and works of art. He joined the Commemoration Society to try and rectify this.
chair@cantcommsoc.co.uk
Charlotte Cornell
Vice-chair
Charlotte has lived in and around Canterbury for 15 years. She taught secondary English Literature and Drama in the city and is currently doing a PhD at the University of Kent in Medieval and Early Modern Studies. Her key areas of interest are the Renaissance and Restoration, Early Modern Theatre, and women's education across the centuries.
vice-chair@cantcommsoc.co.uk
Brian McHenry
Secretary
Brian’s first degree was in Modern History at Oxford. History is his passion. He brings to the Society his experience as a government lawyer, a member of the Church of England Synod, and a Vicar. He was awarded the CBE in 2008 for public and voluntary service.
secretary@cantcommsoc.co.uk
Alan Turner
Treasurer
Alan Turner is a retired chartered accountant who worked for many years as a partner in an international firm of accountants. He has, during his career and since his retirement, acted as treasurer for many charities and other organizations. Although a relatively new resident in Canterbury has become fascinated by its history.
treasurer@cantcommsoc.co.uk
Andrew Webster
Trustee
Andrew moved to Canterbury in 1979 to become the Director of Finance at the Cathedral. He has always been involved in historical and archaeological matters. He was for many years a trustee of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust and Chairman of the Canterbury World Heritage Site Committee and is a trustee of ICOMOS-UK.
Carolyn Oulton
Trustee
Carolyn Oulton is Director of the International Centre for Victorian Women Writers at Canterbury Christ Church University, and Project Lead for https://kent-maps.online/in collaboration with JSTOR Labs. She is fascinated by bad behaviour at the seaside and neglected nineteenth century authors. Also Dickens, who gets quite enough attention already. 
Hilary Brian
Trustee
My background is healthcare – clinical, recruitment, management, and specialist IT. I have Trustee experience as Chair, Kent MS Therapy Centre, and with the Canterbury Society and Kent College, Canterbury. My voluntary work also includes visits to India and Tanzania, and doing all I can for the History and Heritage of our beautiful City.
Connie Nolan
Trustee
Connie is the Canterbury City Cabinet Councillor for Culture, Arts, Festivals, Community, Safety and Engagement. She retired from Canterbury Christ Church where she taught in the Business School. She loves all aspects of Canterbury life especially the architecture that shapes our city. Her favourite activity is researching the forgotten women in the history of Canterbury. 
Gillian Rushton
Trustee
Born, raised and educated in Kent, Gillian enjoyed a long and successful career in the Civil Service. Since retirement she has divided her time between the UK and France. Her interests include music, art and our rich cultural heritage, and in her role as a Commemoration Society trustee she employs her social and organisational skills for the benefit of the city she loves.
Nicola Waddington
Trustee
Nicola became fascinated by history and its archives at an early age. She has been employed by various county archives and our own Cathedral Archives, and has worked for a wide range of clients, from individuals and businesses, to galleries and museums. She is delighted to put her wide-ranging experience and expertise at the service of CCS, whose aims and hopes she shares.
Sean Mohan
Trustee
Professionally, Sean is a teacher and school leader with a background in Special Educational Needs and inclusion.  A long-serving school governor and parish councillor more latterly, he is plugged into a number of local networks and has been a proud and active resident of Canterbury since arriving in 1994.  An aspiring Renaissance man, his interests include local history, politics, theatre, the great outdoors and all things gastronomic.

Meet our Presidents

Paul Roberts
President
A self-made businessman born and raised in Canterbury, Paul Roberts has followed generously in the footsteps of other notable benefactors who, over the centuries, have used their good fortune to enhance the city which they hold so dear. His enthusiastic presidency of the Commemoration Society is a fine example of his dedication to the enhancement of the local community.

Jenny Uglow OBE
Honorary Vice-President

Sometime Chair of the Royal Society of Literature and one of Britain’s best-loved authors, Jenny is well known for her inciteful biographies of figures such as Elizabeth Gaskell, William Hogarth and Edward Lear, and pioneering historical studies on topics ranging from the Restoration to gardening. She reviews widely and has been a historical consultant on several BBC serials and films.

Professor Elaine Hobby
Honorary Vice-President

One of the country’s foremost experts on 17th century literature, notably on Aphra Behn and other women writers of the era, Elaine’s distinguished academic career has earned her numerous awards, fellowships and scholarships. The support of so distinguished and enthusiastic a scholar for the Society’s Aphra Behn Project, especially the national tour of the maquettes and the preparation of play texts for reading, has been invaluable.

George Metcalfe
Honorary Vice-President

George’s remarkably rich and productive career has included time as a merchant seaman, a short service commission in the Royal Green Jackets, a ghost writer, running a successful international PR company, acting, working as a City Councillor in Westminster and Canterbury, Chairman of the Marlowe Society, a Prince’s Trust mentor, a trustee of several charities, and serving as Lord Mayor of Canterbury 2016-17.