Brief Biography of Council Members
Chris Penrose - Chairman
Originally from the North East, Chris has lived in the Henley area since 1994, and in Shiplake since 2000.
Chris is one of the founder/owners of Abingdon-based Prosper21, an international marketing consultancy working with large corporations and their brands to help them develop and execute strategy better. He’s consulted for such firms as Shell, Beiersdorf, GSK, Essity, and Nestle. He spent his early career in marketing for Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson in Europe and USA.
Chris’ wife is the jeweller Wendy Penrose and their garden studio is a regular venue in the annual Henley Arts Trail, where their two children also exhibit their artwork and Chris gets to shows off his latest garden projects.
Chris is keen to help Shiplake evolve, sensitive to the needs of residents and businesses, whilst maintaining its rural distinctiveness and as a great place to live and work.
David Pheasant - Vice Chair
David has lived in Shiplake for more than 10 years and has known the villages for many more years since meeting his wife Vivien, who lived in Henley. One of their daughters also lives in the village with her family. For the past 30 years he has been a director of international technology and software companies working in Europe, America and Asia. David is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors and Chartered Member of the British Computer Society.
He joined the Parish Council in 2011 wanting to contribute to the good work of the Council in ensuring the villages retain their character, community and rural nature as places for all ages to live. His involvement for the Council is focused on: planning issues, the Shiplake Villages Plan, newsletter and the new website.
Richard Curtis
Richard Curtis is a longserving staff member of Shiplake College (now in his 10th year) and has recently been appointed Assistant Head with a specific responsibility for the school’s Sixth Form. Richard is also a boarding housemaster and lives in accommodation connected to the Upper Sixth house with his wife, Rosie, and their two boys, Jack and Billy both attend Shiplake Primary School. He also the proud owner of two very friendly white Staffordshire Bull Terriers called Jessie and Pepsi with whom he can often be seen admiring the sunrises over the river whilst walking the tow path in the early hours of the morning. Richard has 29 years of teaching experience behind him and has fulfilled a variety of academic and pastoral roles at Shiplake and formerly Framlingham College in Suffolk. These include Director of Sport and Head of Mathematics. In addition to his teaching and Housemaster duties, Richard is a valued sports coach, specialising in rugby and hockey. He is also an ardent cricketer and relishes the opportunity of spending a day or two at Lords during the summer holidays
Roger B. Head
Roger has lived in Binfield Heath all his life and is the third generation of his family to do so. He has taken an active role in the community from early age and has been a Parish Councillor for over thirty years, including a period as the Chairman. Roger is also an active member of the local branch of the Royal British Legion and he currently represents both the Parish Council and the British Legion on the Memorial Hall Management Committee.
Ann Manning
Ann moved to Lower Shiplake in 1989 and loves the area. She is a professional businesswoman with over 38 years' experience in the Insurance Broking Industry and started ManningUK based in Henley-on-Thames in 1984 to provide a professional, competitive and "easy-to-do-business-with" service to clients, however large or small, whether face to face or by correspondence - this is a philosophy that still applies some 38 years later.
Ann is confident at public speaking and is able to articulate and interpret people’s views. She is a good debater, a very traditional woman who believes in mutual respect for all. She is proud to be a Freeman of the City of London and Liveryman of The Worshipful Company of Insurers.
She has served on all types of Committees for a number of years. She was a member of Rotaract and became President in 1979. She is a member of the Chartered Insurance Institute and has served terms of office on the Committee of the Reading Institute. In 1988 she became a Magistrate serving the Berkshire Bench with all that entails and was also a serving member of the Magistrates’ Courts Committee until resigning in 2022.
Ann is also heavily involved with the young and “not so young” in the local area and sponsors The Woodley Festival of Music and Arts which encourages young people to develop their speech, acting ability and musical talent. ‘It is a pleasure to hear and see young people partaking in the Festival and to hear proper diction!’
For hobbies, she has many things that she enjoys; badminton, theatre, polo, entertaining and anything connected with water. She has two long term ambitions to have a picture included in the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts and eventually open an etiquette school.
Joanne Stone
Originally from the West Country, and after brief spells in Wales and London to gain her degrees Joanne and her husband Max moved to Caversham in the 90’s and finally to Shiplake in 2005.
After working for the National Rivers Authority and then the Environment Agency, involved largely with the protection of the aquatic environment and river water quality, Joanne is currently primarily a stay-at-home mum. Joanne is keen to protect the rural nature of the Shiplake area and to try to contribute to the strong local community that Shiplake has and which make it a great place to live.
A keen family historian and nature watcher, Joanne also helps her husband with his honey bees, which he has kept in Shiplake for the last 10 years.
Dr Fiona Galton-Fenzi
Fiona has lived in the Henley & Shiplake area for over 20 years. She started her career as a GP at the Bell Surgery in Henley after gaining her medical degree from Westminster Hospital, London. Later she became a Partner at the Twyford Surgery then left to pursue a career in Law and gained a degree in Jurisprudence from Oxford University. With her dual qualification she was head-hunted into the Department of Health, working through a challenging period of change for the NHS in the Primary Care Division. She then served on multiple committees as a Senior Medical Officer and spent long hours trying to protect all that is precious in our NHS. Having now semi-retired, she works with 111 and the Emergency Services.
Shiplake is her peaceful, beautiful place and with her family and dog she takes full advantage of the beautiful countryside and river walks. This quiet and restful village needs all of our efforts to protect it from the ever-encroaching erosion of the space both from developers and the town of Henley so future generations can enjoy it.
David Miller
David spent much of his early life in Maidenhead and moved to Binfield Heath in 1985. After a short time living in Henley he finally landed in Shiplake in 1999.
David retired from the Investment Management Industry in 2022 after a career navigating some 40 years of Stock Market gyrations, the last 20 spent deeply immersed in equity trading at Invesco in Henley.
In addition to his Parish Council responsibilities he is a director and trustee of ReadiBus, which provides an alternative bus service to those with restricted mobility.
He also plays an active role in the organisation of the Wargrave and Shiplake Regatta where he has, for a number of years, been one of the team of Starters that help the event run so smoothly.
David enjoys Pilates and cycling as well as walking through the leafy lanes that make Shiplake such a special place to live.
Roger V Hudson - Parish Clerk
Roger married Gilly in 1987 and they have had two homes in Shiplake spanning some 20 years. They love the truly village feel, community spirit and have made some wonderful friends. They currently live in Henley but maintain strong links through friends and the Council Role.
They are both active committee members of Henley Golf Club and their other main hobby is boating .
Following early retirement, Roger set up his own marketing consultancy G8 consulting in 2002. Prior to that he worked for Eli Lilly & Co Ltd., a premier US pharmaceutical organisation, for over 32 years. In that time he held a variety of positions at senior management level in the UK marketing,sales and HR functions.
David Bartholomew - OCC Councillor, Sonning Common Division
David has represented the Sonning Common Division of Oxfordshire County Council since 2013. The Division comprises of nine parishes, of which Shiplake is the second largest. He also represented the Sonning Common Ward of South Oxfordshire District Council for four years between 2019 and 2023. Protecting the local environment and pressing for sound financial management are David's key political priorities.
David has lived in Shiplake for over 30 years with his wife, and his sons grew up here. His commercial background is in advertising, design and marketing. He is a keen cyclist, walker and indoor rower (with occasional forays onto the water).
Leigh Rawlins - SODC Councillor, Sonning Common Ward
Leigh Rawlins was elected as a South Oxfordshire District Councillor for the Sonning Common Ward in May 2019. The Ward comprises five parishes, of which Shiplake is the second largest.
Leigh has lived in Sonning Common with his wife for some 18 years. Leigh is a qualified accountant and has enjoyed an extensive business career holding a range of senior roles, including MD.
Amongst Leigh’s priorities is protecting the rural character of South Oxfordshire and its communities – including coherent planning for the future. Outside of weekdays Leigh enjoys a wide range of interests and activities.
Mike Giles - SODC Councillor, Sonning Common Ward
Mike is a Liberal Democrat District Councillor for Sonning Common Ward, which includes Shiplake.
He has worked at numerous not-for-profits, including water and education charities, and spent three years within local government.Mike is currently chief executive of a health and wellbeing organisation, committed to improving medicine accessibility and tackling climate change. He also has experience as a board member for a mental health charity.He believes that public services don’t always work in the interests of the people they serve, but that local government can drive change for the better.Mike is a parent and is passionate about helping people achieve their potential and supporting the most vulnerable.
Special Responsibilities and Contact Details
Chris Penrose
- Responsibility: Chair
- Telephone: 0118 940 6403, 07553 367137
- E-mail: chair@shiplakepc.com, cpenrose@shiplakepc.com
David Pheasant
- Responsibility: Deputy Chair; SNP & Website
- Telephone: 0118 940 2536
- E-mail: dpheasant@shiplakepc.com
Richard Curtis
- Responsibility: Playgrounds & Primary School
- Telephone: 0118 940 5252
- E-mail: rcurtis@shiplakepc.com
Roger Head
- Responsibility: AONB & Highways
- Telephone: 01491 575676
- E-mail: rhead@shiplakepc.com
Ann Manning
- Responsibility: Memorial Hall
- Telephone: 07850 392120
- E-mail: amanning@shiplakepc.com
Joanne Stone
- Responsibility: Finance
- Telephone: 0118 940 6665
- E-mail: jstone@shiplakepc.com
David Bartholomew
- Responsibility: OCC
- Telephone: 07769 808773
- E-mail: david.bartholomew@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Leigh Rawlins
- Responsibility: SODC
- Telephone: 0118 9722565
- E-mail: Leigh.Rawlins@southoxon.gov.uk
Roger Hudson
- Responsibility: Clerk to the Parish Council
- Telephone: 07831 106394, 01491 577654
- E-mail: clerk@shiplakepc.com