Our work

A vision brought to life.

Our historic estate is a space for everyone — where creativity thrives, well-being is nurtured, and connections with heritage and nature are deepened. We are committed to maintaining and protecting this special place for future generations, while offering inspiring and enriching experiences. Whether you’re here to learn, create, or simply wander, we welcome you to be part of our story.

Our mission

To be sustainable, financially, environmentally and socially.

To be a catalyst for creativity.

To conserve the listed buildings in our care so that they are no longer on the Historic England ‘at risk’ register.

To provide learning and engagement opportunities in culture, heritage and nature.

To broaden our audience by being welcoming, inclusive and accessible.

To enhance the natural landscape through increasing biodiversity and habitat connectivity.

Saving the Manor House

West Horsley Place Trust is actively restoring the Grade I ‑ listed Manor House — which is currently on Historic England’s ‘At Risk’ register — by funding urgent repair and conservation projects.

Recent successful projects have included:

Chimney stabilisation
The delicate restoration of the historic Geraldine ceiling, the oldest decorative plasterwork in the country

Conservation extends beyond the fabric: the Trust has run a National Lottery funded archive project, working with Surrey History Centre and volunteers to catalogue and preserve family documents dating back to the 17th century.

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Becoming a centre for wellbeing

West Horsley Place aims to be a place that improves people’s wellbeing through culture, heritage and nature.

Projects include:

Heritage Without Barriers supports community partnerships to deliver nature‑based, creative and therapeutic activities across the estate
Breathing Space course — an outdoor wellbeing in nature programme run in collaboration with Woking Mind and Catalyst — provided mindfulness, connection, and self‑compassion to participants.
Our Sensory Garden offers a free garden for visitors and was designed by people with sight impairment.

These inclusive and restorative projects reflect West Horsley Place’s mission to break down access barriers, enrich wellbeing and welcome people from all walks of life.

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Our idea was to encourage performances of all kinds, concerts in the house or drama in the garden. We came to imagine West Horsley Place as a centre for crafts of all kinds. It is an inspiring vision. And I believe it will be an exciting adventure.

Nurturing nature

West Horsley Place Trust is working actively across the 400‑acre estate — not just in the Manor House — to support nature, heritage and community engagement.

Projects to achieve this include:

The Hedgerow Heritage Project, with Surrey Wildlife Trust, which restored and renewed historic hedgerows, trained young people in traditional hedge‑laying, and reinforced habitat corridors vital for species like dormice, bats and white admirals.
A collaboration with the Newt Conservation Partnership has led to the creation of four new clean‑water ponds, designed to encourage amphibians, reptiles and freshwater invertebrates.
Additionally, the Trust has recently secured £233,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund to enhance biodiversity, improve public access and pilot nature‑based initiatives like archaeology on prescription and student wellbeing programmes.

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