Master & Brethren
The Master
Changing of the Guard at the Lord Leycester Hospital
March 2026 marks a new chapter for the Lord Leycester, as we bid farewell to Dr Heidi Meyer and welcome Colonel (Retd) Dr Daren Bowyer, who will become the 34th Master in the Hospital’s 455-year history.
Heidi’s contribution to the Lord Leycester over her ten-year tenure extends far beyond being the institution’s first ever female Master. She has steered LLH with resourcefulness, versatility and perseverance, not least through her leadership of the transformative Lottery-supported project of restoration and revitalisation that was completed in 2025.
The Patron and Governors are most grateful to Heidi for her stewardship of the Lord Leycester and her unflagging commitment to the institution. We know that the Hospital community and Warwick as a whole will join us in wishing her and Ed all the best for their retirement in West Sussex and the USA.
Heidi will be passing the baton on to Colonel (Retd) Dr Daren Bowyer. Daren served for 26 years as an officer in the Royal Engineers, retiring in 2008 to pursue a second career in charity and educational leadership. He comes to us from the Gurkha Museum in Winchester, where he has served as Director since 2020, overseeing a major redevelopment.
The Patron and Governors are delighted to welcome Daren and his wife Jill to the Lord Leycester as he begins his tenure, and wish him every success – knowing that he will have the good wishes of the Brethren, the LLH team and all of the Lord Leycester’s many friends and supporters behind him.
The Lord Leycester
The role of the Master is to ensure the well-being of the Brethren – military veterans who live at the Lord Leycester – to oversee the management of the visitor attraction, and preserve the site’s rich heritage.
In 1571, our founder Robert Dudley appointed Ralph Griffin as the first Master of the Lord Leycester. Since it’s foundation, the Lord Leycester has had a long line of 33 Masters. Originally, all of the Masters were clergymen until shortly after WWII, when Admiral Pears was appointed as the first military Master. Since then, all subsequent Masters of the Lord Leycester have served in the British Armed Forces. One of the most controversial Masters was Thomas Cartwright (1585-1603), the Father of Presbyterianism in England and a thorn in the Queen’s side for many years.
For more information on individual Masters, click the link below to access our online database:
