The Master
The Master of the Lord Leycester is responsible for the welfare of the Brethren, the community of military veterans who call the Lord Leycester home, while overseeing the charity, visitor attraction and stewardship of its remarkable historic buildings.
The role stretches back more than 450 years. When Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, founded his hospital for former soldiers in 1571, he appointed Ralph Griffin as its first Master. Since then, 34 Masters have led the Lord Leycester through more than four and a half centuries of change.
Our Current Master
Lieutenant-Colonel (Retd) Dr Daren Bowyer MA MPhil PhD became the 34th Master of the Lord Leycester on 1 March 2026.
Daren served for 26 years as an officer in the Royal Engineers, including operational deployments in the Gulf, Balkans and Afghanistan. His career also took him across Europe, Africa, the South Atlantic and Central America, with appointments including roles in the Ministry of Defence, the British Embassy in Washington and the Royal Military College of Science. He also commanded Cambridge University Officers’ Training Corps.
After leaving the Army in 2008, Daren began a second career in charity and educational leadership. His appointments have included roles at Pembroke College, Oxford; the Sandhurst Trust; the Newbury and District Agricultural Society; and Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park.
Most recently, Daren served as Director of the Gurkha Museum in Winchester, where he led a £5.2 million redevelopment supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
During his Army service, Daren completed an MA in Defence Management, an MPhil in International Relations and a PhD in Military Ethics. He has also held a number of voluntary appointments, including Commandant of Oxfordshire Army Cadet Force.
Daren is joined at the Lord Leycester by his wife, Jill.
More Than 450 Years of Masters
The office of Master has evolved considerably since Ralph Griffin first took up the role in 1571.
For much of the Lord Leycester’s history, its Masters were clergymen. This tradition continued until the years following the Second World War, when Admiral Pears became the first military Master. Since then, every Master has served in the British Armed Forces, creating another connection between those responsible for leading the charity and the veterans it exists to support.
Among the 34 men and women to have held the position are figures with remarkable stories of their own. One of the most controversial was Thomas Cartwright (1585–1603), a leading Puritan theologian sometimes described as the father of Presbyterianism in England, whose religious views repeatedly brought him into conflict with the Elizabethan authorities.
In 2016, Dr Heidi Meyer became the first woman to hold the office. During her ten-year tenure she oversaw a major programme of restoration and redevelopment supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, before retiring in 2026.
Today, the Master continues a role established by Robert Dudley more than four centuries ago: caring for the Brethren, safeguarding the Lord Leycester and ensuring that its historic charitable purpose continues into the future.
The Masters of the Lord Leycester
Since 1571, 34 Masters have served the Lord Leycester:
Discover more about the individual Masters and their stories in our online historical database.
https://www.lordleycesterdatabase.co.uk/masters