feature INDEX
HIGH SHERIFF IS NOT A LONE RANGER...
Lord Lieutenant of Kent © Kent Lieutenancy
Election of the Mayor of Tunbridge Wells, Cllr Dr Basu
Hugo Fenwick © James Heming
RETAIL EMPIRE
Hugo is a member of the Fenwick retail dynasty’s fi fth generation. His great great Grandfather John James Fenwick founded the business in Newcastle in 1882. The Fenwick retail empire now embraces 11 department stores, including the fl agship store in Newcastle and a fashion store in London’s stylish New Bond Street, as well as two department stores here in Kent – in Tunbridge Wells and Canterbury. Born and brought up in Northumberland, Hugo qualifi ed as an accountant with Ernst and Young before joining the family fi rm as a buyer in Newcastle. He relocated to Kent in 1993, where he was soon to oversee the construction of the new Canterbury store in the Whitefriars redevelopment before being appointed Group Trading Director, based at New Bond Street. He is also currently overseeing a £30 million redevelopment of the group’s Williams & Griffi n department store in Colchester.
PRIORITIES FOR THE YEAR
What are Hugo’s priorities for his year in high offi ce? “Although largely ceremonial, the role does give the High Sheriff a unique
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insight into the workings of the criminal justice system. It also offers an opportunity to bring together individuals from the public, private and voluntary sectors in the county to discuss a range of issues, as the offi ce is deliberately independent and apolitical. “A key focus of my year will be initiatives that exist for children and young people who are at risk of falling into the criminal justice system. Sadly, there is an unenviable statistic that four out of fi ve adults committing crimes had conduct problems when they were children. Early intervention is vital – it is demonstrable that if resources are invested in these programmes, whether through the state or voluntary sector, there are savings for the Government of the day and benefi ts for society in general, as fewer young people are at risk of falling into criminal activity in the fi rst place.”
Hugo adds: “The prison population in this country has doubled over the last 20 years, but a number of rehabilitation charities across Kent have proved effective and I’m keen to encourage the establishment of others in the county that have seen success elsewhere. For example, the Keep Out charity has been working in Sussex and Surrey using former inmates to talk to young people who have fallen foul of the law and to share with them the harsh realities of prison life.”
HOME LIFE
Hugo appropriately lives in the 11th century Court House in the village of Egerton, in the heart of Kent. The house is one of a number of Court Houses across the county, where village elders met to mete out justice – a fi tting location for a latter-day High Sheriff! “I enjoy gardening and have recently started to keep bees,” Hugo says. “Four children also keep me busy, but I still fi nd time for cycling and Real Tennis, which means travelling to Lords once or twice a week. I also enjoy delving into the local history of Kent and am fascinated by how different its social history is to that of other counties. Its weaker feudal system has led to a greater division of land holdings, resulting in small hamlets, such as my own village, rather than large villages seen elsewhere.” Hugo is rather coy about his sporting achievements, but he is currently ranked 3,800 (out of 8,000) in the world Real Tennis rankings, a game he describes as a cross between tennis and chess! In recent years, he’s also tackled two gruelling alpine cycle rides, from Zurich to Venice and Mont Ventoux. He says: “High Sheriffs were known to ride the boundaries of their counties on horseback. I hope to ride along the coast of Kent from Dartford to Dungeness (D2D),
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