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MERSEYSIDE LIEUTENANCY

The Lord-Lieutenant is an honorary office appointed by the Crown, under letters patent, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and holds the Office until retirement.

The primary duty of Lord-Lieutenants is to be the Sovereign’s representative in their county, and to uphold the dignity of the Crown. They arrange visits of Members of The Royal Family, receiving and escorting them as required; they are involved in the honours system (including The King’s Awards for Enterprise and Voluntary Service); they liaise with local units of the Armed Forces, their Reserves and Cadet Organisations; they participate in civic, voluntary and social events.

Lord-Lieutenants are responsible for the organisation of all official Royal visits to their county. On the day of an engagement they escort the Royal visitor around the different locations – not simply The King, but any member of the Royal Family.

MERSEYSIDE LORD-LIEUTENANT

The serving Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside is automatically a Patron of the Liverpool Commonwealth Association.

Mr Mark Blundell was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Merseyside on 13th September 2017 in succession to Dame Lorna Muirhead.

Mr Blundell is the present incumbent of the Crosby Hall Estate in Little Crosby which has been in the possession of the Blundell family for many centuries.

He was educated at Downside School and was a scholar at Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied Physics and Philosophy.  He was articled as a solicitor with Weightmans in Liverpool, and then moved to London where he later became a partner at Boodle Hatfield in Mayfair.

In 1986 he moved back to Merseyside to the estate at Little Crosby.  In 1988 he founded Crosby Hall Educational Trust, a residential centre for children, created out of redundant 17th Century stables.  He remains chair of CHET.

For many years he was a member of the Council of Liverpool University, holding the posts of President and Pro-Chancellor and serving on numerous committees.    He was a member of the Heritage Lottery Fund Committee for the North West between 2001 and 2007.  He has been a member of the Council of Tate Liverpool and a trustee of Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services.  He is currently a governor of Royal Northern College of Music, chair of Liverpool University Pension Fund, a trustee of Merseyside Buildings Preservation Trust and of Heritage Trust for the North West.

Mark is married to Suzanne, a child psychotherapist of Swiss origin.  They have two children and five grandchildren, all of whom live on the estate at Crosby Hall, along with his father, who is the longest serving Deputy Lieutenant of Merseyside (appointed 1976).

The Blundells have owned land at Little Crosby at least since the time of Sir Robert Blundell (c.1210 -1278).  After the Reformation they remained staunch Catholics despite the prohibition.  Richard Blundell was arrested by the Lord-Lieutenant in 1590 and died in Lancaster Castle. Men from Little Crosby led by his son William had pitched battles in the 1620s with the High Sheriff’s men when they refused to pay their religious fines. Another William fought in the Civil War and was imprisoned on numerous occasions as a Royalist and Catholic.  Nicholas Blundell kept a diary from 1702 to 1728 which is of much value to local historians.  He had to flee the country during the 1715 Rebellion.  Another William was one of the first Catholic High Sheriffs of Lancashire after Catholic Emancipation.  He was the first chairman of the Liverpool, Crosby and Southport Railway.  Francis Blundell was MP for Ormskirk in the 1920s and was responsible for removing the last disabilities of Catholics from the statute book.

LIEUTENANCY LIAISON FOR THE LIVERPOOL COMMONWEALTH ASSOCIATION

The Merseyside Lieutenancy has always appointed a Deputy Lieutenant as the Liaison Officer for facilitating effective working with the Liverpool Commonwealth Association.

Ms Lesley Martin-Wright

Ms Lesley Martin-Wright was appointed the Merseyside Lieutenancy’s Liaison Officer for the Liverpool Commonwealth Association on December 2, 2024. She replaces Abi Pointing who served in that role since 2019.

Lesley Martin-Wright was born in Corbridge, Northumberland. After completing her education in Newcastle upon Tyne, Lesley left the north east at 21 to work and live in Singapore.

On her return to the UK, Lesley spent 10 years living and working in London for ‘blue chip’ companies.  In 1989, she came to Merseyside with her young family and worked for a local company before beginning her own consultancy.  After a successful time in this role, she was approached by one of her clients, a commercial law firm, to work for them full time.

In 2010, Lesley became the Chief Executive of Knowsley Chamber of Commerce.  As a non-political business support organisation, Lesley worked with businesses across all sectors including international trade and export.  Companies included start-ups, sole traders, small to medium sized businesses, large international and public companies, charities and third sector organisations.  In September 2015, she was appointed Head of Business Growth and Inward Investment at Knowsley Council; this was an innovative public/private collaboration that enabled Knowsley’s businesses to access the full range of business support and advisory services through a single gateway.

Lesley Martin-Wright has two adult children (both were born in London).  Lesley served as Chair of the Merchant Taylors’ Girls School’s Parents Association, and then as a Governor of Merchant Taylors’ Schools for seven years until March 2019.

In 1993, Lesley was appointed as a magistrate and has been a Presiding Justice since 1998.  In September 2016, she was appointed onto the Board of Trustees of the PH Holt Foundation.  The Foundation provides grants to small and medium sized charities which have the capacity to change lives and to develop flourishing communities across Merseyside.

In 2017 Ms Martin-Wright became Honorary Colonel of 156 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps.  156 Regiment is formed of 5 Squadrons spread over the North West but the history of the Regiment can be traced back to the formation of the Army Reserve in 1908.

In July 2021, Ms Martin-Wright received an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Bolton.

Most recently Ms Martin-Wright was appointed to the Chapter of Liverpool Cathedral, and in August 2024 was elected Vice Chair of Council of Liverpool Hope University.

Lesley Martin-Wright was commissioned as a Deputy Lieutenant in May 2014, and served as High Sheriff of Merseyside from April 2022 to April 2023. Lesley has been involved with the Liverpool Commonwealth Association since its formation and is keen to further links between the Merseyside Lieutenancy.

info@liverpoolcommonwealth.org
0151 701 0100