Meet the New Room Staff Team
Louise Wratten
Co-Director, Operations
Louise recruits, trains and supports the amazing volunteer team who keep John Wesley's New Room going, as well as managing facilities and commercial operations. Louise has worked in volunteer management for over 10 years and enjoys that no day at the New Room is the same .
Kate Rogers
Co-Director, Collections
Kate is responsible for managing and caring for the Collection in the Museum, Library and Archives at John Wesley's New Room and Charles Wesley’s House. She is assisted by a team of dedicated volunteers who handle cataloguing, documentation and research enquiries. Kate joined the team in 2017 with 10 years’ experience of working in museums. Kate has a background in design for museums and a love of 18th century social history.
David Worthington
Director of Global Relationships
Since arriving in 2006, David has overseen the development of our work at John Wesley's New Room, including the delivery of the Broadmead Garden project and Horsefair Visitor Centre project. During this time, he has acquired an in-depth knowledge of the site and its significance in the story of the early Methodist movement which he shares in talks to groups and visitors. He also regularly gives lectures to churches and seminaries across the US and is now active in raising awareness of John Wesley's New Room to a global audience.
Mandy Briggs
Education Officer
Mandy’s role at John Wesley's New Room is to tell the story of the Wesleys and Methodism to young people and families. She runs school tours, talks and workshops and also visits schools to take part in lessons and assemblies. She works with a small team of volunteers to facilitate school trips on site, learning about the Wesleys, with a particular strand focusing on John Wesley's opposition to the transatlantic slave trade. She also organises activities for families in school holidays and is part of the RIRO (Reach In, Reach Out) project which is exploring creativity, wellbeing and community with young people.
Sereena Knapp
Marketing & Communications Officer
Sereena joined the team in November 2022, bringing with her expertise in community project marketing.
Monday-Wednesday
Ewa Littlefield
Catering Manager
Ewa has a track record in managing award-winning cafés across Bristol, including We the Curious (previously At Bristol). Under her management, the café has won recognition twice over in its own right, first with a gold award in the ‘Best Café or Restaurant’ category in the 2018 South West Fairtrade Business Awards, then with top place in the ‘Food & Dining’ category of the Bristol BID Retailer Awards 2018 with a 100% mystery shopper satisfaction score.
Zdenek Bidsovsky
Cafe Assistant Manager
Zdenek joined the team from a long career in hospitality, bringing with him a passion for coffee, and a welcoming smile.
Trustees
The work of the staff is supported by the New Room trustees.
A full list of trustees can be found here. To contact the trustees, please email info@newroombristol.org.uk
Patrons
Michael Eavis
Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis became the first patron of the New Room in 2018. Michael said “How can I not be absolutely thrilled to be asked to be Patron of this beautiful building, the cradle of ideas that had such influence on promoting unprecedented social and religious change, contributing so much to our national heritage?"
“I have been associated with Methodism my whole life and every week I attend a Methodist chapel service in my home village of Pilton. I must admit though that what I enjoy the most is the singing of those marvelous Wesley hymns. But then there’s the more serious side of why we all need to reflect on our life’s purpose and the strong desire to praise our creator."
Read more about this story here.