4 June 2026

High Sheriff of Gloucestershire and former Director-General of the National Trust Dame Fiona Reynolds is to deliver this year’s prestigious Bledisloe Lecture at the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) next month.

Fiona, who is also Chair of the RAU’s Governing Council, will speak about ‘The Fight for Beauty and why it matters more than ever’ at the annual lecture in the University’s historic Boutflour Hall at its Cirencester campus on Wednesday 24 June.

She explained: “Ten years ago, based on a lifetime working in the conservation movement, I argued, in my book The Fight for Beauty, why beauty (a deep concept of ‘rightness’, not just – though including – aesthetics) matters in today’s society. I explored its roots through hundreds of years of people and organisations fighting for beauty to be better recognised.

“Today, with short term preoccupations such as the cost of living dominating the headlines, deep uncertainties about the future of food and land-based industries, and the accelerating impact of climate change and nature loss, I will argue that beauty remains as important as ever, and indeed will help us find a more sustainable future.

“It’s too easy to think of beauty as a luxury we can’t afford, given the multiple pressures we are under today. But people have fought for beauty for everyone for hundreds of years and we need to fight again. Taking beauty seriously can help us find a better way forward for the long term.”

Fiona is widely recognised as one of the UK’s most respected leaders in conservation, public service, and education. Over several decades she has shaped national thinking on heritage, landscape protection, and rural policy, and continues to play an influential role across public and charitable institutions.

She was installed as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire for 2026-2027 in a ceremony at Gloucester Cathedral earlier this year. As well as being Chair of the RAU's Governing Council, Fiona is also currently Chair of the National Audit Office, the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England, and Cambridge University’s Botanic Garden.

She has lived in Coates, near Cirencester, since 2002 with her husband Bob and their three, now grown up, daughters. She is Patron of New Brewery Arts in Cirencester and President of the hugely successful Cirencester History Festival which was founded in 2024. She is President of the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and a Vice-President of CPRE nationally and its Gloucestershire Branch.

The Bledisloe Lecture, which is an annual event at the RAU, is named after eminent Royal Agricultural College (RAC) alumnus Charles Bathurst, the first Lord Bledisloe (1867-1958), who was also Governor General of New Zealand in the early 1900s. He was deeply interested in agriculture and forestry and was one of the staunchest supporters of the then Royal Agricultural College.

Previous Bledisloe Lecture speakers have included Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, Helen Browning, Teresa Wickham, and Dame Helen Ghosh.

RAU Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter McCaffery said: “We are delighted that Fiona is delivering this year’s Bledisloe Lecture. She has a lifelong passion and commitment to conservation and a very distinguished track record of achievement in roles of national significance.  

“Her fight for the recognition of beauty goes to the heart of sustainable future for us all. It is the centenary of Lord Bledisloe serving as Chair of the Royal Agricultural College Governing Council and it is fitting that we mark the occasion with a lecture from one of his very worthy successors. We are both fortunate and delighted that Fiona is one of our own.”

This year’s Bledisloe Lecture will be held in the Boutflour Hall at the RAU (GL7 6JS) on Wednesday 24 June 2026. Guests are invited for refreshments from 6pm and the lecture will start promptly at 6.30pm. There will be time after the lecture for audience questions.

It is free to attend, and all are welcome, but please visit https://RAU-BledisloeLecture2026.eventbrite.co.uk to register for tickets.