By Professor Peter Jones MBE
Last weekend, my wife and I stayed at Wivenhoe House Hotel—home of the Edge Hotel School at the University of Essex. As the project director who took this venture from concept to reality over five transformative years, it was immensely satisfying and gave me a real sense of pride to see how both the hotel and school are thriving 13 years later.
What pleased me most was reconnecting with two incredible team members who’ve been there from the beginning; Bev Newman, who joined just a week before opening, and Lionel Lachasseigne, who followed shortly after. Both are still integral parts of the Food & Beverage team—a testament to the culture and professionalism of the hotel staff.
Having once crawled through every corner of this historic building (sometimes in an asbestos suit, always in a hard hat!), seeing how well the renovations and new construction have aged was incredibly rewarding. The building tells a story of vision becoming reality.
Adrian Martin, the Vice Principal, introduced me to current General Manager Stephen Robson as the “culprit” behind the hotel and the hotel school. After some reflection, I’ve decided to wear that badge with pride!
But if I was the culprit, then Sir Garry Hawkes CBE was surely the godfather. As Chairman of The Edge Foundation, Sir Garry had long envisioned creating a unique hotel school in the UK. It was over one pivotal lunch that scattered, ‘off the wall’ ideas, crystallised into a concrete project, one that would eventually become this remarkable reality.
The journey from concept to completion spanned five years, filled with setbacks, challenges, and false starts. On the journey to today we were able to work with a great team of people who shared the ideas, took that vision, modified, adapted and innovated to become a unique hotel and hotel school. The opening General Manager Stephen Mannock and his successor Oliver Brown, founding Principal Alan Jenkins and his successor Andrew Boer, Peter Church from the University, and Jane Samuels from The Edge Foundation, and the many others who shared the vision.
Our core belief was simple yet revolutionary: embed professional practice through “learning by doing.” This approach hasn’t just created a unique identity for the hotel school—it has challenged conventional hospitality education. The Edge Hotel School is now an established leader in hospitality education not just in the UK but internationally.
Staying at the hotel as a guest and meeting the current staff and students, I can confidently say they embody everything we hoped to achieve. Sometimes the best projects are the ones that grow far beyond their creators’ original vision. The real testament to our work lies in the hands of those who followed us and those who will continue to build upon this foundation well into the future—ensuring both the hotel (Stephen Robson) and school (Professor Marcus Stephenson) evolve and flourish for generations to come.
