On Wednesday 6 July 2016, Porterhouse staff were delighted to receive a visit from Mr James Puxley, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Berkshire, who presented proud company directors Brian Parsons and Jon Hallows with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise. Porterhouse received this award on the Queen’s birthday in recognition of our international work, which earned us over £2 million in 2015.
Regarding the award, Brian said, “We’re very proud of our staff and their achievements, and it’s really exciting to be recognised with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise.”
Jon added, “We feel very honoured to welcome the Lord-Lieutenant to Porterhouse for this special occasion, and we are pleased to celebrate this success with our hard-working team.”
Lord-Lieutenants were first employed by Henry VIII to assist him in defending his kingdom from the armies of France and Spain. The original duties of the Lord-Lieutenants might even have included representing the King on the battlefield. Things have changed somewhat since Tudor times and so has the role of the Lord-Lieutenant. Modern-day duties of the Queen’s representative involve not only presenting awards and medals, but also receiving visiting heads of state and attending citizenship ceremonies.
The Honourable James Puxley was appointed as Lord-Lieutenant of the Royal County of Berkshire in 2015. Prior to this, Mr Puxley held the positions of High Sheriff (the Queen’s highest judicial officer in the county), and Deputy Lieutenant and Vice Lord-Lieutenant (whose roles are to support the Lord-Lieutenant in carrying out the Queen’s work).
Following a tour of the office, the Lord-Lieutenant presented Brian and Jon with the Queen’s Award – a crystal bowl that will be kept on display at Porterhouse. The Lord-Lieutenant congratulated all the staff on this achievement, and after the formalities of the day had been completed, everyone celebrated in the usual Porterhouse fashion – with champagne and cake!
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