Charity registration number 1017321 (England and Wales) Company reglstratlon number 02778395 THE HISTORIC CHAPELS TRUST ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 oisToTrIc CHAPELS • xeinadin THE HISTORIC CHAPELS TRUST LEGALAND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Trustees Mr C G Smith OBE Drw M Jacob Ms J M St8venson MA FCA Dr M Wellings Mr Paul Emery Ms Joanna Davidson Ms P Green Ms S Bell (Appointed 14 May 2024) (Appointed 14 May 2024) (Appointed 8 April 2024) (Appolnted 8 April 2024) S•¢rotary Ms R Cockatt Charlty number (England and Wal05) 1017321 Company numbor 02778395 Roglstsrod offlce clo st￿1$ 3 Wellbrook Court Girton Carnbridge CB3 ONA Audllor X8lnadin Audit Limiled 46 Hamilton Square Birkenhead Wirral Merseyslde CH415AR Bankers Royal Bank of Scotland 29 Old Brompton Road Loridon SW7 3JE CAF Bank 25 Klngs Hill Avenue Kln9s Hill Wesl Maillng Kent ME19 4JQ CCL4 85 Queen Victoria Street London EC4V 4ET THE HISTORIC CHAPELS TRUST CONTENTS Page Trustees, report ststemént of trustées, responslbllltles Independent audltorfs report Statement of financial activities 12 Balance sheet 13 Notes to the financlal statements 14-25 THE HISTORIC CHAPELS TRUST TRUSTEES. REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS. REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 The trustee5 present their annual report and financial statements for th8 y8ar ended 31 March 2025. The financial stat8m8nts have been prepared in accordance with the accounllng policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charfty's govemlng document, Ihe Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practlce applicable to charities preparing thelr accounls in accordance with the Financlal ReportJng Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). Objèctives and aclivili88 Prlnclpal Activity Historic Chapels Trust IHCT) takes Into owner6hlp redundant chapels and olh8r non-Angli¢an places of worship in England of outstanding architectural and histori¢ interesL Its object 1$ to securè for public b8n8fft the preservalion, repair and maintenance of ils buildings including their ¢ontents, burial grounds and curtilages. The Trustees conflmi that they referred to the guidance contained in Ihe Charity Commission's general guldance on public benefit when rev¢ewing the Trust's alms and objectives and In plannlng future activities. Since its foundation HCT has acquired 20 churches, chapels and meeting houses, 811 of whlch ara referred lo in this report as 'chapels' for 5impliGity. Twelve were transfe￿ed from other charitable bodles on thg basis of Schemes agreed wilh the Charity Commissbn,. tsvo vffjre acqulred under the provlslons of the Charities Act 2011; and six were acquired from private owners. Trusteos & Governanc0 Trustses met formally as a board four times during th8 year under review. Trustees are not remunerated for their services. In addition to regular quarterly board meetings all Trustees take part In various other meetings in support of the charity. Publlc bonofit The Irustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commisslon In decldlng what activlties the charty should undertake. THE HISTORIC CHAPELS TRUST TRUSTEES. REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS. REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORn (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 Slrateglc report In previou6 year's Annual Reports I mentloned thal due to the decllne in fundlng from Historic England and the challenglng fundraislng cllmata, Truslaes had decldad to ambark on a schame of managed and controlled di8per8al of th8 Trust's assets. This process has been under-pinned by grant aid from the National Heritage Memorial Fund's Cultural Assets Fund (CAF) and Historic England for which we are deeply grateful. This assistance has also included funding to enable a major package of urgènt repeirs to take place. This year th8r8 Is th8 followlng progr8s8 to r8POrt'.- Emma Collins and Joseph Athns, at our consuttant8, Tricolor, have made excellent progre&8 In 8ecuring 5uitsble new ownars for a slgnlflcant number of the chap&l$. In partlcular l am very pleased to report that th8 Stoke-on-Trent based charlty, Re-form Heritage, has agreed lo take on Bethesda Methodist Chapel and the Council of Lutheran Churches have declared a willingness to purchas8 St George's German Lutheran Church. Sn London. Both Bathesda and Sl Georga's are a significant slze and It Is heartaning to know that they will have a sustainable fijture, wlth sympath8tic owners. In additlon. I would like to record my gratitude to th8 Friends of Friendless Churches for agreeing to take on iesponslblllty for Blddleslone RC Chapel. Coanwood Friends Meeling House. Cote Baptist Chapel and Farfield Frlends Meetlng House. A new charity has been registered by a gmup of local heritag8 experts in East Budlergh, Devon, whlch is in the process of taklng ownershlp of Salem Chapel. The ownership of Grittleton Strict Baptist Chapel in Wiltshire will go to the Shipp family, the owners of n8xt4Yoor neighbour Grade Il" listed Grittleton House. Grittleton Strict Baptist Chapel was itself formerly part of th8 Gr1tt18ton House estate, and the Shipp farnily plan to integrale it into the wider Giittleton House offer. We continua to work closely with the local groups who have registered as charitios at Walpole Old Chapel, Wainsgale Chapel and T¢xlmorden Unitarian Church to support them to take on ownership, as well as a range of other organisations that are interested in other sit95. The Nallonal Herltage Mamorial Fund's Cultural AsB8ts Fund (CAF) and Hlstorfc England are appris8d of this progress and we hope that it will be posslble to vest ownershlp of several other prop8rti8s by th8 end of the current finan¢lal year. On the ￿Pair and malntenance front. Kathryn Moore. our ConseNatlon Programme Manager, made axcallent progress in appointing project archltects, who hav8 undertaken up to date condltlon surveys of HCTS portfolio of chapels and obtained tenders to enable major repalrs to be undertaken at the following locatlons In 2024125:_ Bethesda Methodist Chapel. Stokewon-Trent Grittleton Strict Baptist Chapel. Wiltshire Todmorden Unitarian Church. West Yorskshire St Benet's RC Chapel. Merseyside Shrln8 of Our Lady of Lourdes. Blackpool Umbarslade Baptlst Church, Warwickshlre Walnsgate Baptist Chapel. West Yorkshlra Wallasey Unitarian Church. Wirral Westgate Methodist Chapel. County Durham In addilion, repair work5 Commenced at Petre Chapel, Essex at the start of 2025126 and it has been posslble to accommodate a first phase of repair3 to Walpole Old Chapel, Suffolk, as a result of prudent management of the budgets for th8S8 repair projects. THE HISTORIC CHAPELS TRUST TRUSTEES. REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS. REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT) (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 Parallel to all this activity, Kathryn. with the help of colleagues. was able to ensure a full programme of regular gutter clearance and other rouline mainlenancg was undertaken over th8 winter of 2024125. Stgve Pilcher, a past colleague at HCT, continued to assist in the operation of the Trust, providing part-tima support for chapel commlttees and over a whole range of other tasks, Includlng helplng understand the complexities of HCT'S land ownershlp boundarfes and other legal Issues. Alongside thls, HCT'S Fundraising Consultant. Vikki Thompson, has continued to provlde support for HCT'S work. Sncludlng overseeing a successful fundraising campalgn which was w811 receiv8d by HCTS supporters. l am grateful to both Vikki and Steve for their oversight and productlon of two n8wslett8rs during the financial year. which helped keep our supporters and fijnding bodies Informed of progress. Joseph Atkins. at our consultants. Tricolor, has onsured that HCTS website is regularly malntained and updated. The Trustees and l are immeasurabty grateful for the wide ranging support and sheer hard work undert8ken by th8 siaff at Tricolor, who havè ensured thè smooth op8ration of tha charity and Suc￿sfUllY found sultablg naw owners for many of our ch8pel8. Voluntaorlng at Historlc Chapols Trust The challenges of managing such a dispersed and varied collection of buildings with very slandar financial and human resource5 are made Gonsiderably easier due to the Gommitment of HCT'8 Volunt8ers. Volunt8erfng at HCT takes various forms. At all the chapels tha charity reliès on keyholders and other volunteers who look out for our bulldlngs and t811 us when matters need to bo addressed. Mora than hair our buildings have committees of lo¢al 5UPPOrtérs which operate with varying degrees of formality. They 5UPPOrt the charity's objective5 in sgveral important ways, including organlslng publlc evenls, undertaklng malntenance, cleaning and gardenlng and ralslng money from trusts and local donors for repairs to chapels. HCT works c105ely with the local committee5 to help their chape15 become more sustainable and financially resilient In the future. HCT could not continue its work without the valuable sUPPOrt of the local committees and volunteers who care for their chapels. The Trustees are immeasurably grateful and would like to record their sincere thanks to all volunteers. We are grateful to the following who acted as SeGretaries of local comrnittees or PTin¢ipal Keyholders in th8 year under review. Bethesda Methodist Chapel Biddle3tone RC Chapel Coanwood Friends, Meeting House Cote Baptist Chapel Farfield Friends. Megtin9 House Grittleton Baptist Chapel Longworth RC Chapel P8nros8 Methodist Chapal Petre Chapgl Roberta Higson Tony Henfrey Richard McDon8ld Michael St. John Parker Chri5 Skidmore None Alastair Knlght John Morphew None FL Salem Chapel Marla Mallnowska Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes Denys Barber St Benat's RC Chapal Non8 St. Georg8's German Lutheran Church Immo Hilneke Todmorden Unltarlan Church Esther Fery-Kennlngton Umberstade Baptlst Church Peter & Janet Coults Wainsg8t8 Baptist Church Dave Nelson Wallasey Unltarfan Church Daborah Clarke Walpole Old Chapel Simon Woeks & Ann Thomas Westgate Methodist Chapel Charlie Allen HCT is also grateful to all those who voluntaer lass fomally by assisting at evants too numerous to list in this report. Without this support HCT'S buildlngs would be much less used and well known. THE HISTORIC CHAPELS TRUST TRUSTEES, REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS. REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT) (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 Public Profile and A¢￿5$ Two newsletters were published during the year and supporter5 responded v8ry POSitIV8ly to the fundraising appeals whlch appeared in both newsletters, which aimed to rais8 £15.000 towards works to improve healing in sevèral of our chapels. Thanks to th6 generoslty of our supportors, thi$ tsrget was rèached Newsletters are a key tool In keeping the charity's supporters and local commlttee members updated and offer an insight into HCT'S work and progres5 on s8curing a viable ftjture for thelr magnificent chapels. HCTS wÈb$ite continues to provide a useful means of informlng the publlc and all Interasted paI￿&S as to events and activities in HCT'S chapels and gives an insight into their rich histories. Access to HCT'S bulldlngs c2n be arranged by lelephonlng local volunteers at the sltes. Keys are held locally to facilitate this and details are given on the website. Foundations & Companlgs & Slatutory Funds We are grateful to the following who have supported both our core costs and projects at individual chapels. Grants were received during the year or pledged for payment agalnst completlon of planned work. In some cases the grants were made directly to the local committee.. Eversley Charitable Trust Henfrey Charitable Foundation Historic England Natlonal Harllage M8morial Fund's Cultural Assets Fund {CAF) Indlvlduals HCT is gratéful to all those who glve tlme, money and talents to Support the Trust, to all ils Supporters who subscrfbe annually., to our many indivldual benefactors. to tha huge numbers of supporters of individual chapels and lo those who help us by hlring our buildlngs. Wa ar8 particularly grateful to the following Supporters for their generous contributions.. Frlends of Bethesda Profe38or Clyde Binfield Mr George Breeze The Chap81s Society Mrs Debbie Dance Dr Mary Ede Dr James Holdcroft Mr D8nnis K80ling His Honour Humphr8y Lloyd KC Mr R D MacLeod Friend5 Of St George'5 German Lutheran Church MrAnthony Wood HCT Is also grateful to a number of Individuals and organisations that prgfer to remain anonymou5. THE HISTORIC CHAPELS TRUST TRUSTEES. REPORT {INCLUDING DIRECTORS. REPORT AND STRATEGIC REPORT) (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 Jnancial review Our accounts conform to the Flnanclal R8POrtlng Standard applicab18 in th8 United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), Accountlng and R8POrtlng by Charities.. Statem8nt of Recommended Practlca appllcablè to charities preparing thelr accounts In accordance with FRS 102 issued on 16 July 2014 (Charltles SORP {FRS 102)), the Charltles Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Practlce as It applies from 1 January 2015. The Statement of Financial Activities set out on page 12 of tha Fln8ncial Stat8m8nts shows how HCT'8 incomlng resources have been expended in the year ended 31 March 2025. Totsl Incomlng r8sources amounted to £2.158,419 cornpared to £923,091 for the previou3 year. Grant8 rec8ived from Historic England amounted to £174.759. Natlonal Heritage Memorial Fund £1,626,251 and from the Listed Plac8s of Worship Grant Scheme £233,324. Oonations and lega¢ie$ amounted to £79.888. Total resources expended amounted lo £2,099,960, compared wlth £760,162 for the previous year. AfiJll breakdown tha resources exp8nded is provlded In Notes 7 & 8 to the Flnanclal Statements. The resufts this year show an surplus of £58,459 compared to a surplus of £182,929 in the previous year. The balance sheet on page 13 of Ihe FlnancSal Statements shows the financlal posltion of HCT at 31 March 2025. Total assets lass current liabilities amounled to £435.443 which is represented by Ihe a￿uMUlated balances on the unrestricted fund of £391,805 and restricted funds of £43,638 The balances of funds held are eamiark8d for repairs to HCT'S chapels and offlce admlnlstratlon, Delails of the varlous restrlcted funds are provlded in Note 19 lo the Financial Statements. Roserv•s pollcy It is th8 policy of the charity that unreslrlcted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintainod at a19vèI equivalent to 12 month's expanditure. Tha trust8es consid8r that reserves at thls level will ensure thaL in the event of a signfficant drop In fundlng. they will be able to continue thè charity's current actlvltles while consideration is given to ways In whlch additlonal funds may be raised. This level of reseNe8 has been maintsined throughout the year. Risk Anatyg19 Since its inception HCT has beneffited from financial support lowards its core Costs from th8 Oopartmant for Digital. Culture, Media and Sport and its predecessor and in recent year5 from HistoTiG England. Historic England confimied Ihat it would not continue to support HCT aft8r March 2022. with th8 level of funding decreasing each year to that date. However, the surxess of applications to th8 NHMF for 8 CAF grant in 2022, was accompanied by a generous additional 5UPPOrt from Historic England untll the end of March 2026 to fund a programme of urgent repalrs and disp8rs8ls of th8 ch8pels lo other organlsatlons whlch are better placed to care for them in the longer tem. The greatest risk to the charity al this time, therefore. Is that many chapels will still r8quir8 new ownors by March 2026 but HCT will not have the resour¢gs to fund this. However the success of the dispersals programma to dale makes this unlikely. Some HCT chapels are Isolated buildings, others are in inner 231 (3,373) 3,142 1.484 1.484 54.020 780.115 {643,904) 190.231 -23- THE HISTORIC CHAPELS TRUST NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 20 Rgslrl¢tad funds (Contlnuad} The Bethesda World War One Memorial fvnd was established to provide an exhibition commemorating the S8crific8 of members of the congregalion in the war. The 8iddleston8 fund was established In 1994 to fund th8 purchase and Maintenan￿ of Biddlestone RC Chapel, near Netherton, Northumbgrland. Thè Coanwood fund was establlshed in 1999 to fvnd repalrs and maintenance programmes at Coanwood Frlends, Me8ting House. Northumberland. The Cole fvnd was established in 1997 to fund repalrs and maintenance programmes at Cots Baptist Chapgl, Oxfordshire. The Farfield fund was established in 1994 to fund repalrs and maintenance programmes at Farfield Friends, Meeting House, Addingham. West Yorkshire. The Longworth fund was established in 2002 to fund repalrs and maintenance programmes at Longworth RC Chapel. Bartestree, Herefordshlre. The St. George's fund was established in 1999 to fund rapalrs and maintenance programmes at St. Geor98'8 German Lutheran Church. Tower Hamlets, London. The Umb8rsladg lund was estsblished In 2000 tc fund repairs and rnaintenanrn programmas at Umberslada Baptist Church, Hockley Heath, West Midlands. The Wain8gale fund was established in 2004 to fund repair8 and maintenance programmes at Wainsgate Baptigt Church, naar Hebden Brldge. West Yorkshlre. The Walpole fund was establish8d In 1995 to fund repairs and maintenance programme8 at Walpole Old Chapel, Suffolk. The Historic England is grant fundlng recelved from HSsioric England for central overheads and for maintenance and mlnor repair works. As and whan the conditions ol the grants are satlsfied, a transfer is made from thls fund to the unrestricled fund. The Guldebooks fund was established in 20Q7, followlng receipt of £11.000 to asslst with the costs of writing and prfnting a new range of colour guidebooks and inforniation leaflets. -24- THE HISTORIC CHAPELS TRUST NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 21 Unrestrlctod fund$ The unrestricted funds of th8 charity comprise thè unexpended balances of donatlons and granls whi¢h are not subject to specifi¢ conditions by donors and grantots a5 to how they may b8 used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the Irustees for specific purposes. At 1 April 2024 Incoming Resources resourGo$ gxponded Transfers At 31 March 2025 Keep Chapels Warm Appeal Wak8llng Bequest General funds 13,997 50,000 284,712 (10,0001 3,997 50.000 337,808 186.753 (119,8041 113.853) 186,753 348,709 (129,804) 113.853) 391,805 Pr•vlous year: Incoming Resources resources expend•d Transfers At 31 March 2024 2023 General funds 160,035 142,976 (116.258) 186,753 22 Analysls of nèt ass•ts b•tw••n funds Unr•slrlct•d funds 2025 Restrlctad funds 2025 Total 2025 Al 31 March 2025: Current ass8tsl(liabllltle$) 391,805 43,638 435.443 391,805 43,638 435.443 Unrostrfcted lund$ 2024 Rastrfct•d funds 2024 Tolal 2024 At 31 March 2024: Invostmants Current asselsllliabllities) 10,000 176,753 10,000 366,984 190,231 186,753 190,231 376,984 23 Related party transacllons There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year {2024 - none). -25-