The Twickenham Museum Trustees’ Annual Report
Registered Charity Name The Twickenham Museum Charity Registration Number 1028984 Principal Office and Registered Office 25, The Embankment, Twickenham TW1 3DU Trustees David Cornwell (Chairman) Anthony Nash (Hon.Treasurer) Sandra Dempsey (Secretary) Michael Cherry Suzannah Herbert John Sheaf Independent Financial Examiner Maurice Parry-Wingfield 11 Montpelier Row, Twickenham TW1 2NQ
The Trustees’ Report
The Trustees of the The Twickenham Museum present their report for the year ended 31st December 2024.
Chairman’s Statement
2024 saw the culmination of 18 month’s planning with a major refurbishment project undertaken that consisted of much needed repairs to the roof and windows, new display cases installed on the first floor and the launch of a new and redesigned website. The museum closed for six weeks during the spring to allow works to be carried out with a reopening that was attended by Twickenham MP, Munira Wilson, local councillors and representatives from local heritage organisations. I would like to thank all the trustees and volunteers who put in so much hard work to make the project a success and to deliver it on time and to budget. The new website followed on later in the year and will greatly enhance the online presence of the museum.
The museum had 2,729 visitors in 2024 (2023: 2,953), the decrease due to the six week closure in April and May. Opening hours remain Friday to Sunday, ten hours in total. Increased opening hours will be considered if we can secure enough volunteers to make this viable.
The costs of the refurbishment projects amounted to just over £80,000. This was met partly from the sale of some of our M&G investments as detailed below in the Financial Report and existing bank funds. We were most fortunate to receive a final amount of approximately £46,000 from the Freda Hammerton bequest in October, part of which has been reinvested with M&G to provide dividend income. We now expect 2025 to be a more “normal” year as
no further major expenditure projects are planned. The House Manager will also have more time to promote the museum through exhibitions and outreach to local schools.
Structure, Governance and Management
The charity is governed by a trust deed date 3 November 1993. The objectives of the Trust are to advance the education of the people of Twickenham (to include the people of Teddington. Whitton, Hampton Hill, Hampton and Hampton Wick) by provision of a museum. The museum is operated from one site at 25 The Embankment, Twickenham which is owned by the Trust.
Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees and Management Committee
The trustees have been recruited on an informal basis, often through other local historical organisations and charities with similar interests. The Management Committee consists of some of the trustees, the Museum House Manager and other key volunteers to look after day-to-day running of the museum.
Objectives and Activities
The principal objective is to run a museum dedicated to the history of the old Borough of Twickenham. The museum is volunteer run apart from an appointed contract House Manager. The availability of volunteers restricts the number of hours that the museum can open. During 2024 the museum was open 10 hours per week from Friday to Sunday. Increased opening hours will only be possible if additional volunteers can be secured.
Financial Review
The charity has no restricted funds. The charity does not operate a formal Reserves policy other than it aims to cover core running costs from dividend income and donations.
The charity is well-endowed following two substantial bequests made in 2022 and 2024. These funds are invested in order to provide a dividend yield which will be sufficient to meet the running costs of the museum. Other sources of income are relatively modest being ad hoc donations and the sale of books and postcards. However, during 2023 and 2024, the trustees decided to utilise some of the bequest funds to refurbish the museum, carry out necessary repairs to the building’s fabric, enhance the display capability through the purchase of new display cases and the creation of a new website. These costs have been expensed through the profit and loss account which accounts for the losses incurred during these two years. It is forecast that 2025 will show a return to a more normal pattern of trading as no further major repair costs are expected.
The Charity made a loss of £29,570 during the year after incurring refurbishment costs of £81,208.
The charity’s investments can be liquidated at short notice should the requirement arise. The capital value of these investments is kept under regular review. They are subject to the
fluctuations of global investment markets. Funds are held in recognised investment firms designed to manage charity investments with relatively low investment risk and provide a consistent dividend yield. During 2024 the trustees sold £60,135 of their holding in M&G managed funds to finance the refurbishment work outlined above. The underlying value of investments improved slightly over the year due to improvements in investment markets.
The Charity owns the freehold of 25 The Embankment, Twickenham which is held at probate cost which trustees believe is significantly below current market price. Net assets as at 31[st] December 2024 were £750,941.
The Twickenham Museum – Receipts and Payments Account
| Receipts | Total Funds 2024 £ | Total Funds 2023 £ |
|---|---|---|
| Donatons, legacies and other similar receipts | ||
| Personal donatons | 2,178 | 2,042 |
| Tax reclaimed by Gif Aid | 21 | 0 |
| Donatons to Unrestricted Funds | 45.951 | |
| Operatng Actvites | ||
| Books, Cards & Pictures | 419 | 868 |
| Investment Income receipts | ||
| CAF Bank Interest | 747 | 862 |
| COIF Charites Deposit Fund Interest | 3,427 | 2,342 |
| COIF Charites Property Fund Dividends | 11,875 | 11,708 |
| M&G Charites Charifund Dividends | 16,217 | 16,408 |
| M&G Charites Charibond Dividends | 374 | 1,498 |
| Total Receipts | 81,209 | 35,728 |
| Payments | ||
| Charitable actvites | ||
| Exhibiton materials | 648 | |
| Printng & purchase of publicatons | 767 | 332 |
| Publicity & newsleters | 360 | 1,352 |
| Support costs | ||
| Utlites | 1,675 | 3,768 |
| Subscriptons | 500 | 521 |
| Insurance & security | 3,085 | 3,103 |
| Buildings maintenance | 36,167 | 4,186 |
| Fixtures & ftngs | 37,748 | 17,118 |
| IT Costs | 7,295 | 1,278 |
| Management and Administraton | ||
| Volunteers’ expenses | 1,014 | 798 |
| Contractor fees | 21,520 | 19,068 |
| Total payments | 110,779 | 51,542 |
| Defcit for the year | (29,570) | (15,814) |
| Surplus/(Defcit ) on investment account | 6,182 | (19,835) |
| Prior year adjustment (see note 2) | (1,058) | |
| Total funds brought forward | 775,387 | 811,035 |
| Total funds carried forward | 750,941 | 775,387 |
| Balance Sheet at year end Analysis of Investment Assets |
Balance Sheet at year end Analysis of Investment Assets |
Total Funds | 2024 £ | 2024 £ | 2024 £ | Total Funds 2023 £ | Total Funds 2023 £ | Total Funds 2023 £ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash Funds: | CAF Cash Account INVESTMENT ASSETS |
200 Total Funds 2024 |
Total Funds 2023 | 200 | ||||
| INVESTMENT ASSETS |
CAF Gold Account COIF Charites Deposit Fund |
£ | 44,218 77,802 |
28,955 62,500 |
||||
| Assets retained for the museum’s use Buildings (at probate valuaton) Previous year-end valuaton: |
147,142 | 147,142 | ||||||
| Investment Assets COIF Charites Property Fund |
218,267 | 481,580 |
232,797 | 535,533 | ||||
| Net Assets | M & G Charites Charibond Fund |
41,883 | 750,941 | 40,561 | 774,330 | |||
| Represented by accumulated funds M & G Charites Charifund Fund |
275,383 | 750,941 |
282,010 | 774,330 | ||||
| Anthony Nash, Treasurer Sub-total: |
535,533 | 555,368 | ||||||
| Date: | ||||||||
| Cost of purchases: | ||||||||
| COIF Charites Property Fund | ||||||||
| - | - | |||||||
| M & G Charites Charibond | ||||||||
| Fund | - | - | ||||||
| M & G Charites Charifund | ||||||||
| Fund | - | - | ||||||
| Sub-total: | ||||||||
| - | - | |||||||
| Proceeds of sales: | ||||||||
| CAF Bond Income Fund | ||||||||
| - | - | |||||||
| COIF Charites Investment Fund | ||||||||
| - | - | |||||||
| COIF Charites Fixed Interest | ||||||||
| M&G Charifund | 19,162 | |||||||
| M&G Charibond | 40,973 | - | ||||||
| Sub-total: | 60,135 | - | ||||||
| Investment surplus/defcit for year: | 6,182 | (19,835) | ||||||
| Valuaton at this | year-end: | |||||||
| COIF Charites Property Fund | 219,313 | 218,267 | ||||||
| M & G Charites Charibond | ||||||||
| Fund | - | 41,883 | ||||||
| M & G Charites Charifund | ||||||||
| Fund | 262,268 | 275,383 | ||||||
| Total: | 481,580 | 535,533 |
Notes to 2024 Accounts- Prior Year Adjustment
-
The accounts are drawn up on a receipts and payments basis.
-
The adjustment of £1,058 to the Total Funds Carried Forward arises from the switch in 2023 from the accruals to the cash accounting basis
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