FRIENDS OF HYLANDS HOUSE ACCOUNTS for the year ended 31st December 2023 R S Coleridge Honorary Treasurer Duncan McKenzle Independent Examlner INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF FRIENDS OF HYLANDS HOUSE I report on the account of the Charity forthe year ended 31 December 2023 which are set out on the attached four pages. Respertlve responslbllltle5 of trustees and examlner As the charity's trustees you are responsible for the p￿paratIOn of the accounts; you consider that the audit requirement of sertion 43{2) of the Charit￿5 Act 1993 (the Act) doe5 not apply. It is my responsibility to state, on procedures specified in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners under Section 43 (7b) of the Act whether particular matters have come to my attention. Basls of Independent Examlnerfs Report My examination was carrFed out in accordance with the General D1￿ctionS gtven by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and comparison of the accounts presented with those record5. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently I do not express an audtt opinion on the view given by the accounts, Independent Examlnerfs Statement In connection with my examlnatlon, no matter has come to my attention which 8ives me reasonable cause to believe that it any materlal respect the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with Section 41 of the act to prepare accounts that accord with the accountlng records and to comply with the accounting requirement of the Act have not been met.. or 2. to which, in my oplnion, attention should be drawn in orderto enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. 3ufrJcAfvI MCtrfÉwTZt SQRIKJCSBQK COTtA&É, I O I4£ycRo F i WJAY CHÉLASFOPS) Address: Signed..... FRIENDS OF HYLANDS HOUSE Accountlng Statement: Receipts and Payments Basis Unrestrlcted Funds RECEIPTS 2023 2022 Membership Subscriptions Donatlons added to subscription5 Donations and Bequests Gift Aid 5,500 4,282 711 £ 16,031 1,888 1.099 Activities: Events Statues and Hylands Books Book Sales Bank Interest and Rewards Sundrles 5,447 13.840 956 153 11.513 142 20 Total Receipts 25,432 £ 40,034 PAYMENTS Furniture Purchases and Restoration Hylands Books Cost of Events Book Shop Administration: Insurance. PrlnL Postage. Sundry Items Bank Charges 8,767 17,490 3,226 635 4,147 235 60 7,712 1.209 3,320 200 134 Total Payments 17,070 30,065 Surplus of Payments / Receipts 8,362 9,969 Cash Funds as at 01.01.23 Cash Funds as at 31.12.23 92,696 101,057 £ 82,727 £ 92.696 HSBC Chelmsford Coop Chelmsford HSBC Savings Add Debtors Deduct Creditors 24.371 14,176 62,510 £ 85,732 6,964 Net Assets 101.057 £ 92,696 FRIENDS OF HYLANDS HOUSE Re8lstered Charlty Number. 1059969 INCOME AND EXPENDThURE Year ended 31st December 2023 INCOME 2023 2022 Membershlp Sub5crlPtlons Donated added to Subscriptlons Donations and Bequests Glft Ald. Bank Interest and Rewards Venus Ststues and Hylands Book5 Other sundry items Book Sales £5,$00.ciI £4.282.00 £711.00 £16,031.00 £1.888.00 £142.00 £0.00 £20.00 £11.513.00 £1,099.(N) £956.00 £0.00 £153.00 £13,840.00 vents Tlcket sales for events Raffles House Staff Costs Coach Hlre Caterlng for events3 Tlcket costs Performers Refund5 Trlps Payments Income £3,742.(h) £141.00 EX￿nd £165.00 2797 £263.00 £3.883.00 £3.225.00 £658.th) £22,206.IXI Totèl Recel -£2.265.00 £32,322.00 PAYMENTS Administratlon: Insurance Printlni Postage £725.00 £2.619.(Ml £803.00 £235.00 £8,767.fX) £635. £0.00 £60.00 £13,844.00 £710.00 £1,640.00 £970.00 £21)0.00 £17,490.00 £1,209.00 £0.00 £134.00 £22,353.00 Sundry Items Purchase5 and Restoratlon 8ook Shop Expenses ststues Hylands Books Bank Charges Pa Excess of income over expendlture Balance carrled fonvard to General Account £8,362.(M) £8.362.00 £9,969.00 £9.969.00 l. This represents gfft aid tlalms made to date. 2. These fi8ures refiect monles paid and they flave been a8gre8ated to show a small exces5. 3. The Chrlstmas meal was tlcket takift8s We￿ paid In In January. FRIENDS OF HYLANDS HOUSE Registered Charity Number: 1059969 PURCHASES and RESTORATION Ice House Aeriel survey Donation station set up Hylands Wedding Album Donation to open estate days Banners Website £240.00 £413.00 £1,945.00 £G.000.00 £72.¢J) £98.00 £8.768.00 COMMITMENTS 2024 £0.00 GENERAL ACCOUNT As at 1st January 2023 92696 82727 Surplus 2023 Cash float 2023 As at 31st December 2023 8362 9969 101058 82727 RECONCILIATION Held at HSBC Savings Held at HSBC Current AC Held at Co-op Bank Les5 Creditor5 (uncleared cheques) 62510 24372 14176 61554 24178 6964 Total Funds 101058 92696 ## **FRIENDS OF HYLANDS HOUSE** ## **CHAIRMAN’S ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2023** Lord Petre, President, Vice presidents and Friends of Hylands House. At our AGM last year I reported that we had completed the restoration of the Hanbury Memorial Garden at a total cost, over three years of £68700. I also mentioned that we were, with the City Council, looking for our next new development project. Several possibilities had been mentioned including the Flint Cottage, the walled Kitchen Garden, the Orangery and the Ice House. All would need to be carefully researched with today’s regulations much in mind. We commissioned a drone survey which was helpful in revealing the location of the soakaway ponds of the Ice House more definitively. More excitingly, some further excavation work by Stan Kaluza and Nick Wickenden revealed cast iron beams which had been used to support an extension to the building. Following a visit to the ruins by an Engineering Historian and Industrial Archaeologist in late January it was confirmed that the beams could be ascribed as being produced by a civil engineer, Thomas Tredgold in 1820. He was the nephew of the architect, William Atkison who was employed by Pierre Labouchere to build the new west wing at Hylands from scratch. The Engineering Historian comments in his report that “hardly any structures nationally have hitherto been identified as Tredgold’s own work, so these are a remarkable discovery.” This confirms, seemingly beyond doubt, that the Ice House was in existence well before Humphrey Repton redesigned the landscape at Hylands. At their meeting in March your Committee agreed, subject to obtaining approval from the City Council, to proceed with some restoration of the Ice House ruin: just how much will depend on the likelihood of lottery funding being available. Work s likely to be phased over a number of years. Pleasingly during 2023 our income from membership subscriptions, donations, gift aid and interest have, after allowing for exceptional items in 2022, in total increased. Our treasurer, Ros Coleridge will no doubt provide some more detail in a few moments. Regarding membership, I am delighted that Alan Mayo stepped forward and having had a briefing from Edd Price (who has been so supportive of the Friends in so many ways), agreed to take on the role of Membership Secretary Overall our membership now stands at 386 More or less the same as last year; of the 22 new members this year two have joined as life members. I am really pleased to report that several of our new members have joined our Bookshop team. Well done Alan on getting on with your new role so effectively. Whilst I am aware of occasional glitches in transferring the collection of annual membership fees to direct debit which required our members to cancel their standing order I confirm that Alan and Ros will get this sorted between them. My apologies to anyone who has been inconvenienced in this way. However, your Committee felt that we needed to make greater use of the technology now available. My hopes have been fulfilled in that Sales of books have really picked up and totalled £13840 last year, an average of £1150 per month. The introduction of a card payment machine has helped by reducing the need for cash. A huge THANK YOU to all our volunteers and especially to Cynthia Walker who works tirelessly to ensure that our shop is staffed every day. Our thanks, too, to Stan Kaluza for continuing to sort through all the donated books and to price them appropriately. The multi-media tour of the pleasure gardens which I mentioned last year is now up and running. It is a free service which has been developed by Edd Price, Assistant House Manager, but it is hoped that users will make a donation to The Friends. As I said last year, this is just one way in which Lorraine Thorne, Hylands House Manager, and her Team are actively supporting the Friends to try to build membership following the introduction of free public Open Estate Days on the third Sunday of each month and parking charges from last November. Any members working in the Bookshop or any member attending an event booked at Hylands House or a coach outing arranged by The Friends will be entitled to free parking. 10% discount in the Stables café has been confirmed by the new owners and an early bird discount will be available when booking afternoon teas. Edd Price continues working with us (in his own time) on upgrading/redesigning our website and it is hoped that this will link in with the membership database. The monthly Open Days are attracting over 1000 visitors each month: The Friends have provided a defibrillator which is available 24/7 being fixed to the outside wall of the Book Shop by the City Council. We have also donated costumes for story telling/ play acting and ‘large scale’ games which are proving popular and attract even more families on open days. We remain concerned that there are currently no new activities or outings to look forward to. There are many reasons for this but your Committee would like to know your preferences and learn of any suggestions as to how we can go forward - now, if time permits! So just two dates for your diary:- - On Monday,16[th] September - A Last of the Summer Wine Lunch in the Banquetting Room. - On Monday, 9[th] December - Our Annual Christmas Meal in the Banquetting Room During the year I have been extremely grateful to Val Chiswell, elected to the Committee last year as she agreed to become our Administrator so far as the Charity Commission is concerned – a role previously held by Linda Knock. Val and I have thoroughly reviewed all the ‘best practice’ suggestions recommended by the CC, duly presenting our findings to the full Committee and, where appropriate, liaising with the City Council. By rights I should set these before you now but they are shown on our website. Our thanks too, to Berry Cornell and Cynthia Walker for readily taking on the Editorship of our Newsletter at short notice. At an AGM it is right and proper to record with thanks the services of those no longer with us. I wish, therefore to say how much I and all the Committee feel indebted to both Shirley Harman and Babs Sargeant – two hard working, lovely ladies who would turn their hands and minds to help the Friends in any way they could. Since last April Linda Knock has returned to Yorkshire, the County of her birth - what a lot she did behind the scenes. Indeed each of your Committee puts in a lot of hard work as each one puts a large amount of effort into the planning and organising all that goes on. I am enormously grateful to everyone of them - without doubt this is team work at its very best. Many thanks to our Officers - to mention by name, our Secretary, Chris Rycroft and our Treasurer, Ros Coleridge and Membership Secretary, Alan Mayo. Not forgetting you, too, dear Friends for your support in so many generous ways. On behalf of The Friends, I wish to thank all members and officers of the Council who supported our endeavours during the year: special thanks to Paul van Damme, Lorraine Thorne and Edd Price and their hard working teams for their help and support with our activities: it is greatly appreciated by us all, because together we are a dedicated, committed and effective group of people, totally focussed on further enhancing this truly magnificent jewel in Chelmsford’s crown - Hylands House and its associated park ## **Richard Oscroft, MBE, Chairman. 16[th] April 2024**