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2020-11-30-accounts

ANNA PLOWDEN TRUST Review of the Year & Anr7ual Report 2020,.

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Anna Vesaluoma removing accretions under the
microscope from the 20th century painting by
Franz Kline (see page 14).
2 The Anna Plowden Trust
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CONTENTS

Review of the Year
Chairman’s Introduction 02
Grants Awarded in 2020 04
Our Funders and Supporters 08
The Impact of the Trust’s Support:
– Plowden Scholars 10
– Anna Plowden/Clothworkers’ Foundation CPD Grants 16
– Covid-19 Fund 18
– Anna Plowden Trust Alumni 22
Annual Report
Of the Trustees for the twelve months to 30 November 2020
Trustees’ Report 26
Independent Examiner’s Report 28
Statement of Financial Activities 30
Balance Sheet 31
Notes to the Accounts 32

Cover: Victoria Stevens, ACR, recipient of a CPD grant, conserving fire-damaged material. Image with the kind permission of The Salters’ Company.

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2020 1

Chairman’s Introduction

For the Chair of any organisation, it can sometimes be a challenge to write an introduction to an annual report that says something new and fresh. While there are always wonderful personal stories of those whose education or professional career has been supported by the Anna Plowden Trust, one year’s achievements and minor tribulations can often look remarkably similar to those of previous years. But 2020 was, of course, a year like no other, dominated from the spring by the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on all our lives.

The effects on the Anna Plowden Trust’s programmes were not necessarily as we first thought likely. With the suspension of much teaching on conservation courses during the second part of the 2019/20 academic year and the prospect of socially-distanced classes and fewer practical sessions for 2020/21, we had expected many fewer applications for Plowden Scholarships in June. The number of applications went down, but only by a few compared to previous years, and it was clear that the conservation courses were making extraordinary efforts to provide a balanced and as near normal as possible experience for their students. With other funders affected by reduced income or diverting grants to areas they saw as higher priority during the pandemic, our scholarships became even more important in allowing those in financial need to embark on, or continue with, a conservation training programme.

More predictably, demand for grants for continuing professional development (CPD), the Trust’s other major programme, dropped considerably as conferences, workshops and other training opportunities were cancelled or postponed. The Trustees quickly agreed to honour grants for postponed events and to adopt a flexible approach to funding participation in the increasing number of ‘virtual’ events, including nine grants to those registering for Icon’s increasingly popular Leadership Launchpad programme.

With the agreement of The Clothworkers’ Foundation, our partners for the CPD grant programme, we diverted some of that funding to a Covid-19 grant programme designed specifically to support newly graduated conservators to secure post-qualification practical experience (see page 18).

Amid the continuing disruption caused by the pandemic it would be all too easy to forget other events in 2020, in particular how the Black Lives Matter campaign led us all to reassess not just our attitudes to underrepresented groups, but also the way in which we, often unconsciously, create barriers to more equal opportunity and participation. In response, the Trustees have begun to look at how, working with other organisations, we can bring more people from under-represented groups into careers in conservation, and we have reassessed the wording on our website and application forms to make our commitment to a more diverse profession clear and to remove or adjust questions that might be seen as a barrier to such inclusivity.

Although as we move into 2021 there is some cause for optimism and the hope of a return to normality, we will continue to review the situation and in this we are grateful to major donors to the Trust who have allowed us the flexibility to target funding where it is most needed.

Dr David Saunders

Chairman

It became clear also that one group that was suffering particularly from the pandemic comprised final year conservation students, who were not only missing out on practical experience, often through studio placements, but whose plans for internships or employment on graduation were disrupted or cancelled.

2 The Anna Plowden Trust

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2020 3

Grants Awarded in 2020

Plowden Scholarships

In 2020 the Trust received 48 applications for Plowden Scholarships. We had anticipated a lower level of demand due to Covid-19, but received almost as many applications in 2020 as in 2019. A total of 27 grants were awarded to a value of nearly £64,000. As always, the Trustees were impressed by the applicants’ commitment to train as conservators in the face of the seemingly insurmountable task of raising sufficient funds to do so – particularly in these Covid times.

The students benefitting from Plowden Scholarships in the 2019/20 academic year studied at ten institutions on 13 different conservation programmes:

City and Guilds of London Art School BA (Hons.) Conservation Studies

University of Durham

MA Conservation of Archaeological and Museum Objects

The Courtauld Institute of Art

Postgraduate Diploma in the Conservation of Easel Paintings

University of Glasgow: Centre for Textile Conservation MPhil Textile Conservation

Northumbria University

University of Lincoln

BA (Hons.) Conservation of Cultural Heritage

University of York

MA Stained Glass Conservation and Heritage Management

University of Cardiff

MSc Conservation Practice

Participant on a CPD course on leather conservation (see page 16).

West Dean College

University College London, Institute of Archaeology

£87,000[+]

Thanks to the generosity of our many funders and partners, the Trust was able to award Plowden Scholarships and Anna Plowden/ Clothworkers’ Foundation CPD and Covid-19 Fund grants during the year to a total value of more than £87,000.

Right: Max Chesnokov using a lightbox to collect photographic data on a replica bronze bust as part of what originally would have been a lab-taught module. © Max Chesnokov.

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Review of the Year & Annual Report 2020 5

Anna Plowden/Clothworkers’ Foundation CPD Grants

Where relevant, grantees will be able to use their award at the equivalent event in 2021, we are also holding other grants open as we wait to discover whether some of the courses that were postponed in 2020 will be run in 2021.

Anna Plowden was an early and passionate advocate of the importance of continuing professional development (CPD) for practising conservators. Today CPD is essential for conservators wanting to maintain their Icon accredited status. In 2020 we continued our valuable partnership with The Clothworkers’ Foundation, which now only supports CPD for conservators via the Anna Plowden Trust.

A number of conservators have taken advantage of Icon’s Leadership Launchpad course, which is offered online over 12 months; nine grants were offered to conservators on this programme. Victoria Stevens ACR reports on her experience of the programme on page 17.

The 29 CPD awards that were made came to a total value of £20,079. At present, given the known cancellations, we expect no more than £17,000 of this total to be called upon. The Clothworkers’ Foundation has generously agreed that unused funds can be rolled forward to 2021.

During 2020 we offered 29 CPD grants, far fewer than the 57 awarded in 2019. This is a direct result of the impact of Covid-19 on the conference and course calendar. The cancellation of many events and the moving online of others meant that some grantees were unable to take up their award or were able to attend a virtual event at much lower or no cost.

Victoria Stevens (left) giving an Up Close outreach workshop for understanding heritage materials. Image with the kind permission of the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester Cathedral.

The Anna Plowden/Clothworkers’ Foundation Covid-19 Fund

From March 2020 to the end of the academic year, the impact of Covid-19 on the ability of conservation courses to offer laboratory and practical work to students was severe. As a result, students lost many weeks of practical work and final year students, who could not make good that loss in the following year, were particularly badly affected.

The Clothworkers’ Foundation generously agreed to our proposal that part of the CPD fund should be used instead to support these students. The Covid-19 Fund provides grants to final-year conservation students, who graduated in 2020, towards the costs of additional placements or other practical experiences. A selection of reports on these invaluable grants can be found on pages 10-25. At the time of writing, over £10,300 has been offered to nine individuals.

The reconstructed Roman glass vessel, after treatment by Riva Boutylka (see page 18). © Royal Albert Memorial Museum.

6 Grants Awarded in 2020

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2020 7

Our Funders and Supporters

Riva Boutylkova cleaning a wooden ship model, once owned by Thomas Hardy (see page 18). © Dorset County Museum.

We are enormously grateful to all of our donors in the year to the end of November 2020 and, in particular, to our major donors, The Clothworkers’ Foundation and the Dulverton Trust.

One of the world’s leading producers

The industry’s leading provider of high quality conservation storage and display products to museums, libraries, galleries and archives across the world.

One of the leading publishers in the conservation of art and antiquities and technical art history.

of conservation tools and equipment.

The trusts, foundations and companies that supported the Anna Plowden Trust during the year are listed below. A number of generous individuals also support us, many of whom have benefitted from our Scholarships or CPD grants in the past; we have not listed them here but we are most grateful to each of them.

Alice Sherwood, who is in her second year at the Courtauld Institute of Art. The lack of CPD opportunities in 2020 meant that we were not able to award a CPD grant from this fund in 2020, so - Covid-19 permitting - we plan to award an additional CPD grant in 2021.

Finally, the Trustees would like to record thanks to current Plowden Scholar Katerina Williams, a student on the Books and Library Materials programme at West Dean College, who has been volunteering with the Trust to improve and develop the Trust’s presence on Instagram.

We are also very grateful to those who donated to the Robert Shepherd Memorial Fund, which aims to fund one Scholarship and at least one CPD grant a year for the next five years. In 2020/21 The Robert Shepherd Scholar is

Funders during 2020

Trusts and Foundations

Companies Operating in the Sector

The Trustees are most grateful to the following trusts and foundations, whose generous grants supported our work during the year:

The Trustees are most grateful to the following companies that support our work through sponsorship:

and

K Pak specialises in the care, handling and international transportation of antiques, artworks and high-value items.

Providing the highest quality professional services in fine art object conservation, restoration and object display mounts.

Routledge partners with researchers, scholarly societies, universities and libraries world-wide to bring knowledge to life.

8 The Anna Plowden Trust

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2020 9

The Impact of the Trust’s Support: Plowden Scholars

The Trust’s support makes an immense difference to conservation students, as brief case studies from the Plowden Scholars in the 2020/2021 academic year show.

Ella Berry

MSc Conservation Practice, University of Cardiff

The vote of confidence given to me by the Trustees in turn raised my own self-confidence throughout the course. I have made strong, positive, personal and professional contacts with other conservators, particularly through the Natural Sciences Collections Association (NatSCA). I recently ran my own conference for NatSCA on Twitter to mark International Women in Science Day, creating a series of posts raising awareness of the ground-breaking achievements women have made in science.

The support of the Anna Plowden Trust and the Barbour Foundation throughout the two years of my Masters from 2019 to 2021 is allowing me to move into natural history conservation, after discovering my passion for the subject during my undergraduate degree in Zoology. This support enabled me to dedicate myself completely to my studies and achieve grades that reflect the best of my abilities.

During the course, I have worked to conserve a range of objects, from glass plate negatives and Welsh music books to a Roman coin hoard and taxidermy specimens. In addition to my conservation of taxidermy during the course, I have produced my own ethical taxidermy specimens in my own time in order to obtain a better understanding of the skills and processes needed to produce such pieces.

Above: Ella Berry in the laboratory. Right: Ella cleaning a taxidermy specimen.

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Review of the Year & Annual Report 2020 11

Max Chesnokov

MA in Principles of Conservation, Institute of Archaeology, UCL

I am currently completing my MA and am learning the theory and application of preventive conservation methods for a range of collections. This year has been especially tough for both students and tutors as delivery of the course has had to be transferred online. However the practical elements of the course have been adapted with the use of home kits containing conservation materials and supplies.

Max creating a conservation grade mount for one of his own books.

As we do not have access to the laboratories, great importance has been placed on applying what we learn in lectures and seminars to environments and objects accessible in our own homes. This has included recording humidity levels and ultraviolet light exposure in certain rooms, conducting materials analysis on everyday objects and planning a full risk assessment for my living room in the event of a natural disaster! This ensures that the skills we learn can be successfully applied in a professional context. I look forward to seeing where my studies take me and I hope to continue on to the MSc in Conservation for Archaeology and Museums.

Rachel Roberts

MA Conservation of Archaeological and Museum Objects Durham University

I am currently in the first year of my MA, having been able to take up my place thanks to the generous support of the Anna Plowden Trust. The course has so far offered a good balance of practical skills training and theory, and I have learned a lot already.

Despite the challenges presented by the Covid-19 restrictions, the course has still offered a wide range of teaching. I have had the opportunity to begin laboratory practicals, which have been invaluable. Teaching has so far focused on the agents of decay, preventive conservation, mould-making, and on building a knowledge base of how to treat different materials. I have been especially excited to be able to work with Roman copper coins, as I completed my undergraduate degree in Classical Archaeology and Ancient History and this is an area of great interest for me.

Starting my MA during this difficult time has brought with it many challenges, but the Anna Plowden Trust’s Scholarship has been a vital source of support for which I am extremely grateful.

Rachel practising loss compensation techniques.

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Review of the Year & Annual Report 2020 13

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Anna Vesaluoma

PGDip Conservation of Easel Paintings The Courtauld Institute of Art

I graduated from The Courtauld in July 2020 and have since begun a fellowship in Paintings Conservation at the Yale University Art Gallery. To help fund my last two years at The Courtauld, I was honoured to receive the support of the Anna Plowden Trust.

At The Courtauld, I undertook challenging treatments, including a complicated tear-mending and lining of a 20th century painting. The balance between supervised mentoring and independent work taught me to take ownership in treatment decisions, a skill which has been instrumental in my position at Yale. In Autumn 2019 I conducted a two-month research project at the Cultural Heritage Agency in Amsterdam, investigating the characterisation of synthetic organic pigments in early 20th century paintings using micro-Raman Spectroscopy. I presented my findings at the 38th annual Gerry Hedley Student Symposium in July 2020, which was held virtually.

As the pandemic brought new challenges, we adapted to new ways of learning. Despite the inherent difficulties in finishing a practical degree remotely, I benefitted from the exciting online lectures organised by The Courtauld, and I was extremely lucky to start my fellowship at Yale in September 2020. It has been thrilling to work in a museum, treating and researching paintings whilst surrounded by expert colleagues. Without my studies at The Courtauld and the generosity of the Anna Plowden Trust, my journey to where I am now would not have been possible.

Anna Vesaluoma surface cleaning a modern painting by Hale Woodruff.

Christelle Wakefield

MA Conservation of Fine Art (Works of Art on Paper) Northumbria University

It was an honour to have received the Anna Plowden Trust Scholarship to help fund my studies on the MA Conservation of Fine Art. Without the Trust’s support, I would not have been able to dedicate as much time to researching my dissertation on pastel papers and artists’ fixatives from the mid-1800s to the 1920s. During the process, I was able to further develop my research and writing skills and, for this, I am immensely grateful. I was awarded a Distinction and the Prize for the highest dissertation mark in the Department of Arts.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 2-year MA course, where I attended workshops on paper conservation theory and practice, technical examination techniques, preventive conservation, art history, fibre and pigment analysis, accelerated ageing and deterioration mechanisms affecting artists’ materials, and the chemistry of paper. I was also able to work on two paper-based research objects from external collections, namely an early 19th-century hand-coloured lithograph, and a late 19th-century framed watercolour. Additionally, I undertook two internships, the first at the British Museum and the second at the Rijksmuseum.

Christelle applying wheat starch paste for lining

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2020 15

The Impact of the Trust’s Support: Anna Plowden/Clothworkers’ Foundation CPD Grants

Dr Victoria Purewal ACR

Owner of Pure Conservation. Attended Theo Sturge’s Leather Conservation Course in October 2020.

The Anna Plowden/Clothworker’s CPD Grant provided the support for me to learn a very relevant and invaluable new skill and continue my professional development. Relevant natural history courses are infrequent, so when Icon advertised this course, I grabbed the opportunity.

Pure Conservation is primarily focused on natural history material, but traditionally tanned leather and taxidermy skin are quite dissimilar and so I did not feel qualified to work on leather artefacts, although frequently asked to do so. Having undertaken this course, I clearly understand the differences. The course was split equally into theory, cases studies and practical sessions. One case study of interest focused on a damaged seal-skin trunk and it was repaired using archival raw hide, something I was unaware you could source. I also now know how to pare, skive, colour-match, adhere and make an infill or a repair from hide.

I was also guided through making a leather gilt mould, using different adhesives and colourants. This training seamlessly overlaps with the work I already do and has given me much needed confidence.

Above right: Victoria applying a colour-matched infill. © Charlotte Cameron. Right: Producing a piece of leather gilt from start to finish: silver leaf being adhered to moulded leather. © Jenna Taylor.

Victoria Stevens ACR

Victoria Stevens Library and Archive Conservation. Undertook Leadership Launchpad, an online training and coaching programme.

The focus and control that the Leadership Launchpad encouraged me to regain through a firmer understanding of what I was trying to achieve in my business developed over what turned out to be an incredibly difficult year. The monthly programme of coaching and reflection sessions allowed me to see from above some of the areas where I can make changes in my approach and priority setting to enable me to achieve my goals whilst not losing sight of the principles that I want to adhere to for the business. An early exercise was setting a mission statement, and from this a shorter belief statement which was condensed into the three-word tag line of Generosity, Engagement and Efficiency . These three words have been my focus throughout the year, working on the tools and structures that will enable me to implement them throughout my business.

I realised during the sessions that one of my main skill areas was communication of ideas and advice with enthusiasm, accessibility and positivity. Although I had never appreciated it before, my clients and colleagues really value my skills in this area and it is an aspect of my business that I enjoy greatly. This has resulted in a new non-profit engagement initiative to provide tactile educational and training services for people who have barriers to learning by visual means alone or who are excluded from heritage access by circumstances or opportunity.

Meeting each month to reflect on examples from my own business as well as learn from the experiences of what proved to be a strong and supportive cohort was incredibly helpful, particularly during lockdown. The constant encouragement and confidential safety of the group was extremely beneficial, and we all developed a close bond of mutual trust and support.

Thank you to the Anna Plowden Trust and The Clothworkers’ Foundation for enabling me to undertake this transformative experience, and for giving me the funds to take my business under control and to the next stage of its development. I still have some way to go, but the Leadership Launchpad has given me the strong foundations on which to build future success.

Lifting a damaged C17th label for consolidation and repair. Image with the kind permission of The Salters’ Company.

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Review of the Year & Annual Report 2020 17

The Impact of the Trust’s Support: Covid-19 Fund

Riva Boutylkova

Placement at Dorset County Museum Graduate of the MA in Conservation of Archaeological and Museum Objects, University of Durham

Thanks to the grants from the Anna Plowden Trust, I was lucky enough to undertake two museum placements in 2019 and 2020. As a Plowden Scholar, I benefitted from a 7-month placement at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) in Exeter, as part of the Professional Practice module in my MA degree.

My stay at RAMM was unfortunately cut short due to the Covid-19 lockdown. To make up for this loss in practical museum experience, I was able to secure a second placement in September 2020 at the Dorset County Museum. The Anna Plowden/Clothworkers’ Foundation Covid-19 grant funded my one-month internship here, working with the museum’s collections team to support their redevelopment project. After this short placement, my stay was extended by the museum, and I am currently still working here as a freelance objects conservator. I’ve been supporting the gallery installations, conducting remedial treatments to objects prior to display, training staff in object handling and collections care, and preparing a long-term preventive conservation plan for the collection.

I would like to thank the Anna Plowden Trust and The Clothworkers’ Foundation for providing me with this possibility, through which I have gained such a meaningful experience and found this valuable connection to the Dorset County Museum.

Riva examining a large group of 19th Century polychrome animals from Noah’s Ark. © Dorset County Museum.

Suncana Marochini

Placement at National Museums Scotland Graduate of the MSc Conservation for Archaeology and Museums, University College London

With the generous help of the Anna Plowden Trust/ Clothworkers’ Foundation Covid Fund grant, I was able to extend my placement at the National Museums Scotland’s Engineering Conservation Department. The placement was the final element of my MSc Conservation for Archaeology and Museums course at UCL. The Covid-19 Fund grant allowed me to continue working on National Museum of Flight projects that were interrupted for 12 weeks due to the first national lockdown.

I was able to work on wooden and plastic plane models, which were kept in the airline offices in the past, as well the secure cockpit door from a Boeing 737. These projects gave me the opportunity to treat objects of particular interest to me and that are similar to the ones I hope to encounter in my future career.

This internship has been an invaluable experience which allowed me to continue working in a professional environment, gain more conservation-related knowledge and further develop my practical skills. It has put me in a good position to make the most of my Getty Graduate Internship within the Antiquities Conservation Department at the Getty Villa, which will commence in September 2021. I wish to thank the Anna Plowden Trust and The Clothworkers’ Foundation for this opportunity, without their support this would not have been possible.

Suncana undertaking inpainting on the first Comet I airliner wooden plane model at the National Museums Scotland. © National Museums Scotland.

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Review of the Year & Annual Report 2020 19

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‘ I believe that the additional skills and experience
I gained thanks to the Covid-19 Fund grant helped
me to secure this important first step in my
conservation career.’
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Lauren Burleson

Placement at University of Cambridge Museums. MA Conservation of Archaeological and Museum Objects, University of Durham

The first Covid-19 lockdown occurred in the middle of my professional placement at the University of Cambridge Museums (UCM) as an MA student from Durham University. I finished my Master’s portfolio in September 2020 without having returned to my host institutions, and I was concerned about the effect of this on my final work portfolio and treatment experiences. With help from an Anna Plowden/ Clothworkers’ Foundation Covid-19 grant, I was able to extend my placement at UCM after submitting my portfolio.

The two major projects which had been left unfinished by the lockdown and which I able to complete, partly thanks to this grant, were a set of Buddhist human bone ornaments from the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA) and an unstable 19th century plaster cast from the Museum of Classical Archaeology (MoCA). Additional objects I was able to work on included a basketry charm, a crystal ball, a set of arrows, and a cathedral bench-end. I also was able to help with reopening tasks for MAA. Due to the experience with the hanging mechanism and degradation on the plaster cast, I was hired onto a short-term project at MoCA after my extension ended.

I believe that the additional skills and experience I gained thanks to the Covid-19 Fund grant helped me to secure this important first step in my conservation career. Although it is a very difficult time to graduate into, I can leave now with a fuller portfolio, finished objects, more diverse experience, and more confidence in relation to those things.

Lauren assisting with the reopening of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge after several months’ closure due COVID-19, cleaning an open-display canoe model. © Kirstie French.

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2020 21

The Impact of the Trust’s Support: Anna Plowden Trust Alumni

The Trustees like to keep in touch with past recipients of Plowden Scholarships, and are gratified to learn of their success as they establish their careers in conservation. Here are a few examples of the contribution that our Alumni are now making to the sector.

Anna Don

Patrick Lindsay Conservation Fellow The National Gallery

The support of the Anna Plowden Trust was invaluable during my studies at the Hamilton Kerr Institute, University of Cambridge. I graduated with a Postgraduate Diploma in the Conservation of Easel Paintings in July 2019, having had the opportunity to treat a range of paintings with complex conservation issues. I was also lucky to undertake a summer work placement at the V&A Museum during my studies, which allowed me to develop my practical skills and gave me an insight into working in museums.

The final stages of the reconstruction of Giovanni di Paolo’s St Bartholomew from the Fitzwilliam Museum. © Hamilton Kerr Institute.

During my final year, I completed a research project involving the treatment, technical study and reconstruction of Giovanni di Paolo’s St Bartholomew , c. 1435, from the Fitzwilliam Museum. I also undertook research into a collection of artists’ documents within the Royal Academy archive. After graduating, I continued this research with a Visiting Scholar Award at the Yale Center for British Art in January 2020, which was very enriching and helped me to develop skills in independent research.

After completing my studies, I began a two-year Patrick Lindsay Conservation Fellowship at the National Gallery, during which I have had the privilege to work on some extraordinary paintings and learn from my colleagues. I am so grateful to the Anna Plowden Trust for enabling me to pursue this career.

Anna cleaning the Fitzwilliam Museum painting Insects by Jan van Kessel I (1626-1679). © Chris Titmus, Hamilton Kerr Institute.

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2020 23

22 The Anna Plowden Trust

Keira McKee

Book and Paper Conservator University of Glasgow

Generous support from the Anna Plowden Trust allowed me to complete my MA in Conservation Studies (Books & Library Materials) at West Dean College in 2015. I then completed an 18-month Heritage Lottery Fund Skills for the Future traineeship at PZ Conservation C.I.C in Cornwall where I was able to build my confidence and practical skills in a busy private studio.

Like many early-career conservators, I gained experience with several fixed-term contracts on standalone, funded projects. I was lucky to have several projects at the University of Glasgow Archives & Special Collections, giving continuity and the chance to work with challenging and varied items. This included a year-long role preparing volumes from William Hunter’s exceptional collection for a large international exhibition.

I am thankful for continued support from the Anna Plowden Trust, being awarded a CPD grant to attend a conference in 2020, although that was sadly postponed by the pandemic. In 2020 I took up a permanent post with the University of Glasgow and look forward to the many interesting projects ahead!

Keira installing the 12th-century Hunterian Psalter (MS Hunter 229) for ‘William Hunter and the Anatomy of the Modern Museum’ in 2018. Courtesy of the University of Glasgow.

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Annual Report

Of the Trustees for the twelve months to 30 November 2020

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

During the year, because of the exceptional challenges created by the pandemic, a Covid-19 Fund was established with the generous agreement of The Clothworkers’ Foundation, to support conservation students whose practical work was cut short because of the lockdowns. The Covid-19 Fund will continue to support students and recent graduates during 2021, until the available funds are exhausted.

Background and Objectives

The Anna Plowden Trust was constituted by Deed of Trust dated 21 August 1998 and amended 7 October 1998. It was established to commemorate the life and work of Anna Plowden CBE, who worked for many years towards raising the standards of conservation in the UK.

Applications for funding are invited through advertisements in national conservation journals, direct contact with conservation programme leaders and through the Trust’s website (www.annaplowdentrust.org.uk) and social media accounts (Facebook and Instagram).

The objects of the charity are to contribute to the conservation of items of historic, artistic or scientific interest, and to the development of public knowledge and skills in conservation.

Since the Trust was established in 1998, it has awarded over 325 Plowden Scholarships and over 325 CPD Grants. In total, the Trust has distributed almost £900,000 towards its principal aims of improving skills in, and awareness of, conservation.

The Trustees, having given careful consideration to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, are satisfied that the Trust’s established grant-making policies described above meet those requirements.

Our core objective is to support training in heritage conservation. This is done by supporting students on conservation programmes and supporting the skills development of the UK’s practising heritage conservators.

In the past year, the Trust has continued its two main programmes aimed at improving conservation skills.

These are:

Plowden Scholarships for those requiring assistance, usually graduates, towards the cost of studying for qualifications to enter the conservation profession;

The public benefits that flow from this are:

Anna Plowden/Clothworkers’ Foundation CPD Grants for short, mid-career skills development for conservators already working in the field.

We believe this greatly benefits the individuals whom we fund, the institutions for which they work (or will work in the future) and the public realm. These benefits are clearly demonstrated by the short case studies in this Annual Report.

Trustees

Dr David Saunders, Chairman Francis Plowden, Secretary & Treasurer Penelope Plowden, Grants Manager Tristram Bainbridge ACR Nell Hoare, MBE Dr David Leigh ACR Jane McAusland Christina Rozeik ACR Carol Weiss

Risks and Reserves

The Trustees have reviewed the risks to which the Trust is exposed. As a grant-making body, these risks are not regarded as critical.

The Trustees have also discussed the reserves policy of the Trust. Although its General Purpose Fund is technically expendable, the Trustees consider that the objectives of the Trust will best be served by making regular grants towards the training and work of conservators using only the income from the Trust’s investments and not the capital, and from donations.

Accordingly, it is the Trust’s policy to attempt to maintain annual grant giving at least at the same level year on year or, if funds allow, to increase it, while as far as possible maintaining the real value of the Trust’s reserves.

Fundraising

The Anna Plowden Trust, with the agreement of the Charity Commission, contracts one of its Trustees, Nell Hoare, a freelance fundraising and heritage consultant, to undertake fundraising on its behalf. The Trustees monitor the fundraising activity closely and are satisfied that, having yielded grants and pledges of over £720,000 since 2013, it represents good value for money. The Trust raises funds mainly from trusts, foundations and companies; a small number of individuals also support it with annual donations. No public fundraising appeals are undertaken and the Trust does not engage in mass mailing to solicit donations. The Trust complies with accepted good practice in its fundraising.

Plans for future periods

The Trust’s objectives for 2020 were to seek to maximise investment income and grants receivable and to award grants totalling at least £75,000. In the event income reached £93,465 and grants totalling £87,809 were awarded.

The Trust’s objectives for 2021 remain the same, again with the aim of awarding grants totalling £90,000 if resources allow.

26 The Anna Plowden Trust

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2020 27

Independent Examiner’s Report

To the Trustees of The Anna Plowden Trust

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Anna Plowden Trust (the Trust) for the year ended 30 November 2020 which are set out on pages 30 to 32.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity Trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Trust as required by section 130 of the Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records;

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

or

  1. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.

In my opinion there are no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

R.V.J. Chadder Chartered Accountant

2 February 2021

Right: Rachel Roberts undertaking X-ray analysis of artefacts (see page 13).

28 The Anna Plowden Trust

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2020 29

Statement of Financial Activities

For year ended 30 November 2020

November 2020
Notes 2020 2019
£ £
INCOME
Grants and donatons – unrestricted 5,081.25 3,862.50
– restricted 1 63,300.00 65,775.00
– Shepherd Fund 2 3,797.50 31,290.00
72,178.75 100,927.50
Bank Interest 174.02 354.94
Investment Income 21,112.65 19,799.88
21,286.67 20,154.82
Total Income 93,465.42 121,082.32
EXPENDITURE
Grants made Scholarships
Anna Plowden Trust (60,250.00) (58,000.00)
Shepherd Fund (3,500.00) (3,500.00)
(63,750.00) (61,500.00)
CPD
Anna Plowden Trust (24,059.00) (28,055.00)
Shepherd Fund – (790.00)
(24,059.00) (28,845.00)
Total awards made (87,809.00) (90,345.00)
MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION
Trustee expenses (73.00) (997.19)
Fundraising and related expenses (3,986.00) (5,480.82)
Other expenses (3,346.26) (2,201.18)
(7,405.26) (8,679.19)
Total expenditure (95,214.26) (99,024.19)
Net incoming/(outgoing) resources (1,748.84) 22,058.13
Surplus/(loss) on revaluation of investments (60,717.56) 31,213.34
Net movement in funds (62,466.40) 53,271.47
Total funds bfwd 716,964.44 663,692.97
Total funds cfwd £654,498.04 £716,964.44

Balance Sheet

For the year ended 30 November 2020

30 November 2020
Notes 2020 2019
£ £
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors 3 3,966.25 3,390.00
Cash at bank 90,421.38 60,016.16
Term deposit 50,000.00 50,000.00
144,387.63 113,406.16
INVESTMENTS 5
BMO Responsible Sterling Bond Fund 88,664.59 85,050.66
BMO Responsible UK Income Fund 292,818.62 334,068.02
M&G Charifund 85,258.07 101,693.60
Property Income Trust for Charities 90,652.44 97,299.00
557,393.72 618,111.28
Total Assets 701,781.35 731,517.44
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Grants committed but unpaid 4 (46,529.00) (12,955.00)
Other Creditors (754.31) (1,598.00)
(47,283.31) (14,553.00)
NET ASSETS £654,498.04 £716,964.44
Represented by:
General Purpose Fund 597,200.54 657,289.44
Restricted Fund 6 30,000.00 32,675.00
Shepherd Fund 2 27,297.50 27,000.00
Total Funds £654,498.54 £716,964.44

Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf on 2 February 2021 by:

David Saunders Francis Plowden Chairman Treasurer

30 The Anna Plowden Trust

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2020 31

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 30 November 2020

1. Restricted Funds

The Trust will usually classify all grants from other Trusts as restricted for the use of bursaries and other training purposes.

2. Shepherd Fund

Funds raised by the family and friends of the late Robert Shepherd in his memory. The income to the Fund represents one donation and Gift Aid on previous year donations, which had not been claimed previously. The Trust has agreed to administer the amounts raised and to make scholarship and CPD awards each year from the fund. In 2019/20 one Scholarship award was made.

3. Debtors

Tax recoverable from the Inland Revenue in respect of donations through Gift Aid, including an amount relating to the Shepherd Fund.

4. Grants committed but unpaid

The substantial increase in this figure results from:

a) Some Scholarship awards paid soon after the year end as a result of late invoicing by some universities

b) CPD awards made but where some courses and events were postponed or cancelled due to Covid-19 and where the Trust has committed to make the awards as and when the events are reinstated.

5. Investments

5. Investments
BMO Bond
BMO Equity
M&G
Mayfair
Fund
Fund
Charifund
PITCH
£
£
£
£		 Total
£
Balances bfwd
Value at 30/11/20
Increase/(decrease)
in value of investments		 85,050.66
334,068.02
101, 693.60
97,299.00
88,664.59
292,818.62
85,258.07
90,652.44
3,613.93
(41,249.40)
(16,435.53)
(6,646.56)		 618,111.28
557,393.72
(60,717.56)

6. Restricted Fund

Donations received which the Trust did not utilise in the current year because they were received too late in the year or which are to be used for awards for specific purposes, for example to a student from a particular part of the country and where no eligible student was identified.

7. Related Party Transactions

In 2020 a CPD grant was awarded to Abigail Bainbridge ACR, wife of Trustee, Tristram Bainbridge. In accordance with the Trust’s Conflict of Interest Policy, Tristram Bainbridge was not present when this grant application was considered by Trustees and took no part in the decision.

Anna Don re-touching a panel painting; pictured when she was a student at the Hamilton Kerr Institute (see page 22). © Hamilton Kerr Institute

32 The Anna Plowden Trust

The Anna Plowden Trust

4 Highbury Road, London SW19 7PR admin@annaplowdentrust.org.uk www.annaplowdentrust.org.uk

Registered Charity No. 1072236