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2022-11-30-accounts

ANNA PLOWDEN TRUST 'Ii Reviewofthe Year & Annual Report 2021/22,

Tia Ryder using the bench microscope to look at previous repairs to a beaver skull (see page 15). Image: Naomi Hadfield.

2 The Anna Plowden Trust

CONTENTS

Review of the Year
Chairman’s Introduction 2
Grants awarded in 2021/22 4
Our Supporters and Sponsors 8
The Impact of the Trust’s Support:
– Plowden Scholars 10
– Anna Plowden/Clothworkers’ Foundation CPD Grants 16
– Anna Plowden Trust Alumni 19
Inspiring the Future 25
Annual Report
For the twelve months to 30 November 2022
Trustees’ Report 27
Independent Examiner’s Report 29
Statement of Financial Activities 31
Balance Sheet 32
Notes to the Accounts 33

Cover: Jenny Gonzalez Corujo consolidating flakes on a painting at the Guildhall Art Gallery picture store in preparation for the exhibition “The Big City” (see page 19).

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2021/22 1

Chairman’s Introduction

As the Anna Plowden Trust approaches its twenty-fifth year, we reached another milestone during 2022. With the award of 23 Anna Plowden scholarships in the summer (see page 10 for more details), the total amount disbursed in grants and scholarships by the Trust since it was founded exceeded £1,000,000. In its early years, the number of grants and their value was relatively small, but both have grown, and the Trust now consistently supports the education and further training of conservators at a level of £80,000–90,000 per year.

To award grants and scholarships at this level, the Trust is reliant on the generosity of individuals, supporting companies and other trusts and foundations. We are grateful to all the individuals who contribute regularly to the Trust, many of them since it was founded. It was particularly significant that they were joined this year by one of the first conservation students to receive a Scholarship from the APT who, now that she is established in her career, wanted to contribute to the training of the next generation of conservators.

2 The Anna Plowden Trust

Among the trusts and foundations that support the APT, I would like to highlight the longstanding and invaluable support of The Clothworkers’ Foundation and Dulverton Trust and our relationship with the colleagues and family of the late Robert Shepherd, who this year made a further donation to prolong the series of scholarships awarded in his name.

Although in most respects life has returned to normal after the Covid pandemic, one effect that is still evident is the much greater proportion of courses, conferences, and other training opportunities that continue to be held online. Online meetings potentially allow greater participation by those who might not be able to afford the time or travel costs to attend in-person events and are certainly better in terms of environmental impact. Against this, in-person meetings offer rather better opportunities to meet others and form new professional networks. For a number of years, the Trust’s CPD grant programme has covered both online and in-person training and while patterns may change, we continue to welcome applications for either type of opportunity.

During 2022, Tristram Bainbridge ACR stepped down as a Trustee of the APT. His enthusiasm and commitment to the Trust over a number of years will be much missed. The Trustees have recently made changes that will allow a greater number of Trustees to be appointed. This change is intended primarily to give us the flexibility to appoint new Trustees before others retire and thus ensure better succession planning.

Finally, this Annual Report is the first to be produced only in an electronic format. In the last few years, we have reduced gradually the number of printed copies produced as more of our supporters, former scholars and grant recipients elected to receive the report digitally. This year we took the decision not to print and distribute hard copies. This was partly dictated by financial considerations: increased printing and delivery costs contribute to the very high unit cost of the few hard copies we distribute, and we felt that these funds were better used in grant giving. We are also conscious of the environmental impact of producing printed copies, even when these are recycled once read.

Dr David Saunders

Chairman

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2021/22 3

Grants awarded in 2021/22

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 nearly £63,000. This is less than in pre-pandemic years, principally because the programme of in-person courses and conference has been slow to pick up and resulted in fewer CPD grants than anticipated. In addition, several Plowden Scholar grantees were unable to raise the balance of funds they required so deferred their places; we hope to support them in 2023.

4 The Anna Plowden Trust

Plowden Scholarships

In 2021/22 the Trust received 41 applications for Plowden Scholarships. In all, 23 grants were awarded but only 21 could be taken up, so the total amount given was £44,800. Generous support from the Dulverton Trust and other funders made it possible for us to make awards at this level.

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.

Those awarded Plowden Scholarships in 2021 and 2022 are studying at eight institutions on eleven different conservation programmes.

University of Cardiff

MSc Conservation Practice

City and Guilds of London Art School BA Conservation: Stone, Wood and Decorative Surfaces

The Courtauld Institute of Art

PGDip Conservation of Easel Paintings MA Conservation of Easel Paintings MA Conservation of Wall Paintings

University College London, Institute of Archaeology

University of Glasgow: Kelvin Centre for Conservation & Cultural Heritage Research MPhil Textile Conservation

West Dean College

University of York

MA Stained Glass Conservation and Heritage Management

MSc Conservation for Archaeology and Museums

University of Durham

MA Conservation of Archaeological and Museum Objects

Previous page: Megan Buchanan-Smith removing the remnants of varnish from David Morier’s Private, 11th Dragoons , 1751 by applying solvent through evolon tissue (see page 10).

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2021/22 5

Anna Plowden/Clothworkers’ Foundation CPD Grants

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 2022 we continued our valuable partnership with The Clothworkers’ Foundation.

The pandemic played havoc with the CPD events calendar around the globe and it is taking longer than we had anticipated for in-person courses and conferences to rebound. Our CPD grants budget for the year was £27,500 but, in the event, we awarded 20 grants to a total value of £17,985.

The Clothworkers’ Foundation’s Proactive Conservation Grant programme ended in 2019, after running since 2007, but its support for conservation CPD has continued, for which the Trustees and colleagues in the sector are enormously grateful.

We were delighted when, in autumn 2022, The Clothworkers’ Foundation awarded the Trust a CPD grant commitment for a further five years. This will ensure that we can continue to award CPD grants in the coming years, whilst giving us time to seek other sources of funding for the longer term.

Jordan Megyery practising scratch repair and infills on a photograph face-mounted with acrylic (see page 17).

6 The Anna Plowden Trust

The Anna Plowden/Clothworkers’ Foundation Covid-19 Fund

Covid-19 had a huge impact on the ability of conservation courses to offer laboratory and practical work to students. 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 that we could use some of the Anna Plowden/Clothworkers’ Foundation CPD fund to support these students. The Covid-19 Fund provided grants to students and early career conservators, enabling them to undertake work placements.

Whilst the main grant-giving took place during 2020 and 2021, a few final grants were awarded during 2022. Over the life of the Covid-19 Fund 56 grants were awarded to a total value of £30,998; 39 grants were made to students and 17 to recent graduates. We know from the recipients how valuable these grants were in enabling them to secure placements and so extend their practical experience. We were delighted to learn that a number of the recent graduates who were supported secured longer term or permanent employment as a direct result.

Joshua Hill on a visit to Buddhist grotto site Matisi (see page 25-26). Image courtesy Ilsa Haeusler.

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2021/22 7

Our Supporters and Sponsors

Measuring 17th-century tapestry belonging to a private client at Zenzie Tinker Conservation Ltd (see page 13). Image: Tabitha Gibbs.

The Trustees are most grateful to the following trusts, foundations and companies, for their generous support for our work during the year:

8 The Anna Plowden Trust

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.

We are also very grateful to those who made further donations to the Robert Shepherd Memorial Fund during the year. Established in memory of the leading painting conservator, Robert Shepherd, it is being used to fund one Scholarship and at least one CPD grant a year until it is exhausted.

This year, the Robert Shepherd Scholar is Megan Buchanan-Smith, a student on the PG Diploma in the Conservation of Easel Paintings at the Courtauld Institute of Art. The Robert Shepherd CPD grant was awarded to Rowan Frame, enabling her to attend Structural Treatments of Paintings: Reinforcement with the MistLining System. Megan and Rowan’s reports can be found on pages 10 and 16 respectively.

Finally, the Trustees would like to record thanks to former Plowden Scholar Katerina Williams, a West Dean graduate who now works as an Archive Conservator at the National Archives, who continues to volunteer with the Trust and masterminds our presence on Instagram.

Seren Kitchener, using a humidity pencil to relax the emulsion on a glass plate negative ready for adhering back on to the plate (see page 14). Image: Seren Kitchener.

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2021/22 9

The Impact of the Trust’s Support: Plowden Scholars

The Trust’s support makes an immense difference to conservation students, as these brief case studies from the Plowden Scholars in 2022 show.

Megan Buchanan-Smith

PG Diploma in the Conservation of Easel Paintings Courtauld Institute of Art

I was fortunate to be awarded the Robert Shepherd Scholarship which allowed me to continue my training in paintings conservation for a second year at The Courtauld Institute of Art.

My second year has built on the broad theoretical and practical knowledge I gained during my first. I am conserving two paintings: a military portrait by David Morier owned by the Royal Collection Trust and a 19th-century portrait of a black female sitter. These projects have allowed me to develop my skills in a range of treatments, including removing thick dirt and discoloured varnish layers and retouching paint losses. I am also undertaking a technical analysis of The Courtauld Gallery’s Salvator Mundi , Circle of Marco d’Oggiono (c. 1467-1524).

Right: Removing the aged varnish from David Morier’s Private, 11th Dragoons , 1751. Next page: Undertaking analysis of the paint surface of a copy of Nicolas Poussin’s A Dance to the Music of Time using light microscopy.

I have gained insight into the various conservation issues faced by different institutions through summer placements at galleries and a group project offering advice to the National Trust on their preventive conservation strategies at Erddig House in North Wales. I am preparing to conduct a technical study of Erddig’s group of servant portraits for my third-year dissertation.

I am very grateful for the Trust’s generous Scholarship, and to the generous donors to the Robert Shepherd Memorial Fund. Their support is making possible my journey towards becoming a professional conservator.

10 The Anna Plowden Trust

Scarlett Crow

MA in the Conservation of Archaeological and Museum Objects Durham University

With the support of the Plowden Scholarship, I was not only granted financial relief, but also offered the freedom to pursue additional opportunities during the placement year of my MA at Durham.

During the 2021/22 academic year I was allocated a placement at York Archaeology, gaining experience of a commercial conservation laboratory. Highlights included working on an Anglo-Saxon sword as my first object, lifting a shield boss from a grave in North Yorkshire, and treating a starvationer boat at the National Coal Mining Museum, Wakefield, which is now on display in the museum’s Power House.

Two of the additional opportunities I was able to pursue were the attendance at a laser cleaning course at Manchester Museum and taking part in a Conservation in Action event at the National Railway Museum. Thanks to the Plowden Scholarship I was also able to attend a second placement at Leeds Museums and Galleries, giving me an insight into conservation within a large institution.

At the end of my placement, I was fortunate enough to be offered employment as an Assistant Conservator with York Archaeology, where I am working on projects such as the HMS Gloucester, a 17th-century shipwreck, with appearances on BBC news explaining the conservation of the objects that have been lifted from the seabed.

Applying lacquer with an airbrush to a brass flower stand from St Mary’s Church, Studley Royal. Courtesy of English Heritage and York Archaeology.

12 The Anna Plowden Trust

Tabitha Gibbs

MPhil Textile Conservation

The Kelvin Centre for Conservation and Cultural Heritage Research, University of Glasgow

I was delighted to receive a Plowden Scholarship towards my fees for the first year of my MPhil in Textile Conservation at the University of Glasgow. This year gave me a solid grounding in the practical techniques and theory of textile conservation, and I encountered a wide variety of textiles including costumes, tapestries, and archaeological materials. At the end of the year, I undertook professional placements at Zenzie Tinker Conservation Ltd, where I experienced working in a commercial conservation practice, and at the Reiss-Engelhorn Museum in Mannheim, Germany, where I gained an international perspective on conservation.

I am very lucky that I have also received funding from the Trust for my final year. So far this year, I have been developing advanced conservation skills, which will lead to my dissertation research in the final term. The specialist staff, equipment, and networks to which I have had access at Glasgow have been invaluable for me as I build my career as an emerging professional in the field. I truly believe all of this would not have been possible without the Anna Plowden Trust to whom I am very grateful.

Tabitha carrying out support stitching on a 17th-Century tapestry belonging to a private client at Zenzie Tinker Conservation Ltd. Image: Tabitha Gibbs.

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2021/22 13

Seren Kitchener

MSc Conservation Practice Cardiff University

The generous Scholarship from the Anna Plowden Trust allowed me to dedicate myself fully to my studies which I focused toward photographic collections. Furthermore, being able to study the subject intensively, due to the Trust’s support, allowed me to explore other areas of object conservation, including the repair of an Ancient Egyptian stela, and taking part in a consulting group for the preventive conservation of a special collections library.

During my studies, I conserved glass plate negatives in various states of decay which presented their own individual challenges. The amount of learning I was able to embark on helped build my practical confidence, as well as encourage my ability to research and test different methods of repair. The work I carried out on the Egyptian stela, contributed to the overall understanding of its origins and history, and it is set for display in the Egypt Centre, Swansea.

Since the completion of the course in September 2022, I have found work as a Collections Officer for the Science Museum Group where I work as part of the One Collection Project. The support of the trust allowed me to embark on a Masters and gave me great confidence. Without that support, I would not have achieved this role, which I truly love, in such an esteemed organisation.

Seren Kitchener using tension rods to hold glass pieces of a plate negative in place ready for filling. Image: Seren Kitchener.

14 Plowden Scholars

Tia Ryder

MSc Conservation Practice

Cardiff University

The generosity and support of the Anna Plowden Trust has allowed me to pursue a masters course that I truly enjoy. The Conservation Practice MSc at Cardiff University combines the theory of conservation with practical sessions in a cohesive manner. Coming from a history background it is so enlightening to see the objects up close and play my own role in their history.

My first museum piece is to conserve a beaver skull, which has increased my familiarity with the use of FTIR, to deduce the adhesive used in the previous repairs, and the photography studio. It has been such a rewarding process researching the treatment of osteological collections and learning about case studies in museums across the world. This first year has allowed me to grow and understand the decision-making process behind conservation practice.

The faith and confidence placed in my ability by Anna Plowden Trustees has granted me a place on a course that is hugely rewarding. I cannot wait for second year and my future within the heritage sector, which would not have been possible without the funding of the Anna Plowden Trust.

Top: Photographing the beaver skull before treatment. Bottom: Cleaning the beaver skull with a 50:50 IMS and deionised water solution. Image: Naomi Hadfield.

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2021/22 15

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

In-person CPD courses and conferences are taking a while to pick up following the pandemic, but in 2021/22 a total of 20 grants were awarded, of which these are a few examples.

Rowan Frame

Paintings Conservator at Julia Nagle Ltd Attended Structural Treatments of Paintings: Reinforcement with the Mist-Lining System in Arcore, Italy

Thanks to the generous support from the Anna Plowden Trust’s Robert Shepherd Fund I was able to attend a three-day mist-lining workshop. It was delivered by paintings conservators from Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg (SRAL), The Netherlands, where the mist lining technique was developed to provide support for paintings with significantly weakened canvas supports.

The technique involves misting a support textile with synthetic adhesive and then attaching the textile to the original painting reverse in a low-pressure envelope. Unlike more traditional lining techniques, mist-lining does not involve water, heat or high pressures, and it can be reversed, which makes it a potentially useful option, for example, for treating some water-sensitive modern paintings. The workshop comprised one day of lectures and two days of practice.

Through carrying out mist-linings of mock paintings, I gained the tools to consider, prepare and perform the method. Numerous presentations of case studies from SRAL helped me to understand how to modify the system when needed, and to understand where the decision to mist-line could be appropriate in my future work.

Rowan preparing a lining canvas with a misted application of adhesive inside a polythene tent in preparation for the low-pressure lining.

16 The Anna Plowden Trust

Jordan Megyery

Conservator Contemporary Art (Photographs), Tate Attended The Big Picture Workshop, Museum of Modern Art, New York

I was fortunate enough to receive an Anna Plowden/ Clothworkers’ Foundation CPD Grant to support my attendance at the ‘Big Picture’ workshop, organised by AIC/ FAIC Photographic Materials Group, in May 2022. The four-day workshop was aptly held at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, and focused on the unique challenges in the presentation, display, and preservation of large and oversized photographic artworks. I wanted to attend this workshop to enhance my existing knowledge and gain the skills necessary to care for the complex and ever-growing collection of large format photographs at Tate.

The comprehensive programme included presentations from experts in the field, panel discussions around cold storage and replication, hands-on practical conservation workshops, a field visit to MoMA’s storage facilities, and a trip to a printing and mounting studio where we saw the making and mounting of an oversized photograph in action.

This workshop was an invaluable experience, I learnt a great deal and I will now be able to implement these lessons to inform the care of oversized photographic artworks in Tate’s collection. What’s more, I have connected with a network of photograph conservators whom I can continue to learn from and collaborate with in the future.

Meredith Reiss and Katie Sanderson demonstrating the rolling and vacuum sealing of a large photographic print. Image: Jordan Megyery.

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2021/22 17

Marisa Prandelli

Sculpture Conservator at National Museums Liverpool Attended The Green Conservation Conference in Rome

This conference was organised by Youth in Conservation of Cultural Heritage (www.yococu.com) as a forum for discussion and collaboration between science research and conservation professionals and to facilitate the innovation of new technologies and practices.

The topics covered ranged from biotechnology applications and development of bio-based products to nanotechnology and green solvents for reducing waste, dangerous chemical products, and hazardous solvents.

The following points were emphasised:

One of the speakers discussed the health problems facing conservators due to the use of solvents, following a discussion of the EU Reach Regulation 2018 (and, here, the UK REACH regulation). It is vital to reduce health and environmental risks by using safer chemicals within conservation. There was also a discussion on calculating the carbon footprint after finishing a conservation project and, for example, the planting of new trees to offset a project’s environmental impact.

It was an interesting conference which widened my knowledge of sustainable practices around the world. I am now looking for opportunities for collaboration between cultural heritage institutions to share knowledge and initiatives to reduce the health and environmental impacts of conservation.

A green product Polar Varnish Rescue for cleaning treatments on works of art.

18 The Anna Plowden Trust

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.

Jenny Gonzalez Corugo

Plowden Scholar 2017-2019 Conservation of Easel Paintings Intern at the Guildhall Art Gallery

I am immensely grateful to Anna Plowden Trust for granting me Plowden Scholarships in consecutive years which helped fund my PgDip studies at The Courtauld. The Trust’s support allowed me to finish the three-year course that prepared me to work in a museum environment.

Jenny cleaning a painting under the microscope at the Guildhall Art Gallery.

19 The Anna Plowden Trust

----- Start of picture text -----
Being a Plowden Scholar has helped me fulfil my
dream of working as a Conservation Intern at an
extraordinary gallery in London.
----- End of picture text -----

Currently, at the Guildhall Art Gallery, I am excited to be helping in the condition checking and preparation of paintings for exhibition, loan, and display. I have the privilege of treating several large-scale paintings for the exhibition The Big City , which runs from February to late April and will include works that have never been displayed in London before.

My technical examination of paintings in the collection has brought fascinating results, which will be used to provide original information to visitors. I am also benefitting from the use of a museum collection management system, and from many new experiences such as participating in meetings with curators, registrars, and technicians, consulting with living artists, and overseeing an exhibition hanging.

Above: Jenny Gonzalez Corujo performing cleaning tests on a painting at the Guildhall Art Gallery.

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2022 20

Lizzie Fuller

Plowden Scholar 2017-2019

Paper Conservator at the National Library of Scotland

The invaluable support of the Anna Plowden Trust enabled me to undertake a Masters in Paper Conservation at Camberwell College of Arts and begin developing my career as an emerging paper conservator. After graduating in 2019 I joined the British Library as Digitisation Conservator. This role involved working across multiple projects to condition assess and apply treatments to varied collections and materials in order to stabilise them to undergo the digitisation process. I was privileged to work with Tudor and Stuart manuscripts, Japanese design books, Javanese manuscripts and a 9th-century Chinese scroll for the International Dunhuang Project. Working across such a wide range of material increased my knowledge of the materiality of paper-based materials and developed my confidence in decision-making.

I have applied this experience to my current role as a conservator at the National Library of Scotland. Here, too, I manage multiple projects of varied objects, but this time to enable access for readers, to prepare items for exhibition and loan and to contribute to long-term stability. I really enjoy the learning aspect of my chosen career and hope to continue developing as a conservator and contributing to the sector.

Using magnification when consolidating a painting at the National Library of Scotland. Image: Gemma Mathieson.

21 The Anna Plowden Trust

Lizzie Fuller preparing transparent paper architectural plans for lining treatment at the National Library of Scotland. Image: Gemma Mathieson.

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2021/22 22

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Dr Joshua Hill

Plowden Scholar 2018/2019 Academic Fellow in Cultural Heritage, Nottingham Trent University

The Anna Plowden Trust generously supported my final year (2018/19) of the three-year Conservation of Wall Painting MA at The Courtauld Institute of Art. Since graduation I have undertaken a mixture of conservation and teaching roles.

Directly after the MA I spent two months as an intern at the Dunhuang Academy in China working at the extraordinary World Heritage site of the Mogao Grottoes and visiting sites in the region.

In 2021/22 I was a Graduate Intern at the Getty Conservation Institute where I worked on dissemination of the Conservation and Management of the Tomb of Tutankhamen project and on two pre-conference workshops at Terra 2022 on the analysis of earthen materials and on grouting for wall paintings on earthen plasters.

In September 2022, I joined Nottingham Trent University as an Academic Fellow in Cultural Heritage at researching issues in the conservation of wall paintings, particularly those painted on gypsum and earth plasters.

Previous page: Joshua Hill as an intern at the Mogao Grottoes, China undertaking remedial interventions. This page (wall painting detail). Image © Dunhuang Academy.

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2022

24

Inspiring the Future

What is Inspiring the Future?

Were you inspired to work in conservation because of someone you knew or someone you saw? It is often said that “You can’t be what you can’t see”. Very few young people get the chance to meet a conservator and as a consequence the number aspiring to work in conversation is very low. So many young people are missing out on the chance of a fulfilling career simply because they have never been given the chance to meet someone like you. But with your help we can change this - just one hour of your time chatting informally to children can make all the difference and, as you can see from Carol’s experience, an enjoyable one. You can do so really quickly and easily via Inspiring the Future, the free national online match-making service which connects volunteers and schools.

Sign up here and help us inspire the next generation and show them what is possible.

Nick Chambers

Chief Executive Inspiring the Future www.inspiringthefuture.org

Top and middle: School students enthusiastically engaged in an ItF session on conservation.

Bottom: Carol Weiss contributing to an online ItF session from the Hirayama Studio at the British Museum (see following page).

25 The Anna Plowden Trust

Experience as an ItF volunteer

Carol Weiss, Trustee of the Anna Plowden Trust and Conservator of Chinese Paintings at the British Museum, writes here about her involvement with Inspiring the Future.

The Trustees strongly believe that young people from all backgrounds should be aware of conservation as a potential career path. Yet due to the current nature of conservation training (much in the form of postgraduate courses) many of the future conservators we come into contact with via our Scholarship schemes have already had to jump many hurdles to get to that stage.

In a bid to help make the world of conservation more easily accessible and diverse, the Anna Plowden Trust connected with Inspiring the Future (ItF). This is a free match-making service that connects volunteers with primary and secondary schools in an innovative, interactive way. Nick Chambers came to speak to the Trustees and stressed the importance of introducing primary schoolchildren to as many different spheres of work as possible at an early age. Speaking personally, I first heard about paper conservation (my particular field) in my final year at university - how much better and exciting would it have been to learn that such a career was possible earlier?

Recent years have certainly seen advances in online meeting platforms, and since signing up to Inspiring the Future, I have been invited to speak, via Zoom, to schoolchildren from Soho to Sunderland about my career in Chinese paintings conservation. I’ve taken part in a

variety of formats, from pre-recorded presentations to live sessions with several classrooms at once, to What’s My Line style-quizzing, where students have had to guess my particular branch of work.

All I can say is that I hope the schoolchildren enjoyed the sessions as much as me! Their questions have always been thoughtful and engaged, and speaking purely selfishly, taking part has always given me a boost, reminding me just how lucky I am to do the work I do!

It couldn’t be easier to sign up online. Requests are sent from schools via the ItF platform to your email and you can easily accept or reject them according to your availability. And as well as virtual options, there is also the possibility to physically attend careers talks etc - all requests vary and can be flexible to you.

The Anna Plowden Trust is committed to finding ways of promoting conservation to wider, more diverse audiences, and using Inspiring the Future is a straightforward, enjoyable way to do so. Our alumni are the best advocates for a career in conservation that we know, so please do sign up here quoting Anna Plowden Trust.

I hope that before long an applicant for a Plowden Scholarship will say they were inspired by an ItF talk that they heard at school!

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2021/22 26

Annual Report

Of the Trustees for the twelve months to 30 November 2022

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

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.

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 370 Plowden Scholarships and over 380 CPD Grants. In total, the Trust has distributed over £1,000,000 towards its principal aims of improving skills in, and awareness of, conservation.

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;

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

During 2020, 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 and recent graduates whose practical work was cut short because of the lockdowns. This scheme continued through 2021 and the final grants from the Covid-19 Fund were awarded during 2022 (see page7).

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 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.

The public benefits that flow from this are:

27 The Anna Plowden Trust

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 (to 19 April 2022) 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 also from donations.

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 £1,000,000 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 2022 were to seek to maximise investment income and grants receivable and to award grants totalling at least £75,000. In the event income reached £105,268 and grants totalling £62,785 were awarded.

The Trust’s objectives for 2023 remain the same, again with the aim of awarding grants totalling £90,000 if resources allow.

Accordingly, it is the Trust’s policy to attempt to maintain an 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.

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2021/22 28

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 30th November 2022 which are set out on pages 31 to 33.

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; or

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 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.

  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.

I have no concerns and have come across 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.

C J Besley

Retired FCT (Fellow of the Association of Corporate Treasurers) 120 Dora Road, London, SW19 7HJ

7 March 2023

29 The Anna Plowden Trust

Scarlett Crow laser cleaning a Hippopotamus skull at Manchester Museum (see page 12). Courtesy of Manchester Museum, The University of Manchester.

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2021/22 30

Statement of Financial Activities

For year ended 30 November 2022

November 2022 November 2022 November 2022
Notes
2022
2021
£
£
INCOME
Grants and donatons
– unrestricted
5,800.00
3,737.50
– restricted
1
67,125.00
66,575.00
– Shepherd Fund
2
10,000.00
–
82,925.00
70,312.50
Bank interest
110.29
32.89
Investment income
22,233.93
19,877.54
22,344.22
19,910.43
Total Income
105,269.22
90,222,93
EXPENDITURE
Grants made
Scholarships
Anna Plowden Trust
(41,800.00)
(55,050.00)
Shepherd Fund
(3,000.00)
(6,000.00)
(44,800.00)
(61,050.00)
CPD
Anna Plowden Trust
(17,535.00)
(25,605.00)
Shepherd Fund
(460.00)
–
(17,985.00)
(25,605.00)
Less: CPD awards in 2019/20 for courses which subsequently cancelled
–
8,216.00
17,985 .00
17,389.00
Total awards made
(62,785.00)
(78,439.00)
Management and administraton
Trustee expenses
(58.15)
(–)
Fundraising and related expenses
(5,826.98)
(3,657.38)
Other expenses
(458.80)
(3,338.60)
Total expenditure
 (6,343.93)
(6,995.98)
(69,128.93)
(85,434.98)
Net incoming/(outgoing) resources
Surplus/(loss) on revaluation of investments

Net movement in funds
Total funds bfwd
 36,140.29
4,787.95
(11,926.21)
52,879.77
24,214.08
57,667.72
712,165.76
654,498.04		 4,787.95
52,879.77
Total funds cfwd
£736,379.84
£ 712,165.76

31 The Anna Plowden Trust

Balance Sheet

For the year ended 30 November 2022

30 November 2022
Notes 2022
£		 2021
£
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
3
Cash at bank
Term deposit		 5,873.75
98,269.69
50,000.00		 4,713.75
76,514.30
50,000.00
154,143.44 131,228.05
INVESTMENTS
4
BMO Responsible Sterling Bond Fund
BMO Responsible UK Income Fund
M&G Charifund
Property Income Trust for Charities
Cazenove Responsible Mult-Asset Fund A		 –
–
94,109.15
504,238.13		 86,004.65
326,959.76
94,230.28
103,078.80
598,347.28 610,273.49
Total Assets 752,490.72 741,501.54
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Grants committed but unpaid
5
Other Creditors		 (15,315.00)
(795.88)		 (28,345.00)
(990.78)
NET ASSETS
Represented by:		 (16,110.88)
£736,379.84
 (29,335.78)
£712,165.76
General Purpose Fund
Restricted Fund
1
Shepherd Fund
2		 660,007.34
48,015.00
28,357.50		 654,868.26
36,000.00
21,297.50
Total Funds £736,379.84 £712,165.76

Signed on the Trustees behalf on 6 March 2023 by:

David Saunders Francis Plowden Chairman Treasurer

Review of the Year & Annual Report 2021/22 32

Notes to the Accounts

For the year ended 30 November 2022

1. Restricted Fund

The Trust will usually classify all grants from other Trusts as restricted for the use of scholarships, CPD awards and other training purposes. Donations received which the Trust did not utilise in the current year because they were paid in advance for use in follwing years 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.

2. Shepherd Fund

Funds raised by the family and friends of the late Robert Shepherd in his memory.The Trust has agreed to administer the amounts raised and to make scholarsip and CPD awards each year from the fund.

3. Debtors

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

4. Investments

4. Investments
BMO Bond
BMO Equity
M&G
Mayfair
Schroders
Fund
Fund
Charifund
PITCH
£
£
£
£		 Total
£
Balances bfwd
88,664.59
292,818.62
94,230.28
103,078.80
nil
Value at 30/11/22
nil
nil
nil
94,109.15
504,238.13
(Decrease) in value of investments		 610,273.49
598,347.28
(11,926.21)

In the course of the year the Trust realised its investments in the BMO and M&G Funds and reinvested the proceeds in the SUTL Cazenove Charity Responsible Multi-Asset Fund A.

5. Grants committed but unpaid.

33 The Anna Plowden Trust

Tabitha Gibbs testing out solvents for spot cleaning staining on textile samples (see page 13). Image: Tabitha Gibbs.

The Anna Plowden Trust

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

Registered Charity No. 1072236