SL Thomas. Unlted Refornied Church. Watford
REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31" DECEMBER 2023
Thls report indudes Information requlred by the Charities (Accounts and
Reports) Regulations 2011 and the Statement of Recommended Practice for
Accounting by Charltles 2015 as applicable to charities entitled to prepare
accounts on the recelpts and payments basis.
Admlnlstratlve Information
St. Thomas, United Reforned Church, Watford, Is part of the Scroll Church
Local Ecumenical Partnership. This is a slngle congregatlon local ecumenical
partnership (LEP) between St. Thomas, URC and North Watford Methodlst
Church. The constitution of The Scroll Church was adopted on 23° September
2017 and establlshed it as the charitable, unlncorporated association governed
by that Constltutlon. The Scroll Church Is not required at present to register
wlth the Charlty Commlsslon.
St. Thomas, Unlted Refonned Church remalns responslble for the management
of the church property at 68 Langley Road, Watford and the manse at 185
Casslobury Drlve Watford. The properties are vested in URC Thames North
Trust (company no. 75432) as trustees for the beneflt of St. Thomas, URC In
accordance wlth the statutory tnjsts applicable to URC propertles. St Thomas,
URC is a local church of the Unlted Reformed Churd) In Great Brltaln and is
member of the Thames North Synod. It Is administered In accordan￿ with the
provislons of the Structure of the United Reformed Church determined by the
General Assembly of the Unlted Reformed Church and supplemented by the
rules of St. Thomas, URC. The flnandal attivities of the Church were required
by law to be reglstered as a charlty. The governing document of the Charlty
th
was adopted by the Church Meetlng on 28 June 2009. The Charlty was
th
reglstered by the Charlty Commission on 10 August 2009 as CharSty Number
1131058.
Planning pemlssloon was glven durlng 2015 for the redevelopment of the
Langely Road site with a smaller church and some houses. The Langley Road
bullding was closed at the end of 2015 in preparation for this. Slnce January
2016 the congregatlon has worshipped wlth the North Watford Methodist
Church in Its premlses at The Harebreaks, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD24 6NF
and the LEP was established In 2017. The intentlon was to move to Langley
Road when the redevelopment of the URC slte was completed.
Further Infonnat5on about The Scroll Church can be found at
htt
th
Ilchurch.

Structure• Governance and Management
With the formation of the LEP, and In accordance with its constStutlon, the
Trustee5 of The Scroll Church, known as the Leadership Team, exerclse the
functions of the Elders Meeting of St. Thomas, URC, and The Scroll Church
congregational meeting (of all member5 wlshlng to attend) glves general
gUIdan￿ on the life and work of the Church.
The Trustees consist of the Minister having pastoral charye with up to twelve
members elected by the congregation, six of URC origin and six of Methodist
orlgln, whose perlod of servlce Is three years. There Is no limlt on the number
of consecutlve periods of their senlice. Their responsibilitles span the Ilfe and
work of the congregation, the finanaal administration of the Church and the
care and malntenance of Church premises and the manse.
The members of the Scroll Church Leadership Team who served from 1°
January 2023 until the date this report was approved are:
Revd Dr Donna Fowler-marchant
Mrs Catherlne Baldwln (untll July 2023)
Mr Jlm Clark
Mrs Elalne Falres (from 18.02.24)
Mr Mlchael Hlll
Mrs Margaret Ingram
Mrs Iren Jasko
Mr Vernon Lane
Mrs Wendy Nugent
Mrs Frances Raymond
Mrs Katle Scott
Dr Jean Stevenson
Mr Charles Vlnan
The Scroll Church is one of seven Churches forming the South Herts Group of
United Refonned Churches, a Local Area Group within the Thames North
Synod, and one of 20 Churches In the Methodlst West Hertfordshlre and
Borders Circult whlch Is part of the Bedfordshlre, Essex and Hertfordshlre
District of the Methodlst Church.
Objectives and Activities
The activities of St Thomas. URC through the LEP are described irt The Scroll
Church's own report. There Is nothlng further to describe he￿.
The Leadershlp Team Is aware of the Charlty Commlsslon s guidance on public
benefit in -The Advancement of Religion for the Public Benefit" and has regard
to It In the admlnistratlon of the Church.

Review of Actmties and Athievernents
The projett to redevelop the Langley Road site has agaln made slow progress.
The 2019 planning permission needed renewing but this was not progressed by
the developer who subsequently indlcated that the scheme is not viable.
Flnanclal revlew
The registered charfty's accounts are attached to thls report. As prevlously
reported, St. Thomas. Charlty's Income durfng 2023 was principally from the
letting of the manse. Apart from costs In connettion with the manse, ongoing
expenses are prlndpally for the resldual malntenance, insurance and elettricity
costs of the Langley Road property, and the off-site storage of fumiture which
may be needed In the new building.
URC Thames North Trust holds for the church, Investments known as the
Church Malntenance Endowment and the Manse Malntenance Endownment
Fund. Thelr use is ￿$tricted accordlngly.
Thls report was approved by the Trustees on 7 th July 2024 and Is slgned on
thelr behalf by the Mlnlster, the Revd. Dr. Donna Fowler-marchant.

FINAIICIAL STATEMEiifs FOR THE YEAR ENI)ED 31 DECEI1￿ 21)23
REceipTS AIID PAThIEltrs AccouNr
TIM# Yèar
Fw¥ts£
T¢tsl £
Toiai £
Offerings for Suoll Churth
Fund taising and (k)nat
Propwty. lettwvJ
1x31
30.18&31
1¢IJ69A7
74
74
&04
30.18&31
74
30.23￿06
11OM51
PAYMENTS
Mi'nisty & Ml8sion Fm1
Churth running costs
13MI.OD
4M11
Mairttenanco ofthuth Iwiktirys
Manse colts
4478
1771
U7UD 23,667.06
2.4XOO
9.000.00
945.17
NEf RECEivf8 I (PAYMENTS)
44.74
TRANSFERS bolwMI fun08
CASH FUNDS bllwd 1 January
701.90
1.75
32 657.30
CASH FUND3 drfftl 31 Decw
39.615.50
14671.64
Cash
8ank CuTr8nt Account
36.729.01
&BB6A9 3.886.49
1467&64
3,836.71
39.615AO
1&5113S
Grftlknd tecovwat4
Buildings under ststtrtThylntyts
10
11 URC P*MhTrwt
Ll*billlleB
and slgn•d rn tholr b•halP.

kn>w£
4&74
knJw£
841.75
74
TNIY
L•#Y•w
Tthd£
210.11
{8B8 Noto 111
Lkencw and ffl￿t
T¥airrir¥J
PUW SOY
Ccffimknentfty U

L#*YE
T*1£
TsJt•i£
1M.12
15XOO *
150A¥J
S8U04
9 I>FT AID
14.101
13.204 PAlghd ty Tntyt
TOTAL

., ST THOPIW UNffU> REFORMED CHURCH WATFORD CHARITY {No 1131058)
Charity forthe Jtar el￿ts￿ 31 D￿nber2ff23
RMpon•lbMitles •Thl ba•1• of rnp￿t
with ihe requirement ofthe Charitss Act 2011 fthe ￿.
I report in resFect of my examinatN)n of the Charivs ￿nts c•J (xrt undw seclkn 145 cllhe 2011 P
and in carrylng out my examK￿￿jn I fr￿k¥￿￿j the apfvlle gr4en by the C￿lty
, Commjsstt￿ und¢r 145(5Xb) ofthe P
200 Batth￿n$ Lana
Rickman8worth
Herts WD3 3LQ