Chairman’s Report 2023/24
AGM 7 June 2024
This is the fourth, and final, year in which the Essex Museum Development Officer post has been hosted by Colchester City Council, through Colchester and Ipswich Museums, with support from Museums Essex and SHARE Museums East. Funding for the current hosting arrangement ended on 31 March 2024 after which the Essex MDO will be managed by a new organisation Museum Development South East (MDSE) based in Norwich. Your chair was heavily involved in the complex and lengthy negotiations around the new delivery arrangements for museum delivery in the county, ensuring that the interests of Museums Essex were taken into consideration. It is exceedingly good to be able to report to the AGM that it has been possible to retain Sarah Sinka as our MDO, ensuring continuity in this vital role for Essex museums.
During the last year Sarah has continued to establish links between the MDO and museums and heritage sites in Essex, having visited over 50 museums to meet staff, see the venue and provide support as needed. Visits have also made by the chair in recent months to the University of Essex, Braintree Museum, St Osyth Museum and Manningtree Museum. Two letters have been sent to The National Lottery Heritage Fund in support of funding applications by two of our members.
One of the key tasks of the MDO is providing advice relating to Accreditation, whether to those considering becoming Accreditated museums or those in the process of submitting an Accreditation return. During the year, several members have become Accredited including, for the first time, the Brewster Centre at Colne Valley Railway and, after a lapse of several years, Harlow Museum and Walled Garden. The Essex Police Museum, Braintree District Museum, the Warner Textile Archive, Brentwood Museum and Burnham-on-Crouch & District Museum have also achieved Full Accreditation and all are to be congratulated on their success.
There have been four members’s meetings of Museums Essex during the year; at Copped Hall (AGM), Brightlingsea Museum, Southend Museum and online. The charity’s trustees have met on two occasions in May and November. Dr Mark Curteis joined the trustees during the year.
Our membership is holding very steady and is currently at 53 organisations covering 69 sites. It is more than double the figure of five years ago.
Following Museums Essex becoming a member of the Association for Independent Museums in 2022, we again supported the Essex MDO’s attendance at the AIM annual conference which was held in Edinburgh in June 2023.
During the year Museums Essex have funded the introduction of the ‘Wheels of Time’ project in Essex. This is an initiative to raise awareness of local history and heritage amongst children aged 5 to 11 through earning badges by visiting museums. The scheme originally began in Kent in 2015 and is now spreading to other English counties. Nineteen Essex museums have already signed up to the scheme which will be formally launched at an event at Brightlingsea Museum in June 2024.
The Essex Museum Development newsletter is supported by regular emails and social media activity to ensure that the county’s museums receive up to date information on the latest
developments in the museum sector. The Museums Essex website at museums-essex.org contains sections on membership, individual members, the Grants Scheme, case studies and contacts. Further contributions from members are always welcome.
An eleventh round of the Small Grants Scheme was opened during the year with a focus on interpretation, learning and events. This round attracted the largest number of applications for several years. Grants were made to Chelmsford Museum, Ingatestone Museum, Ongar Millenium History Society, Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome and Boxted Airfield Museum. The grant programme has continued to be managed by a Sub-Committee chaired by Philip Wise supported by Carolyn Wingfield (Saffron Walden Museum) and Dr Sarah Demelo (University of Essex) whose institutions are not eligible for grants whilst on the Sub-Committee. Museums Essex continues to believe these grants are an important benefit for its members and it is intended that a further round will be launched in the Autumn of 2024
During the year, the trustees took the decision to raise subscriptions by a small amount in recognition of the fact that there had been no rise since Museums Essex was established ten years ago. The charity’s costs have increased recently, particularly our membership of Harwell which has doubled in the last 12 months. Subscription rates will be kept under review both to ensure that the fairest possible banding is used and also that we continue to broadly raise enough income to cover our running costs.
I am very grateful to Sarah Sinka for providing administrative support to Museums Essex, including preparing the agendas, producing the minutes and technical support during our online meetings. This assistance is much appreciated and has ensured that things have run smoothly during the year.
I would also like to thank my fellow Trustees for their contribution to the work of the charity: the Vicechair Dr Sarah Demelo, the Treasurer Gordon Cummings, Rob Sharp, Carolyn Wingfield, Polly Redman and Dr Mark Curteis. I would particularly like to thank Carolyn Wingfield who is stepping down at this AGM after many years of service on the committee. Carolyn has made a very significant contribution to Museums Essex, in particular as a member of the Small Grants SubCommittee and in relation to archaeological archives including our guidelines for the preparation and deposition of archaeological archives in the county. We are also very dependent upon the ongoing support of Jamie Everitt (formerly SHARE Museums East, now MDSE) and Dr Frank Hargrave (Colchester and Ipswich Museums) to whom I am very grateful.
Looking ahead to the coming year, Museums Essex aims to continue to support and develop membership benefits through an affordable fee based on income; participate fully in the new delivery mechanism for museum development in Essex, including working in close collaboration with the MDSE team and the Essex MDO; continue to support the ‘Wheels of Time’ project in the county; provide advocacy for the heritage sector of Essex in partnership with MDSE; provide a Small Grants Scheme; enable free membership of the Harwell Disaster Recovery Service for small and medium-sized museums; create opportunities for networking and provide inspirational case studies of museum development at our meetings, whether virtual or at member museums.
Finally, I am planning to stand down as your Chair at the 2025 AGM and will be seeking, in conjunction with my fellow trustees, a successor during the coming year.
Philip J Wise MA (Cantab) FSA MCIfA AMA Chair: Museums Essex
Museums Essex is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registration number: 1152493 and a member of the Association for Independent Museums, membership number 4738
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Ind•pond•nt Examln•e• R•port to th• Tru•t•M of Mu•oum• Es8eX I report on the accounts of Mu8eum8 E88ex for the year ended 31 March 2024. lch are set out on the attqchod pages. Rosp•erfvo rnsponslblllttog of trust$ and •xamln The Mu8eum trustses are respon8ibl8 for the preparatbn of the accounts. The Museum's trustees con81dor that an audlt IB not r8qulred for this year under Sectlon 144(2) of the Charltles Act 2011 (Ihe 2011 Act) and that an IndeperKlent examination Is nwJ8d. It18 my respon8lblllty to: examine the accounts under 88Ctlon 145 ofthe 2011 Act; follow the procedures lald down in the general Dlr8ctlon8 gfven by the Charfty Comml85ioner undor 88clion 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and 8tat8 whether partlcular matter8 ha come lo my attentlon. 8••18 of Indop•ndent u•mln•ts r•port My oxamlnatlon w88 Garrled out in accordanca wllh th• general Dlrectlonl glvan by the Charlty Comm1881on. An examlnatlon Includ a revlew of the accountlrvJ rerdS kapt by the Socloty and a cornpar180n of the accounts prn88nted wlth th08e rerf8. It also Include8 con8kl8ratlon of any unusual ttem8 or dhc108ur88 In the accounts, and Seeklng explan8tlon8 from you as tru8t8e8 concernlng any Buch matters. The procedur86 undertakon do not provld8 all the evldance that would b8 requlred in an audtt, and con88qu8rrtty no oplnlon 18 given 88 to wh8ther the aGcount8 pr888nt a 'true and falr vltr and the report18 Ilmlted lo thoBe matter8 $8t out In the 8laternent below. Independt u•mln•rfs 4t•1wnt In the ccur88 of my examlnatlon. no matter ha8 come to my attentlon: (1) which glves me r8a80nable cau38 lo ball8 that In any matsrfal rn8PaCt the r8qulrements'. . to keep accountlng record3 In accordance wlth 8ectlon 130 of the 2011 Act,. and • to prepare accounts whlch accord wlth the accountlng record8 and compty wlth Ihe accountlng requlrebrnnts of the 2011 Act; not been met; or (2) to which, In my oplnlon, attentlon 8hould be drawn In order to enablo a proper under8tsnding of the accounts to be reached. Martln Gru80110 FCA 25 Barfoy Road Gr•at ChlBhlll Rayston 8G8 888 29 July 2024