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## 2023
## Bampton Heritage & Visitor Centre
## 10[th] Annual Report.
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BHVC 10[th] ANNUAL REPORT - 2023 Registered Charity No 1156194.
## **CHAIRMAN’S overview of the year by Judi Thomas**
Our 10[th] Anniversary year 2023 was an amazing year of activity and celebration for Bampton Heritage and Visitor Centre (BHVC). Our key aim for this special year was to make connections with as many people as possible to share our story and highlight all that BHVC can offer. We enjoyed holding events in our local cafes, on our street stalls, on our heritage walks and in the Centre to show our collection and hear the memories generously shared with us by many current and former residents. New displays were created and 10 events to mark our 10 years were held. Comments in our visitors’ book show that people truly appreciate the welcome and sharing of Bampton’s history by our volunteers. Our Anniversary celebration event brought together old and new friends and the buzz of the whole day was a joy.
My most sincere thanks go to all volunteers. The number of unpaid hours given across a variety of roles are invaluable and very much appreciated. Individual skills, talent and passion create an amazing team of which I, and fellow Trustees, are immensely proud to be members of. The milestone of our 10[th] anniversary could not have been reached without such a team, and we look forward to moving forward into the next 10 years together.
## **Highlights of the year include:**
Our 10[th] year was focused on raising our profile, both locally and further afield.
- Taking our collection out into the community. Hosted in local cafes and eating places, Ken, Judi and Marian showed some unusual items from our Heritage Collection, asking people to guess what they were used for. It was great fun and a treat to have coffee and cake each day!
- With the splendid support of our local creative writing group, one of our local art groups and other artists, we received some fabulous original creations in words and pictures inspired by objects and photos from our collection.
- Local photographers had the opportunity to showcase their talents in a summer competition. Winners’ photos were made into Christmas Cards.
- All these combined creative talents were displayed in our annual Heritage Open Day event. The theme for 2023 was ‘Creativity Unwrapped’, which allowed us to showcase some amazing local creativity.
- Our monthly Brook Street stalls continued to be hugely successful in attracting visitors and residents to see the displays of photos of Bampton in times past – bringing conversations, memories, sales and donations.
- Activities with families and wider audiences are essential in meeting our core aims. We welcomed Bampton Beavers in the spring and Bampton Cubs in the autumn. Using quizzes and storytelling we helped them find out more about the Church and Bampton history.
- Bampton Twinning Association invited BHVC to be part of the welcome event for the visiting families from Villers Bocage on their first visit here since Covid. Judi even gave a ‘welcome to the Heritage Centre’ speech in her best French!
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BHVC 10[th] ANNUAL REPORT - 2023 Registered Charity No 1156194.
- Our quiz night in May got brains working hard on some great general knowledge questions compiled by our volunteer Carole Poole. A Ploughman’s supper and prize draw raised much needed funds to keep us in a healthy financial position.
- Our bank holiday walks welcomed some old friends and some new walkers who enjoyed the routes along our local footpaths and refreshments on their return.
After 10 years and the very unexpected disintegration of a free-standing display cabinet, Trustees decided that the Centre was in need of a new look. With Andy Macdonald as project manager, a team of skilled and enthusiastic volunteers began work in December during our closed season. The results of the hard work will take BHVC into the 2024 season with a much revitalised and more accessible layout.
Our thanks to the Parochial Church Council (PCC) and in particular Sue Leach and Tony Mount, who with Kevin Chandra, who have kept us updated with aspects of church business affecting BHVC. We are very pleased to have the Arch-Deacon of Exeter, the Venerable Andrew Beane as a follower on our Facebook page. Andrew is an enthusiastic supporter of ours recognising our invaluable contribution to the church as a community hub and resource.
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BHVC 10[th] ANNUAL REPORT - 2023 Registered Charity No 1156194.
## **OUR VOLUNTEERS – by Alison Brooker**
It was another busy year at BHVC with volunteers yet again providing the backbone of everything we do. BHVC prides itself in offering a variety of rewarding volunteering opportunities and we are always thankful that people step forward and get stuck in.
The team of volunteers that helped with our refurbishment over the winter months were amazing, from sanding the floor, moving the furniture and refurbishing the railway display to name but a few of the tasks. Their range of skills and commitment blew everyone away.
Our Street Stalls continued to be successful throughout the year. We aimed to run one every month, weather permitting, and they were a wonderful way of taking BHVC out to the community. Our Bank Holiday walks also relied on volunteers to act as leaders, backstops, emergency responders and to serve tea and cakes to the weary walkers. In 2024 with the help of our volunteers we are bringing back our regular programme of Town Trails.
Of course, these roles are all very visible but we also have volunteers working steadily in the background, cataloguing our extensive collection, managing our website pages, undertaking specific research, recording the memories of local people, and other roles, all of which brings Bampton’s history to life.
It’s so important to acknowledge the contributions people make to BHVC and last year we celebrated their endeavours with a tea party in June on a wonderful sunny day in the lovely setting of Rachel and Andy Macdonald’s garden. It was a great opportunity to be able to just sit down together and chat about things apart from BHVC! We hope this will become a regular annual event.
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BHVC 10[th] ANNUAL REPORT - 2023 Registered Charity No 1156194.
## **CENTRE ACTIVITY**
Below we show the numbers of visitors who have come to the Centre. While there is a lot of interest in the Centre and the activities and events we run, visitor numbers have not recovered to pre-Covid levels.
## **VISITORS TO THE CENTRE**
||**2018**|**2019**|**2020**|**2021**|**2022**|**2023**|0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000|0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000|Visitors|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Year 1**|**Year 2**|**Year 3**|**Year**
**4**|**Year 5**|**Year 6**||||
|||||||||||
|**Jan**|37|52|62|0|0|0||||
|**Feb**|59|104|76|0|20|0||||
|**Mar**|65|105|42|0|13|100||||
|**Apr **|177|93|0|0|62|90||||
|**May**|180|231|0|23|77|87||||
|**Jun**|186|119|0|57|59|84||||
|||||||||||
|**Jul**|186|119|0|57|59|119||||
|**Aug**|226|235|32|231|120|109||||
||||||||||1
2
3
4
5
6|
|**Sep**|163|146|8|196|497|286||||
|||||||||||
|**Oct**|99|248|13|79|83|110||||
|**Nov**|141|60|0|44|0|0||||
|**Dec**|72|32|0|0|0|12||||
|**TOTAL**|**1,591**|**1,544**|**233**|**687**|**990**|**997**||||
## **TOWN TRAILS**
||**2018**|**2019**|**2020**|**2021**|**2022**|**2023**|0
20
40
60
80
100|0
20
40
60
80
100||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||0
20
40
60
80
100|Town trails|
||**Year 1**|**Year 2**|**Year 3**|**Year**
**4**|**Year 5**|**Year 6**||||
|||||||||||
|**Jan**||5||||||||
|||||||||||
|**Feb**||6|||2|||||
|**Mar**||5|7|||||||
|||||||||||
|**Apr **||11||||||||
|**May**||27||||16||||
|**Jun**|8|10||4|25|||||
|||||||||||
|**Jul**||5||8||||||
|**Aug**||2|||||||1
2
3
4
5
6|
|**Sep**|14|4|8|18||6||||
|||||||||||
|**Oct**|9|3||12||||||
|**Nov**|5|0||8|2|||||
|**Dec**|4|6||8|4|||||
|**TOTAL**|**40**|**84**|**15**|**58**|**33**|**22**||||
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BHVC 10[th] ANNUAL REPORT - 2023 Registered Charity No 1156194.
## **TREASURER’S REPORT by Rachel Macdonald**
## **FINANCIAL YEAR 1 JANUARY TO 31 DECEMBER 2023**
I am pleased to draw your attention to the healthy financial position of the Bampton Heritage and Visitor Centre. The formal accounts are presented in a straightforward format that demonstrates that the BHVC Trustees act honestly and responsibly in handling funds.
BHVC thanks our Independent Examiner, Geoff Girdlestone, for his time, support and guidance in preparing these accounts.
The accounts are divided into two sources of revenue – Restricted and Unrestricted.
**Restricted funds** , **grants or donations** to be used only for a specific purpose. Income is not always spent in the year it is received.
- **Income** totalled £875, funds for the Town Plan and Farm Heritage Projects.
- **Expenditure** on Walkers are Welcome and Town Plan projects during the year totaled £358. The Town Plan is now freely available from those businesses that took part in the project, LARC and the Centre, with stocks being regularly replenished.
**Unrestricted funds** - monies raised by BHVC Volunteers through activities such as shop and stall sales, town trails, events etc.
- **Income** totalled £7,185.
- Again, our thanks to The Bridge, Bampton Deli and 6 On Castle for stocking BHVC items. Street stalls continue to be a popular gathering point for heritage information and to find unusual and unique gifts. Time and effort spent in finding new and different stock at good prices has paid off by bringing a consistent and significant benefit which is used to run the Centre and its activities. Well-Being Walks became part of the BHVC family during the year and the income associated with that activity is shown in the accounts for the part year July to December.
- **Expenditure** totalled £4,732.
- Repairs and Maintenance rose this year due to the refurbishment of the Centre. The costs of the refreshment of the Centre straddle both 2023 and 2024 and will be further reported upon next year. Events and publicity expenditure increased as BHVC celebrated its 10[th] Anniversary with 10 events across the year. The annual payment to the Church returned to a more normal level as the Centre returned to more regular opening hours, although the lack of heating meant that the Centre was closed in the winter months and there was no contribution to pay towards usage of heating oil.
**Net income** (income minus expenditure).
This rose to £2,970, up on last year by £552 (19%). Despite increasing our celebratory events programme and paying a significant contribution of £775 to refresh the Centre, BHVC still made a small surplus.
## **Stock value** £2,172.
## **Assets**
- £500 of assets written off in year due to accidental breakage of a display cabinet.
- • Other assets depreciated by £409.
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BHVC 10[th] ANNUAL REPORT - 2023 Registered Charity No 1156194.
## **BAMPTON HERITAGE & VISITOR CENTRE**
Accounts for year ending 31st December 2023
|**2022**
**INCOME**
3,675
Sales
1,551
Donations
196
Gift Aid Refund
0
Well Being Walks
1,300
Grants
**6,722**
**EXPENDITURE**
6
Admin
235
Equipment/Materials
368
Events
6
Publicity
322
Museum Collection
278
Overheads
331
Repairs & Maintenance
2,233
Shop stock
140
Subscriptions
113
Volunteer support & training
Well being walks
0
Other
257
Covid
15
Walking
Town maps
Farm project
**4,304**
**2,418**
**Net Income**
2,545
Assets minus depreciation (20%)
14,147
Balances - Bank
7
Balance with Paypal
17
Cash in hand
195
Money owed to BHVC
2,002
Stock
**18,913**
**Total Assets**|**£**
**£**
**£**
**Restricted**
**Unrestricted Total**
4,274
4,274
2,270
2,270
439
439
202
202
875
0
875|
|---|---|
||**875**
**7,185**
**8,060**|
||**Restricted**
**Unrestricted Total**
22
22
80
80
675
675
90
90
137
137
644
644
858
858
2,065
2,065
105
105
30
30
26
26
0
0
0
0
6
0
6
352
0
352
0
0
0|
||**358**
**4,732**
**5,090**|
||**517**
**2,453**
**2,970**
1,636
16,955
0
381
0
2,172
**19,508**|
**Note to the Accounts:** Insurance claim for accidental breakage of glass display cabinet settled at £2,837 recorded in 2024 accounts. Write off of £500 as estimated residual value. This sum has been deducted from the 2023 asset value.
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BHVC 10[th] ANNUAL REPORT - 2023 Registered Charity No 1156194.
## **EXTERNAL EXAMINER’S REPORT**
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BHVC 10[th] ANNUAL REPORT - 2023 Registered Charity No 1156194.
## **EXTERNAL EXAMINER’S REPORT CONTD**
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BHVC 10[th] ANNUAL REPORT - 2023 Registered Charity No 1156194.
## **2023 CURATOR’S REPORT by Dr Ken J. Mills**
For the first time all the artefacts and papers owned by the Heritage Centre are in one place – a dry and safe location. We are grateful to the Trustees of Riverside Hall.
Notable acquisitions in 2023 include: a large ceremonial French milk churn (originally donated to the Bampton Twinning Society by Villers Bocage); a late Victorian christening gown; the Bampton Players archive; a wheatsheaf baked by Brian Steward and three 19[th] century cornets used by members of the Bampton Town Band.
Work on cataloging Tom McManamon’s papers has proceeded. The contents of a very large box of papers containing 915 items have been listed and described in detail, thanks to Elise Collins. Work on a further box has now begun – our thanks to Simon Bartlett for taking that on. Work remains to be done on the final box.
A major effort by our Secretary, Chris Price, has seen the transfer of over 2000 items of the collection from a Microsoft Word document and some Excel spreadsheets to an advanced spreadsheet. The Collection Database is now easily searchable and is supported by indexed digital content such as photographs and documents. Recent acquisitions and some of the separately listed collections remain to be added to this master list in 2024. More detailed entries, such as the contents of several DVD’s will be added to this database which can then be shared with interested parties.
The display about midwifery was replaced by a display of coronation mugs and other china in celebration of the coronation of King Charles III. This, in turn, was replaced by a display of the three 19[th] century cornets that were used by the Bampton Town Band. A display of larger objects was curated for the 10[th] Anniversary celebrations although a planned display of ten objects for ten years had to be abandoned due to the collapse of a display cabinet. Unfortunately a few items of lesser importance were destroyed.
An increase in the number of historical researches requested by visitors has occupied much time. Notable was the visit by 5 members of the LaForte family from Utah and California, who were taken round the farms where their ancestors lived. Research was also carried out into the history of the Jutsom and Badcock families, the Baptist chapel gravestones and the location of Mrs. Bowden’s laundry in Brook Street, the latter requiring an understanding of the various numbering systems in Brook Street over the years.
The cataloging (by volunteers associated with Exeter University) of the Chown collection of papers is nearing completion and is planned to be a part of the forthcoming “Devon in the 1920’s” celebration to be held in Exeter.
A number of historical photographs were enlarged to A3 size and laminated for display at the street stalls in Brook Street. These displays generated much interest in the BHVC by passers-by.
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BHVC 10[th] ANNUAL REPORT - 2023 Registered Charity No 1156194.
## **PUBLICITY AND SOCIAL MEDIA – by Marian Girling**
What a year 2023 was, with so much going on our events planning was running at full steam. This year saw the introduction of the new quiz night to organise and it was a steep learning curve too. Our events planning and publicity were very successful. The publicity resulted in lots of people joining us for both the Heritage Open Days and the 10 years event in September. It is always rewarding when people attend an event seeing our publicity and who have never previously attended one of our events.
Our Social Media platforms – Facebook and Instagram - continued to grow this year. We have nearly 1000 followers on Facebook. The number of people who follow us and now comment on our posts is significant. Interest in photographs from our photograph Collection is very high. We have had some delightful comments, with people recognising family members and filling in lots of gaps in our knowledge about the photographs too. We continue to record all these comments for future use.
Social media continues to be a really useful tool in promoting BHVC, whether that is publicising upcoming events or showcasing a past event. It is also a great way to reach people who do not live in the local area too; we have followers as far away as the United States, Australia, the Bahamas and Bulgaria.
We look forward to another successful year planning and promoting our events and achievements on social media.
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BHVC 10[th] ANNUAL REPORT - 2023 Registered Charity No 1156194.
## **GOVERNANCE of the Charity from Judi Thomas**
The Charity is governed by five Trustees who set the strategy for the Centre, run it on a day-to-day basis, coordinate volunteer recruitment and training and ensure financial stability. We have a standard Charity Commission constitution and submit accounts and reports to the Commission each year.
We maintain a framework of underpinning governance which includes safe and robust systems and processes. These ensure accountability, scrutiny, compliance and due diligence covering the activities of everyone within BHVC.
The Trustees meet on a regular basis to deal with substantial business. All volunteers are invited to join the meeting. Agenda and papers are available in advance in the volunteers’ area of the website. Also, following each meeting the minutes showing decisions from the meeting and other relevant information are available.
The AGM took place on the 18[th] April 2023 and confirmed the following 5 Trustees
- Judi Thomas
- Rachel Macdonald
- Ken Mills
- Marian Girling
- Alison Brooker
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BHVC 10[th] ANNUAL REPORT - 2023 Registered Charity No 1156194.
## **Key events during 2023**
## **My Bampton**
In January, we started our 10[th] anniversary year with an event in Riverside Hall, inviting current and former residents to tell us their memories of living in Bampton. We had a fantastic response and it was a joy and a privilege to see and hear many happy and poignant memories. At one point during the afternoon, there was an amazing reunion of friends who had not seen each other since being together at primary school in Bampton! The memories recorded are part of our oral memory archive.
## **Sir Edwin Dunning**
The Toucan café held one of their very successful fund-raising evenings for our benefit. After a delicious two course meal and coffee, volunteer Andy Macdonald gave a talk on Sir Edwin Dunning, Bampton’s White Knight, a forgotten but important benefactor who brought Bampton’s quarries back to a thriving industry from the late 1800s. Andy’s thorough research made a great presentation and raised many questions about Dunning’s work.
## **10[th] anniversary celebration day**
We marked our anniversary with a whole day open event on Wednesday 20[th] September, running from 10.00am – 9.00pm. Over 80 people were welcomed during the day, including some old friends and new visitors. Plenty of tea and cakes were happily consumed. In the evening, invited guests which included all our volunteers, were invited to celebrate our 10 years. We were very happy to have Katrina Munroe Barney and Esme Hopkinson with us. Barney was our first Treasurer and Esme was one of our first volunteers. Katrina was our chairman from the inception of the project until 2020. They all travelled a long way to be with us and we were thrilled they could join in the celebration.
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BHVC 10[th] ANNUAL REPORT - 2023 Registered Charity No 1156194.
## **Mid Devon Museums Group**
We became members of a newly formed Mid Devon Museums Group, chaired and managed by the South-West Museums Development Officer Joanna Cairns. The group membership includes all heritage groups and museums across Mid Devon and has potential to share best practice, tips from other similar organisations and wider access to training events.
## **Friends of Bampton Heritage and Visitor Centre**
We launched our Friends scheme in the autumn. Trustees are so pleased that this has attracted interest and by the end of 2023 5 annual members and 6 life members had signed up. These members make a contribution financially but also help BHVC reach many more people, as they tell friends and neighbours about The Centre and outreach activities. All Friends receive newsletters, early booking for events and a discount in the shop. 2024 will see the launch of special Friends events.
## **FUTURE PLANS – 2024 AND BEYOND**
## **Farm history project with Bampton Scouts**
Following an unavoidable delay, this project is set to go during the spring and summer. We will be working with Bampton Scouts and 4 local farms who have accepted an invitation from the Scouts to take part in this projectThe Scouts will record the stories of these farms and families and display their findings in the autumn. We will gain important information to add to our collection and the Scouts will gain some hard-earned badges – great outcomes for all involved. Our farms and the families that work the land are part of Bampton community’s story and we hope to build on this project over the next few years.
## **Digital Archive of our Collection**
Our growing collection is of immense importance. We have made considerable progress on the format and operation of our digital archive. Work will continue, with the help of the digital archive volunteers to catalogue, index and digitize both new and legacy items in our collection. This new archive will contribute to the conservation of the collection and improve access for all.
## **Mid Devon Walking Festival**
Visit Mid Devon, a service within Mid Devon District Council, is planning a major tourist event in September 2024 - a walking festival. We will be joining this event by offering guided walks throughout the entire two weeks of the event. We will benefit from the wider publicity for the event and hope to attract new walkers and visitors to Bampton who will see what a great place this is to visit and stay building on the town’s Walkers are Welcome status.
## **Strategy review**
Our 5-year strategy will see a major review in 2024. Trustees aim to create a vibrant and achievable strategy to take us forward, underpinned by a rolling programme of work. Our volunteers are critical in shaping our plans and will participate in the review.
## **Bampton Primary School**
We are hosting a number of visits to the Centre along with town trails for the whole school in the spring. This will be the start of a rebuilding a connection with our Primary School to share and bring alive the history of Bampton.
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