UPPER WHARFEDALE MUSEUM SOCIETY
Registered Charity Number 1156656
Trustees’ Report 2022 - 2023
Trustees: Ian Appleyard (Chairman), Elaine Clare, Mac Geldard, Colin Wilkinson
This report covers the period from April 2022 until March 2023. This proved to be our first full season of opening following the ‘lockdown’ due to the covid pandemic, which now seems somewhat of a distant memory, although new cases of the disease continue to occur with some regularity, though fortunately usually not with serious consequences. The trustees continued to meet at approximately six monthly intervals in order to continue a regular review of the running of the UWMS. They were again entirely satisfied that the Society is being run in a satisfactory manner and fully in accordance with the Constitution.
One very pleasing feature of the year under review, was that the remarkable recovery in the fortunes of the museum seen in the summer of 2021, following the lifting of covid restrictions, was continued with considerable momentum through the year of 2022. Freedom to travel again, more people holidaying in the UK (as opposed to abroad) and the ‘All Creatures Great and Small’ factor combined to bring large numbers of tourists to the village and many of them visited the museum. Visitor numbers, which exceeded 20,000 was a record with corresponding record donations.
I reported last year that remarkable progress had been made towards the achievement of several strategic targets set by the trustees in recent years. It is gratifying to report that these trends have continued strongly:
The Financial Position
The Finances have been very sound for many years. Government grants during the covid period more than maintained the former stability and increased donations during 2021 and 2022 saw our reserves increase to around £25,000, more than twice pre-covid levels. This, in turn, has in more recent times resulted in the need for the trustees to consider what level of reserves it is appropriate to hold. A policy is currently being formulated and will form part of next year’s report.
Replacements, refurbishment and maintenance The strong financial position has allowed the programme of replacements and refurbishment to continue and allowed planning for this to continue into the future. Details of the 2022-23 developments will be given in the Management Committee Chairman’s report.
Volunteers/Members
The recruitment campaign in 2021, which resulted in a significant increase in membership, has led to a stability in volunteer numbers, such that we now have approximately 50 active volunteers. The result has been that the 2021 policy of opening morning and afternoon every day was continued in 2022, with the museum being open on more than 90% of sessions. A policy change for 2023 was to revert to closure on Mondays, in order to allow time for administration and maintenance.
Publicity Leaflets have again been distributed to a large number of accommodation establishments and restaurants in the area. Use has also been made of both local and national social media outlets and our website is actively managed and updated.
The Management Committee
There have been several changes in personnel among committee members, but the number has now stabilised at 10, most of whom, take on specific responsibilities. New Committee members are always welcome. We still lack a permanent chairman, which means that other committee members chair meetings in rotation
The Artefacts
The curator has continued to revamp many of the displays making use of the increased display space, made available by new cabinets. He has also made significant progress with assessing the stored artefacts, many of which have been put on display.
The Trustees wish to put on record their thanks and appreciation for all the work and effort that the volunteer members contribute to the running of the museum. This has always resulted in a considerable degree of stability, but currently those efforts continue to see the
UPPER WHARFEDALE MUSEUM SOCIETY
Charity Number: 1156656
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE AND BALANCE SHEET 2022-23
| 2022-23 | 2022-23 | 2021-2022 | 2021-2022 | 2020-2021 | 2020-2021 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INCOME |
£ | £ | £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Donations | 14087 | 3972 | 205 | |||||
| Dickensian Weekends | ||||||||
| Craven District Council Grants | 8000 | 20636 | ||||||
| Coffee Morning | 372 | |||||||
| Bank Interest | 4 | 1 | ||||||
| Total Income | 14463 | 11972 | 20842 | |||||
| EXPENDITURE | ||||||||
| Heating and Lighting | 2307 | 1090 | 796 | |||||
| Rates and Water Rates | 546 | 173 | 342 | |||||
| Insurance | 735 | 675 | 675 | |||||
| Repairs and Renewals | 2738 | 4473 | 7509 | |||||
| Promotional leaflets | 1631 | 956 | ||||||
| All Other Costs | 750 | 1317 | 183 | |||||
| Total Expenditure | 8707 | 8684 | 9505 | |||||
| Surplus/Deficit of Income Over Expenditure | 5756 | 3288 | 11337 | |||||
| Less: Depreciation of Fixtures and Fittings | 1037 | 763 | 415 | |||||
| Surplus | 4719 | 2525 | 10922 | |||||
| BALANCE SHEET AT 31 MARCH 2022 | ||||||||
| ASSETS Freehold land and Buildings |
71431 | 71431 | 71431 | |||||
| Fixtures and Fittings | 6863 | 3738 | 4153 | |||||
| New Cabinets/shelving | 3502 | 3888 | ||||||
| less 2022-23 depreciation | 1037 | 9328 | 763 | 6863 | 415 | 3738 | ||
| Books and Tapes | 89 | 89 | 89 | |||||
| Deposit Account | 310 | 306 | 306 | |||||
| Current Account | 24712 | 22462 | 23062 | |||||
| Total | 105870 | 101151 | 98626 | |||||
| REPRESENTED BY | ||||||||
| Accumulated Excess | 101151 | 98626 | 87704 | |||||
| Surplus | 4719 | 105870 | 2525 | 101151 | 10922 | 98626 |
Richard Clare, Treasurer
P. Sugden, Indepentent Examiner