## **Elstree and Borehamwood Museum** ## **Annual Report March 2023 – March 2024** 1 |**Contents:**|| |---|---| |**1. Charity Information**|**3**| |**2. A Message from the Chairman**|**4**| |**3. A Review of the Year**|**5**| |**4. Exhibitions**|**9**| |**5. Events**|**10**| |**6. Schools**|**11**| |**7. Friends and Volunteers**|**12**| |**8. Trustees**|**13**| |**9. Collections**|**13**| |**10. Finance**|**14**| 2 ## **Charity Information** ## **Charity Trustees** Clive Butchins (Chair) Simon Gee Elaine Butchins Pat Strack (V.C. and Secretary) Norman Shuker Betty Chandler (Deceased 10/24) Paul Welsh (Deceased 09/24) ## **Museum Manager** Dave Armitage ## **Museum Officer (Hertsmere Borough Council)** Ruth Stratton **Principal Address:** 96 Shenley Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire WD6 1EB **Website:** www.elstree-museum.org.uk **Registered Number:** 1157770 **Principal Activities and Objectives:** The charitable objects are to advance education for public benefit, in particular in the subject of Elstree and Borehamwood, its history and heritage. 3 ## **A Message from the Chairman** What an exciting and eventful year for our Museum! I believe for such a small museum we have once again progressed above and beyond what many would have considered possible. We have been in our premises now for ten years and run temporary exhibitions roughly every six months. I think that is truly amazing. You can read about everything below, but none of it would have been possible without our dedicated team of wonderful volunteers guided by our fantastic and good humoured Musuem Manager, Dave Armitage, and our devoted Museum Officer, Ruth Stratton, along with her assistant Catriona Briggs. Sincere and heartfelt thanks to all of you. We are constantly bemoaning the small area we have for our exhibitions and hope that one day we shall have more space to utilise more of our large collection, increased since the year end by a legacy from former trustee Paul Welsh MBE – a noted film historian and buff. He will be sorely missed as also will Betty Chandler and Irene White. May they all rest in peace with our eternal thanks. It was particularly pleasing to be able to welcome visitors from two of our Twin Towns to the museum and we hope that is something we can repeat. 4 ## **Review of the Year** 2023 was a milestone year for the Museum as it commemorated the 10[th] anniversary of the opening of the new Elstree and Borehamwood Museum on 18[th] November 2013 in 96 Shenley Road. The event was celebrated with a special temporary exhibition and a tea and cake morning for the volunteers. ## **March 2023:** ## **Twin Town Visitors:** Representatives from Shoham in Israel came to Borehamwood on 3[rd] March to sign the Twin Town documents. Clive and Elaine showed the group around the Museum. ## **Duke of Edinburgh Student:** Maria, a 14 year old D of E student, came to work at the Museum on Saturday mornings for 10 weeks. She had a project of going through 8mm movies looking for local views, with the help of Derek. ## **Talks:** Dave Armitage was approached by two walking groups from London to give talks on local history and the growth of Borehamwood. These were the London Appreciation Society and Exploring London and Beyond groups. Dave gave a talk to the ladies of the London Appreciation Society on 21[st] March. Up to 20 people attended. Audrey volunteered to come in and help. The group was charged £40. They said it was one of the best walks and talks they have had. 5 ## **Listening Post:** Dave developed a new listening post for presenting the oral histories in exhibitions. ## **Recollections Through Art Project:** Also in March 2023, the Museum saw the start of a large, collaborative project for which they would eventually win an award. This was called Recollections Through Art and began as the seed of an idea between Ruth and Dave some years before. With the help and support of Catriona Briggs, Hertsmere Borough Council’s Corporate Support Officer, and some UK Shared Prosperity funding from Hertsmere Borough Council, this germ of an idea became a reality. Working with a collection of selected artefacts from the Museum, artists Anji Archer and Christina Armstrong of Open Art Box CIC, facilitated a series of six two hour workshops which took place at St Michael and All Angels Church in Borehamwood between March and June 2023. These workshops ran on Monday afternoons where already a community group called Chatter Tables was operating. Anyone was welcome to join. The workshops explored themes inspired by the Museum’s collection and the area’s local history. Each workshop focused on a different theme and encouraged sharing of stories amongst the group about their memories of Borehamwood. The participants were given the opportunity to learn more about the history of their local area as part of the workshops. As the project was so successful, funding was sought again for it to run for another six sessions between September and November. A selection of the artwork produced was displayed in the i ae be , Museum’s foyer case at 96 along with seven panels along the café wall. The café display was launched by Revd Louise Collins from St Michaels and All Angels together with Anji and Christina from Artbox. The photography for the panels was undertaken by Emma Gore, who had joined the Museum for work experience in the summer and who came back again to help out. 6 **May 2023** : The Museum was visited by Marco Steffens, the Mayor of Offenburg, one of our twin towns. He was shownaround by Clive and Elaine Butchins and Maddie Hipperson. Accompanying the Mayor was Charles Kelly former mayor of Borehamwood and current chair of Elstree and Borehamwood Rotary, on the left in our picture. ## **Flower Festival: June 2023** The Museum contributed to the annual Civic Festival with the display of flowers in All Saints Church. Celebrating 10 years at 96 Shenley Road, the beautiful arrangement was created by volunteer Maureen Corman. ## **Store Clean: July 2023** Due to a chemical fire in the Stanborough Avenue stores, everything had to come out to be cleaned down. The floor was also washed twice. During July’s warm weather, Dave Armitage, John Woolston, Ruth Stratton and Emma Gore spent days up at the store completing this task and putting everything back once dried out. The day after this was completed, a large fly-tip was left outside of the gate to the store. This took two to three weeks for Hertsmere Borough Council’s teams to clear away. ## **Autumn 2023:** In September, Dave gave a local history presentation to a Live Well group who meet in a community hall in Farriers Way. This was a very successful event with 15 attendees. Dave found a wishing well photo which was taken in 1980. It was very popular. The wishing well was originally put there by the Rotary Club The Museum also took delivery of a card reader for those who prefer this method of payment and for donations. 7 **Winter 2023:** John Woolston made some new Christmas cards for the Museum to sell at £1 for the larger ones and 50p for the smaller. The best seller was the former Red Lion (now McDonalds) The Christmas Lights switch on took place on Sunday 26[th] November and the Museum had a special opening between 4pm and 6pm. During those two hours, 150 visitors came to the Museum. ## **January 2024** We won an award! The Recollections Through Art project, in conjunction with Open Artbox CIC, won the Creative Health Award at the Hertfordshire Association of Museums Awards event in January. All Four Hertsmere Museums were also awarded Heritage Heroes certificates, in recognition of all the hard working volunteers. Pictured here are Catriona Briggs (HBC), Anji Archer (Artbox) and Sally Ackroyd from SHARE Museums East. Ruth picks up the Hertsmere Heritage Heroes certificate for all the volunteers 8 ## **Exhibitions:** The first temporary exhibition of the year dwelled on the darker side of the area. _**Murder, Mayhem and Mystery**_ featured the actual pistol used in the infamous murder of William Weare, in Gills Hill Lane, Radlett in 1823. Thanks go to Hertford Museum who loaned this exciting object. Also on display were original broadsheets, so that visitors could read up on local crimes. Volunteer Tony Deswarte (of model railway fame) built a reconstruction of a Post-War police box, Tardis-shaped, to show our younger visitors what a real Police Box looked like. Dastardly deeds relayed included: Dick Turpin’s invasion of an Elstree farm with his gang, another violent gang rob Barclays bank in Shenley Road in in 1971, secret houses hidden in plain sight and celebrities in trouble - from Martha Ray in 1779 to Sophia Loren in 1960. The autumn exhibition opened in September in time for the Museum’s 10[th] anniversary and was called _**Your Museum at 10**_ . This was a lively and colourful display, looking back on the best bits of the past ten years. Star attraction as ever was Tony Deswarte’s model railway, but the recreation of Mary Hanson’s sweetshop was also very popular with the children. The old fashioned till and weigh-scales were revived and visitors could weigh out real sweets and pay for them in old money. Also included was a model of the old Village Hall (courtesy of Tony once again), some hands-on toys and games reminiscent of the Toys Games and Gadgets exhibition. 9 ## **Events** ## **Visit by the London Friendship Centre June 2023** A large group came to see the Murder, Mayhem and Mystery exhibition. ## **Going Down the Village:** Our regular bi-monthly reminiscence meetings have been going very well. Themes have varied from the local development of Borehamwood since the 1950s, rarely seen images, old toys and your school days (to tie in with the opening of the Six of the Best exhibition in April 2024). Attendance is good, usually around 18 regulars. ## **Christmas Party at Schopwick – December 2023** A fun, festive get together. Thanks as ever to Norman, Anne and everyone involved in the preparation 10 ## **Total number of Visitors April 2023 – March 2024: 3,577.** ## **Schools** **4[th] May 2023** Dave and Elaine went to Summerwood School and presented a talk to 150 students and their teachers. This was one of the largest groups we have had. The presentation focused on the local history, dating back to 1952. **In June** , Woodlands School Year 5 visited the Museum and their session included a workshop, archive handling and presentation. **November 2023** : Visit from Year 2 at Parkside School. It gave the volunteers an opportunity to dress up and join in the fun whilst learning about Victorian times in the area up to modern day. **December 2023:** Year 5, St Theresa’s Primary School. The children had fun with the model railway, old games, maps of the area and other historical delights. Dave Armitage and Museum volunteers showed the pupils how Borehamwood was in the not so distant past. 11 ## **Friends and Volunteers** Following the talk given by Bow Street Museum Curator Vicki Pipe in March 2023, the Friends were invited to visit to the Museum in July 2023. ## **Friends evening with Nick Male – January 2024** The theme of Nick’s talk was The Thatched Barn from its early days in the 1930s up until its demise in the 60s. Plenty of reminiscing was had by all. Two new volunteers joined our team during this period. Kay Chesterton and Ann Wynn-Smith. Ruby Burke also expressed a wish to return to Front of House duties on Tuesdays. A volunteer recruitment campaign in conjunction with Communities 1st continues. Kay Chesterton has taken on the role of writing and uploading volunteer role descriptions. Meantime, the Volunteer Handbook has been updated for new, interested volunteers. ## **Volunteer Hours** **2023 (April – December): 2,841.5** **2024 (January to March): 1,044.5** 12 ## **Trustees:** The AGM took place at Schopwick Place on 27[th] November 2023. Clive and Elaine Butchins stepped down and were proposed for re-election. This was formerly seconded and they were re-elected in the roles of Chair and Vice Chair. Therefore, the Trustee board at 27[th] November 2023 was: Clive Butchins: Chair Elaine Butchins: Vice Chair and Secretary Paul Welsh Pat Strack Norman Shuker Betty Chandler Simon Gee ## **Collections** The Modes cataloguing and documentation team continue to work through the collections. Often following an exhibition, new items are donated. We have a number of books relating to the lost line and the underground, for example, after the successful model railway displays, and school photos following the Six of the Best exhibition, which opened in April 2024. There are still quite a few items in the Stanborough Drive store which are uncatalogued and boxes of items that the volunteers need to go through. In the run up to the Six of the Best exhibition, many of the schools folders were retrieved from the filing cabinets and items listed and catalogued. As ever, bigger and more appropriate storage is always being sought. The Modes team meet on a Friday, although some sessions have been stalled due to health issues. However, good progress is being made with over 6000 items being catalogued. All of the boxes of objects stored on site in the Museum, have been checked against the Modes records for accuracy, 13 ELSTREE & 80REHAMWOOD MUSEUM REPORT AND FINANCIAL StATEMENTS FOR THE VEAR ENDING 3tst •AARCH 2024 Charity information Trustees ieport ststement of fi4andal activlti Balan￿ sheet Notes to the financial statements Elstree & Borehamwood Museum CharityTrL Betty Chandler CEive Bl utthin5 Paul Welsh Nornian Shuker Pat Strack Elaine Butchins Simon Gee Museum Curntor Dave Armitage Finance Dave Armitsge & Ken Freedman Museum Officer Hert5mere Borough Covncil Ruth Stratton Princi￿1 Addre55 96 Shenley Road Borehamwclod Herts WD6 IEB Website www.elstree.museuTh.org.uk 1157770 Prlndpal addre55 objectives The claritable objects are to aoknce edLEcation forthe public benefft in particular in the subsect of Elstree and Borehamwood its history and heritage 14 ELSTREE & BOREHAMWOOD MUSEUM REGISTERED NUMBER 1157770 BAIANCE SHEET AS AT 3tst MAftal 2024 FIXED ASSETS C(Jmputer CURREP4T ASSErs Stocks Debtors Cash at bank & in hand 31.324 31.3.23 499 927 1210 1210 97666 90496 I￿319 92633 CREDrfoRS Amounts falling due within one year 2638 2638 NEf CURRENT ASSErs 97681 89995 Provision for liabilities 803% 76146 NET ASSErs 17285 13849 REPRESEKfED BY: Unrestricted funds 17285 13849 TOTAL FUNDS 17285 13849 These financial statements were approved by the trustees on and signed on their behalf by: Clive Butchins Norman Shuker 15 ELSTREE & BOREHAMWOOD MUSEUM DEfAILfD STATEMENT OF FINANaALACTivrrEs FOR YEAR ENDING 3tst MARCH 2024 Yeaf Yoar endtsy endln£ 31.324 31.3.23 . INCOME FROM Shop $31es Gross Profrt OTIIER INCOME Grants Donat￿￿5 & Presentations FTiend$ 5ubsuiptions Schools & presentatKK4S Storage Bank interest received 780 1348 622 10550 10550 95 691 601 282 150 212 450 296 831 TOTAL INCOME 12994 13174 Temporary exhibitiofis design & Print Education & Ever Insuran rr & equiprnent Costs Premises & a550ciated costs Pnntin&postsge & stationery 2346 2668 161 1490 1605 14 111$ 4250 4250 363 OThER EXPENSE5 Annual subscriptions & renewals Bank Charge5 Friends expenses Consumables Royalties Sundry Travel Catering 336 265 200 263 200 42 104 122 187 TOTAL EXPENDITURE 9558 11241 INCOME 3436 1933 Balance at 1st April 2023 13849 11916 BALA￿ CARRIED FORWARD 17285 13849 16 ELSTREE & BOREHAMWOOD MUSEUM NOTESTO TrIE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 315 MARCH 2024 Basls of pyeparatlon fvse xccunts been prepèred onderthÈ hlrtorical Lv5t £onvvttk•n with Items reriwiised ot C￿ts.The acc(yJnts*x prekured ir a¢c(rd¥1te￿th the Th¥it￿SS￿eMent ol recLb*mended Pra(ti¢e[applltab￿ totharities ￿ePar￿% theiramaits ill Xtord￿¢￿wtb the in tbie UK and Aepubf* of Irelartd FRS 102 ssued orF OctDber2019 Chartties SDRPIFRS 1021 the finantial reportirq standard apW4cabte in ti* UK and repvblkof Irebnd the financtal repotrtlng standwd app￿0￿￿ irLthe UKand Wlicd Ilelartd and the th*ities a¢t 2011. 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