CIO Registration Number 1164831
Museum for Watton
Trustees:
Christopher Hutchings – Chairman Abigail Dear Andrew Hutchings David Leathart Madeleine Jewell Jayne Frost Kathryn Stallard Norman Phillips Philip Kibler
The governing document requires the Board of Trustees to be made up of a minimum of three members and a maximum of ten. All trustees are unpaid volunteers who have demonstrated skills important to the efficient operation of the museum.
All trustees are required to read the Governing Document and to operate in accordance with this publication.
The museum also has a team of volunteers who assist both with administration and escorting visitors around the exhibits.
2021 / 2022 Activities
Although we were not financially damaged by the Covid lockdowns many of our older volunteers no longer felt able to continue offering their time and this meant that it has sometimes been a struggle to ensure the Museum is open Wednesday to Saturday as prior to lockdowns.
Nevertheless, we have managed to maintain our opening hours and have been working hard to attract visitors once again.
CIO Registration Number 1164831
Museum for Watton
We mentioned in last years report that Watton Town Council had agreed to share the Council Chamber with us and after extensive refurbishment this is now home not only to the Council but to a number of display cases showing history of businesses and organizations in the town as well as some history of the Council itself.
In addition we have constructed a coffee bar for visitors where we serve Romboults coffee
Our Chair made a substantial personal financial donation to the museum to assist with the refurbishment of the Council Chamber and this is reflected in our accounts
which show a marked increase in income for the 21/22 financial year. This should not be read as a trend in our finances when reading the accounts!
The museum aims to cater for a wide range of ages and interests with the modern social and military history of Watton represented as well as exhibits from pre-history such as flint tools and mammoth bones. We also have coins and artifacts from the Iceni, Romans, Vikings and Saxons all of whom have occupied areas around Watton. Watton itself has Saxon origins originally being named Wadan (“Town by the Ford”) and by time of the Norman invasion Wadetuna (“Homestead of Wade”).
CIO Registration Number 1164831
Museum for Watton
Apart from our displays to view on site we are looking deeper into what should be available to view remotely.
We obtained the photographic negatives archive of Ruth Dvornik, a professional photographer in Watton for 40 years, and we have been slowly digitizing the 500,000 images and uploading these to YouTube as mp4 videos to show events like the Watton Carnivals and this has created a great deal of interest.
Part of our program has included digitally recording memories and reminiscences of older residents of the town and we have already accumulated many hours of fascinating life stories, and these will be made available as podcasts in the near future.
We are also planning a greater online presence over the coming months to benefit those not able to visit in person including rewriting our website to create a more welcoming experience for younger people.
Museum 4 Watton Financial Year End 2021 / 2022
Cash on Hand and at Bank
| Current Account | £ 15,903.86 | |
|---|---|---|
| PayPal Bank | £ 42.79 |
Income
| General Income | £- | |
|---|---|---|
| Breckland Lotto | £ 244.00 | |
| Visitor Donations | £ 1,104.68 | |
| Total for General Income | £ 1,348.68 | |
| Gift Aid Donations | £ 25,000.00 | |
| Gift Aid Refund from HMRC | £ 6,250.00 | |
| Sales | £ 478.58 |
Expense
| Automobile Expense | £ 20.00 | |
|---|---|---|
| Display Items | £ 85.66 | |
| Furniture Costs | £ 1,554.27 | |
| Information Commissioner Fees | £ 35.00 | |
| IT and Internet Expenses | £ 288.91 | |
| Janitorial Expense | £ 4.75 | |
| Membership Fees | £ 62.00 | |
| Office Supplies | £ 98.27 | |
| Other Expenses | £ 300.05 | |
| Postage | £ 32.80 | |
| Printing and Stationery | £ 263.83 | |
| Public Liability Insurance | £ 636.74 | |
| Repairs and Refurbishment | £ 20,062.76 | |
| Telephone and Broadband Expense | £ 414.14 |
7 Edinburgh Close, Watton, Thetford, IP25 6XJ 16th January 2023 Museum 4 Watton Wayland Hall Middle Street Watton IP25 6AG Phil Klbler Vlce Ch ir Trustee Dear Phll, Re:M um 4 Watton R 1164831 As requested, I have today carried out an examination of the accounts for the above charity for the Flnancial Year 2021122. The charity is usin8 a recognised commerclal accounts package, ZOHO Books, whlch produces a number of reports includin8 a detailed General Ledger and Trial Balance. I was 8Sven access to the system to vlew both on-1Sne and printed versions of the reports and compared them to: The orlglnal paper records for: Lloyds Bank Statements Supplier Involces Cash Sales (the Museum sells small value trlnkets and brlc-a-brac uslng an NCR paper receipt bookl Examlnatlon From my examination of the ZOHO Books electronlc and printed records, I can say that the reports provlded are an accurate record of the Charws flnanclal posltion. TherÈ are no dlscrepancles when comparing bank records with Supplier bllls received or sale5 made. There were no restricted funds as the donatlon made for refurblshment dld not have any restrictive covenant. Comments The accounts for this period reflect a large donation to carry out work on refurbishin8 the Watton Town Council Chamber to facilitate expansion of the Museum and the large "Repairs and Maintenance" expendlture is for this work. This level of income and expendtture will be unique to the financial year in question. Yours sInrely, Scott Fergus Alexander