Guardians of St Alphege Parish Church Solihull (Charity no. 1166292) Trustees’ Year ended 31 July 2025
Fundraising
Tuesday 8[th] April Light and Sound at St Alphege Church.
This was held to showcase the new lighting installed to enhance the interior of the church. It was also an opportunity to link up with the tower team and hear about their heritage. The show by Andy Hastead was appreciated along with the contribution from the tower
Tuesday 10[th] June Summer Drinks Party
This was hosted by Ann Taylor. A successful and enjoyable event which was well attended. As all refreshments were donated a handsome profit was made. Some Guardian artefacts, no longer required, joined the raffle.
Thursday 10[th] July Stained Glass Windows of St Alphege Church
An excellent talk by Barry Brady, window restorer, was followed by tours of our fine windows. The evening finished with refreshments. The event was organised by Phil Godfrey. Another stimulating and profitable event.
Thursday 18[th] September Autumn Coffee Morning Margaret Oswald kindly hosted this event to allow a fund raising get together for members.
Other Fund Raising
Sheila Payne has continued to run the St Alphege Lighting scheme to publicise personal anniversaries. Refreshments after Sunday services have also provided funds. We have received individual generous donations. Many thanks are due to all involved.
Support of the church fabric
The trustees have benefitted from the experience of Andy Moore and Phil Godfrey relating to the buildings. We have been following the assessment of repairs to the spire and tower to prevent water ingress. To date no expenditure has been either requested or agreed. With the help of the Rector and others we are seeking a full picture of possible overall repairs expenditure going forward.
Trustees and organisation
Following the last AGM Martin Ayers, Phil Godfrey and Roger Shinton were formally added to the trustee team. They joined Judith Hetherington and the Rector (ex officio). At an initial meeting of the new team it was agreed Roger would act as chair, Andy as secretary and
Judith continue as treasurer. We have met every two months on a Wednesday afternoon. Judith has been updating banking admin to allow online access. Andy has reorganised the coordination of the membership list and e-mail communication. Roger has collected archival records and put them together as well as trimming unwanted material. We regret not yet having delivered a new website and this is now a priority.
Future Plans
Thursday 27[th] November Members Christmas Lunch at the Drum and Monkey.
Further events in the church and elsewhere are under discussion for 2026.
Martin Ayers is working on a simple scheme for The Guardians to stay in contact with people and families who have had an important relationship with St Alphege and Solihull, but have moved away.
Roger Shinton Sept 2025
The Guardians of St Alphege Parish Church, Solihull Statement of Financial Activities For the year ended 31 July 2025
| Year ended 31 July 2025 Note £ Income Subscriptions 1,702 Donations 1,042 Gift Aid 496 Floodlighting Income 842 Investment Income 3,612 Interest Received 183 Summer Drinks Evening Event 362 Light and Sound Event 166 Lunch 157 Picture Auction 15 Stain Glass Window Church Event 443 Cheese and Wine - Church drinks - Raffle - Coffee Morning - Copper Collection - Total Income 9,020 Expenditure Floodlights - Postage and Printing 65 AGM 38 Church Lighting 530 Total Expenditure 633 Net Income before gains on investments 8,387 Unrealised gains on investments 1 49,702 Net movement in funds during the year 58,089 Reconciliation of Funds Funds brought forward 621,299 Funds carried forward 679,388 |
Year ended 31 July 2024 £ 2,159 1,350 399 808 3,432 312 233 - - - - 238 274 126 273 13 9,617 23 28 50 - 101 9,516 79,015 88,531 532,768 621,299 |
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The Guardians of St Alphege Parish Church, Solihull Balance Sheet As at 31 July 2025
| 31 July 2025 £ Fixed Assets Investments 1 649,021 Current Assets Cash at bank 2 27,825 Debtors 3 2,542 30,367 Total Funds 679,388 Approved by Trustees on 17 December 2025 |
31 July 2024 £ 599,319 19,956 2,024 21,980 621,299 |
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The Guardians of St Alphege Parish Church, Solihull Notes to the Accounts As at 31 July 2025
| 1 Investments M&G Equities Investment Fund - Accumulation Units M&G Equities Investment Fund - Income Units 2 Cash at Bank Treasurers Account Deposit Account No1 Account 3 Debtors Gift Aid Claim Prepayment |
Market Value as at Change in Market Value as at 31 July 2024 Market Value 31 July 2025 £ £ £ 537,056 48,113 585,169 62,263 1,589 63,852 599,319 49,702 649,021 31 July 2025 31 July 2024 £ £ 4,035 1,644 17,247 15,564 6,543 2,748 27,825 19,956 2,520 2,024 22 - 2,542 2,024 |
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