WILLIAMSON AND Williamson & Priory Friends Annual Report 202212023 Williamson & Priory Friends Registered Charity Commission no.1166363 Slatey Road, Birkenhead, CH43 4UE friends@williamsonartgallery.org 0151666 3537 williamsonartgallery.org
CONTENTS
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Chair's Report __ 3-4 Treasurer's Report __ 5 V i s i t s __ 6 Birkenhead Priory __ 7
CHAIR'S REPORT Mary Compton-Rickett
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This was the year of change, for the Williamson in particular, as staff who had been in post for many years retired or moved on. Colin Simpson, our long standing Principal Museums Officer retired and Niall Hodson, who had been working alongside Colin, took over as Curator. Jo Burns, the venue manager, left and we welcomed Samantha Howes. These changes marked a change in the staff structure and hierarchy, which has resulted in things being done a little differently, thus changing some of the ways the Friends and the venues we support interrelate. Things are arranged a little more formally than before. We had, for some time, enjoyed access to gallery facilities for the preparation of the newsletter and mail outs. As we all know WBC continues to struggle to stretch the budget, meaning each venue has to be as economical as possible. We were therefore asked to largely separate our administration from the gallery. Because Openings to the shows now have a different focus, Friends are being invited to fewer of these and we were offered instead more tailored events around the shows, a “meet the artist” or talk. The first event was meeting Helene Appel during her excellent and intriguing show.
The purpose of the Friends, to support both the Priory and the Williamson, of course remains the same and we supported two Sunday Serenades held in the summer and put in a partly successful bid to the Hemby Trust, which will enable three workshops to be held before Christmas in our next financial year. Our own activities included a visit to Port Sunlight and Norton Priory.
The gardening team has continued to keep the green gallery in good shape and visitors continue to enjoy it during the summer months. Unfortunately, one of the birch trees which form the focal point of the design has died and will need to be professionally removed and another one is not happy. It is the view of Wirral’s tree preservation officer that disease is not the problem which is some comfort.
Membership remains healthy and at the end of our year stood at 515. As members were informed, our membership secretary had stood down in July and by the end of October our new secretary , Susanne Christian, had yet to take over. This is a very important role and we are grateful to both for excellent work. It was during this year that the committee took the decision to increase membership fees from £10 to a more realistic £20. Thank you all Members for your support.
Myself and Corinne attended the AGM and Conference of BAFM (British Association of Friends of Museums) in September at Doncaster, one of the newly created cities. Whilst the talks were not about art galleries in a struggling economy, we were treated to an inspirational talk from one presenter who had created a career for himself and become an
expert in palaeontology largely from a standing start.
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Both the Williamson and Birkenhead Priory enjoyed a successful year and numbers coming through the doors of both remain good. At the end of the year, we look forward to Wirral Regional Borough of Culture.
Mary Compton-Rickett
Chair.
TREASURER’S REPORT Jane Horton
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Firstly, thanks to all who have increased their subscrip7ons. This has enabled us to offset loss of other income and increase in some expenses.
Your increased membership subscrip7ons have helped to offset our loss of dona7ons at the gallery, compulsory bank charges of £227 imposed by HSBC, and increased postal charges.
We no longer have the expense of providing refreshments.
This year we successfully bid for a grant from the Hemby Trust and were awarded £500 for Saturday Art classes. This spend together with £200 from the Friends will show in next years accounts.
VISITS Corinne Whitham
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After a very long break we were able to organise three visits for our Friends in 2023. We have always tried to make these trips interesting and relevant to the membership, to have something local and to go further afield for the others.
In 2023 we started with a guided tour of Port Sunlight in May where members made their own way to the meeting point to join a partially self guided tour of the village.
In July we went by coach to Norton Priory. There have obviously been strong historical links between Norton Priory and Birkenhead Priory and staff on both sites enjoy a good working relationship so it was fascinating to see how the site has developed with outside investment - something from which Birkenhead Priory will benefit in the near future (watch this space!). We were made very welcome with a guided tour, a tasty lunch and free time to explore the site.
In September, while we were still enjoying good weather, we went further afield to Capesthorne Hall. The hall is a popular wedding venue and only open to the public on two days per week so we were able to book our group in for the Monday opening. We had a very interesting guided tour round the house with a special focus on the family’s art collection, lunch in the onsite cafe followed by free time to explore the extensive grounds (thank goodness for good weather!).
The intention is to continue this model in 2024, offering 3/4 trips to Friends in the warmer weather, a relatively local visit and some further afield which will involve a coach trip. We obviously welcome any suggestions from members for possible venues as we aim to make them relevant and interesting for the Friends - but we have some ideas for visits that we think you will enjoy.
BIRKENHEAD PRIORY Elaine Heritage
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As a National Monument & Grade 1 listed building, it is simply known to locals as “The Priory”. Since the last report, our Priory has emerged from the Covid lockdown to some of the busiest times since it was founded in 1150. A real community spirit has grown alongside an inherent atmosphere of peace and calm.
Autumn and Advent saw children exploring nature trails and adults crafting festive table decorations and Christmas wreaths. The Chapter house resounded with carols and Christmas songs from the Community Vox singers and the 3L’s Choir, helped by the audience. In Spring, the grounds came to life with spring flowers planted by volunteers and council staff, who had also done many necessary maintenance tasks in the annual January closure. Upon re-opening, visitor numbers increased until an Easter egg hunt on the 1[st] & 2[nd] April attracted thousands of visitors and Matthew, the Easter bunny, ran out of eggs! Children enjoyed making Beady bracelets and marvelled at the Moonshine Sanctuary Owls.
The Big Lunch Day (6[th] May 2023) to celebrate King Charles's coronation was a fabulous family picnic, themed red, white & blue. Children learned how to Maypole dance, Mersey Morris dancers strutted their stuff, Choirs sang their hearts out and the Wirral Samba drummers broadcast a wall of sound, which echoed off the ancient buildings. A day to remember with many more activities. The Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside and the Mayor were guests and the event was covered by Radio Merseyside, Capital Radio & Radio Wirral.
Summer saw a marvellous thirteen week programme of Music and events of all different genres, all free to the visiting public, produced by Samantha Higgins and directed by Caroline, Frank & Matthew; supported by the Priory Volunteers, Angela,Phil, Elaine,Tony, Mary & Friday Frank. In the middle of this, the “Off the Ground” theatre company staged “The Ballads of Billy the Kid” to a packed audience. All too soon The Birkenhead Choral Society and the Liverpool Guitar Society guided us into the Autumn.
The Friends have been approached and agreed to replace the older chairs with newer, more comfortable ones & visitors numbers have increased substantially.
Meanwhile, on a more practical note, the Chapter house is in need of refurbishment as cracks are evident in the fabric of the building. This will need the combined efforts of the Church of England and Wirral Council to rectify it. The Conway Collection, presently in what was the Scriptorium, will have to be rehoused while this takes place. The Priory needs good Friends, as do we all, in every walk of life.
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