The Parish of Salisbury Plaln ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS OF THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st December 2025 Administrative infomiation The Parish of Salisbury Plain was created on 1st January 2014 and is a one-parish benefice comprising the histortc parishes of All Saints, & St Mary. ChFtteme' St Marls Orcheston" St Mary's Shrewton. and St Thomas a Becket. Tilshead. It is part of the DI0Se of Salisbury within the Church of England. The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a charity registered with the Charity Commission {No. 1173846) RegistratFon was effective 18 July 2017. PCC members who have served from the 1 sl May 2024 until the date this rert was approved are: Incumbent unts"13rd Nov 25.. We have been in vacancy since. The Revd Carn Eleanor Ran Chaimian Wardens." Richard Essberger Ewart Grant Hilda Renshaw lan Smith Marcelle Stobie RepTrsentatives on the Deanery Synod." Sarah Gooch Elected members." Mike Badham-Thomhill John Badgery Gay Jennings-Bramly Andrew Macdonald Debby Potter Vice Chairman & Secretsry Ct)-OPted Member&.' Sam Shepherd Treasurer
Structure, governance and management The method of apintment of PCC members is set out in the Church Representation Rules. All Church attendees are encouraged to register on the Electoral Roll and stand for election to the PCC. Objectives and Activities The Salisbury Plain Benefi PCC has the responsibility of rxFoperating with the incumbent. who was until the 3rd November 2025 the Revd Canon Eleanor Rance, in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish the whole Mission of the Church, pastoral. evangelistic. social and ecumenical. It also has oversight of the Maddington Chufth Room in the historic parish of Maddingtonlshrewton. Review of the year The PCC met on 261h February for the APCM on 301h April, 181h June, and 6 November 2025. The PCC complied wtth its duty under section 5 of the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016 by having due regard to the House of Bishops, guidan on safeguarding children and vulnerable adurts WFthin the parish. Those due for safeguarding refresher training attended a course online as provided by the di0Se. CHURCH ArrENDANCE & WORSHIP On 1 $t May 2025 there were 96 parishioners on the Church Electoral Roll. The schedule for Sunday worship until November 2025 continued to include a range of service forms including weekly mid-mming Communion Services. BCP Holy Communion, BCP Evensong. Family Service. and Zoom Evening Prayer. After November when the vacancy began. the Steering Committee worked hard to ensure that Holy Communion in each church was maintained. Where a priest has not been available the LWL or Church Wardens have stepped in. The average attendance across the parish settled at around 23 {23 in 2024) for the main moming servi, and 13 (13 in 2024) children at the monthly Family ServicelTea that has been temporarily suspended Sin October. The attendan at most regular ServIS showed a gentle upward trend. While Servi attendance at Easter were lower than in 2024, ServIS during Advent were retuming to muth healthier levels however figures for Christrnas Day varied across the Parish. Weekday worship figures have also fluctuated. It has to be said that the Rev Jonathan Plows has been assiduous in his duties as Rural Dean, and has regularty stepped in to assist us. He is to be commended. The benefice choir has continued to offer SUPFK)rt in worship across the parish, and. along with our regular organists we have beneffted from the support of visitors for a number of weddings and funerals during the course of 2025. We also shared services in our 3 'closed' churches.
Occasional Offices in the Benefice or at the crematorium (figures in brackets~ 2024): Baptisms (9) {Chrtteme O. Orcheston 1, Shrewton 6. Tilshead O) Marriages I blessings (6) {Chitteme O. Orcheston O, Shrewton O. Tilshead 1) Funerals {14) (Chitteme 3, Orcheston O. Shrewton 5. Tilshead 3) 11 In addition to this there were 7 {9) services to bury ashes {Chitteme O, Orcheston O, ShrevrtonlRollestonelMaddington 3. Tilshead 4). Assistan and support to bereaved families was also offered to several families. The All Souls. Servi was well received, with many who attended taking gravelights or meTnorial candles away with them following the service. MINISTRY. INCLUDING WORSHIP. WITH SCHOOLS & FAMILIES IN 2025 In both schools governan continued to be an important strand of our church ministry. Tilshead's school went successfully through its SIAMS and OFSTED inspections during 2024. with a significant presence of Foundation Govemors at both. The events of Holy Week and Easter were marked with pupils from both schools. Leavers servIs and activities were supported by the church in both primary schools. Throughout the year provision of financial and food support was coordinated between the clergy. Candlemas and the local schools. In December local community members once again donated small gifts. gift wrap and tags to the church. and we ran a very sucSsful gifting scheme across 2 sites in the parish (see below). This allowed every child to select a gift for a family member at no charge. Remaining gifts. wrap and tags were placed into the new pantry so that the wider community could benefit from a tempordry 'present drawerf. Family Service & Tea continued up to October and was a popular and appreciated event durbng 2025. while Activity packs were distributed to families across the parish during every school holiday. At the end of the summer holidays our. now annual. Teddy Bears. Picnic drop in drew significant numbers from across the community. The following reSoUrS were provided: Weekly Collective worship provided almost exclusively 'in person. for the year- for the first time across a whole academic year. Rev Jonathan Plows has continued worship with the schools. Yr 6 Leavers sessFons with Tilshead Yr 6 thinking about moving onl moving up Harvest Serrfices In Shrewton & filshead Churches 'Christmas gifting, Both Shrewton and filshead School held a gift wrapping session for loved ones in the respective schools this year assisted by Benefi volunteers.
MINISTRY IN THE WIDER COMMUNrrY IN 2025 Across the year each church collected items of food or gifts of money in support of local organisations. such as the Community panty based in Shrewton. the Wamiinster F¢Jodbank and Alabarè. Support to individuals and families struggling with the cost of living crisis was also made possible. in part, by the provision of a grant by the Church of England. Throughout the year the church community were instrumental in developing the reach and resources of the Community Pantry. 'Pop up, shelves in the Panty are still welcomed. among these were those for Easter decorations. 'Back to School., games for the school hdidays, cookery and kitchen. and the Christmas Gift & Wrap shelf. September and October saw Harvest Festtvals and meals throughout the Parish. viith Produ donations to Alabare and the Wamiinster Food Bank. Working ecumenically is a signrficant part of lrfe within the parish, and in 2025 we continued to work with our Methodist friends to prepare and distribute Activity packs. and we also continued to work with GUL. especially with regard to the Communty Pantries (there is a second panty at The Bustard), and visiting. Likewise members of the Plain Church community worshipped with us on a number of occasions. FINANCIAL REVIEW Total Receipts for the financial year induding the redemption of investment funds and a generous legacy were £100,781 {2024 £127.534}. Regular income fell from £96.000 to £80.000. Giving to the church through regular planned donations. one off donations and the collection plate over the year reduced to £38.000 from £48,300. This total amount is only equal to 56° of our Parish Share that we paid over to the DicKw. We received one generous legacy of £20.000 to be spent on the church fabric of St Mary's Church. Orcheston. We continue to receive a number of generous grants from local organisations. For these we are most grateful to Tilshead Parish Council for a grant towards grass cutting costs at St Thomas churchyard. and also Shrewton Parish Council for a similar gant for grass cutting at St Mary Maddington churchyard. Gift Aid receipts were reduced to £8,9tMJ reflecting the reduced nom1 In)Me. ReIpts from Parochial fees fell to £7.500 refiecting a reduction in the number of funerals and only one wedding in the Benefice.
Receipts from fvnd raising events were similar to the previous year at £5,300 but historically this is low. Income from Bank Deposits and Trusts reduced slightly to £12.800 as a Consequen of cashing in some investment funds in 2024. Maddington Church Hall fee income has fallen to £1.700 from £2,300. Total expenditure was £102.991 (2024 £114.343) to enable the Benefi in Ministry throughout our four villages. Our contribution to the Parish Share remained level at £68,000. There was no apparent increase as we now benefit from a partial refund of parochial fees from the Diocese being credited to our Share. However Share will now rise each year by at least £2,500 until 2028. Clergy expenses Vre £1,500 up from £1.100. The Salisbury DBF share of parochial fees rose slightly to £3.450. General running costs of insuran. heating. electricity fell slightly to £14.250 from£14,950. Fortunately expenditure on building works was historically Jow at £4.250. Maintenance of our eight churchyards was lower at £2.700. We have continued to make grants from funds raised earlier from fabric and craft sales. We paid out all funds raised for the community Panty to GUL, a Shrewton based charity who have taken over responsibility for the Pantry following the departure of our incumbent. In addition we made donations to other causes including The Royal British Legion, CRESS, Alabare, the Stroke association, the Children's Society. Wiltshire Historic Churches Trust and the Churches Conservation Trust. The overall financial result is an excess of expendtture over reIpts of £2,200. However the income includes the legacy reived. The underlying figures show an income deficit of £22,000 for the year after a similar underlying deficit of £11.000 in 2024. Our financial assets held in investment funds have increased over the year by £8,500 to £526,500. This illustrates that although we are in deficit on our running costs. we possess considerable assets.
Reserves Pollcy At the PCC meeting on 6th June 2018 a Financial Management Policy paper was presented to and approved by the PCC, including the following °Salisbury Plain Benefice Reserves Policf. The Reserves of Salisbury Plain Benefice are those unrestricted funds required to ensure prudent financial managemenL The ReseNes do not indude funds that were raised for designated purposes. or are restricted in terms of their donation. or are endowments or propety assets. They will ensure that the PCC will meet all the normal costs of running the Benefice, induding the ability to pay our Parish Share. our fees to the Diocesan Board of Finan. building insuran. utility bills. costs of service. administrab'on and day to day repairs. The reserves should also meet minor unexpected repair costs induding minor works identified in Quinquennial reports. The Reserves Policy recognises that through the Benefice. the four constwtuent villages will be able to support each other when necessary. The expected running costs for 2026 will be around £100,000. Given recent experience of the pandemic it is prudent to increase the reserrfes above Church of England guidance of three months reserves to six months would give an appropriate reserve of £50.000. In the event that our reserves are consistently below the target sum or are consistently above the target. the PCC will take responsibilty to remedy the situation. When reserves drop too low funds should be allocated from a designated fund where that fund is not immediately required for the designated purpose. Where reserves are too high funds could, with the approval of the PCC. be used either supporting a project in the communty or being designated to an underfunded fabric fund or similar. This Policy slK)uld be reviewed annually. Approved by the PCC on 1$1 May 2026 and slgned on their behalf by Richard Essberger (per pro PCC Chair)
INDEPENDEiYT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH cour4CIL OF THE SALISBURY PLAIN BEYL EFICF. Thi5 retx)rt on the financial #ate4ll olth¢ PCC forthc Yealed 31 Dffembtr2025. which are set out on pages 2 kn 5. Is In rtspt of au examination ried out in a¢co[dae with the Church Accouniing ReatIo 2(Mkn {'the R£gujOn.j a1 segii 43 of the Charities Att IW3 {"the Art"). Respective re4bDnsibilities ofthe PCC and the As manbers of the PCC you are resFwsible forthe preparation of the financial statements. You o)nsidtr that the audit requiTeEJJcnt of ihc Regulations a[ section 43 121 of the Act do not apply. li is my r¢swbilIty io issue this re)rt those finawial a¢anents in accordance with the teEms of the regulatsons. B&si5 of tbis report My examination was Carri otsi in ?lanCe with ihe General Direciions given by the Charity CoD]mi%ion utxler section 43(7Xb) of the A¢1 and to be found in the Chun Gitidithce. 2(X>6 lti0 issKd by the Finamcc Division olthe Archbishops Council. Th exami]xation includts a review of the acc(xttttsng rttords kept by the PCC and a compariwn of the accounts with ttsose rttords. I( also iDcludGs ¢onsiderÈng aDy uDusuaL items or disclosuros im the fina181 staternthts and seekin8 eXplatIonS from you L5 In¢¢¢$¢0ernIng any such mattets. The pr{ureS undertaken Ib) not provide ihe e¥[denceth would be requitEd an audii. atwj conwuaily l () not exrrfess an audit opinÈon (Trn the view given by the cOunts. dePeTrdet eLqmiwer's sttement which giv me &9)rtable tause to bdieve that in 8ny maerial rewt the require¥nents to keep accoun18 rwords in with seciion 41 of ihe Act: and to prepare rjr4gnc1 staternen which tsTd wtth the *CQYnts" rtrords and comply with the rquitrrnents of the Act ar the Regulations have niA been mth: or to which. In Tlly opiniotL atientiott slKxdd bc thawn in order to tnabie a prop understatxling ofthe OLtS io Ir rexhtsL 12) SigTratsre: Position:
olun pLInn ¢Mfi9. GfftAMI 00Pne4 Gh 9.439(K 7.117.DD &410.C4J 27.02e 29.649 1216.C17 1.988.26 384.(h7 20.1w.e 15.fy) 119&S5 ZI05 1242.31 1.870.83 310. .10 6.4ZF.30 74.391.75 1.610.iW) 8M99.70 6.622 GrftAA1 RBfuThJ 1613.79 184.84 4115) 9.650 Par(Wth FS 1.529.WJ 1870.0) 12.103 1043.35 4.70 12&J23 .*y 28z. 5289.41 5.628 2&07 1,627.32 1.134.54 11.o87.95 2B9.W 9.3T3.06 12.267 1.7 2.3ts 1347 17 VAT tsranl ILPelGSI 141. 372.¢Jl 3n.cwj t.¥31.(WJ 7fj0.(Y) 1.44153 IW 781.75 1.951.fyJ CBF Inve51rrthtFth)J 21000 673.57 42 Toial 127 PAYMEFif5 hu 34105 12 IZ314.rJ 1272014 ).10 311.64 67.999 99 1.510.79 3.4S3.C¥) 67.981 D8F Shavrffee 1062 17.iX) l.C67.ty) 3.11 Insuran Z99&20 1239.77 3203.07 I.65 248.13 470.03 &12 10.2W2n 2.867 26 1.01S29 276.01 4248.48 t.DD7.3# 2.875.00 10.08B 3.253 1.018 583 15.23 1.658 3.24D
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oles io tbe 20?4 Accounts Salisbun. Plai Benefice PCC l. The Benefice of Salssbury Plain %vas 8allY constituted at the end of 2013. 2. The accounts have been prèpared on a Receipts & Payments meth. 3. The Staiement of Aicouot lists geparately the accounts for eaih of the four former paii5hes, for Maddin8ton Church Rooms. and a 8eneral account, which are then consolidated. 4. The Statement of Asset5 5hoY4s all cash holdings and other investment funds held. S. The invèstTnent funds ale at market value as at 31 December 2025. These funds are invested 4n the (BF Investment Fund by CCLA on behalf of the Parish. 6. The Shrewton èllotment land continues to be included at a rkominal value of £1,000. 7. The Maddington Church R00rn5 in Shrev4ton continue to be intluded at nominal value of £1.0. 8. Outstandin8 Gift Aid É5 the sum due to be reclaimed from qualifyin8 donations in 2025. 9. Liabilities afe those knthvn o%ved to Salisbury Diocesan Board of Finance for fèès incurred in ihe fourth quarter of 2025 but dlte for payment in January 2026. ftA- PLAIfy eKnrFRNF. CfftCHESTON SHR£WIOP4.TILSHEAD Chv4 it)" Niu]kber I1-3S46