THAME MUSEUM TRUST
TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS For year ending 31 March 2025
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Reference and Administrative Details | Page 3 |
|---|---|
| Chair of Trustees Report | Page 4 |
| Structure, Governance and Management | Page 6 |
| Objectives and Activities | Page 7 |
| Visitor Attendance Figures | Page 7 |
| Trustees | Page 8 |
| Financial Review | Page 10 |
| Annual Accounts | Page 11 |
| Minutes of AGM of Thame Museum Trust (25 June 2022) | Page 21 |
| Declaration | Page 23 |
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REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
Charity Commission Registered Charity 1174795
An Arts Council Accredited Museum
Museum Address
79 High Street, Thame OX9 3AE
Trustees
Mr Adrian Dite Chair of Trustees Mr Michael Parsons Treasurer Miss Petrova Caldecourt Mr Michael L Dyer Mrs Lisa Stevens Dr Trevor Watkins Mrs Lindsey Weimers Mr Philip Williams
Town Council Nominees
Councillor Paul Cowell Councillor Linda Emery
Thame Historical Society Nominees
Mr Maurice Kirtland Mr Paul Earley Resigned 3 December 2024 Mr Philip Glover Appointed 3 December 2024
Secretary
Mr David McBrien
Accounts Independent Examiner
Mrs Ann Green, 32 Holliers Close, Thame OX9 2EN
Bankers
Barclays Bank PLC, 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP
Insurers
Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc, Benefact House, 2000 Pioneer Avenue, Gloucester Business Park, Brockworth, Gloucester GL3 4AW
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND INDEPENDENTLY EXAMINED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2025
The Trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ending 31 March 2025. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) ’Accounting and Reporting by Charities’ issued in March 2015.
CHAIR OF TRUSTEES REPORT
This year I have structured my report to reflect the way in which the Museum teams operate, i.e., “Activities”, “Collections” and “Enabling”.
However, I will start this report with a heartfelt thanks to all our volunteers.
As a totally volunteer-run organisation, all that happens only happens because a volunteer makes it happen. The success of the museum is only possible due to the dedication of the teams either front of house opening up and greeting our visitors, or the working groups pulling the exhibitions together, and looking after the collection. Also, those running the daily life of the museum make invaluable contributions. On behalf of the Trustees, I offer a sincere “Thank You” to every one of you.
Activities
The Museum has had another startling year with many wonderful highlights and I’ll start with a mention of the Robin Gibb weekend which was fantastically supported. It was a truly international event. As well as many visitors coming to the Museum there was a series of events over three days which included a music and verse evening in St. Mary's Church and a special viewing of the “Saturday Night Fever” film at The Thame Players theatre, all of which added up to very enjoyable weekend. Many thanks to Dwina Gibb, a wonderful patron to the Museum, for both taking part and supporting the weekend.
We had a strong programme of short term exhibitions this year including:
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The town’s emergency services, including a very well supported visit from the fire station crew who brought along a fire engine;
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Active Thame exhibition, which was supported by nearly all of the sports clubs in the area;
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The history of Rycote Park, and talk by the current owner, Sara Taylor;
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The life of Johnny Smythe, together with a talk from his son, Eddie. The exhibition items have now become part of the main permanent exhibition in the main gallery thanks to Eddie’s generous donation of artefacts, in addition to some financial support; and
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I’m glad to say that the Museum was able to support the Thame History Fair again this year, which was a very well attended event in the Town Hall.
We continue our work with local schools, hosting talks and activities with the primary schools. We continue to be involved with Lord Williams’ secondary school, hosting their annual art show, the year 7 “community engagement week”, offering work experience, as well as the ongoing support of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme.
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We are also allowing third party groups to use our museum as a community hub, which not only ensures the community uses the spaces but also brings in valuable income.
Collections
We continue to follow our Forward Plan, and with storage space an ever present issue, we have an ongoing programme to review our collection, appraising what we currently hold, and the de-accessioning of items which do not help us tell “The Story of Thame”.
We are also looking at the best way to display our collection items, including the layout of the main gallery.
We have launched a sponsorship programme with local businesses to support the costs of new display boards and have had support from the South East Museum Development Team in the creation of a new style guide to be used for future exhibitions.
Enabling
The Museum has been able to invest in a few areas:
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Installing a new and more modern sales system for in-house and online sales;
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Introducing a new website, which has attracted many more hits; and
-
Adding an electronic donation station to take card donations.
All these have been well received and with the new till providing dynamic stock control we are able to deliver a better on-line shop service internationally.
We received a significant donation again this year from the Midsomer Murder Tour group. This is an independent team who take visitors to the town on a guided tour of film locations used in the TV programme. The tour ends in the Museum (a film location in its own right) and we are always pleased to see them.
After many attempts, the leaks from the roof have been fixed! Now that rain water egress has been stopped, we can work with the Town Council (who own the building) to address the internal damage done.
We have also initiated a process to review and change our constitution to a more widely used and modern offering.
I end where I started with the volunteers that make this a true community museum. We finished the year with around 75 volunteers, 14 of whom had joined us in the last six months, hence bucking the trend of a declining volunteer team being suffered by many similar charities across the country. This has been achieved by organising very focused recruitment events. We have also directly recruited Trustees for the first time this year to fill some skills gap within our Trustee group.
To conclude, I believe, the actions we have taken together with our agreed Forward Plan, will improve our visitor experience and support of the wider community. The Trustees are looking forward to next year with the Museum already having an exciting programme in place.
It's been a fantastic year, and I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Museum team and having the honour to be chair of the Trustees.
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STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing Document
The charity was established by constitution signed on 06 February 2004 as a Charitable Unincorporated Association and is governed under its Constitution that delineates the objects and powers of the Charitable Trust. The Charitable Trust was registered with the Charity Commission number 1125432. It has now been dissolved and was removed from the Charity Commission register in July 2019.
On 22 September 2017 a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) was registered with the Charity Commission number 1174795 in the name of Thame Museum Trust. The Objects and Aims of the CIO are identical with the Objects and Aims of the previous charity. The CIO took overall responsibility for the Trust from 01 April 2018.
The financial statements are prepared in accordance with the Trust’s constitution and the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP FRS102).
Reserves Policy and Risk Management
The Trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. The Trustees reviewed its financial controls on 12 February 2025.
The Trustees have approved holding reserves which equate roughly to 1.5 years overheads, being £15,000, to guard against unexpected costs.
The Trust leases a building for the purposes of running the Museum. This is held on a 25year lease from Thame Town Council at the rate of £1 per annum.
The Trust does not have access to any overdraft or loan facility.
Arts Council Accreditation
In 2007 the Trustees were pleased to announce that the Museum was the first museum of its style to directly achieve the Accreditation Standard set for Museums. The Museum’s Arts Council accreditation was renewed in 2013 and again in 2017; a reapplication for accreditation is being planned for 2026/2027.
Operating Group
The day to day running of the Museum has been delegated by the Trustees to an Operating Group which is constituted as:
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Chair, Secretary and Treasurer;
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Members representing the functions of the Museum:
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Activities Team, incorporating activities relating to Exhibitions and Events, Children and Families, and Publicity and Marketing
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Collections Team
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Enabling Team, incorporating support for Volunteers, Finance, IT and the Building
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This Operations Group and its supporting structure facilitates the natural collaborative style of team working within the Museum.
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Objectives and Aims
The principal object of the Trust is:
To advance education by the establishment and maintenance of a museum in local history and in particular, but not exclusively, to Thame and the surrounding area.
In planning our activities, we have kept in mind the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
The primary public benefits to the community are:
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Operation of a local history Museum which collects and conserves artefacts relating to life in the Thame area in accordance with the Collections Policy;
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Providing a facility for members of the public to carry out local history research;
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Holding regular public talks with a historical theme and temporary exhibitions and displays on historical and artistic themes; and
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Collaborative working with local children’s groups, local businesses and schools to improve access to the Museum and its collections and enhance its operations.
VISITOR ATTENDANCE FIGURES
Visitor attendance for the past five years is:
| Year | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total visitors | 5,486 | 5,850 | 6,782 | 2,530 | 492 |
| Days open | 189 | 185 | 178 | *104 | *28 |
| Average visitors per open day |
29 | 32 | 38 | 24 | 18 |
- During the year we opened when it was legal to do so within relevant covid regulations, and when there were sufficient Volunteers available to ensure public safety. We were pleased to note that the average visitor numbers were largely maintained during this unprecedented period.
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TRUSTEES
As requested at the 2018 AGM, members asked for the Annual Report to include the length of the current term served by each Trustee.
| AGM | Jun-22 | Jun-22 | Jun-22 | Jun-23 | Jun-23 | Jun-23 | Jul-24 | Jul-24 | Jun-25 | Jun-25 | Jun-25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trustee | Stood down | Elected |
Complete years |
Stood down | Elected |
Complete years |
Stood down | Elected |
Complete years |
Stood down | Elected |
Complete years |
| Petrova Caldecourt Co-opted Dec-23 |
√ | √ | 1 | |||||||||
| Adrian Dite First elected Jun-17 |
1 | 2 | √ | √ | 3 | 1 | ||||||
| Michael Dyer First elected Jun-17 |
2 | √ | √ | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||||||
| Michael Parsons Co-opted Feb-24 |
√ | √ | 1 | |||||||||
| Lisa Stevens Co-opted Dec-23 |
√ | √ | 1 | |||||||||
| Trevor Watkins Co-opted Dec-23 |
√ | √ | 1 | |||||||||
| Lindsey Weimers First elected Jul-23 |
√ | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
| Philip Williams First elected Jun-16 |
1 | 2 | √ | √ | 3 | 1 | ||||||
| Paul Cowell(Thame Town Council) First elected Jun-19 |
3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||||||
| Linda Emery(Thame Town Council) First elected Jun-17 |
5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||||||||
| Philip Glover(Historical Society) First elected Dec-24 |
0.5 | |||||||||||
| Maurice Kirtland(Historical Society) First elected Jun-17 |
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
As per the Trust’s Constitution one-third of the elected Trustees shall retire from office, retiring by rotation based on those who have been longest in office since their last appointment or reappointment. At this time, Michael Dyer and Lindsey Weimers retire for this reason. Both are seeking re-election at the 2025 AGM.
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The Chairman and Trustees would like to take this opportunity to thank Paul Earley for his excellent support and contributions to the Museum over the last number of years as a Trustee, and looks forward to continue to work with Paul as a highly valued member of the Volunteer team.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Adrian Dite
Mr A Dite, Chair of Trustees Dated: 7 June 2025
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FINANCIAL REVIEW
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2025
The Trustees acknowledge their responsibility for preparation of financial statements and consider that under Section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) a formal audit is not required and that an independent examination is required for the year ending 31 March 2025.
The financial statements were examined and approved by the Board of Trustees on 30 April 2025 and signed on behalf of the Trustees by: Adrian Dite
INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTS EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THAME
MUSEUM TRUST
I report to the Trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Thame Museum Trust (the Trust) for the year ending 31 March 2025.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charity’s Trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner’s statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which give me cause to believe that, in any material respect:
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the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or
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the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
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the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed: Ann Green (original on file)
Name: Mrs Ann Green
Relevant professional qualification or membership of professional bodies: ACA
Address: 32 Holliers Close, Thame OX9 2EN
Date: 12 May 2025
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ANNUAL ACCOUNTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2025
THAME MUSEUM TRUST
CHARITY NO: 1174795
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
| Notes Incoming resources 3 Donations Grants 4 Fundraising Membership Talks, room hire & other income Total Resources expended 5 Cost of raising funds Building expenses Office expenses Total Net income / (expenditure) Transfers between funds Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward |
Unrestricted Funds Restricted Income Funds Total Funds Prior Year Funds £ £ £ £ |
|---|---|
| 5,226 - 5,226 5,379 - - - 5,654 12,578 - 12,578 17,615 1,687 - 1,687 1,864 2,244 - 2,244 214 |
|
| 21.735 - 21.735 30.726 |
|
| 13,655 - 13,655 12,287 10,814 - 10,814 14,426 5,531 - 5,531 11,366 |
|
| 30,000 - 30,000 38,079 |
|
| (8,265) - (8,265) (7,353) 3,000 (3,000) - - |
|
| (5,265) (3,000) (8,265) (7,353) 53,800 3,000 56,800 64,153 |
|
| 48,535 - 48,535 56,800 |
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BALANCE SHEET
| Restricted | Prior | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted | Income | Total | Year | ||
| Notes | Funds | Funds | Funds | Funds | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Current assets | |||||
| Stocks | 6 | 3,812 | - | 3,812 | 4,372 |
| Debtors | 7 | 5,316 | - | 5,316 | 589 |
| Cash at bank and in | 43,493 | - | 43,493 | 53,737 | |
| hand | |||||
| Total current assets | 52,621 | - | 52,621 | 58,698 | |
| Creditors: amounts | 8 | (4,086) | - | (4,086) | (1,898) |
| falling due within one | |||||
| year | |||||
| Total net assets | 48,535 | - | 48,535 | 56,800 | |
| Funds | |||||
| Restricted income | - | (3,000) | (3,000) | 3,000 | |
| funds | |||||
| Unrestricted funds | 48,535 | - | 48,535 | 53,800 | |
| Total funds | 9 | 48,535 | - | 48,535 | 56,800 |
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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
1. Basis of preparation
1.1. Basis of accounting
The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014 and with the Charities Act 2011.
1.2. Going concern
The accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis.
2. Accounting policies
2.1. Income
Recognition of income : income is included in the SoFA when the Trust becomes entitled to the resources, it is more likely than not that the Trustees will receive the resources and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.
Offsetting : there has been no offsetting of assets and liabilities, or income and expenditure, unless required or permitted by the FRS 102 SORP.
Grants and donations : are only included in the SoFA when the general income recognition criteria are met.
Tax reclaims on donations : Gift Aid receivable is included in income when there is a valid declaration from the donor. Any Gift Aid amount recovered on a donation is considered to be part of that gift and is treated as an addition to the same fund as the initial donation unless the donor or the terms of the appeal have specified otherwise.
Volunteer help : The value of any voluntary help received is not included in the accounts but is described in the Trustees’ annual report.
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2.2. Expenditure and liabilities
Liability recognition: Liabilities are recognised where it is more likely than not that there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the Trust to pay out resources and the amount of the obligation can be measured with reasonable certainty.
Creditors : The Trust has creditors which are measured at settlement amounts less any trade discounts.
Stocks : Goods or services provided as part of a charitable activity are measured at net realisable value based on the service potential provided by items of stock.
Debtors : Debtors (including trade debtors) are measured on initial recognition at settlement amount after any trade discounts or amount advanced by the Trust. Subsequently, they are measured at the cash or other consideration expected to be received.
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3. Analysis of incoming resources
| Donations Donations Gift Aid Total Grants South Oxfordshire DC Haddenham Beer Festival Thame Town Council Total Fundraising Exhibitions and events 100 Club Shop sales Total Membership Subscriptions Gift Aid Total Talks, room hire & other income Talks Room Hire School visits & Arts Award Other income Total Total income* |
Unrestricted Funds Restricted Income Funds Total Funds Prior Year Funds £ £ £ £ |
|---|---|
| 4,355 - 4,355 4,228 871 - 871 1,151 |
|
| 5,226 - 5,226 5,379 |
|
| - - - 3,000 - - - 2,000 - - - 654 |
|
| - - - 5,654 |
|
| 5,550 - 5,550 6,846 - - - 682 7,028 - 7,028 10,087 |
|
| 12,578 - 12,578 17,615 |
|
| 1,418 - 1,418 1,598 269 - 269 266 |
|
| 1,687 - 1,687 1,864 |
|
| 651 - 651 (819) 396 - 396 - 390 - 390 486 807 - 807 547 |
|
| 2,244 - 2,244 214 |
|
| 21,735 - 21,735 30,726 |
- Talks income is net of subscriptions to the online shop provider through which tickets are sold, and the subscription to the live-stream platform provider.
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4. Analysis of receipts of government grants
No grants were received in the current year. In the prior year the grants totalling £5,000 from South Oxfordshire District Council and Haddenham Beer Festival were received to support the creation of a permanent display following the highly successful exhibition Last Stop Thame about the history of Thame’s railway. £454 was received from Thame Town Council for 3 Amazon Fire tablets. The remaining £200 was received again from Thame Town Council as general support as part of celebrations for the King’s Coronation.
5. Analysis of resources expended
| Cost of raising funds Exhibitions and events Shop purchases Collections management Advertising Other expenses Total Building expenses Utilities Maintenance contracts Repairs and renewals Cleaning Insurance Total Office expenses Stationery and postage Printing Subscriptions Training Computers and software Other expenses Total Total expenditure* |
Unrestricted Funds Restricted Income Funds Total Funds Prior Year Funds £ £ £ £ |
|---|---|
| 7,607 - 7,607 1,541 3,121 - 3,121 5,660 903 - 903 3,560 1,718 - 1,718 806 306 - 306 720 |
|
| 13,655 - 13,655 12,287 |
|
| 7,106 - 7,106 7,268 1,200 - 1,200 1,265 1,395 - 1,395 4,436 535 - 535 879 578 - 578 578 |
|
| 10,814 - 10,814 14,426 |
|
| 595 - 595 537 104 - 104 695 816 - 816 490 - - - - 3,998 - 3,998 6,739 18 - 18 2,905 |
|
| 5,531 - 5,531 11,366 |
|
| 30,000 - 30,000 38,079 |
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** Subscriptions were paid for memberships including the Museums Association, Oxfordshire Museums Council and Association of Independent Museums.
*** In the prior year expenditure of £2,875 related to an external consultancy service to propose a development plan for the Museum.
6. Stocks
Stocks represents finished goods held for sale in the shop within the Museum and online.
7. Debtors
| . Debtors | |
|---|---|
| Trade debtors Owed by a supplier Prepayments |
2025 2024 £ £ |
| 47 253 173 336 5,096 - |
|
| 5,316 589 |
8. Creditors – amounts falling due within one year
| Trade creditors Prepaid talks tickets Other creditors Accruals |
2025 2024 £ £ |
|---|---|
| 41 387 - 128 3,184 672 861 711 |
|
| 4,086 1,898 |
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9. Trust’s funds
Details of funds held and movements during the CURRENT reporting period:
| Fund name Unrestricted General fund Restricted Last Stop Thame case Total Total funds |
Balance brought forward Income Expenditure Transfers Balance carried forward £ £ £ £ £ |
|---|---|
| 53,800 21,735 (30,000) 3,000 48,535 |
|
| 3,000 - - (3,000) - |
|
| 3,000 - - (3,000) - |
|
| 56,800 21,735 (30,000) - 48,535 |
Funds are held under two headings:
- (1) Unrestricted funds, including designated funds, can be used in accordance with the Trust’s charitable objectives at the discretion of the Trustees.
(2) Restricted funds can only be used for particular purposes within the objects of the Trust. Restrictions arise when donations or grants are made for a particular purpose or project and restrictions are applied by the grant maker or donor.
The restricted grant of £3,000 from South Oxfordshire District Council for the Last Stop Thame case was repurposed to Active Thame, the museum’s summer sports exhibition and events programme, during the year. The cost of the Active Thame programme totalled £3,468 and is included in the cost of exhibitions and events in the current year.
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Details of funds held and movements during the PREVIOUS reporting period:
| Fund name Unrestricted General fund Designated 100 Club RH&L grant Capital projects Total Restricted Handling objects Rycotewood pictures Last Stop Thame case Tablets Total Total funds |
Balance brought forward Income Expenditure Transfers Balance carried forward £ £ £ £ £ |
|---|---|
| 44,748 25,272 (34,959) 18,739 53,800 - - - - - 4,040 - - (4,040) - 15,000 - - (15,000) - |
|
| 63,788 25,272 (34,957) (301) 53,800 |
|
| 153 - (170) 17 - 212 - - (212) - - 5,000 (2,016) 16 3,000 - 454 (934) 480 - |
|
| 365 5,454 (3,120) 301 3,000 |
|
| 64,153 30,726 (38,079) - 56,800 |
10.Transactions with Trustees and related parties
| 10.1. Trustees’ expenses Type of expense reimbursed Building maintenance Collections, exhibitions and advertising Stationery, postage, training, subsistence and IT consumables Volunteer events |
2025 2024 £ £ |
|---|---|
| 75 54 496 206 219 746 - 290 |
|
| 790 1,296 |
5 trustees were reimbursed during 2024 (6 in 2024).
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10.2. Transactions with related parties
There have been no material transactions with related parties in the reporting period other than expenses reimbursed to Trustees as reported above.
11.0. Post Balance Sheet Event
In April 2025 the museum submitted an insurance claim for £14,500 relating to an insurable event which occurred in the first quarter of 2025. Insurers will reimburse the museum for this with the exception of a £250 excess which has been provided for in the accounts.
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MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THAME MUSEUM TRUST (CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION NO. 1174795) HELD ON 29 JUNE 2024 AT 10.30AM
| AGM (at Thame Museum) | AGM (at Thame Museum) | Date: 29 June 2024 (10:30) |
|---|---|---|
| Chairman: | The meeting was chaired by Adrian Dite. | |
| Members present: | The number of members present was 24 which was above the quorum of the Museum membership (currently 157) required to hold the meeting. |
|
| Apologies: | Apologies were received from 7 members. | |
| Item | Discussion | |
| 1. 2023 AGM Minutes Review |
The Chairman welcomed the Members present at the meeting. There were no matters arising from the review of the AGM minutes from the previous year and these were approved by the Members present. |
|
| 2. Trustees Annual Report for 2023/24 Review |
The annual report had been issued in advance in draft form to all Members for pre-reading. The Chairman explained the success of the temporary exhibitions during the year and also that the Midsomer Murder tours brought in £1.4k. He explained that the Volunteers make it happen and thanked them for all their continued excellent work and support for the Museum throughout the year. The Museum has around 60 Volunteers and is always looking for more recruits to help out. During the year four new Trustees were co-opted into the Museum, bringing in some excellent experience. There was also a change in Treasurer, with the Chairman thanking Alex (outgoing Treasurer) for all her efforts and support over the years. The Chairman also thanked Lin Wylie for her many years of excellent work at the Museum as she has decided to step down as a Trustee at the AGM. The Chairman explained that there has been a lot of co-operative work with various organisations in the local community including Thame Shed, U3A, Thame Players as well as a number of local businesses. The Chairman thanked Lindsey Weimers for her excellent work with the local schools, resulting in a close relationship with all the schools and including visits from the whole of year 7 from Lord Williams’s School. Also two Lord Williams’s students performed their work experience at the Museum. The Chairman explained that a new Forward Plan has been developed with the focus on the Museum telling the story of Thame, and incorporating the activities required to secure the next accreditation (currently expected to be 2025). The Chairman closed by thanking Emily Toettcher, the Museum’s mentor and Sarah Menary from South East Museum Development for their help during the year, as well as the Town Council for their ongoing support. Alex Perry (outgoing Treasurer) provided an overview of the financials for the year. She explained that the museum had benefitted from the government’s covid grant scheme in prior years, and the Trustees have continued to invest some of those monies. The year began with nearly £64k in reserves, up from £55k the year before, and after income of £31k and expenditure of £38k, finished at the end of March 2024 with £57k in |
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| reserves. £10k of the income came from shop sales, following an unprecedented £20k in the year before, with the remaining income of £21k resulting from a hugely successful Robin Gibb event, as well as generous donations and grants received for specific items. During the year approximately a third of the £38k expenditure went on raising funds (£12k), with £14k spent maintaining the building, including higher energy costs and recarpeting the community room and library. Office expenses were higher than normal as the Museum benefitted from external advice on future plans. Alex finished by thanking all the Volunteers who support what is done at the Museum, and is hoping that her successor, Michael Parsons, enjoys volunteering at the Museum as much as she has over the past few years. There was a question regarding who would pay for the internal decoration for areas affected by the building leaks. The Chairman explained that the Trustees hope to work with the Town Council to see if their insurance policy will cover these costs. The Annual Report and Accounts were approved by the Members. |
|
|---|---|
| 3. Election of Trustees | David McBrien (Secretary) chaired this item on the agenda. In accordance with the constitution, one third of elected Trustees are required to stand down on a longest served basis. Adrian Dite and Philip Williams are the Trustees standing down this year. Both are seeking re- election at the 2024 AGM. Lin Wylie has announced her intention to retire as a Trustee at the 2024 AGM and is not currently seeking re-election. Alex Perry stood down as a Trustee and is not seeking re-election. Petrova Caldecourt, Lisa Stevens, Trevor Watkins and Michael Parsons, the four Trustees co-opted during the year, shall retire at the 2024 AGM and are all seeking re-election at the 2024 AGM. With the retirements and standing down outlined above there are seven Trustee vacancies. Trustee nominations have been received from Adrian Dite, Philip Williams, Petrova Caldecourt, Lisa Stevens, Trevor Watkins and Michael Parsons, each being proposed by Mike Dyer and seconded by Paul Cowell. As these six nominations are less than the seven vacancies all six members are elected to be Trustees without the need for a vote by the Members present. The Trust has received the following nominations for Trustees from Thame Historical Society - Maurice Kirtland and Paul Earley. The Trust has received the following nominations for Trustees from Thame Town Council - Paul Cowell and Linda Emery. |
| 4. Membership Fees for 2025/26 |
The Chairman stated that the proposal was to keep the annual membership fee at £12.50. The proposal was approved by Members at the meeting. |
| 5. Appointment of Accounts Independent Examiner |
The Chairman thanked Mrs Ann Green on behalf of the Museum for the very professional work that she provided as independent examiner of the accounts. The proposal that Mrs Ann Green do the same task again for the next year was approved by the Members at the meeting. |
| 6. Members Questions | No questions were raised prior to the meeting. |
| 7. Closing of the AGM | The Chairman formally closed the AGM at 10:58am, thanking Members for their continued support for the Museum. |
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DECLARATION
The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s Trustees:
Signature(s): _______ Full name(s): ______ Position: ________ Date: ___________
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