THE ROYAL CROWN DERBY MUSEUM CHARITABLE TRUST (Image shows volunteers adding a back stamp to a plate) Email address: ewoledge@royalcrownderby.co.uk Website: www.royalcrownderbymuseum.com Charity Number: 1179781 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 **ANNUAL REPORT 2025** 2 ## **DETAILS** ## **Reference and Administration Details** Registered charity number 1179781 Address Royal Crown Derby Museum 194 Osmaston Road Derby DE23 8JZ Trustees Olivia Dean (Was acting chair) John Coyne (retired this year) Hereward Tresidder (Treasurer) James Lewis Elizabeth Neathy / Payce (retired this year) Francesca Vine (current acting chair) Karen van Hoey Smith Elizabeth Woledge (new this year) Sarah Louise Giles Bank HSBC Crown Bank Hanley Stoke on Trent Staffordshire ST1 1DA ## **Structure, governance and management** Governing document Declaration of Trust adopted 25 September 2018. Trustees are appointed to represent a range of skills and knowledge. New trustees are briefed on their role 3 and responsibilities and on the Trust’s principal policies and procedures. Organisational structure All policy and strategic decisions are taken by the Trust. The Trust normally meets every 3 months. Additional issues The Trust operates on the premises of the Royal Crown Derby Porcelain Company. 4 ## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** ## **Objects** The objects of the Trust are the advancement of public knowledge, appreciation, and awareness in respect of porcelain, china, pottery, earthenware and ceramics of any other kind of artistic, historic, scientific or cultural interest (“ceramics”) and in particular in respect of Royal Crown Derby products and its predecessor Derby factories first established in 1750. To support our objects we developed the following mission statement. _**It is our mission to celebrate and share the stories and experiences associated with Royal Crown Derby to awaken curiosity, inspire creativity, encourage innovation, and to transform people’s relationships to ceramics**_ ## **Activities** In planning our activities, we keep in mind the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. The museum’s activities continued to be restricted due to restricted possibilities for funding. However, we continue to do what we can to share and care for the collections. In 2024 we completed the Museums at Risk project which left us with a useful and comprehensive report reflecting the different options open to for the future. These ranged from fundraising to closure and were thoroughly debated with the trustees. It was decided that we should take some time to regroup and to consider what we could do to try and put some of the collections back in the public domain. Given that the museum could not sustain its 50% contribution to the Director’s salary and that security of tenancy is still not guaranteed over the long term. The Director made the decision to move onto a 5 new role elsewhere whilst remaining a trustee to give some continuity. This year … - We have been able to continue delivering occasional hands-on tours of the Museum and archive, as well as giving hands-on talks off site for clubs and societies. - Our volunteers completed the project to digitise our collections. We now have good photography of each of our collection items. - Thanks to support from our trustee James Lewis we have been able to plan an exhibition of the museum collections at Bamford Auctioneers. This is an exciting and positive step forward which enables us to share our collections with the public and hopefully to reapply for accreditation. - We hosted the annual DPIS conference, sharing our collections with researchers and supporters around the UK. - The museum continues to be supported by a team of dedicated volunteers who spend many hours working behind the scenes to answer queries, improve documentation and aid in the accessibility of the collection. We estimate we have been supported with over 378 hours of volunteer time in the last year. Full reopening remains impossible due to the level of investment needed and the lack of certainty about the continued occupancy of the shared factory/museum site. However, the legacy we received last year of £50,000 has enabled us to fund the planned exhibition at Bamfords opening in July 2025. ## **Statement from the Chair** _This has been a challenging year for the museum with significant obstacles to fully redeveloping and reopening the existing site. We are delighted to have found the opportunity at Bamfords which allows us to fulfil our duty to display and grant public access to our collection. We hope that this will also introduce Royal Crown Derby porcelain to a new audience. We remain committed to regaining accreditation in the near future. Finally, we would like to extend a warm thank you to our ever-dedicated volunteers, without whom this year’s projects would not have been possible._ 6 Francesca Vine (Acting Chair) The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above. Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees: Olivia Dean, Trustee Date: 10/09/2025 7 ## **FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** ## **Statement of Financial Position** |**Statement of Financial Position**|**Statement of Financial Position**|**Statement of Financial Position**|**Statement of Financial Position**| |---|---|---|---| |**INCOME**|||| |||2024-2025|2023-2024| |**Interest**||584|318| |**Funding**||0|15,386| |**Donations**||142|52,002| |**Other**||360|2,345| |**Viewing Fee**||0|0| |**Total**||1,086|70,051| ||||| ||EXPENDITURE||| |**Consultancy fees**||11,440|9,720| |**License Fee**||0|0| |**Exhibition upgrade**||0|0| |**Bank charges**||63|72| |**Cost of delivery**||2,847|25,976| |**Bad debt write of**||0|0| |**Total**||14,350|35,768| ||||| |**Net income for the year**||-13,264|34,283| ||||| 8 ## **Statement of Assets and Liabilities** |**Opening assets and liabilities at 31 March 2024**|**Opening assets and liabilities at 31 March 2024**| |---|---| |**Museum Inventory at cost**|340,200| |**Creditors (Licence fee)**|0| |**Debtors (Viewing fee)**|0| |**Cash**|210| |**Bank Account**|61,106| |**Total**|401,516| ||| |**Net income for the period (as above)**|-13,264| ||| |**Closing assets and liabilities at 31 March 2025**|| |**Museum Inventory at cost**|340,200| |**Creditors (Licence Fee)**|0| |**Debtors (Viewing Fee)**|0| |**Cash**|46| |**Bank Account**|48,006| |**Total**|388,252| ||| INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (HARITY COMMISSION FOR ENGLAND AND WIIES Independent examiner's report on the accounts S•cllon A lTrd•p•nd•nt EXan￿n•￿5 R•port Report to the truste86 The Royal Crown Oeiby ma￿￿Ur[l Chantable Ttust On accounts for tht year ended 31 Ma￿h 202S Charlty no lif any) 1179781 Set out on pageo I report to Ihe ttuslee5 on my exam￿a￿On d Ihe acc(yJnts ol tho abo¥• charity Ilhe Trusfi for the year ended 3110&202S. Responsibilities and of repori A$ the charity's Iru¥teo¥. you are resporoblg *)r Ihg P￿paration ofth? accounts in accofdancè M4th If* wulfanents ol tha Charrt*s Act 2011 Ilhe Act'i. I report In resped ol my ex￿inatI)n ol the Ttusl s acLtJunts c*ried out uThJer Sect￿ 145 ol the 2011 Act aThJ in carrying oul my exaninabon. I have fOlk￿ved all Ihe appI￿ab￿ DYeCI￿n8 gNen by the Charly Comm08k urKler seLl￿n 14515Xbl ol Ihe Act. Independent I have complet•Y rny exarninaticm. I confinn that no material mallers have examiner's statement to rny altenbon n cJ)nnectson wth the examinalK)n which gNes m? causo to bd*ve thal m. any malafkal respact. the xcounlry rocths w8re not kepl in actcrfdance wlh 80CtKJn 130 of th8 Charibe5 Act". lh8 accoun15 dxl not accord w*h thè account￿g Tacowds, or the *counls not compty wio) tr* apphcable requirements concemirvJ the fomi and cDntenl ol 8￿ntS set in Ihe Charlie3 Ihccovnls and Reports) Regul8tKJns 2(M)8 olher Ihan any requirem￿1 Ihat Ihtr accounls give a'true and lairf not a mattsr tonsxjered as part ol an Indepen¢Jenl exaM￿allOn. I have no cxjneems aThJ have come ￿108$ tv) 01h￿ matter8 1) connec*'on wilh the exanNnalK)n lo wh￿h altenb'on should ts drawn in Ihis reporl in order lo enab￿ a proper Unde￿landing ol Ihe accounts to bè reacw. Slqn•d'. Oate: 16" May 2025 Nam•'. Phllip McGow8n Relevant profeysional qualificats"onlsl or b¢xly Irf anyl.. FCA AddresJ'. 8 knme Gro Slaplefr)rd Notb"ngh8m NG9 7GF IER Oct 2018 Sècuon B Dl3¢lo8ur• Only compkle Il the examiner neecb lo ￿￿h1¥jhl malerial mailers of concern 16ee CC32. kndependent exarrynabon ol chartty ￿unts. drecbcfft aThY guklancÈ lor examinernl. Givo here brief d•tsil¥ of any items that the examiner wishts to disclose. IER Oct 2018