# **GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNTY HISTORY TRUST CIO CHARITY NUMBER 1181794** ## **REPORT AND ACCOUNTS** **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020** **GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNTY HISTORY TRUST CIO REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1181794** ## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020** The Trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2020. ## **Governing Document** The Charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) governed by a constitution dated 17 January 2019. ## **Trustees** Trustees during the year were as follows: |Dr. J. D. Hodsdon|Chairman|Treasurer (to 21 Jan)|Appointed 17 January 2019| |---|---|---|---| |Dr. J.R. Broadway|Secretary||Appointed 20 April 2019| |Ms S.E. Brown|Treasurer||Appointed 21 January 2020| |D. H. Aldred|||Appointed 17 January 2019| |Ms. A.J. Allden|||Appointed 17 January 2019| |Dr. J.H. Chandler|||Appointed 17 January 2019| |J. P. Comber|||Appointed 17 January 2019| |N. W. Kingsley|||Appointed 17 January 2019| |Miss H.M. Forbes|||Appointed 17 January 2019| |Sir Nicholas Mander|||Appointed 17 January 2019| |Ms. E.J. Marley|||Appointed 16 April 2019| |Ms R. Wallis|||Appointed 21 January 2020| ## **Structure, Governance and Management** Trustees are usually appointed for a term of three years, but to assist continuity the first trustees were to serve the following terms: Miss H. Forbes 2 years, Dr J.D. Hodsdon 2 years, J.P. Comber 3 years, Sir Nicholas Mander 3 years, Ms. A. Allden 3 years, D.H. Aldred 4 years, Dr J.H. Chandler 4 years, N. W. Kingsley 4 years. ## **Objectives of the CIO** a. to advance the education of the public in the history of the historic county of Gloucestershire (including South Gloucestershire) and of the city of Bristol, and to foster public knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the history of Gloucestershire and Bristol b. to advance research and other work in connection with the preparation of the Victoria County History of England relating to the historic county of Gloucestershire and the city of Bristol c. to encourage, promote and support local history research and writing in or about the historic county of Gloucestershire and the city of Bristol, drawing especially on the use of historical resources and furthering the active participation of the public through education and learning and providing the means of communication between those involved with local history. During the year, because of pandemic restrictions, Trustees met formally only twice, but remained in regular contact between meetings. - 1 - **GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNTY HISTORY TRUST CIO REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1181794** ## **TRUSTEES’ REPORT (** _**cont.**_ **)** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED TO 31 DECEMBER 2020** ## **Principal Address** The Charity’s principal address is c/o Gloucestershire Heritage Hub, Clarence Row, Alvin Street, Gloucester GL1 3DW. ## **Activities and achievements** Since its establishment in January 2019, the Charity has carried forward the programme of work begun under its Unincorporated Association predecessor (Regd No 1138520). Application to dissolve the UA was made in November 2020. In planning its activities for the period, the CIO kept in mind the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. It remained focused on its stated aims of educating the public in the history of the historic county of Gloucestershire, and advancing research and other work in preparation for further instalments of the Victoria County History of Gloucestershire. During the year the Charity had five full or part-time contributing editors (historical researchers) under contract, supported by a part-time coordinator whose intended main task was to ensure the most effective use of volunteer effort. In practice, from March onwards the volunteer contribution this year was severely constrained by pandemic restrictions, notably the inability to access requisite archives both locally and nationally. That said, Trustees greatly appreciated the efforts of archive staff in restoring safe access to the Gloucestershire Heritage Hub for our researchers and volunteers in the periods when it was permissible. Substantial progress continued to be made with the research on three current projects, hardback volumes in the Victoria County History of Gloucestershire Series. These are to cover the Yate/Chipping Sodbury area of South Gloucestershire (Vol XIV); the Cheltenham district (Vol XV); and the Cirencester district (Vol XVI). Numerous further draft sections were placed online for public use and comment ahead of final publication. We benefited in kind from two substantial chapters on prehistory and Roman Cirencester, prepared gratis by leading experts in these fields. The Trust’s own website is now a substantial repository of completed or largely complete research. Public educational engagement was necessarily limited this year, with one physical lecture in February and one online presentation (the Trust’s first) in September. The Trust’s continuing task is to raise the funds to keep the research going. A review of fundraising strategy was made in January, but the pandemic meant little progress could be made with its implementation. Nevertheless, unexpected local generosity in South Gloucestershire enabled a further parish history for Volume XIV to be started during the year, for which research effort was bought in from a neighbouring VCH trust. Individual donors once again provided the steadiest form of income, complemented by Gift Aid. The very generous pledge made in 2019 by the K D Winstone Charitable Trust (Cirencester) was paid over in December 2020, and will underpin forthcoming work on Volume XVI. The Charity continues to aspire to complete at least one of its three projects in the next four years, with the other two following closely, allowing further follow-on volumes to be planned. Trustees noted the ongoing changes to the central VCH publication arrangements overseen by the Institute of Historical Research (London University), but were unable yet to assess their impact (cost or otherwise) on the Trust’s own future publications. ## **Reserves Policy** Beyond meeting agreed contractual commitments, the Trustees’ aim is to maintain a sufficient reserve to be able to respond to unexpected opportunities. - 2 - **GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNTY HISTORY TRUST CIO REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1181794** **TRUSTEES’ REPORT (** _**cont.**_ **)** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED TO 31 DECEMBER 2020** ## **Review of Major Risks** The Trustees have reviewed areas of risk and taken appropriate action. ## **Accounts** The attached accounts show the current state of the finances, which the Trustees consider to be sound. Dr. J.D. Hodsdon, Chairman 20 January 2021 On behalf of the Trustees - 3 - ## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT** ## **TO THE TRUSTEES OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNTY HISTORY TRUST CIO** I report to the Charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2020, which are set out on pages 5 to 8. ## **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 charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 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 giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act;, or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records. 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. W.J. Abbott FCA Chargrove House Shurdington Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL51 4GA ## 20 January 2021 - 4 - **GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNTY HISTORY TRUST CIO REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1181794** ## **RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020** ||**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**|**Volume**|**Volume**|**Volume**|**Total**|**29 Jan 19**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |||**Funds**|**XIV**|**XV**|**XVI**||**to**| ||||**S. Glos**|**Chelt**|**Ciren**||**31 Dec 19**| ||||**(Note 5)**||**(Note 6)**||| |||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**| |**Receipts**|||||||| |Transfer from GCHT 1138520||-|-|-|-|-|66,409| |Donations from individuals||11,672|
4,500|
970|-|17,142|
11,323| |Donations from groups||30|-|-|-|30|
240| |Donations from charities||-|-|500|-|500|450| |Donation from South Glos Council||-|1,000|-|-|1,000|-| |Grants||-|-|-|
25,000|25,000|2,000| |Gift Aid||2,213|-|88|-|2,301|2,350| |Book sales||41|-|-|-|41|274| |Fund raising events||-|-|-|-|-|395| |Bank interest||65|-|-|-|65|114| |||------------|------------|------------|------------|-------------|-------------| |**Total Receipts**||14,021|5,500|1,558|25,000|46,079|
83,555| |||------------|------------|------------|------------|-------------|-------------| |**Payments**|||||||| |Editorial costs||4,442|
-|1,558|
19,300|25,300|25,625| |Printing and stationery||392|-|-|-|392|-| |Website||91|-|-|-|91|142| |Insurance and subscriptions||100|-|-|-|100|175| |Recruitment||250|-|-|-|250|-| |Maps||-|
-|-|-|-|31| |Bank charges||60|-|-|-|60|55| |||------------|------------|------------|------------|-------------|-------------| |**Total Payments**||5,335|-|1,558|19,300|26,193|26,028| |||------------|------------|------------|------------|-------------|-------------| |||------------|------------|------------|------------|-------------|-------------| |**Net Receipts for the period**||8,686|
5,500|-|5,700|19,886|57,527| |**Cash funds as at 31 December**|**2019**|37,482|-|-|20,045|57,527|-| |||------------|------------|------------|------------|-------------|-------------| |**Cash funds as at 31 December**|**2020**|46,168|5,500|-|25,745|77,413|
57,527| |||==========|==========|==========|==========|===========|===========| - 5 - **GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNTY HISTORY TRUST CIO REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1181794** ## **STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES** ## **AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2020** |**Cash funds**||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||**Unrestricted**|**Volume**|**Volume**|||| ||**Funds**|**XIV**|**XV**|**XVI**||| |||**S. Glos**|**Chelt**|**Ciren**|**Total**|**31 Dec 19**| ||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**| |**Cash at bank**|46,168|5,500|-|25,745|77,413|57,527| ||===========|==========|==========|==========|==========|===========| |**Other monetary assets**||||||| |Gift Aid|2,625|1,075|243|-|3,943|2,301| |Insurance paid in advance|75|-|-|-|75|75| ||-----------|------------|------------|------------|-------------|-------------| ||2,700|1,075|243|-|4,018|2,,376| ||==========|==========|==========|==========|===========|===========| |**Liabilities**||||||| |Editorial costs|-|-|-|-|-|1,750| ||==========|==========|==========|==========|===========|===========| - 6 – **GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNTY HISTORY TRUST CIO REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1181794** ## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020** ## 1. **ACCOUNTING POLICIES** ## **Basis of Accounting** The Receipts and Payments Account has been prepared on a cash basis. Assets and Liabilities at the year end are noted on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. ## 2. **COMMITMENTS** At 31 December 2020, commitments on contracts with the editors totalled £31,000 as follows: ||**£**| |---|---| |Volume XIV|11,500| |Volume XV|0| |Volume XVI|14,450| |Unallocated|0| ## 3. **USE OF HERITAGE HUB** The CIO has free use of the Frith Room for meetings of the Trustees and of the Elrington room for use by the editors. ## 4. **TRUSTEES REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS** During the year Dr. J.R. Broadway was paid £6,000 for editorial work on Volume XV. ## 5. **RESTRICTED FUND FOR VOLUME XIV SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE** |||**West**|| |---|---|---|---| |||**Littleton**|| ||**General**|**parish**|**Total**| ||**£**|**£**|**£**| |Balance 1 January 2020|-|-|-| |Income|||| |Donations from individuals|-|4,500|4,500| |Donation from South Gloucestershire Council|-|1,000|1,000| ||------------|-------------|-------------| ||-|5,500|5,500| |Expenditure|-|-|-| ||------------|-------------|-------------| |Balance 31 December 2020|-|5,500|5,500| ||==========|===========|===========| - 7 – **GLOUCESTERSHIRE COUNTY HISTORY TRUST CIO REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1181794** ## **NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS** ## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020 (cont.)** ## 6. **RESTRICTED FUND FOR VOLUME XIV CIRENCESTER** |||**Editorial**|| |---|---|---|---| |||**Town**|| |||**and**|| |||**adjoining**|| ||**General**|**parishes**|**Total**| ||**£**|**£**|**£**| |Balance 1 January 2020|20,045|-|20,045| |Income|||| |Grants|-|25,000|25,000| ||------------|-------------|-------------| ||20,045|25,000|45,045| |Expenditure|19,300|-|19,300| ||------------|-------------|-------------| |Balance 31 December 2020|745|25,000|25,745| ||==========|===========|===========| - 8-