**MINUTES OF THE ORFORD MUSEUM TRUSTEES MEETING AT BRUNDISH LODGE, HIGH STREET, ORFORD ON FRIDAY, 23 SEPTEMBER 2022 AT 4.00PM** ## **Present.** Elizabeth Spinney (in the chair), Roy Wisdom, Vic Harrup, Valerie Fenwick, Clare Greenwell, Sally Walton, ## **In Attendance** Philip Wise, Stephen Mael, Tony Bone ## **1. Apologies for absence.** Nigel Maslin, John Grayburn, Jack Cooke ## **2. Minutes of the last Meeting and Matters Arising.** The Minutes of the last meeting were agreed by all present and signed by the Chairman. Matters arising would be dealt with under the agenda. ## **3. Chairman’s Report** The Chairman summarised her report which is attached herewith. She also referred to the Forward Plan presented at the last meeting and said that most of our main objective were either achieved or in hand. Trustees questioned whether we should continue to pursue the possibility of receiving from English Heritage a percentage of the Castle entrance money and whether it was worth appealing to a higher level in that organisation. The Chairman pointed out that we have been battling over many years for this and that the Lanman Museum, housed in Framlingham Castle, who do currently receive a small amount in this way are to have that removed when their licence next comes up for renewal and that she did not, therefore, feel that there was any possibility of success for us. Trustees asked about the licence we have allowing us to occupy the first floor in Orford Castle. The Chairman will check this and report back. It was renewed fairly recently There is now a website meeting scheduled for Thursday, 29 September when we expect to make some progress. The Chairman is hoping to have a meeting with Tim Fargher, the artist who designed the Friends’ logo before that as the logo needs to be modified for use on the website. Tony Bone said that we must ensure that the website can be maintained and updated by the Museum itself. The Chairman said that this was one of our main objectives. The question of the interactive screen in the church was discussed. Aldeburgh Museum have several of these which are very popular and were provided by Life Size Touch. Tony Bone will send information on these to Sally Walton who is our liaison with The Friends if St. Bartholomew’s Church. A 21” tablet on a sturdy stand (essential) would cost in the region of £1,200 to £1,300. This would be split between the Church and the Museum. Links to other organisations such as Aldeburgh Museum were discussed and it was felt that the two Friends organisations should liaise over talks and other events and that both _The Orford Historian_ and the Aldeburgh History Society’s _Chronicle_ could be jointly advertised. Roy Wisdom said that he felt the management of the museum was proceeding well and congratulated those involved. The Chairman thanked him for his remarks. ## **4. Treasurers Report** This is attached herewith. Our financial situation remains healthy. A special reserve for acquisitions was discussed but it was felt that, in our present position, this was not necessary. The Chairman said that she was always reluctant to ring-fence funds for any specific purpose. The Chairman is still waiting for final invoices for the Butley Abbey re-launch event on 14 September but hopes to have these soon. She will report the final result to Trustees. ## **5. Address by Tony Bone, Chairman of Aldeburgh Museum** The Chairman had invited Tony Bone to come to this meeting in order to tell us how he and others had re-established Aldeburgh Museum in the Moot Hall and how they now finance it. They have nothing like our reserves but the Chairman felt that it would be useful for us to know this for the future when we will have to think about raising funds to run our museum. Tony said that the Museum needed a refresh because its displays were dated and the key asset, the building, was not well displayed. The trustees decided that a strategy for the building needed to be developed rather than developing the exhibits piecemeal. With the help of consultants, the strategy was produced. Following initial discussions with the National Lottery it became clear that they could support its implementation. A Stage 1 (Design) bid was submitted successfully and following the development of a design and a plan in Stage 1 a Stage 2 bid (implementation) bid was successfully submitted. This was for about £750k plus matched funding of about £55k which the Museum had to raise. The matched funding came from Aldeburgh Town Council, the District Council, local societies, individuals, trusts and foundations. The premises are owned by, shared with Aldeburgh Town Council, and rent is paid to them for the Museum room downstairs. The Lottery grant money funded activities and events as well as the refurbishment and this has now come to an end. Aldeburgh Museum will have to rely on their entrance money (£3.50 for an annual ticket, (eligible for Gift Aid) shop sales, donations, fund-raising, and grants to fund their staff salaries, running costs, and activities and events. The costs are about £26,000 a year. Two paid staff are employed with one of them plus a volunteer on duty each day the museum is open. The Museum is open every day from 1pm to 4.00pm from 1 April to 31 October and at weekends only during the winter. It needs about twenty visitors a day to break even. A report showing the visitor statistics for September was circulated. ## **6. Curator’s Report** This had been circulated earlier. There were no questions. The printer in the office is very unsatisfactory. It is extremely complicated and we are unable to scan directly to the computer despite the efforts of several computer experts. Scanning has to be done to a memory stick and then transferred to the computer. Also it does not take A3 sized paper. The Curator and the Chairman would like to replace it with something much simpler which can now be had relatively inexpensively. ## **7.New Acquisitions** Philip Wise, Heritage Manager of Ipswich and Colchester Museums and our Mentor, explained why and how finds are classified as ‘Treasure’. The seal matrix found near Butley Priory about which there has been much correspondence with Dr. Anna Booth, the Finds Recording Officer for this area for the Suffolk Archaeological Service based in Bury St. Edmunds was classified by the Treasure Department at the British Museum as such and an independent committee valued it at £3000. It is a very attractive object (though no-one present had actually seen it) but Valerie Fenwick had earlier pointed out that the only reason it was relevant to our museum is that it was found in our area. There was no other reason known. We understand that the seal matrix has now been returned from the British Museum to Bury St. Edmunds. After some discussion, the meeting felt that, given the reservations about its relevance, it was too expensive. It was perfectly possible that another find of more importance to us would be found and that we would regret having spent so much money on this one. Valerie Fenwick also felt that we should not be seen as a ‘soft touch’ by metal detectorists and others as purchasers of finds. A vote was taken and all agreed, with the exception of Roy Wisdom who felt we should buy it, not to go ahead with the purchase. The Chairman will inform Dr. Booth. ## **8. Friends Report** John Grayburn, Friends’ Administrator, had reported that we now have 56 joint Friends and 39 singles so the numbers are slowly creeping up again. Several paid-up Friends collected their copy of _The Orford Historian_ at the Butley Priory event. Others will have it sent or delivered with a copy of the Newsletter which will be emailed to the others. ## **9. Events** Clare Greenwell offered the use of Butley Priory for further Museum events such as historical talks. She is prepared to arrange dates and speakers. These events would offer a talk with simple refreshments at a possible charge of £15 for Friends and £20 for others. She also suggested that we might organise a History Festival over 3 or 4 days with several speakers each day. All this would be an immense help in generating funds for the Museum and raising our profile. It was proposed to arrange the next one on 29 November and it was suggested that Faye Minter, the Archaeology, Archives and Projects Manager for the Suffolk County Council Archaeology Service should be asked to speak on the discovery of Redwald’s Palace at Rendlesham. Clare Greenwell will check whether the Priory is free on that date and whether Faye Minter can speak then. Once this is known, we can advertise it to the Friends and in The Link and Village Voice. ## **10. Any Other Business** Studio Brandup, who are building our website, would like a brief biography of each Trustee. The Chairman will find out how long these should be and report back to Trustees. ## **11. Date of the next meeting** The next full Trustee meeting will be on Friday, 21 April 2023 at Brundish Lodge, High Street, Orford at 4.00pm. The meeting ended at 5.46pm Orford Museum Treasurer’s Report: 22 September 2022 ## **Bank and Investment Accounts** Current balances are as follows:- Santander current account £19,899.59 Suffolk Building Society 84,982.91 COIF (440.63 Accumulation units @ bid price)101,649.33 Total funds £206,531.83 There have been no exceptional expenses in the past period We received a further £403.14 payment from the David Andren legacy. ## **Friends of Orford Museum** Total income from Friends and donations to date is £2,652.00. There are currently 56 joint Friends and 39 single. Relaunch event on 14[th] September. The event was attended by a total of 84 paying plus 11 guests. There were 8 no shows (who had not paid in advance) and 7 turned up unannounced on the night. Income from entrance was £990 and the raffle raised £290, a total of £1,280. Expenditure for wine was some £231.50. Catering was estimated at £712.50 **(** Food cost = £442.50 + approximate staff cost = £270) but this was based on 50 attendees so will increase. We do not yet have the final invoice.