Bakewell and District Historical Society
Trustees. Annual Report
l January 2024 to 31st December 2024
Charlty Name: Bakewell and District Historical Society
Other Names It15 known by: Bakewell Old House Museum {BOHM}, BDHS
Reglstered Charity Number: 1184842
Charlty5 Prlnclpal Address: Bakewell Old House Museum, Cunningham Place. Bakewell,
DE42 IDD
Name5 of Trustees who mana8e this charity
Name
Offrte
Dates acted If not for
whole year
Name of person lor
body entitled to
appoint trustee (If anyl
Ken Smith
Marian Barker
Lesley Ayers
Emily Bowyer
Eleanor Whitehead
Megan Jones
Alison Edwards
Lisa Simpson
Peter Mahood
Richard Hildebrand
Chair
To AGM 2315124
Treasurer
To AGM 2315124
Secretary
To 2014124
Structure and governance and management
Type of governin8 documents: Bakewell and District Historical Society - constitution at
incorporation- August 2019
How the charity is constituted.. Incorporated
Trustee Selection methods.. Adverts and consultation with MDEM, interviews
Bakewell and District Historical Society- Charity 1184842 - Annual Rep)rt and Account5 2024

Trustees Report 2024
Overview
The Bakewell and District Historical Society IBDHSI and the Bakewell Old House Museum IBOHMI
have seen significant successes over 2024. These mostly involve the Museum where we appointed a
Museum Assistant and moved back to opening 7-day5 per week. The visitor experience was greatlv
improved with the change in layout on the ground floor and relocation of the Reception Area to the
new building. The Museum Team did superb work (research and paintingl. and with the new Tudor
costumes. the impact has been noticeable. The museum continues to enjoy Arts Council England
Accredited Museum status.
The reinstated talks pro8ramme has continued, with a wide range of subjects bein8 delivered to
Society members and non-members. These included such diverse subjects as the archaeolo8y of
Sheffield castle, Georgian rural life in the Peak District. the life and works of Barnes Wallis and three
Peakland villages in the Second World War. Average attendance at the talks was 24. A full
programme exists for 2025 and work continues to populate the calendar into 2026.
Society membership has increased slightly over the year and stood at 173 in December. It seems
that the intreased opening times for the Museum and our presence at events such as the Bakewell
Country Festival and pop-up exhibitions in the Information Cent￿, have raised our profile and this
ha5 manifested itself in a 5% increase in membership compared with 2023.
The trustees continue to meet on a rnonth￿ basi5, increased from 2-monthty from 2023. This has
been particularly fruitful while addressing issues such as ensurin8 our policies are both up-to-date
and appropriate. We are pursuing grant-aid to address such disparate issues as the maintenance of
the Bakewell Old House Museum, where its status as a listed building brings with it both constraints
and opportunitles, and an initiative to identity where the Society and the Museum Should be heading
over the next 10-15 years, and what steps need to be taken to ensure we get there. While we were
not successful with an applicakn.on for MEND grant towards the costs of these initiatives, we have
been having Iruitful talks with the National Lottery Herita8e Fund INLHFI and an initial applic3tr.on is
likely early ifi 2025.
Our Vision
To offer a gem of a museum that is fun, interestin& and inspiring to all, loved by locals and
Vi51tors alike. We will tell the Story of our areas and its people in a unique and compelling
way. creating connections with the past and our visitors.
Our Mission
We will preserve and vitalise our collections for future 8enerations so that our communities
continue to engage with and discover the history of Bakewell and this part of the Peak
District
8akewell and Distflct Historical Society- Charity 1184842 - Annual Aepx)rt and Accounts 2024

Our Values
Brand values are the behaviours we consistently adopt to achieve our purpose. The
following are such 'behaviours' but using that term may feel slightly officious.
Welcomlng- do everything with open arms
Providin8 satisfaction- great customer experience5 lead to happy faces
Learnlng- our curiosity know5 no tK)und5 and its fruits are widely shared
Engagin8-harness Arkwright's ener8y and entrepreneurialism
Leadin8- bravely forge new paths
8elon8ln8-foster a sense of place with passion
Being accountsble- it's up to all of us. we all play a part
Our Purpose
Our purpose 15 to stimulate an interest and love for Bèkewell and the wider Peak District by
bringing to life our shared stories.
The Business Plan is designed to meet the following strategic goals, with the first bein8 of
the highest priority..
Ensure the financial sustainability of the museum
Increase our visitors and develop new audience5. widening acce5S
Develop the workforce
Maximise the use of collections and maintain the building's fabric
Strengthen the governance of the organisation
Increase the effectiveness of our marketing and promotion
Improve the customer experience,. introduce quality metrics
People
We continue to be very grateful and thankful for the commitment of Mark Copley our
museum's Mana8er Curator for organising volunteers, seeking out grants and managing the
museum and our volunteer cohort and bringing the museum to the lively centre and hub of
activity that it is now. A huge thank you goes to Mark for his enthusiasm and dedication to
the museum. Thanks also go to Kelsey Power. our new Museum Assistant, in her 5UPPOrt
and commitment to the museum.
Up to the AGM. in May, the Society had 10 Trustees (though it is permitted a total of 12}.
However, 2 trustees (Peter Mahood and Emily Bowyer-Kazadil have stood down for personal
reasons and another. Marian Barker, reached the end of her tenure, leavin8 only 7 trustees
to run the Society. Steps have been put in place to advertise for more trustees in the first
quarter of 2025, whereafter it is hoped that successful candidates will be acknowledged at
the Society's AGM on 22 May 2025.
We remember TrevorBrighton who passed on during 2024. In the autumn. we learned the
sad news of the death of Trevor Brighton after a short illness. Trevor was an early member
Bakewell and District Historical Society- Charrty 1184842 - Annual Report and Accounts 2024

of the Society and a former Chair and President. contributing significantly to the
development of Bakewell Old House Museum and the overall development ofthe Society
since its inception 65 years ago, as well as making many contributions to the Society's
Journal. He will be sorely missed. A full Obituary appears in the 2025 Journal.
Thank you also to Linda Latif who is our Membership Secretary and assists Mark in the
office. for her work in keepin8 members informed of events and opportunities over the year.
Once again it is our pleasure to 3cknowled8e the debt that we owe to our volunteer task
force, for the work they do both front of house, welcomin8 our visitors, imparting
information and persuadin8 people to spend in the shop. as well as those who toil behind
the scenes, to ensure that the displays and their contents are appropriate and in the best
possible condition. Thi5 Includes Pat Green and the catering crew for the provision of food
at our various events and a heartfelt thank you is made to all those who volunteered during
2024. The museum activities in 2024 were supported by over 80 volunteers. who provided
3335 hours of volunteer time in 2024.
Thanks also 80 to Marian Barker who has edited the Society Journal for a number of years.
Marian now feels that it is tlme to pass the baton on to someone else. A volunteer or
volunteers are needed to take on this tssk in the next 12-18 months.
Thanks to Mandy and Stephen Coates for providing a series of talks and object handling
sessions forvarious groups. They have provided our main source of community outreach.
These include 28 members of the Millhouses Local History Society in Sheffield, the residents
at the Old Vicarage Care Home. and the Bakewell Friday Club in town.
Activities
The museum benefited from being open 7 days a week, 5 hours a day, in 2024, and with the
help of a £11.436 grant awarded by the Derbyshi￿ Dales UKSPF Community Resilience Grant
Scheme we were able to recruit a new part-time Museum Assistant. Given the success of
this initiative, the arran8ement continues into 2025.
Overall, the Bakewell & Oistritt Historical Society IBDHS) engaged aUdIen￿S totalling 8966 in
2024 lup 41%from 20231. Over the 226 days the museum was open general vi51tors to the
museum were 7760 lup 47%from 20231, reflecting the addttional days opened lup 35%) and
the attractiveness of our Treosured Quilt5.' Warmth and Wealth exhibition. Access to
collections and stof ies was enhanced through off-site workshops, demonstrations and talks.
Online audiences were reached via social media posts centred around our shared heritage.
Our main exhibition wa5 very well attended with an estimated 900 people coming especially
forthe show= Treosured Quilt5.' Wormth and Wealth. A huge thank you to all members of the
Exhibition Team, led by Diane MacArthur, who created such a professional exhibition. The
exhibition was kindly sponsored by Fabric & Furnishings Solutions (Darley Dale).
Bakewell and District Historical Society~ Charity 1184842 - Annual Rewjrt and Accounts 2024

The LearninE team welcomed schools to the museum on 7 occasions. providing town tours
and museum sessions. We further welcomed 6other groups to the museum, usually for a
combined town tour and museum visit.
The talks programme has continued, with a wide range of subjects being delivered to Society
members and non-members. We have been experimenting with streaming the talks, to
enable Society members who cannot attend in person. to see and hear the presentations,
Inevitably, there have been some teething troubles but we hope to be able to make this
facility available to members in the first quarter of 2025.
We had social gatherings at the beginning and end of the season for volunteers and
members. as well as the Summer Social for members of the Society. Grateful thanks are
extended to Pat Green and the catering team for providing the food and drinks.
Over the year, the Society gained three grants totalling £ 11.881. £220 of which was
unrestricted.
£11.436 grant awarded by the Derbyshire Dales UKSPF Community Resilience Grant
Scheme for recruitment and wages for a Museum Assistant112 months) and laptop
Bakewell Rotary Club £220 Unrestricted 8rant
Derbyshire Dales District Council Local Projects Fund £225 Restritted grant for the
purchase of tables Ibought in 20251
Social Media continued to reach out to our audien￿$. The top performing Facebook post
was 20 June 2024- Concert.. Eliza is the Fairest Queen by Sirinu15387 reach, paid-for
advert). And 4434 reach was obtained organically from our October half term post.. This Half
Term, visit the Terrifying Tudor House" part ofour Ghouls. Games promotion.
The collections team continues to evolve with Kelsey Power (Museum Assistant)
concentratin8 on the textileslcostume collections, and Marian Barker and other volunteers
provldlng collections management support. The new costumes in the Tudor Hall for
'dressing up. are a real bonus. The quality of the work from our BOHM Sewing Circle 15
amazing. Visitors of all ages really do enjoy dressing up and sitting at the new, replica Tudor
table with all the props. This, with the new interpretation and the mediev31 games has
increased the dwell time in the Tudor Hall.
Other activities throughout the year included=
Two Bakewell Remembered reminiscente dropin se55ions were held where members of the
publi¢ were invited to share. for us to record, their stories of Bakewell. They were held in the
main hall at the Medway Centre, and covered Pubs & Nightlife and Shops & Businesses, with
over 150 local participant5.
Pop-up exhibitions at the Bakewell Visitor Centre, included images of 8akewell.' then ond
now, and we also co-curated a museum display with the Youlgrave Well Dressing Team ,
providing a Winter Well Dressing display.
The new BOHM Sewing Circle made items for the Christmas Tree Festival, they made around
ILXI baubles for the tree and to Sell.
Bakewell and Distritt Historical Society- Charty 1184842 - Annual Report and Accounts 2024

Vivien Flnch's last public talk was given at the museum on 12 September 2024,. the talk was
part of the programme of three talks and workshops linked to the Treasured Quilts
exhibition.
Sirinu provided a lively concert of Tudor-era music on replica instruments in the Tudor Hall
in July.
Attendance at Bakewell Country Festrval on 14 Juty 2024 to demonstrate the new Walking
Wheel which was purchased as part of the Tudor H311 refurbishment.
Performance of a play written and performed by Ray Castleton -without Malice or111 Wlll" In
the Tudor Hall in July
A Poetry evening.. Voices from the Peak- Mark Gwynne Jones in May
On Thursday 30 May we wished Happy 65th Birthday to the Museuml
On Tuesday 22 October we wished Happy 70th Birthday to the Societyl
Plant and Cake Sale in earty lune
During Hefltage Open Days in September, we continued to lead a 8akewell-wide offer
through the Bakewell Heritage Group, providing the public free access to heritage
Our Community Exhibition Space was used taken up by Over Haddon History Group and
then by Peak Rail Association,. in both cases we co-produced small. pop-up
exhibitions.
The Terrifyin8 Tudor House made a reappearance in October. with this yearfs theme being
the Ghouls. Games. and proved to be a hit among families.
Bakewell Old House Museum projects
The public entrance to the museum was moved. over the closed season. to the former
Industrial Gallery and the main hall was refurbished into something akin to its Tudor usage.
This change has been successful on a number of f ronts. includin8 an improved entrance to
the museum for visitors,. a more-appropriate flow through the ground-floorTudor rooms: a
much warmer environment for volunteers at the welcome desk- and. not least, an improved
visitor spend through the shop.
The nett effect of these improvements and attractions has been one of if not the best visitor
figure5 in 22 years, with a total of 8966 people entering the Museum. Inevitably, the gross
figures hide some variations, so while overall numbers were up 41% against 2023, the
numbers of schools visitors and town tour participants were down against target. although
group visitor numbers exceeded target.
Another result of these activities and increased visitor numbers is that income for 2024, 97%
of which 15 derived from Museum activities. stands at around £69.2 k learned income) an
increase on 2023 of some 42% lon earned income). While that is to be welcomed. overall
the Society made a loss of around £8.OCKI as a result of one-off expenditure on surveys and
the like needed to inform what repairs. and at what cost, are needed to the Old House. The
re-organisation of the entrance and Tudor Houseplace also incurred significant cost
providing insulation. decoration and prop5.
Bakewell and District Historical 5ociety- Charity 1184842- Annual Report and Accounts 2024

The Old House
The Covid pandemic and its associated social distsncing meant that some maintenance and
repair work remained abeyance for several years and a backlog has now built up. While
we were not successful with an application for MEND grant towards the costs of these
initiatives, we have been having fruitful talks with the National Lottery Heritage Fund INLHFI
and an initial application is likely early in 2025. If successful. it will mean that many pieces
of work can be done in one go. rather than spread over a number of years, with the
associated disruption carrying on for longer than necessary. While such disruption would
mostly be carried out durin8 the period when the Museum is c105ed. disruption even during
that quiet period would nevertheles5 occur.
While the maintenance and repair work that has been identified is costly and beyond our
means to pay for in one go- hence the seeking of grant support- it is reassuring to note
that there are no significant or serious works needed,. the Old House remains in good heart
but in a building of such antiquity there will always be necessary works. With a listed
building, the additional need for listed building consent adds both to the time needed to
make arrangements and often adds to the costs.
Conclusions
2024 has undoubtedly been a good year fof the Society and for Bakewell Old House
Museum. Our visitor numbers are up, our income is up (though our costs outstripped our
income nevertheless) and we have benefited from Kelsey's appointment as Museum
Assistant to support Mark in running the Museum on a 7 days per week basis during our
open period. Thanks to both of them for their sterling work and thanks also to our band of
hardy volunteers for their work front of house and behind the scenes, as well as to our
Trustees for all their work over the year. We. of course, hope that thi5 year's successes will
translate into 2025. Although the economic outlook looks less than favourable, l am sure
everyone will be doin8 their best to ensure that 2024 was not a one-off and we wish
everyone every success.
Bakewell and Distrirt Historical Society- Charity 1184842- Annual Report and Accounts 2024

BAKEWELL & o1sfRI￿ HISTORICAL SOCIE
Charity Number: 1184842
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
Year ended - 31st December 2024
Charity 1184842
2024
Charity 1184842
2023
Restricted
Funds
Unrestricted
Funds
Restricted
Funds
Unrestrlcted
Funds
Incoming resources
Voluntary Income
Members sub5cription5
Society events
Donations and Bequests
Grants
Activitiesfor Generotingfunds
Museum receipts
Gift Aid
Investment Income
Bank Interest
Total Incomlng resour¢es
2,Q36
69
1,852
1,548
1,542
2.289
11,661
220
2,099
57,916
7,360
40,446
4,442
1,311
71.578
989
53,108
11,661
Resources expended
Governance costs
Charity Expenses
Publicatlons and ialks
Prolects/Grant Spend
Charltoble froding Artivities
Wage5
Service and subs
Insurance
Capital Item5 and repairs
Marketin8
Activities and Stock
Miscellaneous and Petty Cash
Totsl resources Expended
i(X)
100
1,648
15.030
1920.94
1,883
3482.47
10.648
26.123
7.344
2.605
14.533
3,284
4,542
3,491
78.700
20471.65
5511.53
2349.5
1361.23
2848.75
4041.95
1997.18
12,531
3482.47
40602.73
Movement of Balances
Net IncominB resources for year
Fund balance bf l Jan
Fund balance d 31 Dec
-870
1,298
428
-7,122
103.244
96,123
-1,384
2,682
1,298
12.505
90,739
103,244
Bakewell and District Historical Society- Charity 1184842 - Annual Report and Accounts 2024

Statement ol A55ets and Liabilities at year end
BANK BALANCES at 31st December 2024
Saffron Account
Co-op
Petty Cash
Total Assets
53,910
42,558
82
96.$50
Uabllltles
Assets
Retalned funds
None- Income and expenditure accounting used
Museum building transferred in January 2021- see note
£96.550
Note to the Accounts:
The accounts have been prepared with reference to SORP Section 27.12 in relation to the charity
reconstruction and merger of the unincorporated charity 1027732 and the incorporated charity
1184842. The herltage asset of the museum building has noi been valuetl and has been transferred
from the one charity to the other. There is no requlrement to put the building on the balance sheet.
The above accounts have been prepared by the Treasurer and Chairman of the Trustees, who are
content wSth an independent examination rather than a full audit.
Signed
Ion behalf of the Boardl
Bakewell and District Historical Society- Charity 1184842- Annual Report and Accounts 2024

Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Sertlon A -Independent Examinerfs Report
Report to the trustees/ members of: Bakewell & Di5trirt Historical Society
On accounts for the year ended: 31 December 2024
Charity Number: 1184842
Set out on pages 8 and 9
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above thartty 1.the Trustr) for the
year ended 3Vi¥2024As the C￿rI￿$ trustees, you a￿ responsible for the preparation of the
account5 in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Art 2011 ("the Acf). I report in
respect of my examination of the Trustrs accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Art and
in carrying out my examination. I have followed all the applicable Direttions given by the Charity
Commission under Section 145{5llbl of the Art.
Independent examlner's statem
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention Sn
connection with the examinatlon (other than that disclosed below) whlch gives me cause to believe
that in. any material respect..
the accounting records were not kept in accordance wtth section 130 of Charities Act; or
the accounts did not accord with the accounting records,. or
the accounts did not compty with the applicable requirements conceming 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 fairf view which is not a matter
considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no con￿rn5 and have tome across no other matters in connection with the examination to
which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understsndin8 of the
accounts to be reached.
Signed: Ib .
Date: Iz. l. loxs
Name: ￿lE￿Or4 Épwt• &
Address: ￿ Y oli￿ ioA
3gF
Relevant prolesslonal qualfflcatlon(s) or body Ilf anv):
Bakewell and Distritt Historical Society- Charity 1184842- Annual Report and Accounts 2024
io

Sertion B.. Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32,
Independent examination of charity accounts: direction5 and guidance for examiners).
Give here brlef detalls of any items that the examlner wlshes to disdose.
Bakewell and District Historical Souety- Charity 1184842- Annual Report and Accounts 2024
li