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2022-03-31-accounts

Mary Clarke Statue Appeal

Trustees’ Annual Report

1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022

General Information :

Charity name: Mary Clarke Statue Appeal

Charity registration number: 1185845

Charity Address: c/o The Regency Townhouse, 13 Brunswick Square, Hove BN3 1EH

Email address: jeancalder.mcsa@gmail.com

Website: maryclarkestatue.com

Date of charitable registration: 16th October 2019.

Charitable Objects:

To advance art and education for the benefit of the public by the provision of a sculpture of suffragette Mary Clarke in Brighton. To advance the education of the public about the role of the suffragettes in furthering electoral reform and equal rights for women by the provision of the statue, information and exhibitions.

Activities :

We are working to erect a statue of suffragette Mary Clarke in Brighton as a symbol of democracy and women’s rights. We provide talks, information and exhibitions, all with the aim of raising awareness of the suffragettes’ role in furthering democracy and equal rights for women. We work with the city council, women’s and community groups, schools, businesses and trade unions. We have all-party support.

Trustees :

Our trustees have remained unchanged since registration on 16th October 2019 and all were re-appointed for a further three years at a trustees meeting on 24th September 2022. They are:

Our initial four trustees sprang from the core group which was formally set up in November 2018 with the aim of achieving a statue for Mary Clarke. Three were co-directors of For Our Daughters , a local women’s rights campaign which played a key role in setting up the Appeal. The fourth was a descendant of Mary Clarke. Most importantly, all four trustees

had a firm commitment to raise public awareness of the local suffragette struggle along with the principles of women’s rights, equality and democracy.

Recruitment of New Trustees:

New trustees will be appointed for a term of three years by resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. All trustees will serve for three years in the first instance, though retiring trustees will be eligible for re-appointment, up to a maximum of three consecutive terms.

Background Information :

The idea of a statue for Mary Clarke was first proposed in early 2018, the centenary of the first women achieving the vote, in a newspaper article by Jean Calder which highlighted the need to commemorate the forgotten suffragettes of Brighton & Hove. Initial campaigning and fundraising was undertaken in the name of For Our Daughters , a local women’s rights campaign and was actively supported by the Brighton & Hove Women’s History Group.

We were conscious that other cities were already well ahead of Brighton & Hove in their centenary plans to commemorate suffragettes, but we worked with Brighton Museum to attempt to remedy this. An initial attempt to fund the statue and associated activities in Brighton Museum by means of a joint bid (by For Our Daughters working with Brighton & Hove City Council) for Government Suffrage Centenary funding failed, but provided valuable experience.

The Appeal was formally set up on 18th November 2018, the anniversary of Black Friday, the days when, in 1910, Mary Clarke almost certainly received the injuries which eventually led to her death.

The small committee focussed its attention on raising community awareness of Mary’s life and working to achieve all party political support. We were grateful to receive the unanimous support of the City Council and to have been able to appoint Patrons from all locally represented political parties, including three local Members of Parliament, from Brighton, Hove and Lewes. We also gained the early support of Deputy Lieutenant Juliet Smith J.P. and Baroness Joyce Gould.

We undertook a great deal of research into potential sculptors and types of design. While we did so we focussed our initial fundraising efforts on start up costs. We wanted:

We were grateful to an anonymous donor who kick-started fundraising, in the very early days, and to a second anonymous donor who directly funded the initial website and publicity materials and video. We were also grateful for the generous support in 2019 of the then leaders of all three political parties in the Council, who kindly offered grant aid of £10,000 to help fund the maquette.

In the Autumn of 2019, having examined several excellent submissions from possible sculptors, we commissioned renowned Stoke-based sculptor Denise Dutton to design our statue and, in time, make the maquette and statue. That same month, on 16th October 2019, we achieved charitable status as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). Shortly after that, the City Council released the £10,000 of grant aid.

Activities and Achievements in 2021/22

Like all charities our fundraising continued to be hard hit by the COVID lockdown and subsequent economic strains. We have focussed on raising awareness and community engagement, building alliances wherever we could.

We continued to publicise the Appeal, and the issues it champions, in any way we could, for example, by means of radio and television interviews and displays in the Jubilee Library, as well linking Mary to guided walks and having a stall at community venues, for example in the forecourt of the Pavilion Gardens cafe, which has given valued support. We have displayed the bronze maquette of Mary in secure settings such as the library and used the far less valuable resin maquette in public and open air events. We have continued to publish material wherever we can and in March 2022, Jeannine Williamson of the magazine Sussex Life published a major study of Mary Clarke and the Appeal, for which we were very grateful.

Jenny Engledow, a local peace campaigner and embroiderer, made us a beautiful banner to the dimensions of the pennant banners carried by suffragettes. She embroidered every part of the portrait of Mary and the gold lettering. It is a work of art and we are very grateful. We also acquired a seven foot cut-out made to the design of the proposed statue, which we are able to display at events. It was on show in the Dome at International Women’s Day 2022 and drew a great deal of attention.

Most important of all we have started to work with children of school age (never alone but always in the presence and under the supervision of parents or teachers). We have appointed our first five Child Ambassadors, aged from six to thirteen. These remarkable young people, supported by their parents, have helped us raise issues at full Council, been interviewed on television and helped fundraise and raise awareness in a variety of ways. One has set up a “Mary’s Lamp” girls’ group at her primary school, and has worked to both fundraise and share information amongst her fellow primary students. We are exploring ways of developing learning materials for use by teachers and will do so alongside interested teachers and our wonderful Child Ambassadors.

We are delighted to have appointed two new patrons: the acclaimed author, Peter James and the Venerable Martin Lloyd Williams, Archdeacon of Brighton, Hove and Lewes. We are equally delighted to have appointed one new Ambassador: Jenny Engledow, referred to above.

We have liaised with the new Royal Pavilion and Museum Trust, which took over the management of the Royal Pavilion Estate from Brighton & Hove Council. The Trust has concerns about our proposed site for the statue and this has been a major topic of discussion.

We carefully considered different site options, but came to the conclusion that our preferred site, close to the Museum entrance, would be the ideal option because it is a safe, accessible position which is passed by every school party attending the museum, as

well as almost all visitors and adult residents. We have indicated to the Trust that we wish to make an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund and would like to do this with their support.

Volunteers

The Appeal has no paid staff. Everyone involved is a volunteer. Apart from the Trustees, there is a group of around thirty volunteers who assist the work of the Appeal. However, this activity has been affected by COVID, so the core group of very active volunteers is now nearer ten.

Patrons and Ambassadors to 2021/22

We are grateful for the support of our distinguished Patrons and Ambassadors.

Our Patrons are:

Our Ambassadors are:

Child Ambassadors:

The Way Ahead (2022/23)

We are conscious that as time goes on, bronze and foundry costs will increase. Therefore, we have set our current target at £60,000, of which we have raised approximately £20,000. We will continue fundraising, applying for grants wherever possible. We will continue community engagement, raising public awareness, working with young people in schools, and making the links between the Mary’s life and work and present day campaigns for girls’ and women’s equality and safety.

Financial Review

Mary Clarke Statue Appeal: Income and Expenditure 2021/22

Income 2020-21 2020-21 2021-22 2021-22
Local Giving £
3,287.92		 £
2,497.72
PayPal £
1,187.47		 £
195.42
Donations £
110.00		 £
1,030.00
£
4,585.39		 £
3,723.14
Expenditure
Maquette £
4,623.20
Maquette Cut-out and Base £
194.00
Website £
986.74		 £
616.56
Leafet Design £
120.00
Local Giving £
96.00		 £
96.00
Banner £
43.75		 £
30.00
£
5,749.69		 £
1,056.56
Surplus / (Defcit) £
(1,164.30)		 £
2,666.58
Balance Sheet
Balance Brought Forward £
15,814.73		 £
14,650.43
Income £
4,585.39		 £
3,723.14
Expenditure £
5,749.69		 £
1,056.56
Balance Carried Forward £
14,650.43		 £
17,317.01
Represented by
Cash in Hand £
0.00		 £
0.00
Cash in Bank £
14,650.43		 £
17,317.01
Andy Winter
25/01/2023