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2024-03-31-accounts

Mary Clarke Statue Appeal

Trustees’ Annual Report

1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024

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 during the year under review and all were reappointed for a further three years at a trustees meeting on 24th September 2022. They are:

At the year end, Briony Goulden resigned and on 31st March 2024 Terri Bell-Halliwell was appointed as a trustee for a three year period. We are delighted that Briony, a great-niece of Mary Clarke, will now serve as a Patron.

All trustees have a firm commitment to raise public awareness of the local suffrage struggle, along with the principles of women’s rights, equality and democracy.

Recruitment of New Trustees:

It is the policy of the Trust that trustees will be appointed for a term of three years by resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity trustees. All trustees serve for three years in the first instance, though retiring trustees are eligible for reappointment, 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 (no longer operational) 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 (now Olsworth-Peter) 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 have achieved our initial aims:

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. She has produced a bronze maquette of the proposed statue (now displayed in the Jubilee Library) and when funds are available, will sculpt the final 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.

General Achievements 2023/34:

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

We continued to publicise the Appeal, and the issues it champions, 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. 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 in local publications and media.

The beautiful banner to the dimensions of the pennant banners carried by suffragettes, made by Jenny Engledow, has been on display in the library. We also acquired a six foot cut-out, in addition to the seven foot cut-out, made to the design of the proposed statue, which is easier to move and display at indoor events. It was on show at the International Women’s Day 2024 celebrations, and draws a great deal of attention wherever it is displayed, most frequently now on a monthly basis in Brighton’s Open Market.

We continued to work with children of school age (never alone but always in the presence and under the supervision of parents or teachers). Our Child Ambassadors, along with our our first university student ambassador, supported by their parents and other young volunteers, have helped us raise issues at the City Council, have been interviewed on television and helped fundraise and raise awareness in a variety of ways.

The ‘Mary’s Lamp’ girls’ group set up at a local primary school continued to flourish, and worked to both fundraise and share information amongst fellow primary students. We continued to explore ways of developing learning materials for use by teachers. We do so alongside interested teachers and our wonderful young volunteers.

Highlights of 2023/24:

A highlight of the year took place in December 2023, when the Mayor of Brighton & Hove, Cllr Jackie O'Quinn, awarded Mary Clarke the Freedom of the City of Brighton and Hove, the only woman currently to have this honour and the first person to have been awarded the honour posthumously. The award was proposed by Cllr Bella Sankey, the Leader of the City Council, and was agreed by the entire city council, at a marvellous special council meeting at which many inspiring speeches were made, all honouring Mary and supporting the proposal for a statue. The award was received by trustee (now Patron) Briony Goulden with her daughters Sylvie and Lena Goulden Mackerron, in the presence of trustees and supporters. Briony and the girls were interviewed for a news piece by Meridian Television. The award was followed by a wonderful reception hosted by the Mayor.

On 25 March 2024 the Mayor of Brighton & Hove Cllr Jackie O’Quinn, hosted a Reception at Brighton Town Hall for the young volunteers of the Mary Clarke Statue Appeal. This was arranged by the Mayor with the Appeal trustees, who wanted to thank the girls for their support. None of the girls had been able to attend on 12 December when Mary Clarke was awarded the Freedom of the City of Brighton & Hove. Seven young volunteers from Balfour Primary School and two from Brighton College were addressed by the Mayor in the historic Brighton Council Chamber, along with family members and teachers, who included the Head and Deputy head of Balfour Primary School. The Mayor, wearing her Robes and Chains of Office, thanked the girls for their work on behalf of the city, while Jean Calder, as Chair of the Appeal, added her appreciation on behalf of the trustees. On behalf of the Appeal, the Mayor then awarded a certificate to each of the young volunteers. A delicious afternoon tea was then served in the Mayor's Parlour.

Patrons and Ambassadors to 2023/4

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

Our Patrons during the year under review were:

Our Ambassadors were:

Child Ambassadors:

Student Ambassador:

Volunteers

The Appeal continued to have no paid staff, with everyone involved a volunteer. Apart from the Trustees, patrons and ambassadors, and young volunteers, there is a core group of around ten adult volunteers who continue to assist the work of the Appeal.

The Future:

We continue to fundraise, are preparing an Arts Council bid and are exploring other options for grant aid. We plan a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund, once the result of the Arts Council bid is decided.

We are very conscious that bronze and foundry costs are increasing all the time. We are grateful to the sculptor, Denise Dutton, for holding her fees steady. Our working target is £60,000, of which we have raised a third. Note that as at 31st March 2024, £19,527.83 was held as cash in the bank.

We will continue other fundraising activities and 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.

We continue to seek a long term 'home' for our bronze maquette. We have negotiated with the Jubilee Library to display it, it in their foyer cabinet, which we are hiring for 6 months. We are also in discussions with The Dome about the possibility of displaying the maquette in The Dome, to support their heritage work and to reflect the fact that in 2018 The Dome was declared by Historic England to be a site of National Suffrage Interest. We will be delighted to support the Trust, in any way we can. We know that in 1909, Mary spoke at the Dome at a large public meeting. We also appreciate the fact that every year The Dome hosts the International Women's Day event in the city, at which we are always happy to run a stall.

We also now hold a regular stall for Mary on the first Saturday of every month at the Open Market, in London Road, where we can publicise the campaign, provide information and raise funds. We are so grateful to the management of the Market for allowing us the use of a stall without charge.

Regarding the siting of the statue, we continue to liaise with the Royal Pavilion and Museum Trust, which is responsible for the management of the Royal Pavilion Estate. The Trust has long expressed concerns about our first proposed site for the statue, inside the Gardens near the Museum entrance. Notwithstanding the public and political support for the siting of the statue in the Pavilion Gardens, it has been accepted by trustees that to continue to press for our preferred site would lead to unacceptable delay which might undermine the broad support enjoyed for a statue for Mary. We are looking at the option of a site in New Road, very close to the Gardens, which would have the support of the Trust. We will of course work with the City Council, The Dome and Festival Trust and the Royal Pavilion and Museum Trust to explore this.

Mary Clarke Statue Appeal Balance Sheet 2023/24

Income 2022-23
Local Giving £
84.80		 £
975.24
PayPal £
693.73		 £
1,202.23
Donations / Collections £
343.66		 £
920.31
Talk - £
150.00
£
1,122.19		 £
3,247.78
Expenditure
Website £
279.02		 £
457.52
Local Giving £
180.00		 £
96.00
Booking fees, Cut Out, etc £
298.11		 £
515.50
Miscellaneous £
33.00		 £
0.00
Audit and Tax Fees £
0.00		 £
300.00
£
790.13		 £
1,369.02
Surplus / (Defcit) £
332.06
Balance Sheet
Balance Brought Forward £
19,195.77		 £
17,317.01
Income £
1,122.19		 £
3,247.78
Expenditure £
790.13		 £
1,369.02
Balance Carried Forward £
19,527.83		 £
19,195.77
Represented by:
Cash in Hand £
0.00		 £
0.00
Cash in Bank £
19,527.83		 £
19,195.77