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2025-03-31-accounts

Tewkesbury Museum Annual Report and Accounts for the Year Ended 31 March 2025

Contents

Subject Page No.
Reference and Administrative Details 2
Trustees’ Report 3
Independent Examiner’s Report 11
Statement of Financial Activities 12
Balance Sheet 13
Notes to the Accounts 14

1

Reference and Administrative Details

Charity Number 1185929

Address

64 Barton Street Tewkesbury Gloucestershire GL20 5PX

Trustees

Ian Coates Paul Drake Sash Giles (appointed 24/6/25) Eleanor Paice (appointed 15/4/24) Joanne Raywood (Chair) Catherine Robertson (retired 18/11/24) Georgina Robinson (appointed 29/7/24) Jennifer Smart (retired 31/7/25) Elanor Stanley (appointed 27/5/24)

2

Trustees’ Report

Structure, Governance and Management

The Museum is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, number 1185929.

The Museum’s governing document is its Constitution. This was revised on 15 July 2025.

The governing body consists of up to twelve trustees. Up to four trustees may be nominated by Tewkesbury Town Council, subject to ratification by the existing trustees.

The Museum has comprehensive policies and processes for the recruitment and induction of new trustees.

The Museum is run entirely by volunteers.

Objectives and Activities

The objects of the Museum are:

  1. The establishment and maintenance of one or more Museums in Tewkesbury

  2. The advancement of public knowledge and education about the history and heritage of Tewkesbury and its environs

Our constitution lists the main activities of the Museum as:

  1. Effective stewardship of the CIO’s collections and archives

  2. Exhibiting, interpreting and providing access to collections and archives

  3. Collecting artefacts in its own right or in collaboration with other Museums

  4. Working in partnership with other organisations that have an interest in the history of Tewkesbury and its environs

We also engage, or plan to engage, in other important activities that further our second object such as walks, talks and external displays.

The trustees have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2006 to have due regard to guidance on public benefit published by the Commission, specifically PB2 ‘Public benefit: running a charity’.

3

Review of 2024/25

Building

For many years, the poor condition of our building threatened the museum with closure and hampered plans to improve exhibitions. However, our landlord, Tewkesbury Town Council, finally obtained a substantial grant from the Museum Estate and Development Fund and carried out extensive repairs between October 2023 and May 2024. At the same time they removed a 1950s staircase, adding space to our ground floor rear gallery and our first floor store, and installed a new heating system.

This refurbishment was the first phase of our Transformation Project. It allows us to move forward with other improvements to the museum - see ‘Plans for the Future’ below.

Visitors

The Museum closed to visitors in mid-September 2023, and did not re-open until midJune 2024.

2024/25 visitor numbers, 2,763, were very low compared to 5,758 in 2022/23, our last full year of opening. This decline is due to:

Events

Our walks and talks are an important part of delivering our second object, ‘The advancement of public knowledge and education about the history and heritage of Tewkesbury and its environs’. They are also an important source of income – particularly in 2024/25, when visitor numbers – and donations - were so low.

Walks, run in conjunction with ‘Project Alleycat’, take place mainly in the spring and summer and focus on the history of Tewkesbury’s unusual alleys and courts. They are particularly popular with visitors to the town, although well-attended by local people as well. An average of 15 people attend each walk. In 2024/25 there were 47 walks with 682 participants, up slightly from 2023/24 when there were 42 walks with 653 participants.

A programme of talks is held in the spring and early autumn, attended mainly by local residents. There is a wide variety of subjects, most with a strong connection to the Tewkesbury area. Attendance varies (in 2024/25, between 28 and 103 people), depending on the subject and the speaker’s reputation. The 2024/25 programme was very successful, with 10 talks attracting 671 participants, even better than in 2023/24 when there were 10 talks with 524 participants. As well as the organised programme, there were 3 other talks with 70 participants.

Our popular Christmas Grotto returned to the museum in December.

4

Exhibitions

Most of our collections and display cabinets had to go into storage in October 2023 in anticipation of repairs to our building. When they were returned, between June and September 2024, it was not possible to simply replace them in their previous positions due to updated recommendations from Historic England about positioning large pieces of furniture against exterior walls. Instead, we had to carry out a major exercise to identify and dispose of unnecessary, non-accessioned items before starting to reinstate exhibitions.

As planned, the expansion of our rear ground floor gallery has proved useful, allowing us to recommence putting on temporary exhibitions so that there is always something new for visitors, especially local residents.

Collections

Before we had to close in September 2023 we were making good progress on the audit of our collections. This has now resumed, albeit rather slowly due to the lack of volunteers and the more pressing need to set our exhibitions up again.

Our Arts Council re-accreditation submission was due in 2023 but, knowing that a long period of disruption was about to start, we requested a delay until building works had been completed and the museum returned to normal. Our accreditation status was accordingly set to ‘provisional’. We were granted a renewal of this status in 2024/25.

We hold considerable archaeological deposits loaned by Tewkesbury Borough Council in 2004 and 2013. Discussions with the Council on the future of these items started in 2022, but have still not been concluded.

People

Our trustees have traditionally been much-valued enthusiastic amateurs, generally retired. While there is still very much a place for such people on our board, we consider ourselves fortunate to have attracted four young heritage professionals over the last 18 months, bringing more focused skills and different perspectives and attitudes to our museum.

Our volunteer numbers are low. A number of people left while we were closed for repairs and we have yet to find new recruits to take us back to our 2022/23 levels.

In view of the low volunteer numbers and the large amount of work that needed to be done when we moved back into the museum, the trustees engaged a part-time contractor for the second half of 2024/25. She has proved invaluable. Unfortunately we do not have the funds to retain her services beyond the first few months of 2025/26.

5

Plans for the Future

Building

As noted above, the first phase of our Transformation Project – the long-awaited structural repairs - has been carried out.

The second phase is to make further improvements to our building to support its evolution from 17[th] century domestic dwelling to a modern public institution. In its current layout, our ground floor is far from optimal for two reasons: the entire west side of the floor is currently for use only by volunteers rather than visitors; and wheelchair users cannot get beyond the entrance passageway.

To solve the second problem we considered a lift, but this proved impractical. The first and second floors would, in any case, still be difficult to negotiate because of uneven floors and steps between some of the rooms. Instead, both problems will be solved if we reconfigure the ground floor:

This work, together with some further external repairs, will cost over a quarter of a million pounds. Our landlord, Tewkesbury Town Council, made an application to the Museum Estate and Development Fund, round 4, in 2024, but this was rejected due to some technicalities. After a successful Expression of Interest for round 5 earlier this year, they have now been invited to submit a full application which will address the previous objections. If this application fails, we will try other sources of funding, such as the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Visitors

Our visitor numbers are closely aligned to our opening hours, which depend on our volunteer numbers. With these remaining lower than in 2022/23, we fear that our visitor numbers will not rebound to 22/23 levels as we hoped.

Events

Our walks, talks and Christmas Grotto events will continue, although we need to find additional volunteers to help run them.

One of our volunteers arranged a trial ‘Tabletop Sale’ in April 2025. This proved successful, so we are planning to run such an event two or three times a year.

6

Exhibitions

Many of our exhibitions are very traditional in style, often featuring objects displayed in cabinets with limited accompanying information or explanations. The third phase of our Transformation Project is to modernise and reinvigorate our exhibitions. These will be expensive, involving the recruitment of a project manager as well as equipment such as touch screens, other audio-visual equipment, new cabinets and display materials.

We are examining several grant possibilities to fund these improvements.

Collections

We expect to submit our request for full Arts Council re-accreditation by the end of 2025.

Our collections audit, interrupted when we had to close for repairs, is continuing, and we expect that the records of our collections will soon be better than ever before.

Other improvements to the management of our collections are being expedited with the help of small grants:

People

After our curator retired in 2017, we operated on a volunteer-only basis until the appointment of a temporary part-time contractor in October 2024. This worked well, insofar as we managed to remain open to the public, other than due to COVID and repairs, but only because of considerable work by two or three key volunteers.

7

We consider this situation to be unsustainable and have decided to recruit an employee again. Unfortunately, the cost of even a part-time employee is far more than we can afford from our normal income streams. We hope that one or more of the exhibitionimprovement grants that we plan to apply for will cover the costs of an employee.

Our board is currently stronger than it has been for some years. However, following an Away Day last year which focused on our skills and succession needs, we are trying to recruit further trustees or specialist volunteers to help us run the museum effectively both now and when existing trustees step down.

For some years volunteers were discouraged by very low winter temperatures in the museum and by its shabby décor. The museum is now warmer, due to the new heating system, and the interior has been made more welcoming through extensive redecorating, and yet volunteer numbers remain low. We therefore plan to carry out an intensive recruitment campaign this summer and winter, using online marketing, notices in the local events magazine, and posters.

Financial Review

Income

2024/25 total income of £18.2k was £5.5k more than in 2023/24, due mainly to three unusual sources of income: £3.2k fees for an archaeology deposition, £1.1k interest and £1.0k costume sales. We may obtain further archaeology fees if Tewkesbury Borough Council ever transfer title to the items that have been on loan to us for many years. The other two sources of income, however, will not repeat: with relatively low interest rates we are no longer keeping cash in an interest-bearing account, and our costume collection has now been sold.

Visitor donations and associated gift aid, £5.2k, were even lower in 2024/25 than in 2023/24, £6.9k. Both years were affected by the museum closure from September 2023 to June 2024. 2024/25 also suffered from reduced opening hours due to a fall in volunteer numbers.

We were, however, lucky to receive £3.1k of non-visitor donations in 2024/25, up from £0.6k in 2023/24, mainly from the Mayor’s Charity, Bookworm and the Rotary Club.

Our walks and talks programmes were, fortunately, unaffected by the closure, as they take place at external locations, and in 2024/25 brought in £2.5k, net of costs, up from £1.9k in 2023/24.

2025/26 income is expected to fall from 2024/25 levels, as neither the three unusual sources nor the high levels of non-visitor donations are likely to recur.

8

Expenditure

2024/25 expenditure rose significantly – by £9.6k – over 2023/24. Nearly all of this was due to two items:

Other 2025/26 expenditure is expected to be similar to 2024/25, other than potential one-off costs described below.

Surplus and Reserves

Our net deficit for 2024/25 was £4.1k, against a break-even position in 2023/24. This reduced our net assets to £39.7k.

While this figure seems healthy, we expect to incur £27k one-off costs over the next few years, most relating to our transformation project:

9

Our reserves consist of.. £1.5k Restricted Funds. This is a 2022123 donation from the Tewkesbury Town Mayor's fund, to be spent on access improvements £30.2k Designated Funds: £27k for the one-off costs described above £3.2k archaeology fund. This is the fee for the 2024r25 archaeology deposition which will, in line with our accounting policy (Note 1d), be taken to income as related costs are incurred £7.9k General Funds. Our reserves policy is to hold general funds of 6-12 months of our forecast ongoing costs (ie excluding one-off costs). These costs are budgeted at £18.8k in 2025126. Our general reserves are therefore equivalent to 5 months of such costs. a Irttle below our policy level. Approval This reportwas approved bythe Trustees on 4 August2025 and signed on their behalf by Joanne Raywood (Chair) 10

Independent examinerfs report on the accounts Report to the trusteesl Tewkesbury Museum members of On the accounts for the 31 March 2025 period ended Set out on pages Charity no. 1185929 12to 19 Responsibilities and basis of report I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity l-the Trusf) for the penod ended 311312025. As the chanty's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordan￿ with the requirements of the Charitses Act 2011 {Ihe Acr). I report in respect of my examinabon of the Trust's accounts Ca￿led out undersection 145 ofthe 2011 Actand in carrying out my examination. I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Chanty Commission under secb'on 145(5)(b) of the Acl. Independent examinerfs statement I have completed my examination. I confim that no material matters have coffE to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in. any matenal respect.. the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of Ihe Charities Act., or the accounts did not accord with the accounb'ng records,. or the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements conceming the fomi and contentof accounts sel out in the Charities {Accounts and Reports) Regulalions 2008 olher Ihan any requirementthatthe accounts give a'true and fairf view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examinabon. I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attents'on should be drawn in this report in orderlo enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed: CMI Date: Name: Melanie Kisby 66 Church Street Tewkesbury Gloucestershire GL20 5RZ Address: 11

Tewkesbury Museum

Statement of Financial Activities Year Ended 31 March 2025

All Figures in £
Income
Donations and legacies
Charitable activities
Trading activities
Interest
Total income
Expenditure
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Total expenditure
Net income/(expenditure) and
net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward		 Note
2
3		 Current Year Current Year Prior Year
Total
Total
9,206
8,410
6,344
2,371
1,611
1,932
1,050
0
18,211
12,713
179
281
22,093
12,417
22,272
12,698
-4,061
15
43,717
43,702
39,656
43,717		 Prior Year
Total
Total
9,206
8,410
6,344
2,371
1,611
1,932
1,050
0
18,211
12,713
179
281
22,093
12,417
22,272
12,698
-4,061
15
43,717
43,702
39,656
43,717
Unrestricted
9,206
6,344
1,611
1,050		 Restricted
0
0
0
0
18,211 0 12,713
179
22,093		 0
0		 281
12,417
22,272 0 12,698
-4,061
42,217		 0
1,500		 15
43,702
38,156 1,500 43,717

12

Tewkesbury Museum Balance Sheet at 31 March 2025 All Figures in £ Note Current Year Total Prior Year Total Current assets Debtors 805 1,163 Cash at bank and in hand 39,975 42,554 Total current assets 40, 780 43,717 Liabilities Creditors.. amounts falling due wrthin one year 1,124 Net curnnt and total net assets 39, 656 43.717 Funds of the charity Unrestricted.. Designated 30,210 36,000 Other 6,217 Total 38.156 42,217 Restricted 1.500 1,500 Total funds 39.656 43,717 Approved by the trustees on 4 August 2025 and s￿ned on their behalf by: Joanne RaywoLxl T . Paul Drake The notes on pages 14 to 19 fom part of these accounts. 13

Notes to the Accounts for the Year Ended 31 March 2025

1 Accounting Policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s) to these accounts.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with:

Tewkesbury Museum meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

Given the Museum’s level of year-end reserves, the Trustees consider that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, the financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of our charitable purposes.

Restricted funds are donations where the donor has specified they should only be used for certain aspects of our work. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund, unless expressly forbidden by the donor.

The aim and use of each material restricted fund is set out in the notes to the accounts and/or the Financial Review in the Trustees’ Report. Investment income, gains and losses are allocated to the appropriate fund.

14

d) Income

Income is recognised when the charity becomes entitled to the resources, it is more likely than not that the trustees will receive the resources, and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability.

Donations, grants and gifts are recognised when receivable. If a donation is subject to performance conditions, the income is recognised in our Statement of Financial Activities when it is probable that those conditions will be met, unless it is considered more appropriate to include it as deferred income in Creditors.

There has been no offsetting of assets and liabilities, or of income and expenditure, unless required or permitted by the FRS 102 SORP.

Legacies are recognised when there is a high probability that they will be received and the amount can be measured with a reasonable degree of accuracy.

Gift Aid recoverable is included in income when there is a valid declaration from the donor. Any Gift Aid amount recovered on a donation is considered to be a part of that gift and is treated as an addition to the same fund as the initial donation unless the donor or the terms of the appeal have specified otherwise.

Interest on deposits is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably, which is normally on notification by the bank of the interest paid or payable.

Trading income is recognised at the point of sale.

Fees for archaeological deposits under £1,000 are added to unrestricted general funds on receipt. Fees over £1,000 are added to our designated fund for archaeology. Specific costs relating to any part of our archaeological collection are charged to this fund. The excess, if any, of 20% of the fund’s opening balance, less specific costs, is transferred to general unrestricted funds each year.

e) Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation and the amount can be measured with reasonable certainty. All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis under the following headings:

15

f) Volunteers

The value of the services provided by volunteers is not included in these financial statements.

Assets costing more than £1,000 are capitalised at their historical cost when purchased.

The Museum’s collections do not generate income, and are, therefore, not classified as fixed assets.

h) Stock

It is uncertain whether merchandise will be sold, and acquisition costs below £250 are not considered material. Any such purchases are, therefore, charged when incurred. Acquisitions above £250 are recorded on the balance sheet. Provisions or write-offs are made, if appropriate, following a review of stocks held and the rate of sales.

i) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discounts offered.

j) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments.

Creditors are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

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2 Analysis of Income

All Figures in £
Donations
Donated trustee expenses
Gift aid
Grants - government
Grants - other
Total
Walks and talks
Archaeological storage
Total
Sale of goods
Costume sale (2024 hire)
Christmas grotto
Total
Interest
Total Income
Donations
and Legacies
Charitable
Activities
Trading
Activities		 Current Year Current Year Total
7,107
972
1,127
0
0
9,206
3,134
3,210
6,344
432
1,017
162
1,611
1,050
18,211		 Prior Year
Total
5,973
951
1,486
0
0		 Prior Year
Total
5,973
951
1,486
0
0
Unrestricted
7,107
972
1,127
0
0		 Restricted
0
0
0
0
0
9,206 0 8,410
3,134
3,210		 0
0		 2,371
0
6,344 0 2,371
432
1,017
162		 0
0
0		 1,456
196
280
1,611 0 1,932
1,050 0 0
18,211 0 12,713

17

3 Analysis of Expenditure

All Figures in £
Fundraising and marketing
Cost of sales
Cost of Christmas grotto
Total
Projects
Contractor Costs
Cost of talks
Visitors
Insurance
Utilities
Broadband and IT
Trustee expenses
Collections
Other
Total
Total Expenditure
Raising
Funds
Charitable
Activities		 Current Year Current Year Current Year Current Year Total
179
0
0
179
2,697
6,000
647
30
1,508
7,726
1,453
972
442
618
22,093
22,272		 Prior Year
Total
91
143
47		 Prior Year
Total
91
143
47
Unrestricted

Costs
179
0
0		 Restricted
Costs
0
0
0
179 0 281
2,697
6,000
647
30
1,508
7,726
1,453
972
442
618		 4,752
0
444
159
1,535
1,331
1,812
951
202
1,231
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
22,093 0 12,417
22,272 0 12,698

All charitable expenditure is incurred in running the Museum and its programme of walks and talks. There are no governance or accounting costs. There are, therefore, considered to be no support costs.

4 Debtors

All Figures in £
Trade debtors
Prepayments and accrued income
Total
Creditors
All Figures in £
Trade creditors
Accruals
Total		 Current
Year
0
805
805
Current
Year
0
1,124
1,124		 Prior Year
0
1,163
1,163
Prior Year
0
0
0

5 Creditors

All creditors are due within one year.

18

6 Funds of the Charity

All Figures in £
Restricted Funds
Opening balance
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
Closing balance
Unrestricted Funds		 Current
Year
1,500
0
0
0
1,500		 Prior Year
1,500
150
-150
0
1,500
36,000
0
-4,752
4,752
Designated Funds:
Opening balance
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
Closing balance		 36,000
3,210
-2,697
-6,303
30,210
36,000
General Funds:
Opening balance
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
Closing balance
Total Unrestricted Funds:
Opening balance
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
Closing balance
Total Funds
Opening balance
Income
Expenditure
Closing balance		 6,217
15,001
-19,575
6,303
7,946
42,217
18,211
-22,272
0
38,156
43,717
18,211
-22,272
39,656		 6,202
12,563
-7,796
-4,752
6,217
42,202
12,563
-12,548
0
42,217
43,702
12,713
-12,698
43,717

Restricted and Desigated Funds - see Financial Review.

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