ALDBOURNE COMMUNITY HERITAGE GROUP CIO Exploring the Village Story
Aldbourne Community Heritage Group CIO (A Charitable Incorporated Organisation)
Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31[st] December 2025
Charity Number 1186866
ALDBOURNE COMMUNITY HERITAGE GROUP CIO
Annual Report 2025
Aldbourne Community Heritage Group CIO
Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31[st] December 2025
The Trustees present their report and financial statement for the year 1[st] January to 31[st] December 2025.
Reference and Administrative Information
Charity Name: Aldbourne Community Heritage Group CIO Status: Charitable Incorporated Organisation Charity Registration Number: 1186866 Registered Office and Aldbourne Heritage Centre, 3 The Square, Aldbourne, operational address: Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 2DU
Trustees
Mr T Gilligan Miss J Lambourn Mrs G Krochmal Ms C Rust Mrs E Dymond Miss L Smith Mrs A Delorie Miss M Manby Mr A Phizacklea
President & Chair Secretary Treasurer Curator
Bankers : Barclays Bank UK plc
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ALDBOURNE COMMUNITY HERITAGE GROUP CIO
Annual Report 2025
Our Aims and Objectives
Purposes and Aims
The purpose of the Aldbourne Community Heritage Group [ACHG] is set out in the organisation’s constitution and is namely:
- To advance education for the public good by the promotion of knowledge and interest in the heritage of the village and parish of Aldbourne and by the establishment and maintenance of a museum to preserve and display that heritage.
As also stated in our constitution, we seek to advance that aim in the following ways:
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a. providing a forum for those interested in the history of Aldbourne village and parish and history in general;
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b. promoting the conservation of the historical heritage of the area;
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c. promoting research, discussion, field studies, talks, publications, exhibitions, and other activities relating to local history and to further the education of the public of all ages in these aspects;
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d. occupying a suitable building in Aldbourne as a permanent museum in order to display our local heritage and promote interest to all ages;
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e. accepting, taking permanent ownership of, and displaying written records, artefacts and other items donated to or purchased by the Group in accordance with the ACHG collection and acquisitions policies;
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f. accepting, keeping and displaying written records, artefacts and other items loaned to the Group in accordance with the ACHG collection and acquisitions policies, and at the discretion of the trustees;
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g. gathering together from any source available including the internet and making public by archive or display the story of the village and parish of Aldbourne;
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h. involving other local organisations as much as possible particularly youth organisations and school;
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i. engaging in any other activity which furthers the core object of the ACHG providing it complies with both the requirements of this constitution and the regulations of the Charity Commission.
Delivering our aims
Our Heritage Centre is open every weekend, Bank Holiday and Wednesday afternoons throughout our planned season (April to mid-October). Opening on Wednesday afternoons was a trial experiment and has proved successful so will be repeated next year.
In 2025 we received over 3,000 visitors exceeding the record set in 2024. Our stewards undertake a quick survey of why visitors come to the Heritage Centre, where they come from and how they
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ALDBOURNE COMMUNITY HERITAGE GROUP CIO
Annual Report 2025
heard about us. This is in order for us to understand how to satisfy visitor demands and undertake necessary publicity to increase our future footfall. From these statistics we can see that in addition to villagers and general tourists, the majority of visitors come to learn about the American paratroopers of the 101[st] Airborne Division, the “Band of Brothers”, who were billeted in Aldbourne from September 1943 until September 1944. Many come due to the making of Dr Who and the Daemons in the village in 1970 and a third group come to examine and learn about our extensive collection of bells which were made here over a 200 year period. Others come in order to look into their family history and we have experts who can help them do this.
We continued to run a full program of live monthly talks simultaneously broadcast via Zoom.
We are proud of our relationship with our village school and continue to support their curriculum whenever they ask us to. We often welcome children bringing their family to the Centre to talk about the things they have learnt as a result of our talks and walks.
The transcription of old documents from the 13[th] to the 20[th] century has continued and many have been published on our website. This work brings to light much new information to illuminate the many-faceted history of the village and its manor which can be included in future talks and heritage centre displays.
We are constantly being given documents relating to various village houses, people and organisations which are digitised and put on our Cloud presence so they will be available to all. We also have an archive of close to twenty thousand photographs, most of which have been digitised and made widely available. This digitisation work continues.
How we deliver public benefit
Monthly talks
We continued to provide benefit to our community with a full season of talks on the history and traditions of the village. Subjects presented were: Dung Beetles, their effect on a rural community; Four digs in Aldbourne; Vicars of Aldbourne; Around and About The Green; 1920s Aldbourne; Aldbourne in the 1950s through a young person’s eyes; History of Aldbourne Carnival; Celebrating some of Aldbourne’s important people; Tales from the Duchy of Lancaster . Our offering was well attended and great fun!
We contribute talks and support to other village organisations such as at Carnival time and during the school year. Members are also asked to be guest speakers for other organisations and history societies on their particular areas of expertise.
Regular newsletters are distributed to our membership and other interested parties to keep them up to date with our activities and plans for the future.
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Annual Report 2025
Heritage Centre
Our Heritage Centre, though small, reflects the amazing amount of history which Aldbourne has. We exhibit artefacts which reflect every era dating from pre-history stone age axes and microliths, through Roman and Anglo Saxon pottery and jewellery to more recent evidence of goods manufactured here such as bells and furniture. We regularly change our wall displays and glass cabinets in order to remain interesting and to attract as many people as possible. We keep a look out for new items which we can acquire from auctions or private sellers. New wall displays in 2025 included the history of our village school and the history of our brass band which is rated amongst the top 20 in the country.
At present we have approx. 30 volunteers who help with stewarding when the Centre is open, guiding visitors around the village on tours or giving monthly talks. We organise a summer event for them which in 2025 took the form of a cream tea in a trustee’s garden.
Visitor numbers to the Heritage Centre were a record 3,073 exceeding last year’s number of 2,731 Donations were also at a high of £3,583 again higher than last year’s figure of £2,220.
Our association with the National WW2 Museum in New Orleans brought us 15 coach parties of visitors during the year. Several more coach parties from other American operators also visited us.
We welcomed a one-day meeting of Dr Who fans, drawn to the village by its association with one of the early series of the show.
We continued to receive and answer significant numbers of enquiries concerning family history or from those individuals or bodies interested in learning more about the Band of Brothers. We respond by email or make an appointment to meet in person and also take groups or individuals around the village to explain aspects of our history in more detail.
These activities also prove a useful source of income from donations.
Online Presence
Our website continues to be kept up-to-date with regular additions, particularly transcriptions and translations of documents and stories relevant to the village from as far back as the 15[th] century.
We post photos on our Facebook page regularly, and these are much appreciated by almost a thousand followers from around the world. As a result of this ongoing connection with our followers, we often receive new information and even new lines for research.
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ALDBOURNE COMMUNITY HERITAGE GROUP CIO
Annual Report 2025
Outreach
We assist any organisation which contacts us to support them for an afternoon session by giving a talk to their members or taking in artefacts to bring history alive. In 2025 we took a handling collection along to the Tuesday Club which is for older villagers and spoke to them about the significance of some of these artefacts.
St Michael’s Primary School
We work with the village primary school to make National Curriculum themes more relevant to the children by using local assets and historical events. This year we went in to talk about what happened during Roman times in the village and provided the children with a handling collection borrowed from the Wiltshire Museum in Devises. We also took a class round the village explaining to them what changes had been made to the village over time. Some older members chatted to them about what life at school was like when they were at school.
V80 Celebrations
During the V80 village celebrations we had a stall which reflected village participation in the war effort and how village life was affected by the war both for serving personnel and for families. Groups of visiting French children were taken around to explain to them how English families lived at that time and how they were able to cope with life during the war. We helped organise displays in the village hall of art work done by our local primary children and children from the school in Creully which has a special relationship with our local resident Cecil Newton. He was among the first servicemen to liberate their area in 1944. The school these children attend is named after him.
Walk about quiz
Every year we organise a quiz which requires participants to visit different parts of the village and answer questions relating to village history. In 2025 it was based on answering some maths questions and also knowing about local history.
Patronal day
In November, we were involved in our parish Church’s Patronal Day celebrations talking to visitors about the rich history of the Church.
Financial Review
We have traded through the year with a very small deficit. Membership of the group remained well over one hundred giving us a healthy subscription income which was further increased by the higher number of guided tours of American visitors. We received a record income from the Heritage Centre donations box although this year we did not receive any bequests. Our healthy
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Annual Report 2025
income has allowed us to make a number of very significant purchases to enhance our permanent collection. The end of the year sees us in a continuing financial health.
Grant Income
No grant income was received.
Reserves Policy
Our policy requires that we maintain a reserve of at least one year’s running costs, but aim for two. Our current position shows our current reserves more than meeting this requirement.
Plans for Future Periods
While continuing to serve our community in the ways laid out in our Aims above, we also hope to extend our presence in the village by supporting a greater number of village organisations. We are also planning to improve our storage by installing a unit in the attic which is airtight and therefore suitable for storing delicate items and files which could otherwise degenerate.
We will continue to look for relevant items relating to our history to increase our number of artefacts on view and photos which reflect our history.
Structure Governance and Management
Governing Document
We are an Association organisation with a membership of about 100 (from a village of about 1,800 souls) and are governed by our Constitution which is lodged with the Charity Commission.
Premises
We lease a one-room building with loft from the Parish Council for a peppercorn rent of £9 per year plus essential Council taxes of £240.32. Our current lease runs on these terms until 2036.
Recruitment, Appointment and Induction of Trustees
Our constitution allows for twelve trustees on our governing body, but at present we only have nine. The recruitment of new trustees is an on-going challenge. We are keen to bring younger enthusiasts into the body of Trustees, but face competition from other bodies and interests in this active village.
Our new trustee in 2025 is Leslie Smith.
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Annual Report 2025
Organisational Structure
We are a small group, so the disciplines of governance and management are both handled by the Board of Trustees (normally referred to as “the committee”). In addition to the three officers required by the constitution, we appoint one trustee as Curator who is nominally responsible for management functions. But again as a small organisation all responsibilities tend to be shared.
Signed
T. Gilligan (Chair)
Registered Charity No. 1186866
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ALDBOURNE COMMUNITY HERITAGE GROUP CIO
Annual Report 2025
Accounts for the Year 1[st] January 2025 to 31[st] December 2025.
The organisation maintains an Acquisition Fund for the purchase of objects for the collection which is reflected in the Restricted Funds below, if any were received with stated restrictions. This fund receives an agreed transfer from unrestricted funds at the start of each financial year and benefits further from donations and bequests which specify such use.
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Income and Expenditure
Unre-
A1 Receipts stricted Restricted Total Last Year
Bank Interest £ 41 £ 41 £ 39
Donations: General [Note 1 ] £ 3,583 £ 3,583 £ 2,220
Donations: Acq’n Fund [Note 2 ] £ £ 64 £ 64 £ 6,589
Events & Meetings £ 693 £ 693 £ 412
Village Tour Fees [ Note 3 ] £ 2,690 £ 2,690 £ 2,285
Membership Subs £ 1,547 £ 1,547 £ 1,467
Miscellaneous Income £ 0 £ 0 £ 0
Sales £ 1,496 £ 1,496 £ 499
Sub total £ 10,050 £ 64 £ 10,114 £ 13,511
A2 Asset & Investment Sales £ 467 £ - £ 467 £ 0
Total receipts £ 10,517 £ 64 £ 10,581 £ 13,511
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Unre- Rest-
A3 Payments Total Last Year
stricted ricted
Fees Subs etc [ Note 4] £ 135 £ £ 135 £ 105
Centre Costs £ 3,261 £ £ 3,261 £ 3,012
Collections £ 413 £ £ 413 £ 1,994
Event & Meeting Costs £ 649 £ £ 649 £ 1,083
Office Costs £ 1,964 £ £ 1,964 £ 1,031
Sub total £ 6,422 £ £ 6,442 £ 7,225
A4 Asset & Inv’t Purch’s [Note 5] £ 240 £ £ 240 £ 6,333
Total payments £ 6,662 £ £ 6,662 £ 13,558
Net of receipts/(payments) £ 3,855 £ £ 3,855 (£ 47)
A5 Transfers bt’n Funds £ 0 £ £ 0 £ 0
A6 Funds last year end [ Note 6] £ 14,074 £ £ 14,074 £ 14,147
Cash Funds this year end £ 16,467 £ £ 16,467 £ 11,615
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ALDBOURNE COMMUNITY HERITAGE GROUP CIO
Annual Report 2025
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B1 Cash Funds Unrestricted Restricted Total Last Year
Bank Accounts £ 15,763 £ 564 £ 16,327 £ 13,626
Cash in Hand £ 140 £ - £ 140 £ 732
£ 15,903 £ 564 £ 16,467 £ 14,358
B2 Other Monetary Assets Unrestricted Restricted
Accounts Receivable £ - £ -
£ - £ -
B3 Investment Assets Belongs to Cost
N I L £ -
£ -
B4 Assets Retained for Own Use Belongs to Cost Current Value
Collection ACHG £ 8,669 £ 8,669
Furniture & Equipment [ Note 7 ] ACHG £ 17,436 £ 17,436
£ 26,105 £ 26,105
B5 Liabilities Belongs to Amount Due
Accounts Payable ACHG £ 297
Loans etc ACHG £ 0
£ 297
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Notes:
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Donations received in the Heritage Centre donations box, village organizations, and private individuals.
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Donations from private individuals for Acquisitions Fund.
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Village ‘Band of Brothers’ tour fees from US National WW2 Museum coach tours.
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Includes £47 annual fee to the Information Commissioner to comply with GDPR.
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From unrestricted funds: purchase of replacement display cabinet base; bell and a number of other minor items.
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Including Petty Cash, Floats and our PayPal account.
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Amount does not reflect depreciation as it is not relevant to our current tax filing status.
Signed
Mrs G Krochmal (Trustee & Treasurer)
Registered Charity No. 1186866
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