Charity Regtration No. 1188637 Northumberland Archives Trust NORTHUMBERLAND ARCHIVES CHARITABLE TRUST ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
NORTHUMBERLAND ARCHIVES CHARrrABLE TRusr LEGAL AND ADMINisfRATIVE INFORMATION Stuart Bankier ITerm ends 31 December 20231 ITerm ends 31 Dember 20241 (Term ends 31 December 2024} (Temi ends 31 December 2024) ITerm ends 31 Dember 20231 ITerm ends 31 Dember 20241 (Term ends 31 December 20231 (Term ends 31 December 20241 Morag Boyes William Browne-swinburne John Carr-Ellison Sir Philip Mawer Susan Shaw Prof. Annie findley John Webster Charity Number. 1188637 Principal Addre clo Northumbedand Archives QEII Country Park Ashington Northumberland NE63 9YF Independent Examiner. Andrew Ayre Bankers: Unity Trust Bank PO Box 7193 Planetsry Road Willenhall WVI 9DG
NORTHUMBERLAND ARCHIVES CHARITABLE TRUST TRUSTEES. REPORT For the Year ended 31 March 2023 The Year Under Revlew This. our third annual report. covers not only most of the third year of the Trusvs existence butthe first full year of activity after the passing of the Covid pandemic. It has seen the Trust make marked progress in its core aim of raising significant funds to help the Archive Service in Northumberland make the archival treasures in its care known more widely, and make them more readily a¢¢wible to a wider range of people. The year also saw the Trust begin to assemble a body of patrons and members, and plan its first in-person event. At this, in June 2023, we were able to celebrate the fact that we had already raised over £70,000 (net of expenses) to enable the Archive Service to undertake a variety of projects, several of which are detailed later in this reporL The firn foundations laid in its firsttwo years had given the Trust a promising start. Sn helpingthe Ser¥ice to develop these projects. we continue to pursue our aim of widening acce55 to the archives, particularly for hard-to-reath parts of the community. As will be seen later, many of the projects involve working closely with local schools and community groups, and resutt in further material being added to the Service's online catalogue {CALMI or its digital LEARN (Learning and Educational Archive Resources from Northumberlandl platForm, from where they are available to all. Our Objertives for 2022 and the Progress We Made The Trust has adopted the practice of setting out, at the Start of each lendar year, its objectives for the year ahead and then measuring progress made towards their achievement at the end of the 12 month period. In 2022, we aimed, in brief, to: Cement our relationship with sthools and universities-the details of projects involving the Lord Crewe Trust and the Platten Trust which follow are examples of how we are seeking to do this. Survey potential major funders and plan a project to help the Archive Service catalogue important material in tts care as yet untouched. Develop and $Ure funding ft)r at least two other new projects. Assessing our progress at the end of the year, we were able to conclude that we had made significant progress against all our objectives. The story of what we achieved is detailed in this report. Our ProjeLls and what they Delivered of the five projects either underway or in preparation to which we referred in our 2022 Report, three were completed and the other two made significant progress in 2022-23.
ects Com leted al Online Palaeogmphy Module This project involved a final year undergraduate student from Newcastle University developing an online module to help students and volunteers workingon archival manuscripts to decipher and date these manuscripts. The training module was created very successfully and is expected to be accessed by some 200 students a year as part of the development of their course-related skill& It is also available for use by volunteers assisting the Archive Setvice, induding those recruited under the auspices of the Trust. bl The Carr-Ellison Papers We mentioned in our last Report the work done on these papers by a postgraduate student on a plament under the Northem Bridge scheme. This had enabled the catsloguing of papers relating to Harriet Carr and the creation on the online LEARN plarform of a new module focusing on Harrievs experience of undertaking The Grand Tour duringthe late 18th century. The placement was successfully completed in 2023 wtth the cataloguing of the second American letter book documenting the trade of Ral h Carr 1711-1806 an eighteenth- century Newcastle merchant and of further papers from the Carr-Ellison collection. including the correspondence of Sir John Dick. Sir John was a life-long friend of Carr, who beneffted from the latterfs generous patronage during his early years and went on to pursue a mercantile and diplomatic career. A blog about Sirjohn has been added to the seIce's website. ¢} The Lord Crewe Trustees We are grateful to the Trustees of the Lord Crewe Trust for a grant totalling £IO,OCM) which enabled the Archive seiCe to catalogue and analyse additsonal elements of the Trusvs papers. The Lord Crewe Trust wa5 set up to administer the will of Nathaniel, Lord Crewe, who wa5 Bishop of Durham between 1674 and 1721. Attogether 1621 entries were added to the Setvice's online catalogue (CALM} and can now be found by researchers and others all overthe world. The grant also enabled the development of two ftjrther units of educational material which are being added to the Archive Service's LEARN set of resources for schools and others. The first of these- entitled The Bamburgh Castle Welfare State. _ is now available on the Service's website, with the second- 'Shipwrecks. Lifeboats and the Dangers of the Sea'_ also recently added. d) Blyth to the Future, This projert- generously funded by a grant of £IO.000 from the Platten Trust through the Community Foundation, Te Wear and Northumberland - involved staff of the Archive Service working With over 2(K) pupils from 4 sd)ools in Blyth to understand the
history of their town and re-imagine its future. In partnership wtth NUSTEM at Northumbria Universlty, the children were also able to visit the University campus. The artwork and CAD {computer-assisted design) models the children developed were on view in Blyth Project Space between January and March 2023. where they were viewed by over 2,000 people. The success of this projert in broadening the horiions of the thildren concerned and stimulating their interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects has led to the suggestion, currently being explored, that similar projetts might be undertaken with schools elsewhere in Northumberland. To quote just one tribute from a teacher. Yhe students were enthrolled by oll of the activilyes ond the experience widened theiTrfvture 0spiration5 beyond mÈosure." ects in Pro al The Photocentre Collection- 'Everyday fe in North Northumberland, The Photocentre Collection contains over a million photographic negatives which together document all aspects of life in North Northumberland and the S¢othsh Borders between 1951 and 2012. With funding generously provided by the Lough Fund through the Community Foundation, the Service ha5 been able to employ a suitably qualified archival assistant to begin to catalogue. preserve and digtti5e the contents of the collection. sothatthey can be made available online to everyone. By the end of June 2023, 8.200 entries had been added to the electronic catalogue and 1250 images had been digiknsed. A regular blog and other social media output had built an online following of over 1.500 people forthe project. Image5 from the collection have been exhibited in Berwick-upon-Tweed and at Northumberland County Hall in Morpeth, and they can also be viewed on the projecys dedicated website at htt s- hotocentreberwi¢k.¢o.uk bl Hospitals in the North The recruitment of 5 volunteers at Woodhorn and 7 at Berwick to help the Servi with this projert (which is funded bythe BrightTrust) enabled work on it to begin in 2022. Together the volunteers are re5earthing aspects of maternity care piovision in the county prior to the establishment of the National Health Service. Several volunteers have been trained in taking oral history recordings and this part of the project is expected to be underway by the autumn of 2023. e¢ts in Pre aration A Major Cataloguing Project Trustees, principal focus in planning future projects has been on beginning the process of securing fvnds to enable cataloguing of the very significant number of papers
deposited wth the Archive Service over the years which have not yet been analysed or catalogued. These include a number of collections of estate records, which are of significant importance not just because of what they can tell us aboutthe families which owned the estates and their wider interests but about those who lived and worked on the estates and the communities which grew up around them. To enable progress to be made, the Archive servi has undertaken a scoping exercise during which they have reviewed the potential significance of each of these estate collections (which together total 47 collections comprising 83 separate depostts of materiall and idèntified those whose contents are likely to be most important. Altogether 12 collections {rangTng in volume from 248 archive boxes to just I box of material) fall into this category. Ofthese, 7 are held atthe Record Centre at Woodhorn and 5 at Berwic The cataloguing of these collections has been estimated to require a minimum of two years, work by a professionally qualified archivist and an arthival assistant. at a cost of over £2W.000 (including associated on<ostsl. It is a cost whi¢h cannot be borne by the County Council. given that the cataloguing of records which have not been generated by the Council does not fall within its statutory responsibilities and given the many other demands on its resources. During the year under review, Trustees were in touch wrth the descendants of the varioLbS families whose papers have been reviewed, all of whom have indicated their support for this catsloguing project and many of whom have indicated a willingness to make some contribution towards funding it. Trustees have also submitted some smaller funding applications, to begin the process of revealing the contents of some of the smaller collections, and have begun to prepare more substantial applications to larger. national funders. The first of these larger applications is likely to be submitted in the autumn of 2023. Meanwhile two smallerapplications have been prepared and submttted as follow5: i) The Clayton Collectson The Claytons owned the Chesters estate which straddles Hadrian's Wall, incorporating the site of Chesters Roman fort. Following his inheritance of the estate, John Clayton ITown Clerk of Newcastle 1822 - 1867) bought land along or close to the Wall and is largely credited with saving it from ¢ontinued destruction, as well as preserving the Roman artefacts he unearthed. An application to the Green Rigg Wind Farm Trust has been successfvl and cataloguing is expected to begin in the late summer of 2023. following which news of the archival treasures uncovered will be shared with the local community.
ii) The Atkinson and Marshall Papers From 1805. Northumbrian sheep farmers Atkinson and Marshall leased land on the Highland estate of the Countess of Sutherland, eventually leasing more than 100,000 acres. The introduction of largtrscale sheep farming not only pioneered new agricultural methods but resulted in the mass eviction of tenant crofters, a movement that became known as the Highland aearances. The Atkinson and Marshall papers contain interesting material relating to the clearances. A5 this report was beingfinalised. we heard that an application to the Strathmartine Trust for a grant of £5,0(KJ to catalogue the papers had been successful. Protecting and PreseThing the CounWs Arthives The first concern of the ArchNe Service is that any papers and other records entrusted to them should be kept safely and securely in suitable conditions. The provision for this in Berwck-upon-Tweed has for 50me time been less than satisfactory. However, plans for the redevelopment of Berwick Barracks- a Grade I listed complex built to original designs bv Nicholas Hawksmoor between 1718 and 1721- have now opened up the prospect of a new Slte being established there for the safe storage of the archives held in Berwick, with a public search and reading room facility located adjacent to tt The redevelopment of the Barracks will be a complex and lengthy proces5 but a grant of £4.2 million from the Governmenvs Cultural Development Fund. together with substantial funding from Northumberland County Council and significant assistance from the National Lottery Heritage Fund mean that real progress can begin to be made. Trustees heard more about the plans for the stte at a joint meeting in June 2023 with representatives of the Friends of Berwick and District Museum and Archives. They are continuingto monitor developments, in order to be readyto offer what help they can in bringingthese important plan5 to fruition. Our People al Patrons and Su The Committed support of local people concerned to preserve their CoUnS heritage is a critical ingredient in the Trusys continued success. During 2022-23 we increased the number of those who are patrons of the Trust (who each generously contribute £100 a yearto its funds) and we continued to expand the number of members leach kindly contributing£lO pal. As can be seen from the attathed accounts, the expenses of running the Trust are rninimal but the donations made bythese committed supporters- and by other casual donors via the Trusvs website or atthe two Record Offices- help ensure that the money we receive in grants towards projects can be entirely spent on delivering orters
the projects themselves. Trustees are very grateful to all who support the Trust in this way. We are workingto improve our communication and other means of interaction with our regular supporters. while being conscious thatthere is a balance to be struck in order to avoid information overload. In April 2023, we issued our first digital newsletter to supporters. with a second to follow later in the year. In June 2023. we were able to hold ourfirst in-person event at County Hall, Morpeth, to which all supporters were invited and at which we were honoured to be joined by Councillor Catherine Seymour IcuThently the Council's fjvic Head} and Councillor Jeff Watson {Cabinet member responsible for Archive as well as other heritage-related Services). The event induded a talk by Cameron Robertson about the work he 15 undertaking to catalogue and digitise the Photocentre Colleciion. In addition, we send occasional emails to patrons and members informingthem of significant developments. We aim to develop a regular pattem of similar contact wtth supporters in future. b) Volunteers We also value highly the efforts of those who volunteer to help the Archive seICe undertake parttcular projects. There hasfor many year5 been an established pattern of volunteers assistÈng in this %vay at Berwick Record Office. bLrt this has been less common at Woodhom. To help the recruitment of volunteers at both sites. the Trust approved during the year under review a Volunteer Agreement sethng out the expertations the Service has of volunteers and what in tum they can expect of the Service. The Trust also helped the Service shape an induction programme, which all volunteers are offered and must undertake following their recruitmenL c} Trustees Those who currently seNe as Trustees are listed at the beginning of this Report. They act in a purely voluntary capacity and bring a wealth of relevant experience to the task. There were no changes in the membership of the Trustee Ix)dy during 2022-23. Our Funding and Finanaal Controls The Trusys Accounts for the year under review are appended to this report. We are grateful to all those funding organisations and individuals who have enabled our supportfor projects undertaken by the Archive Service to increase over the past 12 months. The accounts. which have been independently examined, confirm that the Trust mntinues to be adequately funded to meet its liabilities. During the past year, Trustees reviewed the Trusvs protocol for the authorisation of ex enditure and its reserves policy. Regarding the fomier. Trustees confimied the following statement:
All expenditure must be authorised by two Trustees, ot least one of whom must be either the Chaim70n or the Treasurer. Similarly. all bankpayments must be outhorised by two Trustees ot leost one of whom must be either the Chairman or the Treasurer. At each Tnistee's meetAng the Treosurer must ur¢ulate a detoiled stotement of income and expenditurefor the current year and details of current reserves. At the end of eachfinonciol yeor, on Independent Examiner will be (7ppointed. who will review thefinancial stotements prepared by the Ch(7rity to ensure that they are a true reflection of thefinanciol position of the Charity. The Trust wishes to record its thanks to Leanne Mason, who acted as Independent Examiner during its first two years. We are very grateful to Andrew Ayre for taking on this responsibility duringthe current year. Regarding reserves the Trustees review the reserves on an annual basis taking into consideration the inherent risk a550Ciated with running a small charty. The Trustees always take into consideration the wider economic environment and the potential impact that thi5 can have on the results forthe year. The balance of funds is reviewed taking into consideration operational and financial plans for the year to ensure that the Trust has sufficient funding to meet its objectives on an on-going basis. We are satisfied that this remains the case. Finally underthis headin& it is appropriate to mention thatthe Trust introduced new arrangements during the year under review to enable casual donations to be made to the Trust by those who use the Record Offices at Berwick and Woodhom. These enable donations to be made by cash or via text message. The latter is an experimental arrangement, the success of which we will review on a yearly basis. Our Goveman The Trust continued its practice of reviewing its growing suite of governance policies at least annually at its December meeting. In addition to updating policies as necessary to meet Charity Commission requirements and introducing new policies relating to volunteers (see above), the Trust formally approved in March 2023 a complaints procedure detailing how any complaint against the Trust or an individual Trustee orvolunteer {by a Tnjstee, supporter, volunteer or member of the publicl will be handled. Details of this policy can be made available bythe Secretary on request. Trustees also continue to review the composition of the trustee body in December each year. No new appointments were made in 2022-23. Both continuing and newly appointed Trustees are encouraged to undertake relevant training le.g. on fundraising} wheneverthis is necessary andlor appropriate. Condusion The Trust ha5 enjoyed a third successful year. As we hope this report shows. it is making steady progress delivering on its objectives, in the public interest. Whilst never complacent, we believethat we are establishing a consistent record of support forthe Northumberland
Archive Service in the effective management of projects which enable wider access from diverse sections of the community to the CoUnS impressive archival heritage, and in so doing bringing its wider heritage leconomic, political, industrial. cultural and sociall vividly to life. Approved by the Trustees at their meeting on 19 September 2023 and signed on their behalf by: Sir Philip awer (Chair) Stuart Bankier ITreasurer) Date: l T G&kn-kn23 io
Independent examinerfs report to the Trustees of Northumberland Arch¢ves Charitable Trust I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of Northumberland Archives Charitable Trust {the Charity) for the year ended 31 Marth 2023. Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity trustees of the Charity, you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Art 20111'the ACVI. I report in respert of my examination of the Charivs accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directtons given by the Charity Commission under section 145{5)(b) of the ACL Independent examinerfs statement I have completed my examination. I confim) that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the Act: or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or 3. the accounts do not comply wtth the applicable requirements Conrning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 otherthan any requirement thatthe accounts give a true and fair view which is not a Matter considered as part of an independent examinaiion. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be dravrfn in this report in orderto enable a proper understanding of the a ounts to be reathed. Signed: Name: N1Jfa 4Yr nIL <t 4 Address: Date: 2&a li
Northumberland Archive5 Charitable Trust Ststement of Knancial Aciivibes for the Year EndiNa 3tst March 21f23 Year Ending 3110312023 Year Endlng 3110312022 Incomlng Resources Grants Lord Crewe Comm Foundation re P13tten 6.CM)O io.¢xx) Comm Foundation re Photoc 19,(M)) Patrons Membership GiftAid Donations General Donations re Woodhom Donations re Photo Centre 1,350 160 226 95 273 $90 4,412 Totsl Income 23326 io Resources Expended Administration Costs Bank Service Charge Website {72} 1325) 11491 {2211 (721 {1.946) 148) Meeting Costs Promotional Stands Printing Insurance {2391 {1801 {3cKII 1185) Logo (952} {2.785) Charitable Activities Hospital Project Harriet Carr Project Photo Centre Exhibwtion (2.0) {1.1) Platten Project Lord Crewe Project Donation re Woodhorn Iio.cKx)) (4.(m) (1.() ii.(wi I5.() Donation re PhOtontre Photo Centre Digitisation 121.LXXII {6.LW) iio,ocoi Governance Costs Total Expenditure (21352) {785) Surplus for the Year 1,373 (1,905) 12
Northumberland Archives Charitsble Trust Balance Sheet as at 3tst March 2023 Year Ending 3110312023 Year Ending 3110312022 Current Assets Cash at Bank 24.551 19.977 Current Liabilitses Creditors Website design Northumberland Archives Harriet Carr Kreative Technology Donation re WoDdhom Donation Photocentre Hospital Project Phototrntre Exhibition Platten Project PhOtOntre Digitisation 11.9461 11.9461 li.LXJJI 1145} {I,iyx)) {2,ClYJ) {1,() 15,(KM)I 15.(KXJI I2.)} 11,CM)01 (15.1451 16.(XXII {io.(xx)} Total Assets 8,031 Represented Unrestrirted Funds Brought Forward Surplus (Los51 for the year Carried fonvard 8.033 1.373 9.406 9,936 11,9)5} 8,031 8.031 Restritted Funds Totsl Funds 8,031 13