Charity Reg￿tration 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 De￿mber 20241
(Term ends 31 December 2024}
(Temi ends 31 December 2024)
ITerm ends 31 De￿mber 20231
ITerm ends 31 De￿mber 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 pla￿ment 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 se￿Ice'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 se￿iCe 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, T￿e 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 CoUn￿S 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 se￿ICe
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 CoUn￿S 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 Con￿rning 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:
N1Jf￿a 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 PhOto￿ntre
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
PhOtO￿ntre 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