
## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period** 

## **From 01/01/2025   Period start date       To 31/12/2025   Period end date** 

**Charity name: Blandford Forum Museum, Heritage & Arts Trust** 

## **Charity registration number: 1190608** 

## **Objectives and Activities** 

||SORP<br>reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the<br>purposes of the<br>charity as set out<br>in its governing<br>document|Para<br>1.17|The aims of Blandford Museum are to record, conserve and<br>display all aspects of the prehistory and history of Blandford<br>and the surrounding region, and to bring the records and<br>displays to the attention of the public. Recording is<br>accomplished by maintaining archives and library facilities<br>and making these available to the public; display of<br>Blandford history is managed by means of exhibitions<br>mounted in the museum and through outreach and<br>educational projects within the community. The museum<br>holds a small art collection and art exhibitions of locally<br>relevant art is a part of our purpose and an increasing part of<br>our vision.|
|Summary of the<br>main activities in<br>relation to those<br>purposes for the<br>public benefit, in<br>particular, the<br>activities, projects<br>or services<br>identified in the<br>accounts.|Para<br>1.17 and<br>1.19|**Activities relating to Specific Grants:**<br>**DORSET COUNCIL GRANT (2025-2027) – Organisation**<br>**Grant - Project Fund R6:**£30,000 over three years. Can be used<br>in any way that promotes the museum’s activities.<br>**DORSET COUNCIL GRANT (2025)**Blandford Heritage in 3D –<br>to start a 3D photographic and video group. This group works in<br>partnership with the Blandford Forum Town Council and the<br>Blandford Fashion Museum (Cavalcade of Costume).**£10,000**<br>**Blandford Forum Town Council Grant (renewed yearly) –**<br>**Service Level Agreement for 2025:**£2,500<br>**National Heritage Lottery Fund (Finishing) – Reaching Out**<br>**With Sound:**This grant allowed us to introduce programming for<br>the visually impaired and blind visitors to the museum through the<br>use of a new technology called NaviLens. The museum is the first<br>to use this technology in the Heritage sector. It further allowed us<br>to create 11 videos and establish a YouTube channel for the<br>museum. These videos show museum exhibitions and tell the story<br>behind them. They are available for anyone, but with subtitles they<br>are especially useful in care homes**. £25,020**|



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|||**General Activities**<br>Activities designed to maintain both museum objects collection,<br>archive collection, and photos and video collections. Community<br>activities include: lectures, family events, fundraising events,<br>research, education work with primary age children, education<br>work with high school, college and university students, local<br>sustainability events, lectures and activities, garden activities,<br>archaeological talks and events. For a list of all events held in<br>2024:<br>https://blandfordtownmuseum.org.uk/events-<br>archive|
|---|---|---|
|Statement<br>confirming<br>whether the<br>trustees have<br>had regard to the<br>guidance issued<br>by the Charity<br>Commission on<br>public benefit|Para<br>1.18|The charity's purposes are to record, conserve and display all<br>aspects of the prehistory and history of Blandford and the<br>surrounding region, and to bring the records and displays to the<br>attention of the public. During the year, our museum maintained a<br>growing collection, created exhibitions and work in ways to engage<br>with the public about the history and prehistory of the local area.<br>The trustees confirm they have had due regard to the Charity<br>Commission's public benefit guidance when exercising their duties.|



## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: 

||SORP<br>reference||
|---|---|---|
|Policy on grant<br>making|Para<br>1.38|Grant funding is secured by the Director for museum building<br>improvements (such as new LED lighting and new Solar Panels)<br>and for specific projects (3D photography Group, NaviLens codes<br>for vision impaired visitors, museum garden activities, research,<br>and so on). Funding is sourced for projects that produce<br>programming that will increase visitor numbers and/or provides<br>access to groups who have not typically used museums.<br>We also look for funding that will facilitate community interaction<br>and involvement with the museum on research projects, garden<br>activities, archaeology projects and more.|
|Policy on social<br>investment<br>including program<br>related<br>investment|Para<br>1.38|**NA**|
|Contribution<br>made by<br>volunteers|Para<br>1.38|Blandford Town Museum is completely volunteer run. For 2025,<br>roughly 70 volunteers provided over 7000 hours of volunteer work.|
|Other|||



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## **Achievements and Performance** 

||SORP<br>reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the<br>main<br>achievements of<br>the charity,<br>identifying the<br>difference the<br>charity’s work has<br>made to the<br>circumstances of<br>its beneficiaries<br>and any wider<br>benefits to society<br>as a whole.|Para<br>1.20|The main purpose of the museum is to preserve the objects in its<br>collection, maintain and increase the collection (archives, photos,<br>objects) and make the materials available to the public through<br>activities, exhibitions and events. We also consider local<br>environmental issues as part of our remit. We maintain a garden<br>as well. All activities are designed to engage with the public and<br>raise funds for the museum’s work.<br>For a complete list of museum activities and events for 2024:<br>https://blandfordtownmuseum.org.uk/events-<br>archive<br>All activities and events are aimed at several things:<br>•<br>Engaging with visitors and the community about the<br>heritage of the Blandford Area<br>•<br>Maintaining the Collections<br>•<br>Bringing in Volunteers<br>•<br>Maintaining the Museum as a community resource<br>•<br>Carry out local research<br>**Short list of some activities through 2025:**<br>**January**: Behind-the-scenes 20 volunteers worked throughout the<br>month to clean and refresh the museum premises and exhibitions.<br>The**Archaeology Group, Museum Research Groups, Garden**<br>**Group, Blandford in Stiches (the Textile Group), and the**<br>**Civic and Sustainability Group**continued to meet and hold<br>talks. The**Archaeology Group**held a lecture. A Quiz Night, a<br>major fundraiser, was held 30thJan.**Collections Team**and<br>volunteers interested in conservation met with MDSW<br>Conservation Consultant, Helena Janesche for a day of training.<br>**February: The Museum reopened for the 2025 season.**<br>Meetings were held by the various groups under the museum<br>umbrella**: Archaeology/Garden/Sustainability.** **Archaeology**<br>held a lecture. Both the Archaeology Group and the M**useum**held<br>talks. Blandford in Stiches held a start up meeting. Research<br>groups met.<br>**March:**Museum and Archaeology talks were held in addition to<br>Coffee/Plant Sale Mornings. Two launches were held for the<br>opening of the NaviLens technology for the blind and visually<br>impaired (19thand 26th).” Ask an Archaeologist” was held (a<br>session with specialists to identify artefacts belonging to visitors)<br>**April:**Two Town Walks were held. Archaeology held a talk and a<br>Quiz night. The Museum Last Friday talk was held as well as a<br>Coffee/Plant Sales morning. The Museum held special children’s<br>Easter activities.<br>**May:**The Museum participated in the North Dorset Photo<br>Competition and Exhibition. Both Archaeology and the Museum<br>held talks. 3 Guided Town Walks were held as was the<br>Coffee/Plant Sales morning. The Museum AGM was held at the<br>end of May and a wine tasting evening followed.<br>**June:**3 Guided Town Walks were held as was the Coffee/Plant<br>Sales morning. We participated in partnership with BET in the|



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annual Blandford Hidden Gardens event. A Last Friday in the Garden social event was held at the end of the month. **July:** The Civic and Sustainability Group held the Green Fair at the Arches in collaboration with BET. We held a combined Family Archaeology and History Day with the Portable Antiquities Team. The Museum participated in The Council for British Archaeology event for a 3-day period. Activities such as Artefact ID, Mosiacs, Dorset Button Making, and small digs were all held during this time. Coffee morning/Plant Sale was held. 2 Town Walks were held. Last Friday social event in the Garden and a special event called From Me to Brew was held to raise money for cancer research. **August:** 200 Years of Railways in Blandford was held. Coffee Morning was held, Civic Group held 3 walks, and the Last Friday in the Garden social event was held. **September:** Dino Day was held (Iguanodon Restaurant) on a Saturday. 4 Town Walks were held. A Coffee/Plant Sales morning were held. Archaeology Group held a talk. The Garden Group held a talk. The Dorset Blind Association held its first Blandford Blind Book Club Meeting at the museum. A Last Friday Social evening was held as well as a special afternoon event to talk to the local community about the potential for Museum Expansion. **October** : Museum and Archaeology Group talks were held. The DBA held a Blind Book Group meeting. The was a Plant Sale event by the Garden Group. **November:** We participated in the Blandford Literary Festival over 2 days with three speakers. This was very well attended. “Ask and Archaeologist” was held. Museum and Archaeology Group talks were held. Blandford in Stitches – a new museum special interest group launched their new project.: A Fire Dress to commemorate the Blandford Fire of 1731. **December** : We participated in the Blandford Yuletide Festival: Museum open, festive refreshments A Christmas Craft Day was held and both the Garden and Archaeology Groups held Christmas events. The DBA held a Blind Book Club meeting. During all these months, projects on the River Stour/Medieval Tapestry. East Street Research group, Medieval Research group. and other projects have continued behind the scenes. We held two training sessions with staff in the museums. Meetings were also held with North Dorset Museum Association, Museum Development South West,  and Dorset Museums Association. Trustee and other meetings were carried out inperson and by ZOOM when needed. 

## **The** 

## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: 

|Achievements<br>against<br>objectives set|Para<br>1.41||Blandford Forum Museum, Heritage and Arts Trust have been working<br>toward 5 strategic Aims, which are outlined in our accreditation<br>Documents and Forward Plan.<br>**Strategic Aim #1: Financial Stability:**Ensure we are a financially<br>viable organisation, making effective use of our resources and income. In<br>2025, the Trust continued to work against a budget approved by the<br>Trustees, which was based on the previous year (2024). The Treasurer<br>presents the accounts against that budget at each Trustee meeting so<br>that they can monitor expenditure. We have a**Financial Policy**in place<br>which dictates where our accounts are held, what is kept in reserve, and<br>who has access to the funds and for what purposes.<br>**Strategic Aim #2: Increase space:**Create the space and facilities to<br>deliver the museum’s vision and mission. In 2025, we continued to look|
|---|---|---|---|



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for spaces to purchase, rent or develop as the need for more storage and exhibition room is severe. By the end of 2025, the museum had received permission to use a gravel area next to the museum, with the aim of developing a plan to build a permanent structure on the site. We are currently engaged in that process. Also at the end of 2025, we received permission to temporarily use another building in Bere’s Yard to allow us to audit our collections, do some conservation work, and repack items in store. We have established a fundraising team and are working on a fundraising strategy for 2026-2027. We have been able to form a large Collections Team to carry out this work. **Strategic Aim #3: Growing our Audiences:** Grow the museum’s audience from within and outside the town. As our volunteer base has increased, our ability to carry out more events and bring more visitors to the museum has increased. We were able to hold “pop-up” museum days with the new volunteer staff, which has increased our yearly numbers. 

In 2024 we were only able to open 4 days a week, compared to precovid, when we were open 6 days a week. Even considering that, we are exceeding those pre-pandemic numbers considerably. The chart below shows event attendance, museum visitors, and the total for each 6[th] month period. The yearly totals are also shown for comparison. This link takes you to our complete museum calendar of events: https://blandfordtownmuseum.org.uk/events-archive 


**Strategic Aim #4: Growing our Volunteer Base** Develop a multigenerational volunteer base to deliver all aspects of the museum’s operation. The museum is completely volunteer run. In 2024, our staff numbers were around 50. In 2025, this increased to about 70, closer to 80 if we count temporary volunteers. Volunteer staff numbers fluctuate due to illness and family issues, so these numbers are an average. 

Our volunteers come to us through two main paths: word of mouth from other volunteers and visitors who decide they would like to join. Our new volunteers continue to be highly skilled and this has been a huge advantage to us in our operation in 2025 with improved website and social media and with increased events. (Our numbers for 2025 have increased dramatically as a consequence.). Our website has exceptionally good Accessibility: https://blandfordtownmuseum.org.uk 

We now operate with the help of 18-20 Volunteer Teams that manage to operation of the Museum. These teams report to the Director on a regular basis and help with identifying heeds and projects that will 

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||||require external funding. The Director attends strategy session on<br>Volunteer recruitment and we are registered with Volunteer Dorset.<br>**Strategic Aim #5:  Improve exhibition and storage spaces**To<br>improve our exhibition and storage spaces and cases so that that the<br>collection is displayed in a manner that maximizes security and<br>environment (temperature and humidity).We have maintained weekly<br>records for the museum environment and out controls are very good for<br>the collection and exhibitions. In 2024, two volunteers came forward to<br>work on Pest Control.<br>We now have 3 volunteer staff who are working on improving museum<br>security. We are addressing an issue of long-standing, that is to increase<br>the security of the museum by replacing the external doors. This will be<br>costly, but will put us in a better position to receive loans from other<br>museums because we will have the requisite security.<br>The Collections Team mentioned under Strategic Aim #2 moved the<br>items in storage into the new building and will start addressing the audit<br>and conservation work in 2026.<br>This team is also interested in developing new exhibitions in 2026.|
|---|---|---|---|
|Performance<br>of fundraising<br>activities<br>against<br>objectives set|Para<br>1.41||In 2025 we set a budget of £4000 to be raised from events and talks and<br>we succeeded in raising £4232|
|Investment<br>performance<br>against<br>objectives|Para<br>1.41|||
|Other||||



## **Financial Review** 

|Review of the<br>charity’s<br>financial<br>position at the<br>end of the<br>period|Para<br>1.21|The total of funds held at the end of 2025 was £119,373 of which<br>£16,506 were restricted funds - £16,049 held for Museum Groups<br>and £457 remaining from the 3D Project.|
|---|---|---|
|Statement<br>explaining the<br>policy for<br>holding<br>reserves<br>stating why<br>they are held|Para<br>1.22||



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|Amount of<br>reserves held|Para<br>1.22|£77,341 is held in a designated fund for future museum<br>development and £25,525 is held in general reserves.|
|---|---|---|
|Reasons for<br>holding zero<br>reserves|Para<br>1.22||
|Details of fund<br>materially in<br>deficit|Para<br>1.24||
|Explanation of<br>any<br>uncertainties<br>about the<br>charity<br>continuing as a<br>going concern|Para<br>1.23||



## **Additional information (optional)** 

You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: 

|The charity’s<br>principal<br>sources of<br>funds<br>(including any<br>fundraising)|Para<br>1.47|We receive 2 main organisational grants:<br>Dorset Council - £10K per year.<br>Blandford Forum Town Council - £2.5K per year<br>Other funding comes in through:<br>Memberships<br>Donations<br>Shop Sales<br>Fundraising Events<br>Bequests|
|---|---|---|
|Investment<br>policy and<br>objectives<br>including any<br>social<br>investment<br>policy adopted|Para<br>1.46||
|A description<br>of the principal<br>risks facing the<br>charity|Para<br>1.46|**The Museum Risks are as follows:**<br>•<br>Financial insolvency. We keep a check on finances at each<br>Trustee meeting<br>•<br>Disaster: Fire, Flood. We maintain insurance and have a<br>plan of evacuation for objects. We also hold a policy with<br>Harwells for specialist disaster recovery support for fire and<br>flood damage to collections.<br>•<br>Loss of Volunteers<br>•<br>Loss of Trustees<br>•<br>Loss of skilled Museum Volunteer Staff<br>•<br>Injury to staff: £10 million ELI<br>•<br>Injury to visitors: £10 million PLI|
|Other|||



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## **Structure, Governance and Management** 

|Description of<br>charity’s trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of<br>governing<br>document<br>(trust deed,<br>royal charter)|Para<br>1.25|**Constitution**|
|How is the<br>charity<br>constituted?<br>(e.g<br>unincorporated<br>association,<br>CIO)|Para<br>1.25|**CIO**|
|Trustee<br>selection<br>methods<br>including<br>details of any<br>constitutional<br>provisions e.g.<br>election to post<br>or name of any<br>person or body<br>entitled to<br>appoint one or<br>more trustees|Para<br>1.25|We have no formal policy on Trustee induction. Training opportunities are<br>taken advantage of whenever possible when these are offered through<br>relevant museum associations and bodies, such as the Association of<br>Independent Museums, Museum Development South West, and Dorset<br>Museums Association.<br>Trustees review their responsibilities through online support on the<br>website of the Association of Independent Museums, found at<br>https://aim-museums.co.uk/being-an-effective-trustee<br>In 2025 some Trustees received Training in Spectrum rules<br>through The Collections Trust and Museum Development South<br>West.|



## **Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: 

|Policies and<br>procedures<br>adopted for<br>the induction<br>and training<br>of trustees|Par<br>a<br>1.51|Blandford Museum makes use of the workshops/training/best<br>practice/policy advice of appropriate museum bodies, such as AIM, Arts<br>Council, and Dorset Museum Advisory Panel.<br>We also consult regularly with the Museums Advisor for BCP & Dorset<br>Councils.|
|---|---|---|
|The charity’s<br>organisationa<br>l structure<br>and any<br>wider network<br>with which<br>the charity<br>works|Par<br>a<br>1.51|**The Board of Trustees**(or governing body) is comprisedof 11 Trustees<br>that provide governance by oversight, agreement on  policies, and setting<br>overall budgets. The**Museum Director**is responsible for daily operations,<br>strategic planning, staff management, and budget handling. This structure<br>ensures accountability and effective management by assigning ultimate<br>responsibility to the board and delegating day-to-day tasks to the director.<br>18-20 Teams work on aspects of museum management at the direction of<br>the Director.<br>[Organizational Chart is shown below]|



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**2025 Organisational Structure:** 


|||We partner with other charities in Blandford Forum on projects and events|
|---|---|---|
|||only. There are no shared funds or responsibilities.|
|Relationship|Par|These include:|
|with any<br>related|a<br>1.51|Blandford Environmental Trust<br>The Blandford Fashion Museum (Cavalcade of Costume)|
|parties||Blandford Forum Town Council<br>Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul|
|Other|||



## **Reference and Administrative details** 

|Charity name|Blandford Forum Museum,Heritage and Arts Trust|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses|Blandford Town Museum|
|Registered charity number|1190608|
|Charity’s principal address|Blandford Forum Museum, Heritage and Arts Trust<br>The Market Place<br>Bere’s Yard<br>Blandford Forum<br>Dorset<br>DT11 7HQ|
|||



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**Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity** 

|1<br>2<br>3<br>4<br>5<br>6<br>7<br>8<br>9<br>10<br>11<br>12<br>13<br>14<br>15<br>16<br>17<br>18<br>19<br>20|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**<br>**year **|**Name of person (or body) entitled**<br>**to appoint trustee (ifany)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||JoyReynolds|Co-Chair|||
||Melanie Wyles|Co-Chair|||
||Shaun Christopher|Co-Chair|||
||Heather Packwood|Treasurer|||
||Teresa Cooper||||
||Linda Johnson||||
||Sheila Nicola<br>Brown|Group Rep|||
||CindyWood||||
||Cinnamon Trundle||||
||Julie Dunk||30/05/25 to date||
||Gina Hartwell|Minutes Secretary|03/07/25 to date||
||CallyTurnbull||Upto 22/01/26||
||Mark Aldis||Upto 16/10/25||
||Wilmar Voitus van<br>Hamme||Up to 16/10/25||
||Rex Badgely||Upto 16/10/25||
||Anne Quinney||Upto 14/08/25||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||



– Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved 

**Director name** 

Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity 

**Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year** 

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## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others** 

Description of the assets held in this capacity Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets 

## **Additional information (optional)** 

## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)** 

|**Type of**<br>**adviser**<br>**Name**|**Type of**<br>**adviser**<br>**Name**|**Address**|
|---|---|---|
|Museums<br>Advisor for<br>BCP &<br>Dorset<br>Councils|Vicky Dewit|Dorset History Centre<br>07876 790641<br>vicky.dewit@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk<br>www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk|
||||
||||
||||



**Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)** 

Dr Sylvia Hixson Andrews 

## **Exemptions from disclosure** 

Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details 

## **Other optional information** 

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Declarations
Signed on behalf of charity's trustees
Signature(s)
. A.
Full name{s)
Posftlon (eg Secretsry,
Chair. etc)
CV4&10
TÉEASkn AE
Dale
/Users/heatherpackwood/DesktoplBlandford MuseumlAccounts12025 AccountsThAR-DOC
17012026.docx

**The Blandford Forum Museum, Heritage and Arts Trust** 

**1190608** 

**CC16a** 


## **Receipts and payments accounts** 

**For the period 01/01/2025 31/12/2025 To from** 

## **Section A Receipts and payments** 

|**A1 Receipts**|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**to the nearest      £**|**Unrestricted**<br>**funds**<br>**to the nearest      £**|**Restricted funds**<br>**to the nearest £**|**Restricted funds**<br>**to the nearest £**|**Endowment**<br>**funds**<br>**to the nearest £**|**Endowment**<br>**funds**<br>**to the nearest £**|**Total funds**<br>**to the nearest £**|**Total funds**<br>**to the nearest £**|**Last year**<br>**to the nearest £**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|<br>Grants: Blandford Town Council SLA|**2,500**||**-**||**-**||**2,500**||**2,500**|
|Grants: Dorset CountyCouncil Organisational|**10,000**||**-**||**-**||**10,000**||**10,000**|
|Grants: Dorset Council 3D Project|**794**||**606**||**-**||**1,400**||**1,400**|
|Grants: NHLF ReachingOut With Sound|**7,175**||**5,335**||**-**||**12,510**||**12,510**|
|Grants: Dave Wilson Trust|**-**||**500**||**-**||**500**||**-**|
|Grants: Blandford Environmental Trust|**-**||**100**||**-**||**100**||**-**|
|MembershipSubscriptions|**2,791**||**-**||**-**||**2,791**||**2,588**|
|Donations / Bequests|**3,309**||**-**||**-**||**3,309**||**10,405**|
|Events / Talks|**4,232**||**-**||**-**||**4,232**||**3,188**|
|Hidden Gardens|**217**||**-**||**-**||**217**||**265**|
|SundryIncome|**215**||**-**||**-**||**215**||**-**|
|Curatorial|**100**||**-**||**-**||**100**||**-**|
|Education|**106**||**-**||**-**||**106**||**40**|
|Museum Publications|**287**||**-**||**-**||**287**||**796**|
|ShopSales|**3,695**||**-**||**-**||**3,695**||**3,353**|
|Interest|**2,866**||**-**||**-**||**2,866**||**2,770**|
|Gift Aid|**1,967**||**-**||**-**||**1,967**||**475**|
|Railway|**301**||**-**||**-**||**301**||**292**|
|ArchaeologyGroup|**-**||**490**||**-**||**490**||**574**|
|Victorian Garden Group|**-**||**1,664**||**-**||**1,664**||**1,394**|
|Civic Group|**-**||**242**||**-**||**242**||**658**|
|SustainabilityForum|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**50**|
|Blandford in Stitches Group|**35**||**-**||**-**||**35**||**-**|
|Museum Extension|**-**||**500**||**-**||**500**||**2,000**|
|Museum Development|**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**||**-**|
|**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_|**40,591**||**9,437**||**-**||**50,028**||**55,257**|
|||||||||||
|**A2 Asset and investment sales, (see**<br>**table).**||||||||||
||**-**|||||||||
|**_Sub total_**|**-**||||||||**-**|
|**_Total receipts_**<br>**A3 Payments**||||||||||
||||||||||**55,257**|
|||||||||||
|<br>Grants: Freelance OpportunityMyCareer|**-**||||||||**1,750**|
|Grants: Dorset Council 3D Project|**-**||||||||**2,194**|
|Grants: NHLF ReachingOut With Sound|**-**||||||||**19,685**|
|Grants: Dave Wilson Trust|**-**||||||||**-**|
|Utilities,Council Tax & Insurance|**8,832**||||||||**9,764**|
|Buildings & Repairs|**1,983**||||||||**11,290**|
|Office Expenses|**3,626**||||||||**2,152**|
|Honorarium|**1,500**||||||||**1,261**|
|External Subscriptions|**153**||||||||**156**|
|Events/Talks|**1,575**||||||||**974**|
|SundryExpenditure|**-**||||||||**162**|
|Training|**730**||||||||**109**|
|Publicity/ Advertising|**399**||||||||**1,486**|
|Rent|**1,500**||||||||**1,500**|
|Curatorial|**521**||||||||**1,030**|
|Education|**-**||||||||**-**|
|Museum Publications|**260**||||||||**1,126**|
|ShopSupplies|**2,501**||||||||**2,801**|
|Financial Costs - Square & Auditors|**636**||||||||**613**|
|Railway|**78**||||||||**178**|
|ArchaeologyGroup|**239**||||||||**742**|
|Victorian Garden Group|**180**||||||||**981**|
|Civic Group|**-**||||||||**-**|
|SustainabilityForum|**-**||||||||**376**|
|Blandford in Stitches Group|**24**||||||||**-**|
|Museum Extension|**3,061**||||||||**499**|



CCXX R1 accounts (SS) 

26/03/2026 

1 



Sth tolai
37.391
lsee lable)
Fa¥chase
30.351
X247
$0.830
14•tolrnceW&YpayJnents)
10240
276
92.902
501
10.742
5.5n
276
15,729
Ae CaBh funds laBt year ond
108,631
119J73
114.2D3
102.60
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
Unrestrlcled
fund•
RÈstrirted lunds
Endowment
fund*
to nw•Bt £
Cat•gorf••
D•t•lls
81 Cash ftwKI•
1711
Ud
74
13•
C￿h
Tot•l¢•$h fi*xls
102.8
1Q506
funds
fvnd•
82 Cth•r monelary as••ts
Detai15
B3 kni•stm•nt aH•ts
B4 A$strts r•taln•d forth•
charlty's
1.517
B5 Liaknlitios
SkJn8d by one tru&t8•s on bèhav
ofau the bustèèi
D*è ofapprov81
3/4/24
(￿x R2 8¢xwnts ISSI
2610312026

## **Notes to the Accounts** 

## **1 The Group Balances at 31/12/25 were:** 

|||**Lloyds**||**Lloyds**||**Petty Cash /**|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Group a/c**|**Treasurers a/c**||**Cash in Hand**|||**Total**|
|**Victorian Garden**|£|3,246.93<br>|£|183.32<br>|£|91.04<br>|£|3,521.29<br>|
|**Archaeology Group**|£|3,218.05<br>|£|-<br>|£|364.75<br>|£|3,582.80<br>|
|**Civic Group**|£|8,945.05<br>|£|-<br>|£|-<br>|£|8,945.05<br>|
|**Totals**|£|15,410.03<br>|£|183.32<br>|£|455.79<br>|£|16,049.14<br>|



- **2** When the second half of the Grants for Special Projects were received the following amounts were treated as Unrestricted Income to replace the amounts transferred to Restricted Funds in 2024 

**Dorset Council 3D Project** £       794.18 **NHLF Reaching Out With Sound** £    7,174.93 **Totals** £    7,969.11 

- **3** Remaining funds from Special Project Grants at 31/12/25 were: 

**Dorset Council 3D Project** £            457 **NHLF Reaching Out With Sound** £                 - 

- **4** The Grant of £100 from Blandford Environmental Trust was for the Clean Up Blandford Campaign held in the Civic Group Funds. A previous donation of £226 from the Town Team was transferred from Unrestricted Funds to the Civic Group. The whole of the Clean Up Blandford Campaign Funds totalling £326 were later paid to Hugh Meiville who runs the organisation. 

- **5** There was a transfer of £50 from Unrestricted Funds to the Archaeology Group to reimburse Archaeology spending in 2024 covered by the Museum 2024 budget. 

- **6** During 2025 the Trustees set aside a Designated Fund of £78,000 for Museum Development. At the end of the year the remaining total was £77,341. 

CCXX R3 accounts (SS) 

26/03/2026 

3 



**Independent examiner's report on the accounts** 


## **Section A                        Independent Examiner’s Report** 

|**Report to the trustees**<br>**On accounts for the year**<br>**ended**<br>**Set out on pages**|THE BLANDFORD FORUM MUSEUM, HERITAGE AND ARTS TRUST|THE BLANDFORD FORUM MUSEUM, HERITAGE AND ARTS TRUST|THE BLANDFORD FORUM MUSEUM, HERITAGE AND ARTS TRUST|
|---|---|---|---|
|||||
||31stDecember 2025|**Charity no**<br>**(if any)**|1190608|
|||||
||1 & 2<br>(remember  to include the page numbers of additional sheets)|||



I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended **31/12/2025** . 

**Responsibilities and** As the charity's trustees, you are responsible for the preparation of the **basis of report** accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”). 

I report in respect of my examination of  the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. 

- **Independent** I have completed my examination.  I confirm that no material matters have 

- **examiner's statement** come to my attention in connection with the examination (other than that disclosed below *) which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: 

   - the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act; or 

   - the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or 

   - the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair’ view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. 

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. 

* _Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply._ 

## **Signed:** K Dalton 

**Date:** 25[th] March 2026 

**Name:** Karen Dalton for Artema Accountants 

**Relevant professional qualification(s) or body (if any): Address:** Brooke House, Oakley Hill Wimborne, Dorset BH21 1RJ 

1 

**Oct 2018** 

**IER** 



## **Section B                           Disclosure** 

Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight material matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners). 

**Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose** . 

2 

**Oct 2018** 

**IER** 

