Devon & Exeter Medical Heritage Trust
Report of the Trustees for the year: 1[st] April 2024 – 31[st] March 2025 Charity number: 1190793
Registered Address: 13 Victoria Park Road, Exeter, Devon, EX2 4NT. Communication Address: 17 St David’s Hill, Exeter Community Centre, Exeter, EX4 3RG.
The Trustees of the Devon & Exeter Medical Heritage Trust present their Annual Report and unaudited accounts for the year ended 31[st ] March 2025.
The Annual Report serves the purposes of both a Trustees' report and a directors' report under company law.
The Trustees confirm that the Annual Report and financial statements comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the CIO's governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
Structure, Governance, And Management:
The Devon & Exeter Medical Heritage Trust is a CIO, registered with the Charity Commission (1190793). It is registered at the Companies House (CE023403).
The Trust operates under a Constitution, which was sealed by the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales on 29[th ] July 2021, which included the regulations for appointment of trustees. The only persons eligible to be members of the CIO are its charity trustees.
Objectives:
In setting our objectives and planning our activities our Trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance.
Our key objectives for the year included:
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Revise storage and packing of collection items to improve conditions,
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Increase the number of volunteers,
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Involve more people in our museum and create more relationships with new people and organisations,
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Play our part in the life of our local community through our
community access programmes such as handling sessions,
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research, and exhibitions,
- Work towards financial stability.
Activities And Performance:
This year has been focused on creating the key SPECTRUM documents on conservation policy, acquisition, and loans, to support our work as a museum and continuing to improve the storage and care for our objects.
The process of moving all the collection into the new premises continues with less than 5% remaining in our previous premises and other areas. Extensive work began on numbering and labelling our backlog of catalogued objects, and planning storage and research of books, papers, and framed items to develop bespoke storage;
Over the course of the year, we have focused on a few themes for the items in the collection, usually in line with a research request, event, or exhibition:
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Working with Dr. Rebecca Flemming and the Science, Heritage and Archaeology Digital 3D (SHArD 3D) Lab at the University of Exeter to CT scan and replicate our collection of 6 Roman objects to support research and handling.
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Identifying materials used in the collection objects.
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Ethics in museums and in medicine.
Events
For Heritage Open Days in September 2024, we planned a special exhibition on the Ethics and Storytelling in medicine and museums, co-planned and curated by our Professional Pathways Student Interns.
Other outreach activities included talks and handling sessions to groups all over Devon, such as the WI, PROBUS and the Devon & Exeter Institution.
We continued our work with Exeter Cathedral’s Library and Archives to support their Medical Humanities university module with a special handling session for medical students from the University of Exeter.
As part of our objective of upskilling and involving more people and younger people in the museum, we have mentored undergraduate interns and school students in various projects related to medical history and our exhibitions. We are set to continue this next year, with more undergraduate and postgraduate interns, and increase the opportunities for emerging professionals and young people to get involved with our museum.
Future Plans:
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Our Finances
The principal sources of income are recurring donations and charitable grants. We intend to apply for further grants to test our activities and create a sustainable way of working for our museum and our team.
Reserves And Financial Health
The Trustees and Treasurer regularly review the finances with a quarterly cash flow analysis as part of the effective stewardship of the Trust.
Investment Policy And Performance
When the Trust has sufficient reserves, investment activities will be managed in line with the requirements of the Trustee Act 2000.
Serving Our Local Community And Society:
We are a charitable trust which seeks to benefit the public through the pursuit of its stated aims.
We are an equal opportunity organisation and are committed to a working environment that is free from any form of discrimination on the grounds of colour, race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or disability. We will make reasonable adjustments to meet the needs of staff or volunteers who are or become disabled.
Access Policy
It is important to us that access to the service we offer is not restricted to those who usually attend. We believe our medical museum and expertise in medical history must benefit a diverse community.
Other Relationships:
The Trust is a member of the Devon Museums Group and the Association of Independent Museums, which offer opportunities to share expertise, knowledge and experience across the heritage sector. We have been involved in the South West Museum Development, through the Mid Devon and Exeter Museum Group created by the Museum Development Officer, for advice on accreditation, best practice, shared experience, and further training.
We remain a part of the Exeter Heritage Partnership, which looks to collaborate on enhancing Exeter’s ‘heritage offer’ to those in the city and developing an enhanced volunteer experience in heritage and culture organisations.
Risk Management:
The main risks that the trustees have identified and the plans to manage those risks are:
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Financial
Our ability to continue is currently reliant on grants and donations. The risk is that income will not match expenditure in any year. The Trustees will seek to build up a reserve fund of at least 3 months expected expenditure.
The Trust is also looking to increase participation in paid workshops and other earned income to help manage financial risks.
Trustee Recruitment And Training:
The Trustees have prepared a Trustee pack and succession planning document in order to prepare for recruiting new Trustees.
Trustees
The Trustees are appointed by the existing Trust board. One new Trustee was appointed, Ms Megan Woolley.
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Professor David John Radstone | Trustee |
| Drs. Elsbeth Geldhof | Trustee |
| Dr. Shirley Jane Richards OBE | Trustee |
| Professor John Keith Crellin | Trustee |
| Ms Megan Woolley | Treasurer |
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Devon & Exeter Medical Heritage Trust 1190793 Receipts and payments accountspts and payments accountsts and payments accountspayments accountsayments accountsyments accountsments accounts
Devon & Exeter Medical Heritage Trust 1190793 Receipts and payments accountspts and payments accountsts and payments accountspayments accountsayments accountsyments accountsments accounts CC16a For the period Period start date Period end date To from 4/1/2024 3/31/2025
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted Restricted Endowment funds funds funds
| Section A Receipts and payments Unrestricted |
Restricted | Endowment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Receipts Grants Donations 12,177 Earned Income for services, e.g. exhibitions and talks - - - - 12,177 - - Sub total - Total receipts 12,177 A3 Payments Charitable activities and overheads 10,447 - - - - - - - - Sub total 10,447 - - Sub total - Total payments 10,447 Net of receipts/(payments) 1,730 A5 Transfers between funds - A6 Cash funds last year end - Cash funds this year end 1,730 funds to the nearest £ Sub total(Gross income for AR) A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). A4 Asset and investment purchases,(see table) |
to the nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - funds |
to the nearest £ funds |
Total funds to the nearest £ - 12,177 - - - - - - 12,177 - - - 12,177 10,447 - - - - - - - - 10,447 - - - 10,447 1,730 - - 1,730 |
Last year to the nearest £ |
| - - - - - - - - - |
- | - | ||
| 12,177 | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| 12,177 | 8,265 | |||
| - - - |
- | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | 12,177 | 8,265 | ||
| - - - - - - - - - - |
10,447 | - | ||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| - | - | |||
| 10,447 | 8,350 | |||
| - - - |
- | |||
| - | ||||
| - | - | |||
| - | 10,447 | 8,350 | ||
| - | - - - - |
1,730 | - 85 | |
| - | - | - | ||
| - | - | - | ||
| - | 1,730 | - 85 |
Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees |
Details Balance in bank at year end Details Details Details Details Signature #VALUE! Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) |
to nearest £ to nearest £ 1,730 - - - - - 1,730 - OK OK to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Print Name MEGAN WOOLLEY Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional) |
to nearest £ Endowment funds |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| OK | |||
| to nearest £ Endowment funds |
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| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
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| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| Current value (optional) |
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| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| When due (optional) |
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| Date of approval |
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| #VALUE! | MEGAN WOOLLEY | 29.1.2025 | |