OpenCharities

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

2022-10-31-accounts

Hampshire History Trust

Registered Charity Number 1191377

Registered Address 42-43 East Stratton, Winchester, SO21 3DT

Trustees’ Annual Report

1st November 2021 to 31st October 2022

Trustees

Description of the charity’s trusts

  1. Hampshire History Trust is governed by a constitution document that was in place when the charity was incorporated and approved by the Charities Commission on 21st September 2020.

  2. Hampshire History Trust is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) (governed by the Foundation Constitution document).

  3. The original trustees were appointed from the people who had developed the original projects (Winchester Heritage Open Days) and brought them to the current size and scale. Further trustees have been appointed to build a wider team with the appropriate skills and knowledge to support the aims of the charity and run it effectively.

Additional governance information

  1. New trustees are provided with the appropriate guidelines and information to allow them to undertake their roles effectively.

  2. The formal business of the charity is conducted through regular trustee meetings (typically monthly) and actions are agreed and followed up regularly.

  3. In the financial year the charity employed one part-time freelance contractor to coordinate the Winchester Heritage Open Days festival alongside one of the founding trustees. The two main projects (Winchester Heritage Open Days and Hampshire HistBites) are supported by up to 20 part time volunteers at any one time.

  4. All Trust policies are accessible online by all trustees and key policies for volunteers are sent to them prior to them signing their volunteering agreement.

  5. The Trust has a risk management policy and associated risk register which is used to develop appropriate policies and procedures.

  6. The Trust’s lead sponsors in 2021/2022 were again Winchester College and Winchester BID.

  7. The Trust also has working relationships with University of Winchester and Winchester Radio and are in regular communication with Hampshire Cultural Trust and Hampshire Archives Trust.

Objectives and activities

Hampshire History Trust has the following stated objects:

  1. To advance the arts, heritage, and culture for the public benefit by promoting and organising events, festivals, and workshops in and around Winchester, Hampshire with a particular focus on the development of a Winchester History Festival

  2. To advance the education of the public (and particularly amongst those living in, working in or visiting Hampshire) in the subjects of history and heritage by providing lectures and talks, guided walks, staging exhibitions, educational materials, podcasts and other similar educational activities and projects as the charity trustees think fit

Activities

2022 represented a return to a full programme of activities following two years of disruption due to coronavirus restriction.

  1. Coordinated and promoted Winchester Heritage Open Days as a full live festival of events.

  2. Continued to develop Hampshire HistBites, the Trust podcast channel, bringing heritage stories to the people of Hampshire and beyond throughout the year, actively exploring ‘hidden and lesser-known histories’.

  3. Continued to develop the board structure and foundations of the Trust.

Achievements and performance

WINCHESTER HERITAGE OPEN DAYS - 2022 Festival Review

How did it go?

The seventh Winchester Heritage Open Days (WHODs) was packed with over 100 free events taking place in Winchester and the surrounding areas. From tours, behind the scenes, and engaging talks, visitors had the opportunity to delve into local history and explore the theme of Astounding Inventions.

Attendees immersed themselves in the art, architecture, and history of Hampshire; from marvelling at the large-scale murals of Stanley Spencer at Sandham Memorial Chapel to discovering the stories behind the painted bollards which feature in the Square in Winchester (and finding out how on earth you paint a bollard in the first place!). Record numbers of visitors were noted at events such as the Romsey Signal Box Open Day, where attendees were encouraged to pull levers. The return of the Whitchurch Silk Mill Food Festival tempted over 1,200 people to peruse its selection of local produce and culinary delicacies, and over 1,000 people delved into 800 years of history at the Great Hall.

Behind the Scenes

During our active festival planning period of April-September we had more than 125,000 visits to our website, an extraordinary number of people curious to learn more about the treasures Hampshire holds in its rich history. Our electronic newsletter is at over 1,600 subscribers, who can benefit from keeping up to date with the latest festival news with how quickly some bookable events can sell out; over 400 tickets were "sold" on the first day of the WHOD Box Office and 9 events sold out by the end of the first day. Some events released a second batch of tickets to meet demands, such as tours at Winchester College. Most events are "Just Turn Up" and do not require a ticket.

The Festival

The ten-day festival took place during the national period of mourning (9th - 18th September) following the death of the Queen on 8th September. While these unprecedented circumstances inevitably had an impact on the festival, with several highly anticipated events either cancelling or postponing to a later date, the festival went ahead in the spirit of community. There were over 10,000 visits to events, and over 1,000 views and downloads across our digital content during September (YouTube, Facebook Live, HistBites podcast). Attendance was lower than 10,000+ anticipated, which we attribute to the impact of the national period of mourning; attendance was expected to be high at postponed/cancelled events such as the Winchester Combined Court Open Day, Hursley House Open Day, and Tours and Hyde900 events.

Sponsors & Supporters

Hampshire History Trust oversaw the coordination of the festival, alongside the release of Season 8 of the Hampshire HistBites podcast. The Trust is tremendously grateful to lead sponsor Winchester College, Winchester BID, the organisations who opened their doors, the individuals who offered their time, and our supportive team of volunteers - we appreciate everyone who contributed to creating such a spectacular festival.

Our Audience

67% of attendees responded that this was not their first WHODs; it is encouraging to see such an appetite to return and learn something new year on year, while also recognising that we are continuing to reach new audiences. just over half of attendees travel less than 5 miles to attend a HODs event, discovering the history (almost) literally on their doorsteps, while some were prepared to travel further afoot in search of the county's curiosities. Our digital content (e.g., HistBites) reaches an international audience.

Feedback

A consistent theme with feedback from attendees highlights the enjoyment of discovering new places or revisiting familiar places with fresh perspectives.

"Please try to spin the plates again next year, I cannot emphasise enough just how welcome this sheer fortnight of visits and memory making is. Each September I discover new things to spend the winter finding out more about"

"An excellent morning out. The venue was superb, and one I had never heard of or would ever have visited had it not been for HODs".

'Just thank you really for all your hard work, we are very lucky to have these days, long may they continue" "Great opportunity to see a local sight with the family"

Hampshire HistBites

The Trust's other major output, the 'Hampshire Histbites' podcast, delivered a strong, year-round performance during the period, underlining its contribution to HHT's mission to ensure history is accessible to all. A further three seasons, totalling 18 episodes, were released; total downloads during this period were 4.191 (this figure includes content released earlier, which remains accessible for anyone to download for free). The project is known to reach a wide audience, including overseas. During the period of this Report, it has continued to provided a valuable vehicle for HHT to partner with other local organisations who share and can help the Trust further its aims- including media outlets and heritage sites across Hampshire. This 'county-wide' coverage is a critical element to the project.

Following the release of Histbites' eighth season, podcast production has been paused due to the departures of both the main HHT Trustee overseeing the project, and the Project Coordinator. The Trust successfully 'stood up' an alternative Trustee to ensure delivery during this period, but agreed this would not be sustainable without recruitment of a new Project Coordinator with capacity to oversee the wider team of volunteers contributing to the podcast. Recruitment is now being examined as part of the Trust's wider volunteering and fundraising drive: Histbites production will resume once this process allows.

Financial review

Reserves

  1. The trust aims to maintain sufficient reserves to allow its events to be planned and carried out successfully in future periods, for ongoing commitments to be met and for new opportunities to promote new history and heritage initiatives to be developed.

Details of any funds materially in deficit

  1. None to report

Financial review details

  1. Income for the year of £7,000 was generated through sponsorship from Winchester College and Winchester BID.

  2. It is a key focus for the trust to develop additional sponsors, donors and income streams to allow it to maintain and develop further a full programme of Heritage Open Days.

  3. The main outgoings in the period related to the production and promotional costs of the festival events and activities along with the costs of a part-time freelance contractor to coordinate festival creation and running of the activities. Costs also include the software subscriptions to create and host the HistBites podcasts.

  4. The trust ended the year with £15K of funds which, after payment of £4K of costs due for settlement in the following month, will leave a net £11K available to support the growth of the charity and to provide the programme of Heritage Open Days in 2023.

  5. Detailed figures are provided in the accounts below.

icbi
(HARITYCOMMISSION
FOR ENGTANDANDWALTS		 icbi
(HARITYCOMMISSION
FOR ENGTANDANDWALTS		 icbi
(HARITYCOMMISSION
FOR ENGTANDANDWALTS		 Hampshire HistoryTrust Hampshire HistoryTrust
accounts
Forthe period from
A and
Unrestricted
funds		 Restrictedfunds Endowmentfunds Total funds Last year
tothenearestt tothenearestf tothenear6stt to thenearestt tothe nearest€
5,000
2,000
7,O41
A2Asset and investmentsales,
(seetable). r---=
r---------.1
Totalreceiptsl------?,.oo-i]
A3
Heritaoe ODen DavsFestival		 l-1 -i
r------.'[ffiil		 -i
l-l
Marketinq 2,518 2,518
Festivalco{rdinator msts 6,663 6,863
Photographyandfllmmsts 1,245 1,215
Eventmsts 1,130 1.r30
T Costs 1,133 ,,r33
$lstbites PodcasG 804 804
CrertreadCosts
TCosts 213 27t
nsumne 301 301
Other 1,',174 1,'t71
Subtotal 15,U1 17,41
r--l
E[:i::+
Totat paymentrl----iiEil
Netofrecei pts/(payme
A5Transfersbetweenfunds
AGCashfunds lastyear end
Cashfundsthis year		 nts)
end		 I-
II
f		 8,4,{ol
23,385I
i1845I
BStatement ofassets andliabilitiesatthe ofassets andliabilitiesatthe end of the period end of the period end of the period
Unrestricted funds Restricted Endowment
e:g*ri+s $etail* funds funds
tonearest f tonearestE tonearestf
BlCashfunds Account Totalcashfunds 14,945
j
1i+,941;		 ++
i-lr		 .l
(agreba,ances with receipts and payments account(s))
Unrcstricted funds Restricted Endowment
funds funds
tonearest E tonearestf tonearcstf,
82 Other monetary assets Prepaid lT costs 363
Fundto which asset Cost(optional)
83 lnvestment assets t-lH
84 Assets retainedforthe Fundto which asset Cost(optional) GurentyaluG
lootioml)
r-]
charity'sownuse
-
-
-H
Fund towhich liability Amountdue Whendue
relates (ootional) lostional)
B5Liabilities Accrued Costs Jnrestricted
Festival Coordinaior Costs Jnrestricted I s.zzsI
Signedbyone or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees		 Signature Print Name
Nicola Gottlieb
-H		 =
Dateof
I
aoorovalI
7;*"4
Paul Blackburn 7,-,