Friends of Pardshaw Quaker Centre
Annual Report for 2021
For AGM 16/4/2022
Our Vision
To develop and progress the vision of Pardshaw Quaker Centre as a resource for Quakers, other groups and the local community – a place for worship, relaxation, learning, fun, creative activities, or short breaks in simple, affordable accommodation, in a historical and peaceful setting.
Introduction
Even amidst these tough times, there is so much we can affirm about the work and progress surrounding Pardshaw Quaker Centre this year! To name just some highlights…
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Pardshaw was once again open for bookings, though with some restrictions, so this beautiful space could be shared again.
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Pardshaw had its first film première in the form of a promotional video made by members of FPQC. This was part of our Groups Fair presentation at Yearly Meeting Gathering in July of this year. It is also now on the Pardshaw website and YouTube.
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The Summer Workcamp went ahead and was a great success, with work done on everything from painting, preparation for plastering, wood storage and lighting.
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We registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), with all the benefits that brings.
Organisation
Friends of Pardshaw Quaker Centre (FPQC) works alongside the Pardshaw Quaker Centre CIO, to promote Pardshaw Quaker Centre for the public benefit, as a place of Quaker worship, spiritual
retreat and refreshment, and learning, that is open to all, including disadvantaged members of society.
This is the second annual report of FPQC. This body:
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Allows involvement and drawing in skills from a wider membership
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Promotes Pardshaw as affordable holiday accommodation
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Promotes volunteering for maintenance and upgrading
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Promotes Pardshaw as a resource for the local community
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Raises funds for the work needed
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may appoint up to four trustees of Pardshaw Quaker Centre CIO
Communications
Video
Early in 2021 FPQC set up a project to create a promotional film about Pardshaw, to be used as an awareness-raising and fundraising tool. The guiding theme to it was agreed to be ‘Pardshaw: past, present and future.’ Requests were sent out to via the Newsletter for material for this video, and we received a range of short video and audio clips, photos and graphics. There were many moving accounts included of how much Pardshaw has meant in the past to many people, and how it continues to do so.
After due research, the film-makers Kathy Stannard and Simon Sharp were employed by FPQC to put the film together. The script was collaboratively drafted and edited by members of FPQC and the whole finalised in time for Yearly Meeting Gathering (see below).
The film is now part of Pardshaw website, and can be seen on YouTube. It is also on Pardshaw’s Facebook page, where it has gathered over 600 views so far. https://youtu.be/4rP42ZYCaUs.
YMG 2021: Groups Fair
Pardshaw had an online ‘stall’ at the Groups Fair of Yearly Meeting Gathering in July 2021. Friends from FPQC hosted this event, taking questions and offering information about the Centre. The Pardshaw video had its first showing. A mixture of old friends and new enquirers came to this ‘première’; we have already had some very positive feedback concerning it, including from nonQuakers.
Website new host and updates
Our website now has a new host, FreshSpace, who are based in Kendal. The website has had a range of updates. We now have a new membership page, donations page and newsletter sign-up format in place. Work is ongoing.
http://www.pardshawquakercentre.org.uk/
Newsletters
We continue to provide newsletters to all those on our mailing list, four being issued in 2021.
Community
A pre-Christmas gathering was planned, but attendance was very limited due to the cautions around covid, rising case numbers and a new SarsCoV2 Variant of Concern. Members of the Technical
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Subgroup at the gathering were able to continue minor works outstanding from the summer work camp
Christmas Zoom
On 27th December 2021, at least twenty people associated with Pardshaw met on Zoom for a festive get-together. This was a truly international event, with people tuning in from various locations in New Zealand and the U.S. as well as the U.K. It was wonderful to see each other, catch up on our news together, share our thoughts and take part in a light-hearted quiz and drawing activity.
Work done
Covid restrictions were lifted sufficiently to allow a small workcamp in 2021, and some of our dedicated team met up on additional weekends to take work further. Accommodation for some was in tents in order to be covid-safe. In summary :
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Internal decoration -wall of kitchen and sleeping area re-painted creating a much more welcoming environment
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Preparation works to the north wall as advised by our plastering contractor put in hand
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Tree work, ivy clearance completed, and a new garden planted by the meeting house entrance
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We were able to find and record evidence of the original door direct to the burial ground.
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The schoolroom attic timbers have had rot prevention treatment applied and the loft space has been insulated to current building regulation requirements
With regard to the Quinquennial Survey:
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85% urgent works now completed
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55% of works within 1 year timescale complete or in hand
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53% of works with 5 year timescale complete or in hand
A more detailed account of work achieved in August and December is given in Appendix 1.
The fact that much of this has been achieved at minimal cost speaks volumes about our workforce of volunteers and supporters, the Friends of Pardshaw.
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Financial
As can be seen from the Statement of Accounts at appendix 2, donations during 2021 have totalled some £6,270, which has been boosted by tax recovery on Gift Aid (including back claims) of approximately £2,650, giving a starting point for some of the larger restoration tasks, such as replastering, after a year of reduced works owing to continuing Covid restrictions. These restrictions have also limited income from usage, though the total of £863 is an improvement upon £280 in 2020.
A new bank account has been set up with the Co-operative Bank and it is hoped that the balance currently held by Cumberland Area Quaker Meeting in the Pardshaw Meeting House and Burial Ground account will be transferred to the new account in 2022 as part of the lease arrangements being negotiated between Cumberland Area Quaker Meeting and the Pardshaw Quaker Centre Charitable Incorporated Organisation that was established in 2021.
FPQC finances are managed through the Pardshaw Quaker Centre CIO bank account. Membership fees and any donations to FPQC are recorded as income of the CIO, though separately identified. Bank balance at start of 2022 was £9,770.13.
Income and expenditure for the year so far is shown in the table below. A full financial report is given in Appendix 2. For this year, income and spending have used both the new account and the Pardshaw Meeting House and Burial Ground fund of CAQM.
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Financial summary (combined data from 2 accounts, see Appendix 2)
| 2021 Income: | 2021 Expenditure | 2020 Income: | 2020 Expenditure |
|---|---|---|---|
| usage: £863.10* | utilities: £504.72 | usage: £280.00* | utilities: £741.69 |
| Interest, gift aid etc: £2653.03 |
insurance: £1,399.39 | interest: £7.03 | insurance: £1,368.12 |
| donations: £6,273.04 | maintenance: £255.02 | donations: £3,960.00 | maintenance: £302.19 |
| Membership: £95.00 | |||
| Total regular expenditure: £2,212.62 |
Total regular expenditure: £2,412.00 |
||
| web site setup: £1,085.00 |
web site: £222.00 | ||
| One-off enhancements: £95.84 |
One-off enhancements: £3,199.72 |
||
| Tree survey: £500.00 | |||
| Total income: £9,884.17 |
Total Expenditure: £3393.46 |
Total income: £4,247.03 |
Total Expenditure: £6,333.72 |
*Only low usage has been possible, owing to the COVID19 restrictions.
Bookings
Despite the restrictions necessary again this year, we have been able to open Pardshaw to small groups and single-family gathering. In 2020, with the most restrictions, there were a total of 16 nights booked. In 2021, this rose to 41 nights (including the workcamp).
Usage, year on year
| Usage, year on year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Total nights (and days) in use | Income from bookings |
| 2010-2016 average | £746.22 | |
| 2017 | 27 (+1 daytime) | £1070.00 |
| 2018 | 28 (+1 daytime) | £957.00 |
| 2019 | 41 (+2 daytime) | £913.43 |
| 2020 | 16 | £280.00 |
| 2021 | 41 | £863.10 |
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Appendix 1, Work carried out at Pardshaw, during and after Workcamp August 2021
Holes, pipes, tubes and planting…
A safe hatch entry to the Schoolroom loft area was created, made where part of the ceiling came down some time ago. The roof timbers were treated with rot- and worm-prevention chemicals. Pipe insulation was added to some sections of copper water pipe in the schoolroom toilet. At Pre-Christmas the schoolroom loft space was insulated
The area by the main entrance door to the Meeting Rooms was cleared of weeds and tree stumps, and the drainpipe relocated on the other side of the wall. This area is now planted with daffodil bulbs and will also have snowdrop bulbs in due course.
The ventilation unit for the Small Meeting Room was installed. An identical unit has been in the Large Meeting Room for over a year, and the large room no longer smelt of damp at the start of gatherings so now both rooms have continuous very gentle background airflow to stop mould and damp.
Plaster and paint…
The walls to the kitchen and sleeping areas were repainted. Lots of filling and painting was done on the main building windows, continuing at Pre-Christmas.
Attention was turned to the north wall of the Large Meeting Room, which had damaged and unsafe plaster. Plaster has deteriorated in that room after roof and guttering leaks which have now been repaired by local tradespeople. Two site meetings were held with a local heritage plastering contractor; we will be working on his advice and advice from the Conservation Officer. Preparations as advised by our contractor have been put in hand.
Wood looking good…
Quite a lot of the wood which was left around the burial ground following the tree surgeon's work has been moved/chopped, and is now stacked elsewhere. The wood store in stable block has been re-arranged with a lot of dry timber cut to appropriate lengths. This wood will be used to heat the wood-burning stove so it will be of direct benefit to visitors!
In the stables…
A hook has also been fitted to the stables door to ensure it can be held open. A solid ramp for the stable door entrance has been made to assist with wheelbarrowing items in and out.
‘Bat protectors’ have been designed and installed over the two washbasins in the stable. They should solve the problem of bat droppings in the basins, and are designed to be easily removable.
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Let there be light...
Emergency lighting was extended into the stables. This was fully tested later.
Checking out…
The Schoolroom floor was investigated and we can now confirm it is not integral with any of the external walls.
Visitors
It is good to report that we had visitors dropping by during the course of the workcamp. Passers-by from Pardshaw village and further afield saw we were open and took an interest, some expressing an interest in holding a future events at Pardshaw, such as a pilgrimage day linking local churches, and youth events.
Postscript
Repairs were also made to the stove, now in its thirtieth year at Pardshaw ensuring a warm and smoke free gathering.
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Appendix 2, Pardshaw Meeting House and Burial Ground/Pardshaw Quaker Centre CIO Consolidated Accounts Summary of Accounts to 31-12-2021
| 2021 | 2021 | 2021 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income: | MH&BG | PQC CIO | TOTAL | |
| Friends of PQC membership | 0.00 | 95.00 | 95.00 | 0.00 |
| donations to development fund | 1,845.84 | 2,055.00 | 3,900.84 | 1,850.00 |
| donations to dev fund for running costs | 1,212.20 | 1,160.00 | 2,372.20 | 2,110.00 |
| Gift Aid | 2,173.99 | 477.50 | 2,651.49 | 0.00 |
| donations from usage | 177.00 | 686.10 | 863.10 | 280.00 |
| bank interest | 1.53 | 0.00 | 1.53 | 7.03 |
| other receipts | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.00 |
| total income | 5,410.56 | 4,473.61 | 9,884.17 | 4,247.03 |
| Expenditure: | ||||
| electricity | 218.04 | 201.21 | 419.25 | 659.62 |
| water rates | 85.47 | 0.00 | 85.47 | 82.07 |
| service fire extinguishers | 120.84 | 0.00 | 120.84 | 234.36 |
| general repairs and maintenance | 169.18 | 0.00 | 169.18 | 67.83 |
| empty septic tank | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| PayPal fees | 0.00 | 10.57 | 10.57 | 0.00 |
| insurance | 1,399.39 | 0.00 | 1,399.39 | 1,368.12 |
| other payments | 0.00 | 7.92 | 7.92 | 0.00 |
| routine expenditure | 1,992.92 | 219.70 | 2,212.62 | 2,412.00 |
| PDG setup | 812.00 | 273.00 | 1,085.00 | 222.00 |
| electrical work | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 3,199.72 |
| tree survey | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 500.00 |
| development work | 95.84 | 0.00 | 95.84 | 0.00 |
| total expenditure | 2,900.76 | 492.70 | 3,393.46 | 6,333.72 |
| opening balance | 3,279.42 | 0.00 | 3,279.42 | 5,366.11 |
| income | 5,410.56 | 4,473.61 | 9,884.17 | 4,247.03 |
| expenditure | 2,900.76 | 492.70 | 3,393.46 | 6,333.72 |
| net movement | 2,509.80 | 3,980.91 | 6,490.71 | -2,086.69 |
| closing balance | 5,789.22 | 3,980.91 | 9,770.13 | 3,279.42 |
D. Moll – Pardshaw Quaker Centre Summary Accounts – 01-01-2022
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Pardshaw Quaker Centre CIO no. 1193476
Summary of Accounts to 31-12-2021
| Income: | |
|---|---|
| Friends of PQC membership | 95.00 |
| donations (inc. Gift Aid) | 3,692.50 |
| bookings | 686.10 |
| other receipts | 0.01 |
| total income | 4,473.61 |
| Expenditure: | |
| Electricity & water | 201.21 |
| small repairs & maintenance | 0.00 |
| promotion | 0.00 |
| developments | 273.00 |
| PayPal fees | 10.57 |
| other payments | 7.92 |
| routine expenditure | 492.70 |
| total expenditure | 492.70 |
|---|---|
| opening balance | 0.00 |
| income | 4,473.61 |
| expenditure | 492.70 |
| net movement | 3,980.91 |
| closing balance | 3,980.91 |
In addition £5,759.22 will be transferred from CAQM Pardshaw Meeting House & Burial Ground account
| Opening balance at 27-07-2021 Add: Receipts Less: Payments Closing balance at 31-12-2021 Less: Receipts not recorded in bank statement to date Add: Payments not cleared by bank at B/S date Adjusted balance agrees with bank statement Check = 0 |
0.00 4,473.61 492.70 |
|---|---|
| 3,980.91 | |
| 477.50 94.78 |
|
| 3,598.19 | |
| 0.00 |
D. Moll – Pardshaw Quaker Centre cash book and accounts – 01-01-2022