Royston Museum Trust CIO
TRUSTEES’ REPORT
AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1[st] April 2024 to 31[st] March 2025
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Royston Museum Trust CIO
Contents
Reference and Administrative details ..................................................................................................... 3 Objectives and Activities ......................................................................................................................... 4 The objects of the CIO are: ..................................................................................................................... 4 Main achievements of the Charity for the period 1[st] April 2024 to 31[st] March 2025............................. 5 Financial review for the period 1 April 2024 to 31[st] March 2025 ........................................................... 7 Income .................................................................................................................................................... 7 Expenditure ............................................................................................................................................. 7 Reserves Policy ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Structure, Governance and Management .............................................................................................. 8 Constitution ............................................................................................................................................ 8 Methods of appointment or election of Trustees .................................................................................. 8 Organisational structure and decision-making policies .......................................................................... 8 Related party relationships ..................................................................................................................... 8 Plans for future periods .......................................................................................................................... 8 Statement of Trustees' responsibilities .................................................................................................. 9 Balance sheet as at 31st March 2025 ................................................................................................... 10 Statement of Financial Activities for the year ending 31st March 2025 .............................................. 11 Notes to the Accounts of 31[st] March 2025 ........................................................................................... 13 Independent examiner's report to the Trustees of Royston Museum Trust CIO ('the Charity') .......... 16 Responsibilities and basis of report ...................................................................................................... 16 Independent examiner's statement ..................................................................................................... 16
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Royston Museum Trust CIO
Reference and Administrative details
Charity name Royston Museum Trust CIO Registered charity number 1196386 Charity’s principal address 5 Lower King Street, Royston, SG8 5AL
Museum Director Emma Canterbury Curator Sophie Riches
Visitor Experience Officer & Inhouse Designer
Rhian May
Trustees: Appointed Period Nominor Lisa Adams 25/05/2024 3 years RTC Ros Allwood 26/11/2021 6 years Trust Rosemary Bateman Secretary 03/11/2021 6 years Trust Elizabeth Beardwell 06/06/2022 3 years RTC (2022) Brian Bylett Treasurer 03/11/2021 6 years Trust John Davison Chair 03/11/2021 6 years Trust Stephen Lockett 08/06/2024 3 years RTC Martin Kazak 03/11/2021 4 years RDLHS Phil Smith 03/11/2021 4 years Friends
Tenure of Ros Allwood, Rosemary Bateman, Brian Bylett, John Davison increased from 3 to 6 years at 13 November 2024 Trustee board meeting.
RDLHS Royston and District Local History Society RTC Royston Town Council Friends Friends of Royston Museum
Bankers Lloyds Bank Solicitors None John D Froggett FAIA Independent Examiners The Accountancy Practice 41 High Street, Royston SG8 9AW
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Royston Museum Trust CIO
________________ The Trustees present their annual report together with the financial statements of the Royston Museum Trust CIO for the period 1[st] April 2024 to 31[st] March 2025.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in notes to the accounts and comply with the charity’s governing document, the Charities Act 2011 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland published October 2019.
Objectives and Activities
The objects of the CIO are:
To advance education for public benefit in particular but not exclusively in the social history, natural history, archaeology and geology of Royston and its surrounding area in Hertfordshire though it’s collections and other resources by such means as the trustees see fit, but not limited to;
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the provision and maintenance of a permanent museum in Royston;
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the acquisition of items for its collection by gift, bequest, purchase or exchange;
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to borrow and loan artefacts and archives relating to the area;
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the care and curation of the Museum collections and holdings;
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the exhibition and interpretation of the Museum collections and holdings and provision of public access to them;
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the provision of learning experiences and activities for the education and enjoyment of the public;
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the provision of exhibitions, conferences, workshops and other events;
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to research, promote and publish studies of the area;
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to collaborate and work in partnership with other organisations in the area;
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to provide an information service for the public.
The trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, and they consider that Royston Museum CIO is fulfilling its obligations in this respect by preparing for the reopening of the museum in order to achieve the above objectives.
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Royston Museum Trust CIO
Main achievements of the Charity for the period 1[st] April 2024 to 31[st] March 2025
The Museum has continued to make good progress measured against its mission and vision statements.
“Our mission is to celebrate and share Royston’s heritage and stories, connecting people and places, past and present.
Our vision is to be a community hub for Royston; a multifunctional space which celebrates our town’s heritage, nurtures curiosity and inspires conversations.”
Events and exhibitions included:
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March: Easter Holidays- House and Home
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April: 40[th] Anniversary Fayre
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May: Museum on Wheels – Royston May Fair, Barkway Market
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May: BEEE Creative intergenerational workshops at the Museum
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May: May Half Term - Planes, Trains and Automobiles
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July: Summer Fayre
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July to September: Summer Holidays - Time Explorers
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September: Heritage Open Days
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Royston Art Festival (Friday 20 September to Sunday 29 September)
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Talk on King James VI by Dr Alexander Courtney
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October: October Half Term - Witches of Royston
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February: February Half Term - Under the Sea*65 million Years Ago
The Museum started a programme of monthly activities:
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Spark! Art Club for young people ages 10 to 14 year
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Museum Tots for children under 5 and their adults
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Evening talks on a variety of topics linked to Royston and Hertfordshire’s history.
Visitor numbers continue to grow (last year’s figures in brackets):
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General admission: 2,634 (2,481)
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Event admission (including school holidays): 1,257 (1,245)
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Community, Groups, Schools and Outreach:1,682 ( 673)
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Total: 5,573 69% adults, 31% under 18s (4,399 70% adults, 30% under 18s)
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Royston Museum Trust CIO
New storage system
The museum has had very limited storage space for the Collection.
A new Rotadex “rolling” storage system, design for the collection, was installed at the turn of the year. The Museum was closed for 3 months to empty the old wooden shelving, install the new storage system and restore the collection
The Museum’s collection catalogue is being migrated to eHive including updating the information held.
Donations and Grants
The Trust would like to thank the many organisations that gave grants funding the following projects:
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Brian Leslie Racher Trust - funded a one-year fixed term contract for a Collections Assistant to improve the cataloguing of the Museum’s collection.
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Brian Leslie Racher Trust – contributed to the cost of the storage system
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North Herts District Council Prosperity Fund - contributed towards the costs of a new storage system
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Royston First Bid – contributed to the cost of Museum events.
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Association of Independent Museums – grant for compliance training
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Museum Development South East – funding to provide Review and Rationalisation training and support to enable the Museum to carry out a review of the collection.
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Museum Development South East – funding from two grant, Carbon Cutting and Going Green, towards the Museum’s Air Source Heat Pump project
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Museum Development South East – funding from the SERM Community Energy Grant to enable the Museum to work with two community partners to develop activities exploring sustainable home energy.
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Johnson Mathey – provided volunteers and funding to decorate the Collections Store and Art Store in preparation for the storage system installation
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Friends of Royston Museum - funding for specialist conservation of a high-priority object in the collection, plus funding the first year’s subscription of the Museum’s new eHive system.
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Royston Museum Trust CIO
Financial review for the period 1 April 2024 to 31[st] March 2025
Income
The majority of the £153,350 income came from donations and payments from Royston Town Council, together with significant grants for specific projects:
£104,665 Annual donation from Royston Town Council
£ 37,105 Grants £ 2,035 Public donations £ 3,093 Hirings, events and exhibitions
The Grants figure excludes an additional £31,590 treated as deferred income, earmarked for expenditure in the financial year ‘25-’26.
Expenditure
The donation from Royston Town Council covered the basic running costs including salaries and utilities.
All new projects and services were financed through grants and donations.
Around £23,000 was spent on the new storage system.
The Collections Assistant one-year fixed term contract to improve the cataloguing of the Museum’s collection was also funded through a grant.
Costs were reduced by the generosity of volunteers and Trustees, including bookkeeping and accounting at no charge.
Reserves Policy
Apart from extraordinary items, the intention is that expenditure will not exceed income in any year.
The reserves policy of the Trust is to maintain 6 months’ worth of general expenditure in cash reserves.
Cash reserves at 31[st] March 2025 were £97,399. (This includes £31,590 deferred income, earmarked for expenditure in the financial year ‘25-’26.)
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Royston Museum Trust CIO
Structure, Governance and Management
Constitution
The Charity is registered with the Charity Commission number 1196386 and is constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. The constitution states that the Charity should be governed by a body of no less than 2 and no more than 3 appointed trustees and no less than 2 or more than 7 nominated trustees. The Royston Council may appoint 3 nominated trustees, RDLHS may appoint 3 nominated Trustees and the Friends of Royston Museum may appoint 1 Trustee. Apart from the first trustees, every appointed trustee must be appointed for a term of 3 years. The current number of Trustees is 9 which come about as two of the original Trustees (The Treasurer and Chair) are no longer members of the Council.
Methods of appointment or election of Trustees
New trustees are selected from people who have the appropriate skills and resources to contribute to the affairs of the charity. Upon appointment, each trustee receives an in-house induction training programme to acquaint them with the museum and its activities.
Organisational structure and decision-making policies
The trustees meet on a regular basis as required during the year. The day-to-day management of the museum is delegated to the Museum Director, Emma Canterbury. The Museum also relies heavily on the time and effort of volunteers.
Related party relationships
None of the Trustees received remuneration or other benefits from their work with the charity. There are no related parties under common control, or under the control of the Trust, nor is the Trust under the control of any other party except under the obligations of the SLA.
Plans for future periods
The Museum has published its Forward Plan for 2024-2029 with year 1 actions under the headings of Visitor Engagement, Access and inclusion, Interpretation and exhibitions, Cutting Carbon, Storage and digitisation of the collection, Cataloguing the collection including migration from Modes to eHive, Environmental monitoring, Accreditation, People (both volunteers and staff), Heritage Lottery Fund project.
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Royston Museum Trust CIO
Statement of Trustees' responsibilities
The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England & Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles of the Charities SORP 2019 (FRS 102);
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make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards (FRS 102) have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in operation.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Charity's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the Trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Approved by order of the members of the board of Trustees and signed on their behalf by:
John Davison
Chair
Date: 24 September 2025
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Royston Museum Trust CIO
Balance sheet as at 31st March 2025
| Note | As at 31st March 2025 | As at 31st March 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed Assets | £ | £ | |
| Fixtures & Fittings | 3 | 25,806 | |
| Office & IT equipment | 3 | 1,796 | |
| Current Assets | |||
| Trade Debtors | 4 | 2,940 | |
| Prepayments | 5 | 6,445 | |
| Bank and cash balances | 6 | 97,399 | |
| 106,783 | |||
| Current Liabilities | |||
| Trade creditors | 7 | 0 | |
| Other creditors | 8 | 16 | |
| Accruals | 9 | 504 | |
| Deferred Income |
10 | 31,590 | |
| 32,110 | |||
| Net Current Assets | 74,673 | ||
| Net Assets | 102,275 | ||
| Accumulated Fund | |||
| Balance at start of year | 90,785 | ||
| Profit & Loss Account | 11,490 | ||
| Balance at end of year | 102,275 |
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Royston Museum Trust CIO
Statement of Financial Activities for the year ending 31st March 2025
1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025
| £ | £ | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 4300 | Income - Grants | 37,105 | |
| 4301 | Income – RTC SLA | 104,665 | |
| 4302 | Income - Donations | 2,035 | |
| 4304 | Income - Hirings | 3,093 | |
| 4305 | Income - Events | 2,513 | |
| 4307 | Income - Outreach | 380 | |
| 4308 | Income - Retail (shop) | 1,705 | |
| 4311 | Income - Interest income | 1,146 | |
| 4312 | Income - Group and School visits | 660 | |
| 4900 | Income - Other | 48 | |
| 5302 | Retail costs (Shop) | 1029 | |
| 7000 | Employee Wages and Salaries | 70,409 | |
| 7020 | Employer's NI | 374 | |
| 7030 | Employer's Pension | 1,428 | |
| 7095 | Recruitment Expenses | 0 | |
| 7096 | Costs - Personnel: Training | 3,634 | |
| 7097 | Costs - Personnel: Business Travel | 527 | |
| 7099 | Costs - Personnel (other) | 0 | |
| 7110 | Water Rates | 151 | |
| 7130 | Costs - Premises: Insurance (Landlords building) | 1,789 | |
| 7131 | Costs - Property: Museum Insurance | 3,338 | |
| 7150 | Costs - Property: Lease payments | 8,000 | |
| 7151 | Costs - Property: Cleaning | 318 | |
| 7152 | Costs - Property: Maintenance | 3,396 | |
| 7153 | Costs - Property: Refuse | 1,714 | |
| 7154 | Costs - Property: Displays and Exhibitions | 1281 | |
| 7155 | Costs - Property: Collections Management | 4,021 | |
| 7156 | Costs - Property: Learning programme | 1,612 | |
| 7157 | Costs - Property: Event costs | 3,112 | |
| 7158 | Costs - Property: Sundry supplies | 379 | |
| 7159 | Costs - Property: Fire alarm and security | 1,723 | |
| 7160 | Costs - Property: Education | 0 | |
| 7161 | Costs - Property: Visitor Engagement | 0 | |
| 7163 | Costs - Property: Reclaim via s106 (Income is in 4363) | 0 | |
| 7165 | Storage System | 2,445 | |
| 7200 | Electricity | 943 | |
| 7210 | Gas & Oil | 2,423 | |
| 7530 | Telephone | 0 | |
| 7540 | IT & Internet Charges | 576 | |
| 7550 | Computer & Software | 1,145 | |
| 7600 | Legal Fees | 1,080 | |
| 7610 | Accountancy Fees | 432 |
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Royston Museum Trust CIO
| 7611 | Costs - Fees: Advertising and Marketing | 2,485 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7620 | Consultancy & Professional Fees | 1830 | |
| 7900 | Bank Charges | 117 | |
| 7901 | Credit card charges | 12 | |
| 8040 | Depreciation | 17,390 | |
| 8200 | Office costs | 2,062 | |
| 8210 | Subscriptions | 684 | |
| 8270 | Currency Charges | 1 | |
| Profit & Loss Account | 141,860 | 153,350 | |
| -141,860 | |||
| Surpus for the year ending 31st March 2025 | 11,490 |
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Royston Museum Trust CIO
Notes to the Accounts of 31[st] March 2025
1. The financial statements have been prepared in compliance with United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102, which is The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland’ and the Companies Act 2006.
2. The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these consolidated and separate financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated.
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a. Going concern basis: The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis, under the historical cost convention.
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b. Depreciation policy
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i. IT equipment – 25% p.a. straight line basis
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ii. Fixtures and Fittings – 25% p.a. straight line basis
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3. Assets
| . Assets |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Office & IT equipment |
Fixtures & Fittings |
Total | |
| Cost | £ | £ | £ |
| At 31st March 2024 | 3,590 | 21,330 | 24,920 |
| Additions | 0 | 23,002 | 23,002 |
| Disposals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| At 31st March 2025 | 3,590 |
44,332 | 47,922 |
| Depreciation | |||
| At 31st March 2024 | 278 | 2,654 | 2,932 |
| Charge for the year | 1,516 | 15,872 | 17,388 |
| On disposals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| At 31st March 2025 | 1,794 |
18,526 | 20,320 |
| Net book value | |||
| At 31st March 2024 | 3,312 | 18,676 | 21,988 |
| At 31st March 2025 | 1,796 | 25,806 | 27,602 |
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Royston Museum Trust CIO
4. Trade Debtors
| As at 31st March 2024 | As at 31st March 2024 | As at 31st March 2025 | As at 31st March 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | ||
| Cambridge Wine - Royston | 700 | ||
| Kay Pilsbury Thomas Architects | 40 | ||
| North Herts Council | 480 | ||
| Royston & District Twinning Assoc | 100 | ||
| Johnson Mathey | 300 | ||
| MDSE SERM Community Energy | 2,640 | ||
| 1,320 | 2,940 | ||
| 5. Prepayments | |||
| As at 31st March 2024 | As at 31st March 2025 | ||
| £ | £ | ||
| Landlord’s buildings Insurance | 893 | 896 | |
| Commercial Insurance | 3,061 | 3,048 | |
| Lease paid in advance | 2,000 | 2,000 | |
| Fire Alarm | 501 | 501 | |
| 6,455 | 6,445 | ||
| 6. Bank and cash balances | |||
| As at 31st March 2024 | As at 31st March 2025 | ||
| £ | £ | ||
| Lloyds bank - Current Account | 6,882 | 11,137 | |
| Lloyds bank - Deposit Account | 65,847 | 85,994 | |
| Petty Cash | 568 | 268 | |
| 73,297 | 97,399 | ||
| 7. Trade Creditors | |||
| As at 31st March 2024 | As at 31st March | 2025 | |
| £ | £ | ||
| Trade Creditors | 157 | ||
| 157 | 0 | ||
| 8. Other Creditors | |||
| £ | £ | ||
| The Friends of Royston Museum | 50 | 11 | |
| Royston Town Council (cave) | 15 | 5 | |
| 65 | 16 |
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Royston Museum Trust CIO
9. Accruals
| As at 31st March 2024 | As at 31st March 2024 | As at 31st March 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Water rates | 13 | 10 |
| Refuse - Veolia | 107 | 131 |
| Electricity - EDF | 175 | 72 |
| EDF - Gas | 523 | 243 |
| IT and Internet charges | 43 | 48 |
| Accountancy Fees | 300 | |
| 1,161 | 504 | |
| 10. Deferred Income | ||
| As at 31st | March 2024 | As at 31st March 2025 |
| £ | £ | |
| Warm Spaces-Restricted | 1,792 | |
| Learning programme-Restricted | 7,255 | |
| Various-Invoiced in advance for premises hire |
1,845 | |
| 10,892 | ||
| Learning Programme | 5,151 | |
| Racher Collections Assistant | 11,047 | |
| MDSE Going Green | 4,760 | |
| MDSE SHARE Carbon Cutting | 5,000 | |
| Skills builder | 235 | |
| Arts & NHD hire | 810 | |
| Outreach I0092 | 40 | |
| MDSE Review & Rationalisation | 1,907 | |
| MDSE SERM Community Energy | 2,640 | |
| 31,950 |
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Royston Museum Trust CIO
Independent examiner's report to the Trustees of Royston Museum Trust CIO ('the Charity')
I report to the charity Trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Charity for the year ended 31[st] March 2024.
Responsibilities and basis of report
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
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the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act 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; or
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the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)).
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.
John D Froggett FAIA
The Accountancy Practice 41 High Street Royston Hertfordshire SG8 9AW
Date: 27 August 2025
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