## **Charitable Objects** 

The advancement of education for the public benefit in the life and work of Decimus Burton and in the lives of other contemporary architects. to improve and diffuse knowledge of the life, work and influence of Decimus Burton. This will be achieved by the following means: 

1. The creation of a central resource point, containing a collection of material relating to Decimus Burton and his work, with links to material in other places. 

2. The holding of talks and lectures relating to Decimus Burton and his work. 

3. The arrangement of visits to Burton designed buildings, places and landscapes. 

4. The publication of research into Decimus Burton and his period. 

5. The encouragement of students and others to study and appreciate Decimus Burton's work. 

## **Establishment as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation** 

The Society transferred its operations to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) which became active on 01 February 2022. 

## **Trustees of the Society for the period 01 February 2022 to 30 September 2022** 

1. Chairman: Paul Avis 

2. Vice Chairman: Aimee Felton 

3. Secretary: Chris Jones 

4. Guy Fearon (descendant of Decimus Burton) 

5. Stuart Page (conservation architect) 

6. Caroline Auckland (Marketing) 

7. Amanda-Jane Doran (Archivist) 

## **Annual Report of the Trustees for the period ending 30 September 2022** 

Membership currently stands at a respectable 55 individuals and three corporate members, and continues to reflect a mixture of academics, professionals, Burton homeowners and others with a more general interest in the architect’s life and work. 

The Society’s Committee has increased from 8 to 10 members, with recent additions that represent group interests from both Fleetwood and St Leonards. This has helped to give the committee a balanced representation from different parts of the country where Burton’s work can be found. 

DECIMUS, the Society’s biannual journal, continues to receive positive comments from members as well as from individuals, organisations and institutions that occasionally receive them for means of promoting the work of the architect. 




The Society’s social media presence has also increased. The credit for this must go to Caroline Auckland, whose tireless effort in promoting the society continues to reap rewards. 

In the field of education and the gathering of archive material, the Society continues to make progress. During the summer of 2022, as part of a secondary school work experience programme, a student from Tunbridge Wells and one of our members visited the RIBA archives and started to work on sorting through Philip Miller’s collection of archive material that was donated to the RIBA on his death. In higher education, the Society has helped a University student with research for her thesis on the rise of the seaside towns, including Fleetwood, one of Decimus Burton’s town planning successes. It is planned that this material will form the basis for a future article in our journal. 

The Society also lent its expertise in helping to secure some important drawings and a watercolour by Decimus Burton at recent auctions - these have since been returned to Ven House and the RIBA respectively. 

Our main challenge remains organising outings for members, and despite efforts to plan and organise a range of interesting events, this has proved difficult. With members throughout the country, it has not been possible to attract sufficient numbers to individual events to make them financially viable. The committee has therefore decided that we should open such events to other like-minded interest groups, such as the Victorian Society, that might have members close to the planned events. With this in mind, we will be planning visits to Kew, The Wellington Arch, Ven House, Grimston Park, Fleetwood and St Leonards. As part of the planning of these events, the Chairman, Paul Avis,  visited Grimston Park, Fleetwood and Ven House. 

The Society has worked with the Civic Society in Tunbridge Wells on the Decimus Burton Museum Project. Recent articles in the Guardian and Observer about Decimus Burton and the museum reflect the success of the Civic Society’s campaign to try and save two of the architect’s buildings, re-purpose them as a museum of national and local importance, while reinforcing one of the Society’s goals of increasing the public’s awareness of the important role that the architect played in the development of the country. Members of The Civic Society (some of whom are also members of the Decimus Burton Society) will present a business plan to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council in the spring of 2023, hopefully securing the future of the two buildings as a local and national tourist attraction. 




## **THE DECIMUS BURTON SOCIETY** 

## **ACCOUNTS FOR THE PERIOD 1 FEBRUARY 2022 TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2022** 

The Society transferred its operations to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) which became active on 1 February 2022. During the period, the only income of the charity was subscriptions with outgoings limited to the associated expenses of producing the Society’s Journal. 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
THE DECIMUS BURTON SOCIETY<br>ACCOUNTS FOR THE PERIOD 1 FEBRUARY 2022 TO SEPTEMBER 30 2022<br>1 February 2022 to 30 September 2022                                                                                   Stg<br>£<br>Income and Expenses<br>Subscriptions 807<br>Journal – printing and postage -239<br>Surplus for the Year 568<br>Transfer from previous unregistered Decimus Burton Society 1,320<br>Surplus Carried Forward 1,888<br>Balance Sheet<br>Cash at Bank 2,580<br>Subscriptions Paid in Advance -690<br>Sundry Expenses -2<br>Surplus 1,888<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>