Brentford & Chiswick Local History Society 25 Hartington Road, London, W4 3TL Registered Charity Number 1212667 ## **Report to members April – December 2025** ## **Trustees** James Wisdom (Chair); David Shailes (Vice-Chair); Roger Squire (Treasurer); Katie Hinchliffe (Secretary); David Bright (Membership Secretary); Val Bott (Editor); James Marshall (Assistant Editor); Jan Cheesman; Janet McNamara ## **Charity’s Object** The Charity’s Object is to advance education for the public benefit by the promotion of knowledge and interest in the local history of Brentford and Chiswick, through research and maintenance of an archive; and by organising talks and events regarding local historical matters. ## **A year of Transformation** This has been literally a year of transformation as the unincorporated society of Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society founded in 1958 transformed itself into a Registered Charity on 24 March 2026 after 68 years of thriving activity. The Charity formally inherited all the assets of the unincorporated society on 1 April 2026 and has continued the mission of the promotion and study of the local history of Brentford and Chiswick. Following registration with the Charity Commission as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), it was then able to register with HMRC for tax purposes establishing its tax-free status for its charitable activities and enabling it to register for gift aid benefits. All this has now been completed. Since our foundation, one of the founding trustees – Jim Storrar – stood down after some years’ service on the committee of the Society. We are deeply grateful to him for his work during this time and his continuing enthusiasm for the Brentford’s local history. During the period we welcomed two new trustees – James Marshall and Jan Shawe. Both bring not only good knowledge of the areas but also links to organisations with whom we have not been regularly in touch in recent years. The long-standing Vice-Chair of the Society and the enthusiastic supporter of our registration as a charity, Janet McNamara, decided to stand down as Vice Chair but continues as Trustee. David Shailes – an existing Trustee agreed to take over as Vice Chair and has carried a task unexpectedly greater than anticipated as a result of James Wisdom’s indisposition. We are all very grateful to him for all his hard work. ## **Main Activities** In the period under review, the Society’s main activities in support of its charitable status have included lectures and publications. ## **Lectures** Its programme of lectures and talks held to encourage interest in and knowledge of our local history. Many of our speakers live locally and are willing to share with us their deep knowledge of their subject and several are members of the Society. - a. The Charity’s first lecture was given by our Trustee and Editor **Val Bott** and shared her research on the wills of local people in the 18th century and particularly a small group of senior staff who helped to manage Chiswick Page 2 of 5 11 May 2026 House and who were sufficiently well-off to write wills. This illustrated talk showed how these documents revealed their property interests, their bequests and their friendships painting a fascinating picture of the lives of those who served at that time. - b. Using 20 years’ research, **David Shailes** told the story of Scot Hugh Ronalds who established a nursery in Brentford in the 1750s. This important horticultural family ran the business for over 100 years until it closed following the death of Robert Ronalds in 1880. David’s sources included an archive in Canada and a descendant in Australia. Ronalds family members also include the inventor of the electric telegraph, the author of a definitive book on fly fishing and a famous chemist. At St Lawrence’s, Brentford, the family tomb has been restored and a new road in the area has been named after them. - c. J M W Turner, who lived in Brentford in his youth, built Sandycombe Lodge as a second home in Twickenham for himself. He acted as his own architect although he was undoubtably influenced by his friend Sir John Soane. Turner lived there from 1813 to1826. Marking the 250[th] anniversary of the artist’s birth, **Ricky Pound** described his unusual role as house director there. As well as giving an account of the history of the house, he highlighted practical logistical problems such as security and environment and spoke about the work of art historians and curators of subsequent exhibitions. - d. As a film maker, **David Rust** worked with B&CLHS members some years ago on the Griffin Brewery’s history and the process of brewing, including oral histories and information from the then staff team. His illustrated talk included excerpts from the film he made based on his research and published as a DVD (copies are available from the Society’s website). David works at the Chiswick Pier Trust, a stone’s throw away from the Brewery site. - e. The Chiswick Nursery stretched from the High Road to the Bath Road along the east side of Turnham Green Terrace, from at least the 1750s. **Val Bott** runs nureserygardenerd.co and was thus well qualified to talk on this subject. She used James Scott’s lavish trade card to show the range of plants, equipment and services he offered and also told his brother’s story, from working as a senior Chiswick House gardener to setting up a pineapple nursery of his own. The Society publishes a high quality annual Journal which is always well received. Issue 34 contained articles on subjects as diverse as The History of the Tabard Theatre, Chiswick by **Wesley Henderson-Roe** ; The women of Boston Manor by **Steph Hagan** providing a compelling glimpse of the lives and relationships of the women who lived there in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; **David Shailes’** story of Town Gas and the growth of its use in Brentfor;. **James Wisdom** and **Val Bott** interpretation of a remarkable early photograph of Chiswick High Road in 1863 and **John Dent’s** interesting account of the life Thomas Neill (1755 -1828) who rose from being an apprentice clerk of works for Sir John Soane to being a builder of barracks for the Army, a general contractor and investor in property. He lived in later life in Arlington House, Turnham Green. Demand continues at a good level for both the 2025 edition and for back copies. Thank you to our Editor Val Bott and Dr Julia Phillips our layout consultant who have worked so hard on ensuring the high level of design of the Journal is maintained. ## **Visits** The Society arranged two tours of Voysey House Chiswick organised by Sanderson’s archivists. This was originally built in 1902 by Sandersons Wallpaper company as its headquarters to a design by Charles Voysey. They used the building until 1928 when a fire in the adjoining factory caused them to leave the area. The building passed through several hands but was recently repurchased by Sandersons to become their head office. It has been substantially renovated with many of the interior finishes restored to their Page 3 of 5 11 May 2026 original condition. It was a lovely visit and a real pleasure to enjoy a building which has been re-occupied by its original owner. Our website continues to offer information on many local history topics of local history including articles from out of print copies of our _Journal_ . A selection of books on the local history of our area is also available through the online shop. ## **Joint Venture** Our joint venture (Great West Road Centenary Project – GWRCP) with Hounslow and District History Society has published a book on the history of Great West Road to celebrate its centenary. This has been hugely successful thanks to the hard work of the book’s author and main salesperson James Marshall. The book was published in autumn 2024 and sold so well that the venture agreed to a second print-run in November 2025. By the end of 2025, 425 copies had been sold and sales have continued strongly in the current year. The joint venture was able to repay the founders’ loans which funded the publication costs and also made a distribution of surplus income of £700 to each party. ## **Public Benefit** The new charity is committed to following in the footsteps of its predecessor in offering access to our knowledge and expertise as well as to the programme of work since it was founded. There is no charge to attend the lectures that are open to all. We ensure our _Journal_ is available in the Local Studies Library for those who do not wish to buy a copy. And, as mentioned above, out of print articles are available free of charge on our website. Via the website we offer an information service that is well used by people living far and wide from our base. It is free of charge to allcomers and forms an integral part of our commitment to the spread of knowledge and the promotion of interest in our local history in line with our founding object. During 2025 the site had 47,022 views by 26,379 visitors. The most common searches related to the Great West Road the new Centenary history, to pubs and to the West London Tornado. ## **Financial Report** ## **Introduction** The Charity was registered on 24 March 2025 and took over all assets and liabilities from the previous unincorporated society of the same name on 1 April 2025. Accounts for the period 1 April 2025 – 31 December 2025 together with accompanying notes have been circulated to members. ## **Inheritance** The charity inherited the assets and liabilities of the unincorporated Society which consisted of cash in three accounts |The funds were made up as follows|| |---|---| |Net assets held as cash (Inherited Reserves)|£16,595| |Money held on behalf of GWRCP|£892| |TOTAL CASH inherited|£17,487| There were no other assets or liabilities Page 4 of 5 11 May 2026 ## _**Income and Expenditure for the nine months**_ The Income Statement shows |Subscriptions||£596| |---|---|---| |Transfer from Reserves||£1,375| |Donations||£219| |Miscellaneous||£728| |Interest Received from Bank deposits||£142| |Publication sales||£1,223| |TOTAL INCOME||£4,283| |The expenditure Statement shows||| |Expenditure||| |General expenses||£436| |Miscellaneous||£808| |Publication Expenses||£1,984| |TOTAL EXPENDITURE|£3,228|| |Surplus for the period||£1,054| ## _**Income and Expenditure Comments**_ 1. The relatively low level of subscriptions is because the larger part of subscriptions of the Society is received in the first three months of the calendar year. This money was thus part of the “inheritance” the Society received on formation. 2. The comment in 1 above is the reason for the transfer from Reserves to the income account being a figure for the inherited nine months of subscriptions paid before the Charity was founded. 3. The high level of Miscellaneous in both the Income and Outgoings sections of the accounts is due to the fact that the Society received £728 which was immediately paid out again. 4. At the period end, £12,142 was held in a term deposit account at Lloyds Bank. During the year this deposit earned £142 in interest. 5. Publication Sales are high because £700 came from the Society’s Joint Venturey in publishing the history of the Great West Road (GWRCP). Sales have been successful and this distribution is from the surplus achieved in 2025. 6. The figure for Publications in the Expenditure section includes the cost of publishing and distributing our annual _Journal_ which is circulated free of charge to all members. 7. No claim for Gift Aid was made during the period because it is simpler to make a claim for the whole period after it has ended. A claim was lodged in February 2026 for April – December 2025 and a payment to us of £64.50 has been agreed by HMRC but not yet received at the date of writing this note. ## **Assets and Liabilities** The Statement of Assets and Liabilities shows Net assets inherited £16,595 Operating surplus for the nine months £1,055 Transfer from Reserves to Income account (see 2 above) (£1,375) Page 5 of 5 11 May 2026 £1.000 £17,275 Loan repayment received NET ASSETS AT END OF PERIOD Other Cash holding £456 TOTAL FUNDS AT END OF PERIOD matched with the total of monies in Bank and PayPal accounts £17,731 ## _**Assets and Liabilities Comments**_ 1. The loan repayment was the repayment of a loan from the Society before it became a charity to GWRCP at the outset of its project as start-up capital for the production of the book. This loan was repaid during the period when sufficient funds from sale of the book were available. 2. Other cash holdings included subscriptions paid in advance, money held for GWRCP before being paid to that body and partially paid and overpaid subscription payments held pending resolution. 3. The Society has taken out no loans and has no liabilities that are not shown in the accounts. It has given no guarantees. ## **Reserve Funds** The Society’s Reserve policy provides for two designated reserve funds with the remaining money being held as a General Reserve The two designated funds are 1. Designated Emergency Reserve. In accordance with our policy, this is set at approximately 6 months of annual expenses assuming no income. At the period end it was at £1,500. This amount was reviewed after the year end and it was agreed there was no need to change it at the present time. 2. A Designated Project Reserve set at a level determined by the Trustees to cover the cost of future projects that are undertaken at a less than annual basis. This fund was £7,000 at the year end. The Trustees have reviewed this sum since the period end and it was agreed there was no need to make any change at this point in time. The remaining general fund was £8,775 at the period end. The Reserves Policy has been reviewed by the Trustees and it was agreed that no changes were necessary. ## **Conclusion** During the period the Society’s net income was £1,054 and its Net Assets increased by £680 to £17,275 at the end of the period. ## **Finally** The Committee wishes to thank all members for your ongoing support as we proceed into the future in our new structure. And the Chair especially thanks the Trustees who have worked so hard to bring the new charity into existence while continuing to deliver our programme to members and the public as a whole info@brentfordandchiswicklhs.org.uk www.brentfordandchiswicklhs.org.uk sk*i-. Statement of Income, Expenditure, and Resources April- December 2025 The Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society is a Registered Charity1# 12126671 with its Object being "to advance education for the public benefit by the promotion of knowledge and interest in the local history of Brentford and Chiswick, through research and maintenance of an archive,. and by organising talks and events regarding local historical matters" Contart Details Addre55 Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society, 25 Hartington Road, London, W4 3TL info brentfordandchiswicklhs.or .uk www.brentfordandchiswicklhs.or -uk Email Website The Soclety Is governed by Its Constltutlon and Is managed by Its Trustees Its legal form is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation ICIOI A copy of the Constitution is available on the website below Brenrford and Chiswick Local Histo Socie Constitution 2025 The Trustees who served duringthe financial period were Chairman Vice-chairman James Wisdom Dèvid Shailes chairman brentfordandchiswicklhs.or (Vice Chairman from 20 May 2025 .uk Treasurer Roger Squire Secretary Katie Hinchliffe Membership Secretsry David BriRht Editor Val Bott Trustee lan Cheesman Iloined 28 July 20251 Trustee James Marshall (Joined 28 July 20251 Trustee Janet McNamara (Vice Chairman until 19 May 20251 Trustee lim Storrar (Retired 16 September 20251 mbershi rentf Adam Grounds is the Invited Representative of the Local History and Archive Service of the London Borough of Hounslow under Clause 19131 Idl of the Constitution Page 2 of 5 ## **Independent Examiner’s report to the Trustees of the Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society (Reg Charity # 1212667)** I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society (a CIO with Registered Charity Number 1212667) for the 9 months ending on 31 December 2025 ## **Responsibilities and basis of report** As the charity trustees of the Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society (CIO), you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’). I report in respect of my examination of the Society’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. ## **Independent examiner’s statement** I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Society as required by section 130 of the Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records. 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. Signed Name Prof Margaret Price Professor Emerita Assessment and Learning, Oxford Brookes University Address 2 Hearne Road London W43NJ Date 7 February 2026 Page 3 of 5 ## **Brentford and Chiswick Local History Society** ## **Statement of Accounts April - December 2025** ## **Statement of Income and Expenditure** **----- Start of picture text -----**
April - [Jan - March ]
December 2025 [Notes] 2025
INCOMIMG RESORCES
General
Advance Subscriptions £0 £180
Subscriptions £596 £1,659
Transfer from Reserves of prepaid subscription income £1,375 9
Total Subscriptions in period £1,971 4 £1,839
Donations Received £219 £160
Misc £728 £0
Interest Earned £142
£3,060 £1,999
Publications
Book Sales inc p&p £906 12 £25
Journal Sales Current Year inc p&p £167 £0
Journal Sales prior Years inc p&p £150 £0
Misc £0 £0
Projects £0 £0
TOTAL £1,223 £25
Total Incoming Resources £4,283 £2,024
EXPENDITURE
General
Financial Fees inc Bank Charges £51 £26
Subs to Other Societies £115 £0
Office Expenses £0 £15
Room Hire £270 £0
Website £0 5 £0
Social Media £0 £0
Misc £808 £28
Donations Paid Out £0 £0
TOTAL £1,244 £69
Publications
Book Sale Expenses £3 2 £1
Cost of Books Purchased £99 £0
Current Year Journal Expenses inc printing
£1,297 2 £26
and design software
Prior Year Journal Expenses £85 2 £0
Social Media £500 £0
Projects (Great West Road Centenary
£0 £0
Project Sponsorship)
TOTAL £1,984 £27
Total Expenditure £3,228 £96
Surplus for the period £1,054 £1,928
**----- End of picture text -----**
Page 4 of 5 ## **Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31 December 2025** **----- Start of picture text -----**
31-Dec-25 31-Mar-25 Notes
Assets (All assets are held in cash and are Unrestricted Funds)
Operating Accumulated Surplus brought forward £16,595 £14,666
Previous year adjustment £1
Operating surplus for the year £1,054 £1,928
Transfer of Reserves to General Incoming resources (£1,375) 9
Operating Accumulated Surplus £16,275
Loan repayment received £1,000 10
Total Assets £17,275 £16,595
Liabilities £0
NET ASSETS at Period End £17,275 £16,595
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **Statement of Reserve Funds at Period End 31 December 2025** **----- Start of picture text -----**
31-Dec-25 31-Mar-25 Notes
Designated Emergency Reserve £1,500 £1,500 7
Designated Projects Reserve £7,000 £7,000 6
Undesignated Reserve - Closing Balance £8,775 £8,094 8
Net Assets at Period End £17,275 £16,594
**----- End of picture text -----**
N.B. The Society has no Restricted or Endowment funds ## **Statement of Total Funds** **----- Start of picture text -----**
31-Dec-25 31-Mar-25 Notes
Net Assets £17,275 £16,595
Other Cash Holdings
Subscriptions in advance for 2026 £75 £0 4
Monies received for GWRCP remaining to be transferred to it £198 £892 3
Monies in Holding Fund £183 11
Total Other Cash Holdings £456
TOTAL FUNDS HELD £17,731 £17,487 13
**----- End of picture text -----**
## **Notes** - **1** The Statement of Income and Expenditure and the Statement of Assets and Liabilities are prepared on the Receipts and Payments basis. - **2** Post and Packaging expenses are sometimes incurred in large lots to take advantage of bulk buying discounts or for other operational reasons. The materials may then be used over more than one year so annual figures may not be comparable. - **3** B&CLHS has helped its joint venture Great West Road Centenary Project (GWRCP) (see Note 12) by offering to it the use of its transaction fulfilment facilities with PayPal and SumUp. The amount shown here has been received by B&CLHS but had been not passed on to GWRCP at the date hereof. |date hereof.||| |---|---|---| ||**31-Dec-25**|**31-Mar-25**| |Monies Received for GWRCP b/f|£892|_£1,922_| |Monies Received for GWRCP during period|£2,356|_£790_| |Monies transferred to GWRPC during period|(£3,050)|_(£1,820)_| |Monies received for GWRCP remainingto be transferred|
£198|
£892| - **4** Subscriptions received during the year are recorded on a "cash received" basis. Subscriptions received in advance for the following year are not part of Net Assets at the year end and are thus included under Total Funds. - **5** Payments for Website name registration and domain hosting are not paid on an annual basis to obtain advantage of discounts. Hence the annual figures may not be comparable. - **6** The Projects Designated Fund is held to finance major projects (including sponsoring publications and excavations) that are likely to be undertaken on an irregular basis. This current amount is £7,000. The amount of the Designated Fund is reviewed each year in accordance with the Reserves Policy. Page 5 of 5 - **7** The Emergency Reserve Designated Fund is set at approximately 6 months of last year's outgoings in accordance with the Society's Reserves Policy. This amount of the Reserve is reviewed each year. - **8** The Undesignated Reserve is total left after deducting from the Total Reserves the amounts of the Emergency Reserve and the Projects Reserve. |the Emergency Reserve and the Projects Reserve.||| |---|---|---| |Undesignated Reserve - Opening balance
Add surplus for the year
Add return of working capital payment from GWRCP
Less Transfer to Revenue account
Undesignated Reserve - Closing balance|£8,095|See note 10
See note 9| ||£1,054|| ||£1,000|| ||(£1,375)|| ||£8,775|| - **9** Subscription income in the accounts for the Society for the first 3 months of 2025 before it was incorporated as a Charity was £1,834 for a 12 month period. Thus 75% of this sum - £1,375 - is properly attributed to the last 9 months of 2025 - the period covered by these accounts of the new Charity. The Total Reserves brought forward were £16,595 including this sum. Therefore £1,375 has been transferred from the Undesignated portion of the Reserves and transferred to the subscriptions section General Incoming Resources to present a true and fair view of the Revenue Account. - **10** This money was previously transferred to GWRCP (see Note 12) as working capital for the project. The Agreement between the parties provided that this money would be repaid by agreement between the parties. This money has now been repaid and is shown here. - **11** The Holding Fund contains three different elements 1 Part is from overpaid subscriptions pending instructions for refunding the money. If no instructions are received within 6 months of the receipt of the overpaid sum, the unclaimed extra amount will be treated as a donation to the charity. Number of items 4. Amount £36. 2 Part is from underpaid subscriptions where the balance is awaited. The payer has the option of paying the balance or resigning and donating the part payment or having the part payment refunded. Such persons are members who either are still within their membership period or who are within their 6 month grace period following expiration of their membership. If no instructions are received from the payer by the end of their grace period their membership is ended and they are moved to category 3 below. Number of items 8. Amount £48. 3 Part is from partially paid subscriptions the remainder of which was not paid before the end of Society's 6 month grace period so the memberships concerned have been terminated. Payers of these monies are informed and told that, if claims for repayment are not received within 6 months of the cessation of membership, the unclaimed monies will be treated as a donation to the charity. Number of Items 11. Amount £99. - **12 Other interests** . B&CLHS has a 50% interest in a Joint Account called Great West Road Centenary Project account held with Hounslow and District History Society to publish a book to educate the public of the history of the Great West Road which runs through the Charity's area of interest. An income distribution of £600 was received during the year from the Project which is included under Book Sales. ## **13 Bank Reconciliation** Metro Bank Statement at Year End £669 Lloyds Bank Statement at Year End CLOSED during year Lloyds Bank Charity Account Statement at Year End £4,432 Lloyds Bank Term Deposit Account £12,142 PayPal Account at Year End £488 **Total Funds Held £17,731** Signed Roger Squire – Treasurer 1 February 2026