AUGUSTA NONA HUNT for ALMSHOUSES
Known as ST. MARY'S HOMES
(Registered Charity No. 206075)
ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS
Year Ended 31$t December 2024

POR
The Tnjs￿8 present their annual report and the flnancial statements for Augusts No
Hunt for Almshouses, known ￿ St Mary's Homes Godstone for the year ¢nded 31
December 2024. The financlal statemcnts have ￿ell prepared in &¢ordance the
attounting policies and comply with tpie Ch￿ItICS Act 2011 and the Charities Sial¢m¢nt
of ReConm￿llded Practic¢ {s¢cond addition) and Financial Reportitig Standard FRS
102.
TrUSTEES
Rev P¢t¢r O'connell (¢x officio) Chaim]&n
Gra1￿ll Millar (r¢slgwl 22. Febrnary 2024)
J0arll￿ Gre80ry
Nicholas Barker
Kalhorine Christmas
Louise Case
Jonathan Oaks (tesigned 26th of September 2024)
Michael CoJ)neely (appointed 22nd of February 2024)
ADDRESS
St. Mary's Ilomes
Cburch Lane
Godstone
Surrey RH9 8BW
HISTORY
St. Mary's Home8 were founded in 1872 in the quiet and pleasant Lhurch 1 own aTea
of Godston& They were dcyigncd by Str Georg¢ Gilbert Scolt and comprise eiglit
residential units and a small oh4ipel. Each of the units. consists of at1¢48t a sitting roo
bedroom, bathroom and kitchen, Th¢ buildiiigs are twranged amund three sides of a
courtyatd In the centre ofwhlch standg aft old ii'ell.
The Homes w¢r¢ founded throu&4 Ihe sole g¢nerosity of Mrs. Augusta Nona Hunt Ivho
moired Éo Wonham House in thc parish of Godstone with her infant daughter, Mabel
Fanny, having been suddenly. wrydowed at a young age. Contenlporaries record the
p¢rsonalAty and piety of the young widow and describe her as being "of a singularly
lovable nature, devot￿ to everything that is pur¢ and beautiful alld given to good
Tragically Mabel Fanny dled (m 271k Jun¢ 1872 shortty aft¢r her eighteenth birthday
and Mrs. Himt resolved lat¢r that yearto commemoTate her daughter by e5tablishins SL
Mary's Homes.
Over the years accommodation his been provided for many IOCAI people in TRed. It
was not originally necessary forthe reskdents to contribu1¢ to the running of the Hom¢8

but. du¢ to increased nwlntenanc¢ costs and in particular, the rising pri¢¢ of fuel and
other public ultlities, the ￿Sidents hav¢ been required to make weekly contributions
since 1971. When they were bviftt the standard of the Homes was basic but ¢onstdered
acceptable for the times. In order to keep up with th¢ rising standards expected fro
thi8 type of aC￿mMOdatiOn suc¢es$iv¢ g¢n¢rations of ttvstees have carried out
improvements to enhance the comfort and am¢nitles of the accommodation.
Strueture, Governane¢ ind Management
After Mr5. HuDt's death in 1878. tbe Homes were maintain¢d by her fthiily until 1901
when their administration was taken over by Trust¢e8 app)int¢d from th¢ parish of
Godston¢ und¢¥ a Deed Poll dat￿ 4 January 1901. This ststes that the Homes should
be used to accon)modate people in financial need who are "aged or infirni persons of
good ohara¢ter" preference king given lo those applicants residing in th¢ parish of
Godslone or having som¢ longstanditig conneetion with it.
The Homes are a Registered Charity (no. 206075), a member of The National
Association of Almshouses and Englisb H¢ritsge.
The Homes h8v¢ also histori¢ally be¢n known as Augusta Nona Hunt for Almshouses.
The chairn)An of Trustees is designated to be the Rector for the Parish of (jOd￿One and
IN)th the Rector and the churChwa￿S) of th¢ Parislj arc app)int¢d ex-officio. (hher
new tn￿leeS are appointed at the discr¢tion of the curent trustees. The In￿teeS
recognise the need for the appropriate induction of new t￿￿teeS and the training of
existing tn￿tee8.
Th¢ oryanisational structure ofihe charity is that the tTr￿le¢S are responsible for Tuuning
of the Homes on a volunt¢er basis. There are no employees. Th¢ trustees m¢¢t at leasi
twice a year to approve the budgeL set maintenance eontributions and approve the
financial a¢¢ounts.
The trustees revi¢w the risks to which the charity is eX￿sed and se¢k& to mitigats t1￿¢
risks. The trustees comiDi&sAoned 3 Fire Risk Assessment in September 2022 and are
currently ithplementing the recommendations wet out in the report.
It is ¢onsider¢d thal th¢ primary economic risk facing the Home$ is the likeliho(xl that
due to the limiteil size and current layout of some. of the flats that Jn the future it will b¢
difficult to fllJd suitable r¢sidents who will regard the Homes as an attradiv¢ place to
reside. This would have a profound impact on ihc viability of the Homes.
Objeetlves and Aetlvltles
In accordance with the spirit of the founding d￿Urnellts. the objects of the charity Jre
to Provide a￿11)mOdatiOn to single perso￿$ or couples, who ar¢ eith¢t ag¢d ot
infirnied. in ftharEcial n¢cd and who are able to l(K)k a themselves. Wherever p055ible
preference will be given to applicants who hav¢ a connection with Godstone and its
environs.

Achlevement gud Perfonknittee
The Homes have been fully occupied for whol¢ yeor.
Work ha5 been pM￿SSed ontbe improvement plans dev¢loped following the Fitt Risk
Assessment. The remaining work wil& be planned to coordinate with the uylated
ating syst¢m.
In May 2024 the Valuation Offiee Agency revaluated the ¢quival¢nt fair r¢nts of lh¢
home& The results were as follows;
Flats land 2
Flats 3,4,5,6
Flat 8
Flat 9
£155 per week
£145 weck
£195 per week
£235 per week
The cotttributions CUErently paid by residents renMin b¢low this level.
FlnanelAI Revlew
The Homes's receives income from beneficiaries, weekly maintenance ¢ODtrlbulions
int¢rest l￿d dividends arising from th¢ investment portfolios and cash baIau¢¢s and
donations and legacies.
The financia] positton of the Hotnes as at 31 D¢c¢mb¢r 2024 was satisfa¢tory with a
surplus in the gveneral fulld of £12.554, aftertransfers to reserves and b¢fore revaluatio
of the investment assets, as shown in the accounts. The ¢o$ts of energy is a signifi¢ant
numing costs of the homes. As utilities are included in the resident's weekly
n￿Intenance contributlon there is little incentive for residents to mindful of their
heating usage and th¢ heating and ¢l¢ctri¢ity Costs ar¢ very higb for th¢ siz¢ ofAats.
The investtnent assets held by the ¢I￿lty comprise the Endowment Fund and Ihe
General Fulld together with two Reserve Funds which have been builtup 8nd authorised
at tates approved by the Almshouse Association and the Charity Commission. These
reserve fimds ¢omprisc an Ex￿Ordinary Repair Fund ("ERF'? and a CycliLal
Maint¢Dance Fund ("CMF'). Although the fully authorised arnount capable oftransfer
to the ERF has aivRys been achieved. thig has not always been possible for the CMF
th* to limii¢d resources. It 1$ th¢ policy of th¢ Trnste¢s to roaximisc availabl¢ r￿erVeS
con)mensurate with, firstly, likely ￿tUre maintenance requ1￿Mellts und, SL%ondly,
keeping residents, weekly contributions at an acceptable level.
Investm
The investment policy adopted by the I￿￿1¢eS is to seek to secuffj a balance betwee
M￿lmis1￿g income to supplement residents, weekly contributions thilst maintaining
and enhancing capital vatues to keep with inflation and the likely future cosis of
ensuring the obje¢ts of the charlty are achievable and sustainable in the futuK.
P￿Se 6

Rathbone Investment Managem¢Tht Ltd manage the Homes investhient wjrtfolio on
behalf of the trustees.
Th¢ itivestments are SUM￿Sed in the accoimts and shown at the mark¢1 value at 31
December 2024.
Plans for Ihe Futhre
Th¢ Trust¢¢s are awar¢ of the need for continual improv¢m¢nt to the stsndard of
a¢commodation in order to maintain a hisb occupancy level thereby ensurlng the
viabllity of th¢ Hom¢s. The truste¢s ar¢ exploring heAting options that will enable each
flat to be heated Separately enabling beneficiaries iiill become Eesponsible for paying
for the heat they use. The kn]stees are also investigating possible impTov¢thents to the
insulation of the flats.
The trustee r¢port was approved by the trustees by the clwity on 28 of February and
Signed on its behalf by:
ChaiThan
?(Lge 4

CHARITY COMMISSION
I FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
Independent examiner's
report on the accounts
Section A
Independent Examiner's Report
Report to the tru5teesl
embers of
Augusta Nona Hunt tor Almhouses
On accounts for the year
ended
31 December 2024
Charity no
(if any)
206075
Set out on pages
I report to the trusteos on my examination of the accounts of the above
charity I'fhe Tnjst") for the year ended 3111212024
Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation
basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act
2011 {llhe Acr?.
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust's accounts carried out
under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carying out my examination, I
have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission
under section 145{51(b) of the Act.
I have completed my examination. I confirm Ihat no material matters have
ome to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me
cause to believe that in, any material respect..
Independent
examiner's statement
accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of
the Act or
the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
I have no concems and have come across no other matters in connection
with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a
proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed:
Date:
Is/ L
?Oz
Name:
Barbara Palricia Kite
Relevant professlonal
qualification(s) or body
(if any):
Fellow Chartered Accountant and Business Finance Professional - Institute
of Chartered Accountsnts in England and Wales
Chartered Tax Adviser- Instituie of Taxation
Address..
4 The Waldrons, Oxled, Surrey. RH8 9DY
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