The Essex Society for Archaeology & History
FORMERLY THE ESSEX ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY FOUNDED 1 8 5 2
Annual Report and Accounts
for the year ending 31st December 2021
Essex Societ for Archaeolo and Histor y gy y
Contents
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Trustees and Corporate Information | 2 |
| Trustees’ Report | 3 |
| Trustees’ Responsibilities Statement | 7 |
| Independent Examiner’s Report | 7 |
| Receipts and Payments Accounts | 8 |
| Balance Sheet | 8 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 9 |
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Essex Societ for Archaeolo and Histor y gy y
Trustees and Corporate Information
Patron Lord Petre, KCVO, JP, MA Vice-Presidents D.G. Buckley, BSc, MCIfA, FSA A. Corder-Birch, DL, FSA G.M.R. Davies, MA, FSA, FMA Dr. P.M. Leach, BA, MBBS A.B. Phillips, BEM, BA H.M. Stuchfield, MBE, JP, DL, FSA, FRHistS Dr. C.C. Thornton, BA, PhD, FSA, FRHistS Trustees N.P. Wickenden, MA, AMA, FSA President H. Brooks, BA, MCIfA, FSA Secretary W.M. Abbott, MA, FIA Treasurer M. Atkinson, BA, MCIfA N. Brown, BA, MCIfA, FSA, FSAScot Immediate Past President A. Corder-Birch, DL, FSA A. Crosby, BA, MSocSc, FSA Chairman EIAG K.L. Crowe, BEd, MA, AMA Dr. M.E. Curteis, BA, MA, PhD, AMA, FRNS G.M.R. Davies, MA, FSA, FMA R. Havis, BA, MCIfA, FSA P. Sainsbury, SEN H.M. Stuchfield, MBE, JP, DL, FSA, FRHistS Membership Secretary Curator P. Wise, MA, MCIfA, FSA Independent Examiner P. Evans, FMAAT Registered Charity No. 213218 Registered Office 13 Greeenacres, Mile End Colchester, Essex CO4 5DX Bankers Barclays Bank PLC, Brentwood Blog www.esah160.blogspot.co.uk Twitter https//twitter.com/ESAH160 Website www.esah1852.org.uk
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Trustees’ Report
Structure Governance and management
The organisation is an unincorporated association, originally founded as the Essex Archaeological Society in 1852, changing its name to the Essex Society for Archaeology and History in 1985. It is governed by a constitution as revised and adopted at the 2015 AGM. It registered as a charity in 1962. Its objects as stated in the constitution are:
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to promote and encourage the study of archaeology and history in the historic county of Essex
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in furtherance of the above, to publish the results of such studies in the Society’s journal, and to disseminate information on Essex archaeology and history through the appropriate media
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to organise conferences, lectures and visits for the benefit of members and interested members of the public, and to educate the wider community and other bodies on matters of common interest and concern
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to provide library facilities for Society members and other members of the public.
The management of the Society is vested in a Council of Management who are the trustees of the Society. There are six trustees who are directly elected at the AGM, as are the President, Secretary and Treasurer, who are ex-officio members of Council. There are a number of members who serve the Society in various capacities and, as proposed by Council, further ex-officio members are elected onto Council at the AGM. The list of trustees is set out on page 2.
Council is aided in undertaking its responsibilities by various committees which report directly to Council, namely Publications and Research Committee, Library and Archives Committee and the Programme Committee. In addition it has special interest sections, namely the Essex Industrial Archaeology Group and the Essex Place Names Project, both of which are financially supported. The society is continuing the activities previously associated with the Essex Archaeological and Historical Congress. In 2021 it has taken on the assets and liabilities of the Essex Journal . The trustees retain the direct responsibility for, and active supervision of, expenditure.
The trustees who served during the year and up to the date of this report have complied with their duty to have regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers or duties.
Inevitably the pandemic disrupted the normal work of the Society, however although physical meetings were not possible the Council continued to meet via Zoom. Similarly, the work of the Committees was carried out via email and zoom meetings. As ever Council is extremely grateful to all those who have given their time and energy to serve on these committees, as well as to those who have represented the Society on other bodies, particularly this year with all its disruptions.
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Review
I think we all assumed that 2021 would be when life started getting back to normal. How wrong we were ! Our lives have continued to be affected by the dreaded coronavirus and once again, as I write this, we hope the worst is behind us. Let us hope we are right this time. The Society’s programme was again written off with the exception of a tour I led to Pleshey Castle in the early summer. We also had to abandon the Symposium at quite short notice. However, the 2022 programme is now underway, with several events rescheduled and some new ones. Jane Pearson, our programme secretary, has got the bit between her teeth, and is determined to be more adventurous and ambitious.
However, numbers attending the Morant Lecture and Morant Dinner have been dwindling in recent years, and Council has decided to merge the two, with a resurrected event combining both a talk and refreshments.
It seems to have been a year when we have lost several dear friends of the Society. Having lost Stan Newens last year, we have also seen the sad deaths of Ernest Black, Chris Manning-Press, the brilliant archaeological illustrator Pete Froste, Vic Gray, and Jenny Ward. Jenny served as our only lady President (with the exception of Ann Turner who stood in for one year). She was a very distinguished medieval scholar, and only recently was helping Chris Starr with the forthcoming occasional paper, ‘Medieval Merchant’. Jenny contributed regularly to both the Transactions and the Essex Journal , of which the Autumn 2018 edition was dedicated to her 80th birthday. Jenny had time and a smile for everyone, and was a regular attendee of our events and excursions, and will be sorely missed. Full obituaries are appearing in our publications.
With the programme curtailed, your Council has still been hard at work. Thanks to the sterling efforts of Martin Stuchfield, we now have a first class revitalised website, with a publications section boasting pdfs of every single copy of the Transactions prior to the last five years, as well as our Occasional Papers, more recent Essex Journals and some Essex Reviews – more are in the pipeline. These all have an easy search facility, and the whole site is well worth taking a look. An index of the Essex Journal is close to being completed and members will receive a hard copy. The work by the previous editor, Neil Wiffen was recognised at a launch on 30th October.
Martin Stuchfield, and our Treasurer, Bill Abbott, have also wrestled with unpaid subscriptions of our institutional members, and I can now report these are up to date, with a corresponding increase in subscriptions raised. Many societies operate a system whereby their annual journals and transactions are received for our library, and ours are duly reciprocated. It is therefore worrying that in January we heard from LAMAS (London and Middlesex Archaeological Society), that they were closing their library, and would no longer participate in this scheme. We now subscribe as a paid institutional member so that our run of transactions of this important near neighbour remains up to date, but the closure must be a blow for their members.
At the end of 2021 the Society had 315 (2020: 295) fully paid individual members, of whom 65 (2020: 65) are family members and 24 (2020: 20) are associates. It also has 69 (2020: 73) paying institutional members. In addition to these 384 (2020: 368) paying members we reciprocate publications with 32 (2020: 32) other institutions and distribute our publications to 12 (2020: 12) other institutions.
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I mentioned in my foreword in the spring newsletter that we have three editors of our publications, which remain the bedrock of the Society. Paul Gilman has produced volume 10 of Essex Archaeology and History (the Transactions ), and volume 11 is with the printers (as I write). We have a number of Occasional Papers forming a queue as well. Paul is assisted by Assistant Editor Henry Webber, and a Publications Committee, chaired by former President Dave Buckley. Chris Thornton also does a lot of liaising with both authors and our printers. Steve Pollington took over the editorship of the Essex Journal last year and has produced two excellent editions, volume 56 numbers 1 and 2. Victoria Rathmill took on the editorship of the Newsletter which we rationalised to two copies each year, and which are distributed digitally.
The Society’s extensive Library continues to be held in the Albert Sloman Library at the University of Essex, to which we extend our gratitude. Although closed during 2021, this remains a hugely important resource for our members and I know that Sarah Demelo has been keeping an eye on things. The University has also to date looked after the Essex Place Names Project, a database of parish historical research, masterminded by James Kemble. In recent years, with staff changes, and the increasing age of the database software, this has become untenable, but Council deemed it so important that we have transferred it across to our own Society’s website.
Guided by our treasurer, in the knowledge that we do hold substantial financial reserves, Council has put in place application details and a form for researchers seeking small grants. In 2021, we have awarded a grant of £717 to a Ph.D student researching Romanichal and Traveller inhabitation of parts of Epping Forest from the 18th-19th centuries using at least three surveying methods, surface surveys, magnetic susceptibility, and magnetometry. We have written a letter of support to the Essex Bridleway Association, which is planning an application to the National Lottery, in conjunction with the Essex Record Office, to digitise the county’s enclosure and tithe maps. Should the E.B.A. be successful, we have offered a grant of £250 ( Please note: this application has now been withdrawn ). Lastly we have awarded the West Hanningfield Parochial Church Council £1,000 towards a media project recording the tower, belfry and bells of St. Edward and St. Mary Parish Church. All grants will in due course be written up with a photographic record for our website.
The Essex Industrial Archaeological Group (E.I.A.G.), spearheaded by Tony Crosby, has managed to continue to meet on Zoom throughout the year, with lectures on Stow Maries Aerodrome, and Ironbridge. The next Industrial Heritage Fair, which is normally held every two years, is being planned for Silver End on 1st October and as I write, a number of organisations have already booked their tables. A small publication on Essex mills is imminent. The Group comments independently on relevant planning issues, and has helped E.C.C. Place Service review redundant railway bridges, and Historic England’s Draft Industrial Heritage Policy. It also wrote to Historic England bemoaning the sad condition of the Thorrington Tide Mill, which is Grade II* but now in private ownership, having been transferred out of the County Council’s ownership. It now sadly features on Historic England’s At Risk Register. The Group has also written to Historic England concerning the state of the Courtauld buildings in Halstead.
Few other planning comments have been submitted to local authorities. The limited availability of expert members of the Society who are able to comment on such matters on
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behalf of the Society is a matter of regret, and features in our draft ten year Strategy, which Council has been considering for some time, a process which has been led by our immediate past President, Nigel Brown. One answer might be specific training for interested individuals.
Council has circulated the draft ten year Strategy. This sets out the Society’s key activities and looks at how we are adapting to a new digital and inclusive world, and how we might adapt still further in the years to come. Obviously any strategy may be thrown off course by unforeseen challenges in the future such as COVID, but it is nevertheless important to have a sense of direction. The next step will be to assess how we might implement new actions.
Other regular reports to Council include the Victoria County History, C.B.A. London and C.B.A. East, the Friends of Historic Essex, the Essex Record Office, and the newly-formed Chelmer Valley Landscape Group. This Group brings together representatives, inter alia, from ourselves, the Essex Wildlife Trust, the National Trust, Chelmsford City Council, Maldon District Council, Braintree District Council, Essex Waterways, the Chelmer Canal Trust and many of the valley parishes. The recent 50th anniversary of the publication of J.A. Baker’s seminal work, ‘The Peregrine’ provided the impetus for our Society to initiate the group’s establishment. Nigel Brown attended its workshops held in November 2021, which considered conservation, management and enhancement of the natural and historic environment in the Valley; the cultural significance of the landscape; and managing and facilitating public engagement. The workshops helped C.V.L.G. to clarify its long term aims and to establish some practical actions that hopefully might be delivered in the Chelmer Valley in the next few years.
On behalf of all members, I would like to thank the Society’s Officers, Trustees, Council, Committees and representatives on other bodies for all their hard work and support during the year. The Society could not operate without people who are willingly prepared to give their time for free, in so many different ways. Only some of the people have been acknowledged personally in my report, but I am grateful for everyone who has contributed throughout yet another year beset by coronavirus and the restrictions this has placed on normality. In particular, I would like to express thanks to Bill Abbott, Howard Brooks, Nigel Brown, Paul Gilman, Jane Pearson, Martin Stuchfield and Chris Thornton. I hope that my report next year will be able to review a year when we have been able to meet in person and participate in the county’s history and heritage.
Finance
The principal financing activity of the Society relates to the costs of producing and distributing the Transactions and its Index as well as occasional papers. We try wherever possible to get sponsorship grants for individual articles and in the main are for archaeological papers. Grants for Volume 10 of the Transactions amounted to £2,900 (Volume 9: £4,140) with the net cost, including distribution, for Volume 10 being £4,980 (Volume 9: £3,132).
In 2021 the net increase in the Society’s Funds was £20,381 (2020; £5,876) . Excluding capital appreciation of £7,16 (2020; £7,099) the net incoming resources was £13,276 (2020; outgoing of £1,224) However in the course of the year we took on the assets and liabilities of the Essex Journal , where the initial transfer was £12,010, including £5,640 devoted to the production of an index. In the course of the year some of that fund has been used to pay the indexer and we have also received continued payments of £10 from previous subscribers of the index. Many of these subscribers are members of ESAH and receive the Journal through
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that membership, but some are not and continue to receive the Journal . The net effect is that most of the increase in the incoming resources can be ascribed to taking on the Essex Journal .
A major outgo in 2021 was the development of our Society website costing just over £10,000
In the course of the year we switched a further £20,000 of our assets held on deposit into the M&G Charifund. This underlies the increase in our investment income and has enhanced the capital appreciation for the year. It is the nature of our holding in investments that their value will oscillate.
The notes to the accounts provide significant detail.
The Society greatly benefits from the input of many volunteers and the unrestricted general reserves of the Society are being maintained at a level which would ensure the capability of producing and distributing volumes of the Transactions and Occasional Papers and the Essex Journal for at least the next five years.
We have sufficient resources to make further occasional donations to support heritage projects in Essex.
Nick Wickenden, President 9th April 2022
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Trustees’ Responsibilities Statement
The charity trustees are responsible for preparing a receipts and payments account and a statement of assets and liabilities for each financial year that properly present the charity’s receipts and payments during the year and its assets and liabilities at the end of the year. In preparing these statements, the trustees are required to:
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Select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
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Make judgements that are reasonable and prudent; and
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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 proper accounting records which enable them to ensure that the receipts and payments account and statement of assets and liabilities comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Statement of the Independent Examiner
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the Charity Commission.
An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a’ true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below
During my examination, no matter has come to my attention which
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a) gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the Charities Act 2011and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act, have not been met; or
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b) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Peter Evans (Fellow Member of the Association of Accounting Technicians) 9th April 2022
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Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31st December 2021
| Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31st December 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |
| £ | £ | |
| INCOMINGRESOURCES | ||
| Members subscriptions (note2) | 14,960 | 10,270 |
| Publications; Grants and sales (note 3) | 11,200 | 4,225 |
| Other Income (Note4) | 13,463 | 264 |
| Incomefrom Investments | 4,345 | 2,683 |
| TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES | 43,968 | 17,442 |
| RESOURCES USED | ||
| Productioncosts: Transactions (note 3) | 10,318 | 7,434 |
| Productioncosts: Newsletters | 2,796 | 1,382 |
| Administrationcosts (note 5) | 16,112 | 5,291 |
| Otheroutgo (Note 6) | 1,466 | 4,558 |
| TOTAL RESOURCES USED | 30,692 | 18,666 |
| NET INCOMING(OUTGOING )RESOURCES | 13,276 | -1,224 |
| Gains/losses on unrealised investments | 7,116 | 7,099 |
| INCREASE IN FUNDS | 20,391 | 5,876 |
| Balance sheet at 31st December | ||
| Library Books | 100,000 | 100,000 |
| Investments (Note7) | 119,074 | 91,959 |
| FIXED ASSETS | 219,074 | 191,959 |
| plus | ||
| Deposit & Current accounts (Note 8) | 74,768 | 82,376 |
| Other | 592 | 0 |
| CURRENT ASSETS | 75,360 | 82,376 |
| less | ||
| CURRENT LIABILITIES (advance subscriptions) | 304 | 595 |
| TOTAL ASSETS (note 9) | 294,131 | 273,739 |
| consisting of | ||
| Unrestrictedfunds-general | 117,335 | 106,954 |
| Unrestrictedfunds-designated (note 9) | 4,149 | 5,304 |
| RestrictedFunds (note10) | 72,647 | 61,481 |
| HistoricBookCollection | 100,000 | 100,000 |
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Notes forming part of the financial statements
Note 1 General
These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 Designated funds form part of the general funds but relate to funds which Council have designated as being for a specific purpose. The restricted funds reflect constraints imposed by the donors of the funds. The Historic Book Collection, which consists of books held by the University of Essex and documents loaned to the Essex Records Office, is classified as designated. The Collection is not available for sale, but has been given a value, believed to be prudent, of £100,000. Computers and new books purchased are written off on purchase. Investments are shown at market value and capital appreciation on these investments is shown after the net amount of incoming resources.
Note 2 Income from subscriptions
| Note 2Income from subscriptions | Note 2Income from subscriptions | Note 2Income from subscriptions | Note 2Income from subscriptions | Note 2Income from subscriptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||
| £ | £ | |||
| ESAH | 10,882 | 8,835 | ||
| Essex Journal | 2,545 | |||
| Gift Aid recoveries inyear | 1,533 | 1,435 | ||
| 14,960 | 10,270 |
Note 3 Transactions and Occasional Papers
| 2021 Analysis | Trans's Vol 10 Colchester Timbers Essex Journal Index Total £ £ £ £ |
|---|---|
| Income Grant income Publications; Grants and Sales Outgo Printing Contractors Other, inc distribution Net Income (Outgo) |
|
| 2,900 8,300 11,200 |
|
| 2,900 8,300 11,200 |
|
| 5,936 5,936 2,438 2,438 1,944 1,944 |
|
| 7,880 0 2,438 10,317 -4,980 8,300 -2,438 883 |
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| 2020 Analysis | Trans's Vol 9 Total |
|---|---|
| Income Grant income Publications; Grants and Sales Outgo Printing Other, inc distribution Net Income (Outgo) |
|
| 4,140 4,140 |
|
| 4,140 4,140 |
|
| 5,206 5,206 2,066 2,066 |
|
| 7,272 7,272 -3,132 -3,132 |
| Note 4Other income | 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |||
| LicensingFees & Royalties | 72 | 29 | ||
| Sale of LibraryStock | 238 | 25 | ||
| Donations | 1,041 | 25 | ||
| EIAG Trail Rewrite | 0 | 85 | ||
| Transfer from Essex Journal | 12,010 | 0 | ||
| Cash Flowfromvisits and other events | 102 | 100 | ||
| 13,463 | 264 | |||
| Licensing royalties and proceeds from the sale of Library stock have been attributed to the PRF |
||||
| Note 5 Administration Costs | ||||
| Insurance | 75 | 75 | ||
| Editors' Honoraria | 1,200 | 900 | ||
| Printing;flyers etc | 353 | 347 | ||
| Dispatchingmailings | 3,453 | 2,152 | ||
| Website | 10,755 | 984 | ||
| Room Hire | 258 | 807 | ||
| Otherprintingand Postage | 19 | 26 | ||
| 16,112 | 5,291 | |||
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| Note 6Other Outgo | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||
| £ | £ | ||
| Subscriptions Paid | 159 | 108 | |
| Purchase of Books | 0 | 0 | |
| Digitisation Project | 361 | 0 | |
| Donations(note 6a) | 500 | 4,450 | |
| EIAG outgo | 50 | 0 | |
| Sundries;EJ Index launch | 396 | 0 | |
| 1,466 | 4,558 | ||
| Note 6a Donations | |||
| Report on BradfordSt.,Braintree Finds | 500 | ||
| Boxted Airfield Historical Group | 250 | ||
| ERO;Sister Luard Papers | 500 | ||
| Thaxted Cutlers Publication | 1,000 | ||
| UoE;Red Book of Stubbers | 1,000 | ||
| Dr Thos Plume Publication | 1,000 575 125 |
||
| ERO: FS Eden's Drawings | |||
| ERO;Parmenter's Ledgers | |||
| 500 | 4,450 | ||
| Note 7 Investments | |||
| COIF Fixed Income Fund (income units) |
31,992 | 34,449 | |
| COIF Investment Fund(income units) | 39,010 | 34,619 | |
| M&G Charifund | 48,072 | 23,548 | |
| 119,074 | 92,617 | ||
| Note 8 Deposit and Current Accounts | |||
| COIF Deposits | 2,325 | 15,403 | |
| Shawcross 100 daydeposit | 50,295 | 50,524 | |
| BarclayBank Balances - Savings | 8,923 | 8,923 | |
| - Current | 13,225 | 7,526 | |
| _Transactions_Grants due | 160 | ||
| Advancepayments | 432 | 0 | |
| 75,360 | 82,376 |
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| Note 9 Restricted Funds | |||
| Essex Place Name Project | 4,149 | 5,304 | |
| This Fund is for a research project which collects and disseminates information on the history of local place and field names in Essex. It is funded by grants, which may be time limited,and donations. |
|||
| Note 10. Designated Funds | |||
| Publications and Research Fund | |||
| Mediaeval Merchant OP | |||
| Essex Mills Projects | |||
| Colchester Timbers | |||
| Essex Journal Index | |||
| PlesheyProject | |||
| 72,647 61,481 |
| Publication and Research Fund(“PRF”.) |
The PRF exists to support the publications and research of the Society. Specific subscriptions to this fund have been received on the basis that they would form an endowment fund generating income which would support the purpose of the fund This inalienable element of the fund amounts to £32,465. Subsequent attributions to the fund have not been so constrained. |
|---|---|
| Mediaeval Merchant OP | Pre-funding for an intended Occasional Paper |
| Essex Mills Project | The residual amount from the monies received on taking over the Essex Mills Trust and available for mills related projects |
| Colchester Timbers | Pre-funding for an Occasional Paper being published in 2022 |
| Essex Journal Index | Pre-funding for an Index for the_Essex Journal_acquired on assumption of the responsibility for the Journal |
| The Pleshey Project | The Society is in receipt of grants to fund writing up Bassett's excavation work at Pleshey in the 1970s. Eventually this work will be published in the Transactions or as an Occasional Paper. |
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Minutes of the Society’s Annual General Meeting, held on the Zoom video-conferencing platform on Saturday 26th June 2021 at 2.30pm.
In the Chair: Mr Nigel Brown (President) Vice Presidents: Mr Martin Stuchfield
Trustees: Mr Howard Brooks (Secretary), Mr Adrian Corder-Birch, Mr Tony Crosby, Mr Ken Crowe and Mr Mark Davies.
Associate members of Council: Ms Sarah Demelo (Essex University), Mr Philip Wise (Curator) and Mrs Lucy Jack (Minutes Secretary). Mr Nick Wickenden (President-elect) was also present, together with 10 other members of the Society.
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a) Apologies for absence were received from Bill Abbott, Steve Pollington, Richard Havis, Dr Mark Curteis, Andrew and Elaine Smith, Patricia Croxton-Smith, David Grayston, Victoria Rathmill, Shirley Durgan and Dr Graham Gould.
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b) Opening remarks. The President welcomed members. He noted that Council had planned to hold the AGM at Christchurch Hall in Chelmsford, but the Government’s extension of restrictions for an extra 4 weeks had caused the it to be moved online. The AGM would be followed by the presentation and launch of the Society’s new website. It would conclude with a talk by Nick Wickenden entitled “Some Highlights of Chelmsford Museum’s Recent Redisplay”.
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c) The minutes of the 2019 AGM, as published in the 2020 Annual Report and Accounts , were approved as a correct record. There had been no AGM in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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d) Matters arising. There were no matters arising
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e) President’s Report for 2020. A written report in the Annual Report and Accounts had previously been circulated to all members. The President highlighted that the pandemic had caused the cancellation of all events since the introduction of restrictions in March 2020. So far in 2021 a successful tour of Pleshey castle had taken place and he thanked Nick Wickenden for leading the tour. Arrangements for the symposium on 6th November were underway with a good selection of speakers organised. Despite the pandemic, ESAH had successfully assumed responsibility for the publication of Essex Journal , with the appointment of Steven Pollington as the new editor. The usual 4 issues of the Society’s newsletter had been published despite the resignation of the editor early in 2020. The newsletter was now online with the new editor Victoria Rathmill also taking on the Twitter account. Transactions of the Society also continue to appear regularly with volume 9 published in 2020 and volume 10 due imminently. The Society’s online presence would need to continue to be developed for it to keep up to date and appeal to new audiences. The dynamic new website was already online and would be demonstrated later.
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f) Presentation of the Annual Report and Accounts for 2020. These had previously been circulated to all members with the AGM papers and were unanimously approved.
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g) Election of Independent Examiner. Mr P Evans had indicated that he was willing to continue and was elected unanimously.
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- h) Election of President, Secretary and Treasurer for 2021-2022. Mr N Brown, having completed his three-year term as President, was due to step down but would remain on Council as Immediate Past President. Mr NP Wickenden had indicated that he was willing to stand for the position of President and was unanimously elected. Mr N Brown duly handed the chair to the new President, Mr N Wickenden who thanked his predecessor for his sterling work over the last three years, especially during the onerous conditions presented by the pandemic.
Mr H Brooks and Mr W Abbott had indicated that they were willing to stand again for the positions of Secretary and Treasurer respectively and were unanimously elected for these offices. They would be ex-officio members of Council.
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i) Election of Vice-Presidents for 2021-2022. The current Vice-Presidents, Mr D Buckley, Dr PM Leach, Mr AB Phillips, Dr CC Thornton, Mr HM Stuchfield and Dr J Ward had all indicated that they were willing to continue. Mr A Corder-Birch and Mr GMR Davies had agreed to be nominated and all were elected unanimously.
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j) Election of Additional Trustees for 2021-2022. The Constitution requires six members to be elected to the Executive Council. Mr K Crowe, Mr GMR Davies and Mr R Havis, having completed a three-year term, were willing to be re-elected for a further three- year term, in accordance with clause D2 of the constitution. In addition, Dr ME Curteis had agreed to be nominated as a Trustee. All were unanimously elected.
k) Any other business.
Mr Tony Doe reported that the book he had co-edited on the subject of Thomas Plume, which ESAH had supported with a grant, had been published in November and was achieving good sales. The new President thanked him for this encouraging news.
Website
Mr Martin Stuchfield, Vice President and Membership Secretary of ESAH, gave a presentation of the new website ESAH1852.org.uk . It was noted that nearly all issues of the Society’s publications, including indexes, were available to view and download, except the last 5 volumes of Transactions which were available to members only. The two most recent occasional papers and six issues of Essex Journal had yet to be digitized. All the Society’s application forms, including for membership and grants, were interactive for completion online, or available for printing. Other areas included news, events and a section for EIAG. There was also a comprehensive search facility. Links to all relevant and useful websites were listed and suggestions for additions would be welcomed.
Mr Keith Briggs enquired about Essex Review (the predecessor of Essex Journal), the inclusion of which had been specified in the Society’s blog in April 2019. Martin Stuchfield stated that he had been unaware of the blog entry, but he intended to include Essex Review in the digitization project which included a few issues of Essex Journal yet to be digitized and uploaded to the website. He would also ask Victoria Rathmill to update the blog post accordingly.
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Essex Societ for Archaeolo and Histor y gy y
Mr Neil Wiffen enquired about a plan and budget for maintaining the site, ensuring that the content was kept up to date and that the links worked correctly. Martin Stuchfield noted that it was important that the website be constantly reviewed and that several people would be involved in this as updates could be made very easily. Council would decide the details at their next meeting, but the plan was for each section to be updated by those responsible for their area, such as EIAG officers for their section. He intended to step back and take a global view. The main expenditure had already been made with initial set up and hosting costs, but he envisaged that maintenance costs would be minimal. Council fully intended to maintain the website as a valuable resource.
Mr Tony Crosby enquired about a facility for users to purchase or order publications. Martin Stuchfield noted that including an online bookshop would be possible but expensive and Council would have to decide whether the cost would be proportionate to benefits gained from sales. For example, a section just for members had been considered but the cost of this, including providing encryption, was in the region of £2000 which was not currently considered worthwhile. For any relevant publications, links could be provided to the site where they were available for purchase.
Mr Christopher Thompson enquired about links to archives available on the internet, including those from overseas which may be useful. He also offered a digital copy of Philip Morant’s historical publication. Martin Stuchfield thanked him for the latter as it was important to ESAH. He requested that members send him suggestions for links to useful sites to be included on the website.
The new President thanked Martin Stuchfield and noted that he would support the digitization of the whole ESAH archive. It was agreed that this was a useful resource for both members and external audiences which should encourage increased membership.
The President concluded the meeting and expressed hope that members would be able to meet in person at events later in the year and at the 2022 AGM.
After the meeting, the President gave an illustrated talk on the highlights of the archaeology and history galleries at Chelmsford Museum. He had overseen the redisplay which had been organised using lottery funding and opened in July 2019. He had retired in November 2019.
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