The Friends of Crediton Church
Report of the Executive Committee for the year ended 31[st] December 2025
The officers of the Executive Committee report another very good year with the key aspects detailed herein. Grants were again made to various areas of activity at Holy Cross as shown below and in the attached accounts. Again, we are obliged to report the passing of a number of supportive members, as listed below under Membership.
Please also see “Overview of the Year” at the end of this report.
Charity’s Background
The objects of the Charity are detailed in our constitution of 25th May 1937, amended as of 28[th] January 1974. As part of these objects, the aim is to help “maintain the fabric, fittings, ornaments, furniture and monuments of and in the Church of the Holy Cross in Crediton and the precincts thereof and in furthering any other scheme to maintain and set forth their safety, duty and utility”. The constitution should be read for the precise wording.
The Sheila Ward Legacy , as shown in the accounts, represents the balance of the generous bequest from Sheila in 2018. In her will, these monies (capital and any income), were left to be used “towards the furnishings of the Church”.
The Philip Rodd Memorial Fund, also shown within our investments, comprises a donation from Jennifer and Allan Rodd in memory of their late son, Philip. These funds were donated originally to provide finance to refurbish and move the Caroe font cover to a fixed position. This project may well not proceed in its original form, and Jennifer and Allan have kindly said that we can use the funds for an alternative purpose.
The Jean Yuen Bequest, held on a separate deposit fund, is a retention of £10,000 (plus income accruing), being part of the total legacy from Jean of £81,890.73. The major balance was invested into our long-term capital in 2025. This retention was agreed at the 2025 AGM with a view to financing one or two items for Holy Cross in memory of Jean. Any unused balance will be invested into our long-term portfolio in due course.
Activities and Review
Personnel: At the AGM, Peter Bunn (Chairman), Marilyn Daw (Hon Secretary) and Mike Beskeen (Hon Treasurer/Membership) were re-elected. Members of the Executive Committee (as detailed on the agenda page) were also re-elected en bloc.
Following the retirement of the Rt Rev’d Jackie Searle as Bishop of Crediton, her successor the Rt Rev’d Moira Astin kindly agreed to become our President
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Heritage Day. We were represented at the open day in September and able to promote the work of the Friends. Three new members were enrolled and we spoke to a number of prospective members.
Friends Festival Evensong: Our evensong in September was again enjoyable and well attended. The Very Rev’d Dr David Ison KCVO, former Dean of St Paul’s gave an inspiring and thoughtful address. Members and guests enjoyed a glass of wine and some refreshments in Church, afterwards.
Christmas Tree Festival: We again decorated a tree in the Friends’ Chapel. Thanks are due to Joyce & Mike Beskeen, David White and Mandy Tomlinson for arranging this.
Financial:
Income : Our gross income was £37,415.05 including the following:
Subscriptions and Life Memberships: Annual subscriptions (at £2004.00, a record) held up well whilst new life memberships at £125.00 were slightly disappointing. See also the Membership section below.
Legacies: We were delighted to be remembered as follows:
£8070.28. Jean Yuen (a total of £81,890.73 over 2 years). £5000.00 Gillian Ware. £ 205.09 Mary Tarr
Donations: We were very pleased indeed to receive the following generous amounts:
£100.00 Revd Elizabeth Burke
£ 18.50 Pauline Smith
£100.00 Peter and Marge Gleed (a gift towards roof repairs after the theft of lead) £100.00 Caroline Isaac (restricted to repair of the sundial)
£125.00 Memorial re the late Walter Brown
£ 25.00 Tony and Mavis Hitchcock (included in “subscriptions”)
Bank Interest and Investment Income. Taken together, income from these sources increased from £19,345.48 to £20790.41.
Events and Gift Aid; Income from these sources was in line with expectations.
Expenditure: Grants paid out were £13,610.18 out of a total spend of £14,616.73. Grants totalling a further £9,500 were undrawn as at the end of the year (note 4 in the accounts). In respect of the undrawn amounts, we may not be called upon to finance the organ repairs (the Governors are funding) but the Executive Committee has agreed in principle to finance a new camera/display system for the organist (cost £4073 approx). Please see full details of grants made and other expenditure in the accounts.
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Investments: £5,000 was added to our long-term investments (these funds related to life memberships, donations etc received in 2024). This was in line with our constitution and agreed at the AGM. We were also able to transfer £9,000 of current funds to the general reserve fund, increasing the balance to £40,723 (£32,001 as at 31st December 2024). The legacies, as detailed above, were invested at the time of their individual receipt. The total value of our investments as at 31[st] December 2025 was £730,864 (2024 £649,152). The value of the Charity at the same date was £767,025 (2024 £753,350). The capital value of our investments fell by some 1.5%, excluding funds injected and income received (income of 3% approx).
Financial Policy:
In line with our constitution, all donations, memorials and legacies not bequeathed for a specific purpose are treated as long-term capital and invested in this way. Likewise, 10% of subscriptions are so invested. The income from these investments is treated as income of the charity.
In recent years, our investments have been held largely with CCLA, in particular the COIF Charity and CBF Church of England range of investment funds together with smaller holdings in the charity funds of SUTL Casenove (formerly Schroder) and M & G, to spread the risk. During the year, it was announced that CCLA was being acquired by Jupiter Fund Management. With many of these investments there should be an element of capital appreciation in addition to current income, thereby reducing the effects of inflation in future years. Almost all of our investments are in funds that have an ethical dimension, with members deciding at their Executive Committee Meeting on 16[th] July 2014 that we should consider investing in an ethical fund whenever further monies are set aside. Our objectives are set out in our Investment Policy Statement of 10[th] February 2015.
There are various controls and checks in place to protect the integrity of our bank and investment balances. We also have indemnity insurance to provide protection for our trustees and volunteers together with appropriate public liability cover.
Membership:
We warmly welcomed the following new members: -
Rupert Geering (Life) and Martin Donnevert, Susan Holt, Jill Holloway, John and Angela Crooke and Dr Stephen Miller.
We were sorry to report the passing of Bill Parr, Trevor Hall, Maureen Evans, Jackie Rodd, Douglas Gay and Glenda Hills. We send our very sincere condolences to the families and friends of these members and very much appreciate the support given to us in past years.
As at the end of the year, our membership totalled 268 (272 in December 2024). Net membership was only slightly down as we were able to welcome the new members.
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Overview of the Year:
Investment Income. It was good to see that our gross investment income (ie investment income plus deposit interest) at £20,790.41 exceeded £20k for the first time. This is our main source of income, of course, and the amount would be expected to increase marginally, year on year. Last year’s total was £19,345.48.
Investments. These are largely with the CCLA group and did not perform as well as in recent years. Whilst not affecting our income for the time being, the capital value of our investments dropped by some 1.5%. This is surprising as all financial indices showed a double-digit increase. It is believed that the managers at CCLA have been making some significant changes to their investment policy in advance of a possible downturn. We will keep an eye on it in the next period and, if thought necessary, take some additional diversifying action.
Subscription Income held up well despite some loss of membership and was a record (just) at £2004.00, exceeding £2k for the first time. Nevertheless, we need to continue to widen our membership.
Capital Position. In recent years, we have been able to build up our capital base while meeting most requests for day-to-day financial support. We now have more than £75,000 in funds that are more readily available and not part of our long-term capital. The Executive Committee is happy with this position, bearing in mind that our support will be needed as and when the major projects come on stream.
Annual accounts and Independent Examination.
We are grateful to Helen Geatches of Stapletons, Chartered Certified Accountants, for her help in preparing the accounts and in arranging for their independent examination.
Peter Bunn Marilyn Daw Mike Beskeen Chairman Hon Secretary Hon Treasurer/Membership.
Dated: 10[th ] January 2026
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The Friends of Crediton Church
Income and Expenditure Account for the Year Ended 31st December 2025
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Income | ||
| Subscriptons | 2004.00 | 1974.00 |
| New Life Members | 125.00 | 125.00 |
| Bank Interest | 1621.23 | 1994.31 |
| Investment Income | 19169.18 | 17351.17 |
| Donatons etc (note 1) | 443.50 | 4225.00 |
| Legacies (note 2) | 13275.37 | 76224.26 |
| Events | 202.70 | 222.70 |
| Gif Aid | 574.07 | 588.27 |
| 37415.05 | 102704.71 | |
| Expenditure | ||
| Help to the Church | ||
| Campaign Roof Appeal | 3000.00 | 3000.00 |
| Music Endowment Fund | 1650.00 | 1600.00 |
| Cleaning of the Church | 1250.00 | 1175.00 |
| Grass Cutng in the Churchyard | 750.00 | 500.00 |
| Flower Arrangers | 650.00 | 600.00 |
| PCC re Heatng | 1500.00 | 1000.00 |
| PCC new Laptop | 538.45 | |
| Comb-binder | 169.21 | |
| Music Sofware/Sheet Music | 481.00 | 254.52 |
| Binding of Parish Magazines | 170.00 | |
| Lock Repair | 154.80 | |
| Alarm upgrade | 1500.00 | |
| Sundial Repair | 886.40 | |
| Bollards | 872.40 | |
| Sundry (see note 5) | 1070.38 | 223.63 |
| Digitsing Telephone etc | 610.55 | |
| (sub totals) | 13610.18 | 9996.16 |
| Other Expenditure | ||
| Trustee Indemnity & P/L Insurance | 335.97 | 326.41 |
| Accountancy & Examinaton | 228.00 | 198.00 |
| Postage, Printng & Statonery | 105.71 | 151.68 |
| Sundry Expenses | 336.87 | 254.04 |
| 14616.73 | 10926.29 | |
| Excess of Income over Expenditure | 22798.32 | 91778.42 |
| Loss on Savings Accounts | -1.85 | 243.47 |
| Loss on Investments (Long-term Capital) | -8847.82 | 15168.19 |
| Loss on Investment (Sheila Ward Legacy) | -304.00 | 1267.00 |
| Gain on Philip Rodd Memorial Fund | 45.83 | 67.53 |
| Gain on Jean Yuen Bequest | 262.54 | |
| Loss on General Reserve | -278.00 | 1318.88 |
| Total Funds brought forward | 753350.24 | 643506.75 |
Total Funds carried forward
767025.26
753350.24
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The Friends of Crediton Church
Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2025
| Fixed Assets Investments Current Assets Bank, Deposit & Savings Accs (note 3) Funds Unrestricted Funds- Current & Deposit (net of Designated Funds - Grants not yet drawn) Designated Funds (note 4 - Grants not yet drawn) Restricted Funds (Sheila Ward Legacy) Restricted Funds (Philip Rodd Memorial Fund) Designated Endowment Funds Unrestricted Endowment Funds Unrestricted Funds (Jean Yuen Bequest) |
2025 730864.00 36161.26 767025.26 16398.72 9500.00 25774.00 1425.00 662942.00 40723.00 10262.54 767025.26 |
2024 649152.17 104198.07 753350.24 |
|---|---|---|
| 99398.07 4800.00 26078.00 1379.17 589694.00 32001.00 nil 753350.24 |
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The Friends of Crediton Church
Notes to the Accounts for the Year Ended 31st December 2025
| 1) Donatons etc Rev'd Elizabeth Burke Pauline Smith Peter & Marge Gleed (Restricted) Caroline Isaac (Restricted) Late Walter Brown (Memorial) 2) Legacies Jean Yuen (total received over 2 yrs was £81,890.73) Mary Tarr Gillian Ware 3) Analysis of Bank, Deposit & Savings Accounts NatWest Current NatWest Business Reserve COIF Charites Deposit Fund COIF Deposit Fund (Jean Yuen Bequest) 4) Designated Funds (Grants not yet drawn) Honours' Board Organ Maintenance (or Organist's Camera/Display etc) Asst DOM (Stpend Contributon) 5) Sundry Grants Book Rest/Pillow Roof Repair, following thef of lead (contributon ex P and M Gleed) IPad (sound system in Church) Contributon to Website upgrade |
100.00 18.50 100.00 100.00 125.00 443.50 8070.28 205.09 5000.00 13275.37 |
100.00 18.50 100.00 100.00 125.00 443.50 8070.28 205.09 5000.00 13275.37 |
100.00 18.50 100.00 100.00 125.00 443.50 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5222.90 92.88 20582.94 10262.54 36161.26 |
|||
| 3000.00 5000.00 1500.00 9500.00 |
|||
| 103.38 125.00 342.00 500.00 1070.38 |
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THE FIUEYDS OF CREDITON CHURCH CHARITY NUMBER 208236 INDEPENDENT ExAImIERS, REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE FRIENDS OF CRED0 CHURCH We report on ihe accounts of Charity for the year ended 31 DE¢ember 2025. which are set out on pages l 10 4. Respectfve responsibllltks oren1tts nd independent emIllerS As charity's trustees you are responsibl¢ for th¢ pparall0n of ihe accounts: you consider th th¢ audit requirement of s144{2) of the Chariti¢5 Act 2011 (the Aal does noi apply. li is our responsibility lo stst¢. on the basis of procedures SFYcified in the General Direciions given by the Charity Commissioners urmler s145{5Xb) of the Ad. wheth¢r p)rticular matters have come to our aitention. Basls of Independent e[ther$, s¢ttment Our examination w&% carried out in #Cdae with ihe General Dire¢tions given by the Charity Commission¢r5. An examinaiion irtludes a review of the accounting records kepi by the chaxiiy and cornparison of th¢ accounis presenied with those records. It also includes consid¢ration of any unusual iiems or disclosures in Ihe accounts and seekin8 explanations from you as trte¢S ¢on¢¢min8 any such mailers. The procedure$ underk¢n do noi provide all the evidence would be required in audil, and consequently we do ¢¥)r¢ss an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts. Independent eXAmlDery' Jl•t¢mMI In connection with our examin10 no maner has cThne io our aneniion.. which gives us re&wnable cause to believe in any material resp1 the requirements: to keep aountIng record$ in accordance wih s41 of the Act. and to prepare accounts which accord with the x¢ountin8 records and PIY with lh¢ countin8 requirements of the Ad have bn mel: or b) 10 whictb in s)ur opinioty attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper Lmderstandin8 of the accounts to be reached. Stspletons Chartered Cenified Accountants 4 Market Street Crediton Devon EX17 2AJ I l Febnwy 2026