2020-12-31-accounts

Charity Registration No. 313051

Company Registration No. 01002955 (England and Wales)

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

COUNCIL'S REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) CONTENTS

	Page
Council's report	1 – 10
Independent Examiner’s report	11
Statement of financial activities	12
Balance sheet	13
Notes to the accounts	14 – 20

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

COUNCIL'S REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

The Trustees (who are also directors of the Charity for the purposes of the Companies Act) present their report and the financial statements for Alpine Club Library (the Company) for the year end 31 December 2020 which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report for Companies Act purposes.

The accounts comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015).

Our purposes and general activities

The Alpine Club Library charity's purpose and principal activity is to care for and manage the collections of mountaineering books, tracts, archives, artefacts, photographs and paintings owned, in the main, by the Alpine Club, and to make them available to the public; (the paintings have now been added to our portfolio). Based in the Alpine Club's London premises, the Alpine Club Library manages one of the most significant collections of mountain material world-wide which provides an important source of reference.

To achieve these purposes, the Library gains funds by: the sale of duplicate books; the sale of reproduction rights for photographs; commissions from painting sales; contributions from members of the public and organisations who use the Library; occasional support from grant making bodies and occasional appeals primarily - though not exclusively - to the Club membership. The Library actively seeks donations in kind of archives, photographs, paintings and books. We consider all items for addition to our collections and we also retain duplicates (and triplicates or quadruples) as needed. We publish a regular list of surplus books for sale; recycling books back into circulation for interested readers. The acquisition and disposal of rare and important book volumes is only carried out in consultation with the Club; a restricted Acquisitions & Restoration Fund exists for the purposes of acquiring specialist books. There has been no change in these policies during the year.

In shaping the objectives for the year and planning the activities, the Members of Council have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, including the guidance ‘Public Benefit: Running A Charity (PB2)’.

Achievements and performance (including financial review and reserves policy)

The results for the year show a surplus of £96,296 (2019: £157,885), after accounting for total gains on investments of £74,873 (2019: £124,988). Realised losses for the year totalled £54,402 (2019: £309). Unrealised gains which are not cash items and solely reflect the movement of the investments with regard to the value of the portfolio at the year end totalled £129,275 (2018: £125,297).

Total funds carried forward were £1,402,130 (2019: £1,305,834) of which £1,249,310 (2019: £1,152,141) were unrestricted funds and £152,820 were restricted funds (2019: £153,693).

It is the policy of the charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six month's expenditure, which is between £14,000 and £27,000 at current levels. The trustees consider that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the charity's current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. In the event of reserves not meeting the required amount to fund the expenditure of the charity, the trustees have discussed realising some of the charity's investments to meet the shortfall. The charity had free reserves of £1,249,310 at the year end (2019: £1,152,141).

With the authority of the Charity Commissioners the Library's investments were managed on a discretionary basis by Quilter Cheviot Asset Management. These investments provide a vital source of income to support the salary for our professional Librarian and the costs of our premises. Investment income for the year was £32,608 (2019: £35,486). The value of listed investments increased from £1,134,321 to £1,240,455 at 31 December 2020.

Note 14 sets out an analysis of the assets attributable to the various funds and a description of the funds held. These assets are sufficient to meet the charity's obligations on a fund by fund basis.

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ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) COUNCIL'S REPORT (CONTINUED) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

Activities

A CHALLENGING AND UNUSUAL YEAR

In last year’s annual report I noted that 2019 had been a year of change for the Library, and expressed the hope for a smooth and stable 2020. How wrong can anyone be? So, like every other organisation, the AC Library has had a challenging and unusual year.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS

The year had barely begun when the Covid-19 pandemic struck the UK. Government regulations meant that, like every other library, we were forced to close our doors to personal visits by both AC members and the general public from March. Nevertheless, we put

protocols in place so that our Librarian, Honorary Librarian and Keepers could

continue to come into Charlotte Road on a part-time and Covid-safe basis to provide as good a service as possible under the circumstances. Telephone and email enquiries continued to be dealt with, and postal book requests and returns continued to be processed, albeit at a somewhat slower pace than normal. So, I think it is fair to say that while Covid-19 significantly affected our year it did not dominate it. I would therefore like to express my sincere thanks, and those of all the Library Trustees, to everyone concerned for all their efforts to keep things going during this difficult period.

Also early in the year, Neil Cox gave us notice that he wished to step down as our Treasurer and as a Trustee after three years in those roles. However, before stepping down Neil was instrumental in securing a £25,000 grant from Hackney Council in June 2020, as part the coronavirus small business and retail, leisure and hospitality grant fund. Again, on behalf of all the Trustees, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Neil for all his work, not only for securing this very welcome grant but also for simplifying our accounts, generally putting our financial house in order over the past few years, and in mentoring his successor up to the end of the year.

Knowing in the spring that Neil would be stepping down in the autumn allowed us to seek a new Treasurer from amongst the AC membership over the summer. We received a number of expressions of interest, but we were very pleased to be able to appoint Alan Henderson to the position with effect from the ACL AGM in October. Alan has a degree in accounting and finance from the University of Glasgow and 15 years experience in banking and commercial finance. Just as importantly, Alan is also a very active climber. He is clearly on the ball, because almost his first act after appointment was to jet off to New Zealand for three months of travelling and climbing before the second lockdown restricted international travel. Since his return, Alan has overseen our annual accounts and return to Companies House for 2020, as well as applying for additional coronavirus support grants for the ACL and AC, pertaining to the November – December 2020 lockdown period, in collaboration with the AC Hon Treasurer.

They say that bad news comes in threes, and in the autumn Nigel Buckley told us that he was resigning as ACL Librarian to take up a position in the library at Balliol College, Oxford. This was a real blow, because I think it is no exaggeration to say that Nigel has transformed the efficient working and support for members by the Library since his appointment, as well as cementing a pretty-much seamless working relationship between the Library and the AC Office. Nigel has been a delight to work with during his time with us, and it is therefore a genuine pleasure to thank him for all his work on our behalf. The good news is that Nigel is not being completely lost to either the ACL or the AC; he is remaining in post both as Secretary to the ACL Council and as the Keeper of Artefacts. So, we look forward to continuing to work with him for many years to come.

In November 2020, we set about the dauntless task of finding a replacement Librarian. We advertised the position widely, within both the mountaineering/climbing community and the library/museum community. We received a total of 27 applications which we whittled down to a longlist of seven, all of whom were interviewed online via Zoom. This was reduced to a shortlist of three who were subsequently invited to visit the Charlotte Road premises to be shown around and interviewed face-to-face.

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ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

COUNCIL'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

Activities (continued)

The outcome is that we were unanimous in agreeing to offer the position to Beth Hodgett, and I am very pleased to report that she accepted. Beth has an MSc in Visual, Material and Museum anthropology from the University of Oxford, and is currently pursuing a PhD, based between Birkbeck College, London and the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, researching the photographic archive of O.G.S. Crawford. As well as a number of academic publications, she also has experience of organising exhibitions and conferences, and of public engagement and outreach. Beth commenced the role of Librarian on a part-time basis in April 2021, and will move to full-time in September, when she has completed and submitted her PhD thesis. Almost from her first day, Beth had to set about the task of organising the phased re-opening of the Library following an internal review. This has involved establishing a click & collect service so that members can order books in advance and collect them contact-free, as well as the option to book in-person Library visits on two days per week. Hand sanitizing stations have been established, and the Clubhouse has been registered with the government’s track & trace programme so that visitors can check in via their smartphones using the QR code posters displayed around the building.

After a relatively quiet year during which the number of enquiries was well down on previous years, presumably due to both national and international travel restrictions, activity is now starting to pick up. So, we are all looking forward to fully re-opening the Library in September 2021, after our annual summer closure and when Beth will start working on a full-time basis.

SERVICES AND COLLECTIONS

Collections Database

At the risk of repeating myself, I would like to remind everyone again that the Library is much more than just books. We use the term Library as a catch-all name, since the Alpine Club Library actually houses and takes responsibility for all the Club’s collections, comprising over 30,000 books, magazines, journals and expedition reports; 40,000 photographs and slides; around 700 paintings, prints and drawings; the Alpine Club document archive; and the collection of around 300 mountaineering artefacts. Most of these items are now listed on our Koha cataloguing system. This enables crossreferencing between all items in the database, and thus allows for a simple and user-friendly search facility that can be - - accessed via the Library page of the Club’s website at: http://www.alpine club.org.uk/ac2/ac media/library

Visitors

Not surprisingly, visitor numbers were much reduced over the year because we were unable to host any after mid-March 2020. Nevertheless, in January Nigel and Barbara arranged an exhibition on Leadership, Resilience and Overcoming Obstacles for a group of boys from Hoe Bridge School, Woking, with Victor Saunders giving a lecture on the same topic. In early March, Nigel also arranged an exhibition and lecture on the history of the AC for the Rockhoppers Mountaineering Club.

Clubcasts

After March 2020, it was no longer possible to hold the normal bi-weekly AC lectures in the Lecture Hall at Charlotte Road. As a result, Nicholas Hurndall-Smith, Nigel Buckley, Sherry Macliver and Michael de la Rue initiated the Alpine ClubCast series; short lectures and presentations shared on the Zoom platform. These proved to be extremely popular, often with around 150 members from all across the UK and abroad logging on to view them. Even larger numbers of the general public logged on to view them on Facebook. Importantly, a library archive of all the past lectures (more than 20) has been produced; with each presentation edited and made available on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgoaAomJnfVxyo62Rkkv76A

Exhibitions

Sadly, we were only able to mount a single art exhibition in the Lecture Hall at Charlotte Road; that was during the first few months of 2020 before the first lockdown. This was a visually outstanding exhibition of photographs by Fi Bunn entitled Alpine Nunataks , featuring the glacial islands of the Valais region. All the other art exhibitions planned for 2020 by Simon Pierse, Keeper of Pictures, had to be postponed because we were unable to admit visitors to the Clubhouse. Simon now hopes to mount these exhibitions during 2022.

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ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) COUNCIL'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

Activities (continued)

In spite of this hiatus, we were not idle, and we have great plans for exhibitions during 2021. An exhibition of books, maps and documents on pre-1921 surveying of routes to the Himalayan peaks through Sikkim was displayed in the theatre in March 2020 to coincide with a lecture on climbing in Sikkim. This led to plans being formulated by Barbara for a major exhibition in 2021 to commemorate the 1921 Everest reconnaissance expedition and the 1922 and 1924 climbing expeditions. Barbara has spent a huge amount of time throughout the year researching and identifying original pre-1925 Everest material in the AC Collections for the exhibition, and writing an accompanying catalogue.

The result of these endeavours is Everest – By Those Who Were There. This amazing exhibition will celebrate the centennial of the 1921 reconnaissance of Mount Everest and the first attempts to reach the summit in 1922 and 1924. It will use the words of the expedition members themselves to tell the story, from the first suggestions to tackle the mountain made in the 19th century to the successes and failures of the first expeditions and final tragedy of 1924. Through the climbers' diaries, journals and letters, through their art work and photographs, and from their clothing and equipment, visitors to the exhibition will gain new insight into how these men thought and what they accomplished. Barbara was ably assisted in putting this exhibition together by Nigel Buckley (Keeper of Artefacts), Bernie Ingrams (Keeper of Photographs) and Glyn Hughes (Honorary Archivist). Much of the material in the exhibition has either not been shown before, or will be shown for the first time in a century. The exhibition will run from Tuesday 27[th] July until October 2021. We hope that both Club members and the public will take advantage of this rare opportunity to experience Everest - By Those Who Were There . It provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate both the work of the Alpine Club and the Alpine Club Library in preserving and curating climbing history, and the Club’s key role in the first expeditions to Mount Everest. The Everest centennial exhibition will be accompanied by a comprehensive catalogue that reproduces every item shown; it is a compelling publication, and likely to become a collector's item in its own right.

The year 2021 also marks the centenary of the founding of the Pinnacle Club. With the benefit of a Heritage Lottery Grant, the club has been able to preserve its heritage through digitising and cataloguing its photograph and film collection, and creating an oral history. Celebratory events are planned throughout 2021, including a joint Alpine Club-Pinnacle Club exhibition to be held at Charlotte Road in November and December.

Art UK

Art UK is a cultural education charity that enables on-line access to UK art collections that are not normally on public view. The ACL has now been a member for two years. Initially we put 70 of the best pictures from the AC collection on-line through Art UK . Janet Johnson has now selected more of our best pictures so that we have been able to increase the number to 99; the limit for our current category of membership. As well as viewing the pictures, AC members and the public can purchase prints in a range of sizes from the Art UK Shop . This not only provides a resource for members but also a valuable source of income for the Library to use for restoration purposes. If our involvement continues to be successful and income from sales increases then we will consider upping our membership category to the next level which will allow us to display up to 299 pictures; close to half of the total AC collection.

Please visit: https://artuk.org for more details, to view the pictures and to purchase prints.

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ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) COUNCIL'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

Activities (continued)

Books

Because the ACL is an active library, we aim to continually enhance the collection by attempting to obtain all interesting new books published on climbing and mountaineering. Success requires considerable effort, and involves negotiating with publishers to obtain either complimentary or heavily discounted copies of newly published books, but occasionally we have to pay the full price. Luckily, the year saw strong sales of duplicate books from the regular lists produced by Barbara.

The income from this not only helps to fund the purchase of new books but also the funding of substantial conservation and restoration projects for books, photo albums and archives. So, the duplicate book lists provide AC members with a great opportunity to buy historical (and sometimes rare) mountaineering literature at very favourable prices while simultaneously helping to enhance and preserve the collection.

Pictures

Throughout the year, Simon Pierse (Keeper of Pictures ) has been working with The Watercolour World (TWW) to digitise works on paper from the Club's picture collection. TWW should not be confused with ArtUK , although the two online databases are, in fact, the brainchild of the same person; Fred Hohler. The aim of TWW is to create a searchable database of topographical watercolours that depict locations around the world. The focus is on paintings made before 1900, that is before photography became the major documentary tool. The philosophy behind this is to show how watercolour painting has contributed to recording the changing world in which we live. In February 2020, using a state-of-the art portable scanner, Simon worked with Ambrose Robertson and a volunteer from TWW to scan around 50% of the Club's works on paper. Some of these images are in sketchbooks and have rarely, if ever, been seen outside the collections before. Since the scanner can scan work behind glass, it was also possible to scan some of the largest framed watercolours in our collection and to tile them together into a single image. This work is of immense importance to the Club because so many of our previous digital images were taken from slides and have a colour cast. Of particular value are the many sketches and watercolours of glaciers in the collection. With the predictions of further global warming, they bear testimony to the speed of climate change over the past 150 or more years. Unlike Art UK , TWW does not sell images, and the images on their website are not downloadable. However, TWW has provided the Club with full, high-resolution

images which we can use and also sell to generate much-needed income for the maintenance and conservation of our painting collection. We had hoped to scan the remaining watercolours by early 2021 but this has had to be postponed until after the Library fully re-opens. Images of all pictures from the collection that have been digitised to date can be viewed at:

https://www.watercolourworld.org/collection/alpine-club

Photographs

As for other parts of the collections, the coronavirus lockdown meant that physical presence in the Photo Library was suspended from mid-March 2020. Nevertheless, we were able to respond to email enquiries where requested images were already scanned or held in our database.

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ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) COUNCIL'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

The list of archived films was revised and updated, and climbing films by Leo Dickinson and Eric Jones have been donated to the library and added to the archive. A list of potential photographs for the forthcoming AC Everest centennial exhibition was produced. Additionally, we have provided images for an article on the Duke of Abruzzi in the Himalayan Journal, and Sue Hare has been working with Thames & Hudson on a book/exhibition project on mountain photography. She also expects to find herself providing material for the Alpine component of the Macromicro project On the Trail of the Glaciers , once it is able to restart.

Scanning of the Frank Smythe slide collection presented by his son, and of the Mike Westmacott slide collection has been completed thanks to the efforts of Peter Payne. Jeremy Whitehead’s extensive photo collection has been delivered to Charlotte Road, and Loretta Bonington has kindly donated Ian McNaught Davis’s mountaineering slides that relate to the British Soviet Pamirs Expedition 1962.

Artefacts

We had planned to complete the task of photographing the entire Artefact collection during 2020, but unfortunately the Covid-19 lockdowns put paid to that aspiration. We will aim to complete that task when it becomes possible to allocate space to lay out the material and to allow a photographer to work in the Clubhouse. That task has now become a little larger because we have had new artefacts donated to the collection during the year. Robert Lawrie, the famous maker of mountaineering and climbing, donated an archive of photographs and examples of their climbing boots; the first of its kind in the AC Artefacts collection.

It is also worth noting that our Keeper of Artefacts felt compelled to contact National Geographic when he saw that they were using an image of the wrong ice axe in an article featuring Sandy Irvine. The original, and correct, Irvine ice axe is of course held in the AC collection.

Archives

For obvious reasons, there have been far fewer visitors during the past year than in normal years, but the level of enquiries has held up; although without access to the physical archive our ability to respond promptly has been affected.

Accessions have also been fewer than normal, but include letters written home from the Alps after an early ascent of the Jungfrau, and a diary from an expedition to the Langtang Himal in 1949. This latter was one of the earliest expeditions to the Himalaya after WWII, and the diary was from Peter Lloyd; a sometime AC President. The

expedition was led by Bill Tilman. Since Tilman’s own diaries having ended up in a library in the US Midwest, material from other members of his expedition are of particular interest.

Among the Club’s own records is a complete collection of newsletters and circulars sent to members since the foundation of the Club to the present time. The items issued up to 1967 were bound into three massive volumes, each weighing several kilograms. Although the contents were well preserved, the bindings had deteriorated badly due to the weight of the contents. We therefore commissioned our excellent conservator, Cyril Titus, to rebind the first volume, and make a strong storage box to conserve it. This work has been a great success, and Cyril is now working on rebinding and conserving the other two volumes.

Monuments

Like other areas, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a frustrating impact on efforts to identify and conserve the monuments of the Alpine Club in all but one area. There is a growing enthusiasm amongst members to ensure that the objects that represent our heritage and lie dotted around the alps are not forgotten or allowed to fall into disrepair.

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ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) COUNCIL'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

Bill Roberts contacted us to ensure that the grave of John Emery did not fall into obscurity. Emery died on the Weisshorn and is buried in Zermatt not far from the grave of the unknown mountaineer. He participated in the ill-fated Oxford University expedition to Haramosh in 1957 and was gravely injured by frostbite. Nevertheless, he continued climbing until an accident befell him in 1963.

Raymond Peto is buried somewhere in Interlaken according to William Newsom. Peto was a very significant member of the club in the inter-war years. The location of his grave and the manner of his death are currently a mystery yet to be solved. John Allen wrote to inform the Keeper of the grave of Richard

Harris, a member of the ACG who succumbed to hypothermia near to the summit of Mont Blanc in 1966. He is buried in Chamonix and his grave will be visited once the pandemic allows.

The grand project at present remains the movement and conservation of the Matthews Monument in Chamonix. It is fitting that the monument should be moved to the Parc Couttets on the other side of the terminal moraine on which the old observatory stands because progress has been unavoidably glacial. The Mayor of Chamonix is a strong supporter of the project and the opportunity it presents to reinforce the connection between the town, the Alpine Club and British alpinists more generally. Hope still exists that it will be in its new setting by the summer of 2021. The picture of the monument illustrates the current setting that this monument endures. Matthews was an important and humble figure in the Club. His contribution was recognized by the members not only by the establishment of this lasting memorial but by the fact that it was the Bishop of Bristol who wrote the inscription making subtle reference to the way in which Matthews supported his brother who became a founding member of the AC. Later he went on to write what was then the definitive history of Mont Blanc.

The Keeper is not just interested in past monuments but future ones too! Doug Scott made an unparalleled contribution to British mountaineering and it is only fitting that some lasting memorial be established which will join the long list of great lines he pioneered. Peter Holden has suggested a memorial in Doug’s home town of Nottingham and another option is something in the Lake District, possibly at Doug’s local pub, The Old Crown. It may be fitting to achieve both to recognize the contribution Doug made to Britain and the contribution he made to the AC.

The Keeper is very grateful indeed for the enthusiasm with which so many members regard the monuments. It has certainly helped to sustain him during this great incarceration and he hopes very much to be able to continue his work in visiting and conserving the last resting place of members throughout the Alps in due course.

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ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) COUNCIL'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

Image Captions

Fig. 1 Beth Hodgett our new Librarian (centre) photographed in the library with Barbara Grigor-Taylor (Hon. Librarian) and Philip Meredith (Chair of the ACL Council).

Fig. 2 Alan Henderson, the new ACL Treasurer.

Fig. 3 The Matterhorn with dramatic sunset colouring. Photo: Fi Bunn

Fig. 4 Sunset from Mont Blanc (1873) by Gabriel Loppé. The last oil painting to be added to the AC collection on the Art UK database.

Fig. 5 Monte Viso (N.D) by Elijah Walton. Image from The Watercolour World database of the AC collection.

Fig. 6 Craftsmen making boots for the 1953 Everest Expedition at Robert Lawrie’s. Photograph from the Lawrie Archive.

Fig. 7 Ongoing conservation to the Club Circulars.

Fig. 8 The Matthews Monument in its current location outside the old Couttets Hotel in Chamonix.

Reference and administrative details

Charity number: 313051 Company number: 01002955 Registered office: 55 Charlotte Road, London, EC2A 3QF Company secretary: Nigel Buckley

Our advisers

Independent Examiners and Auditors TC Group

Bankers NatWest Group Investment advisors Quilter Cheviot Limited Honorary solicitor P G C Sanders

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ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) COUNCIL'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

Members of Council

The directors of the charitable company (the charity) are its trustees for the purpose of charity law.

The trustees and officers serving during the year and since the year end were as follows: Professor Philip Meredith (Chairman) Barbara Grigor-Taylor Kimball Morrison Dr Jerry Lovatt Kimball Morrison Neil Cox Robin Ashcroft Trevor Campbell Davis

Structure, governance and management

Alpine Club Library is a company limited by guarantee governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 22 February 1971. It is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission.

The Library is managed by a Council of Trustees, comprising five members nominated by the Alpine Club, one by the Royal Geographical Society and one by the British Mountaineering Council. Day to day book library operations are in the care of a salaried professional librarian who reports to the Honorary Librarian, Mrs Barbara GrigorTaylor, who is a member of the Council. Other collections are managed by our volunteer Honorary Keepers and Honorary Archivist.

None of the Members of Council has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the Members of Council are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £5 in the event of a winding up. The Members of Council are fully aware of their responsibilities as Trustees of the charity.

Risk

The Board of Trustees holds overall responsibility for Risk Management for the organisation and has conducted a review of the major risks to which the organisation is exposed. Consequently and where appropriate, systems or procedures have been established to manage the risks that the Charity faces.

Appreciation

Finally, I cannot end this report without expressing gratitude to everyone in the Library Team and to all the Volunteers who gave their time so ungrudgingly throughout the year. Without your efforts the ACL could not function. Thank you!

We are open to the public 46 weeks of the Year

The Library opens to the public on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (except during August and the Christmas – New Year week), but please email to check, particularly if travelling from afar. Appointments are possible on other days by prior arrangement with the Librarian. Some of our historic items are only available by appointment. The catalogues of Books and Archives, and the Himalayan Index (which lists all summits and climbs in the Himalayas) can also be accessed via the Alpine Club website. We always look forward to welcoming visitors.

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ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) COUNCIL'S REPORT (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

Statement of the Members of Council’s responsibilities

The directors, who constitute the Executive Committee, are responsible for preparing the Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Executive Committee to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.

In preparing these accounts, the Executive Committee is required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• observe the methods and principles in the Charities’ SORP;

• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to assume that the charitable company will continue in business.

The Executive Committee is responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

On behalf of the board of Members of Council

Professor Philip Meredith (Chairman)

Council Dated: 23 September 2021

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ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT

TO THE MEMBERS OF COUNCIL OF ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Charitable Company for the year ended 31 December 2020.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the Charitable Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Charitable Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charitable Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities.

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.

Mr Mark Cummins FCCA FCIE for and on behalf of

TC Group The Courtyard Shoreham Road Upper Beeding Steyning West Sussex BN44 3TN

Dated: 23 September 2021.

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ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

		Unrestricted	Restricted	Total	Total
		funds	funds	2020	2019
	Notes	£	£	£	£
Income from:
Donations and legacies		25,280	-	25,280	37,730
Other trading activities		25,721	-	25,721	23,361
Investment income	5	30,817	1,791	32,608	35,486
		────────	────────	────────	────────
Total income		81,818	1,791	83,609	96,577
		────────	────────	────────	────────
Expenditure on:
Raising funds		1,913	111	2,024	2,894
Charitable activities:
Library operation		53,498	6,664	60,162	60,786
		────────	────────	────────	────────
Total expenditure	6	55,411	6,775	62,186	63,680
		────────	────────	────────	────────
Net gains/(loss) on investments	10	70,762	4,111	74,873	124,988
		────────	────────	────────	────────
Net income/expenditure/
net movement in funds		97,169	(873)	96,296	157,885
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward		1,152,141	153,693	1,305,834	1,147,949
		────────	────────	────────	────────
Total funds carried forward	14	1,249,310	152,820	1,402,130	1,305,834
		════════	════════	════════	════════

The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.

All income and gains for the period are recognised above. All of the activities are classified as continuing.

12

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

BALANCE SHEET

AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2020

			2020		2019
	Notes	£	£	£	£
Fixed assets
Tangible assets	9		100,000		100,000
Investments	10		1,240,455		1,134,321
			────────		────────
			1,340,455		1,234,321
Current assets
Debtors	11	6,571		5,833
Cash at bank and in hand		73,419		85,963
		────────		────────
		79,990		91,796
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year	12	(18,315)		(20,283)
		────────		────────
Net current assets			61,675		71,513
			────────		────────
Total assets less current liabilities			1,402,130		1,305,834
			════════		════════
Funds of the charity	14
Restricted funds	13		152,772		153,693
Unrestricted general funds			1,249,358		1,152,141
			────────		────────
			1,402,130		1,305,834
			════════		════════

The directors are responsible for ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records which comply with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006 and for preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its result for each year in accordance with the requirements of section 396 of the Act and which otherwise comply with its requirements, so far as applicable to the charitable company.

The directors acknowledge their responsibility for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and for the preparation of accounts.

For the financial year 31 December 2020 the charitable company was entitled to exemption under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. No members have required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.

The accounts were approved by the Board on 23 September 2021

.............................. Professor Philip Meredith (Chairman) Council

Company Registration No. 01002955

13

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

1 Legal status of charitable company

Alpine Club Library is a charitable company, limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. The charitable company’s registered number and registered office can be found in the Council’s report.

In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £5 per member of the charity.

2 Accounting policies

2.1 Basis of preparation

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Alpine Club Library meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s). There are no material uncertainties about Alpine Club Library’s ability to continue as a going concern. This conclusion takes into account the financial effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) the charity is claiming exemption from the requirement to prepare a cash flow statement on account of it being a small charity.

The functional currency of the charity is pounds sterling. Items are rounded to the nearest pound.

2.2 Income

Income is derived from the promotion, support and maintenance of a mountaineering library.

Primary income generating activities being the sale of duplicate books, the sale of reproduction rights for photographs, commissions from painting sales alongside donations. Income from these activities is recognised when the proceeds are realised.

All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

Investment income is accounted for when receivable.

2.3 Expenditure

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis with the irrecoverable element of VAT included with the item of expense to which it relates.

Charitable activity costs are those costs incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity.

Governance costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity and include independent examination fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity. These are shown within support costs.

14

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

2 Accounting policies

2.4 Fund accounting

Funds held by the charity are either:

Restricted funds – these are funds subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the accounts.

Unrestricted funds – these are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the Members of Council.

2.5 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

Depreciation is provided on tangible fixed assets in use at rates to calculated to write off the cost of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows:

Fixtures, fittings & equipment Over 4 years

No depreciation has been provided on the paintings, as the directors consider that the nature of these assets can only appreciate in value.

2.6

Investments

Investments are included at fair value at the balance sheet date. Any gain or loss on revaluation is taken to the Statement of Financial Activities.

2.7 Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discounts offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

2.8 Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments. The trustees seek to use short term deposits where possible to maximise the return on monies held at the bank and to manage cash flow.

2.9

Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably.

2.10 Cash Flow Statement

In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) the charity is claiming exemption from the requirement to prepare a cash flow statement on account of it being a small charity.

2.11 Foreign currency

Assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Day to day transactions in foreign currencies are initially recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing on the dates of the transactions. Exchange differences are taken into account in arriving at the operating result.

2.12 Estimates and judgements

Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed by trustees on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised.

The trustees do not consider that there are any critical estimates or areas of judgement that need to be brought to the attention of the readers of the financial statements.

15

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

3 Taxation

The charitable company is registered as a charity and all of its income falls within the exemptions under Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010.

4 Comparative funds – Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 December 2019

		Unrestricted	Restricted	Total
		Funds	Funds	2019
		£	£	£
	Income from:
	Donations and legacies	230	37,500	37,730
	Other trading activities	23,361	-	23,361
	Investment income	35,486	-	35,486
		────────	────────	────────
	Total income	59,077	37,500	96,577
		────────	────────	────────
	Expenditure on:
	Raising funds	2,741	153	2,894
	Charitable activities
	Library operation	57,201	3,585	60,786
		────────	────────	────────
	Total expenditure	59,942	3,738	63,680
		────────	────────	────────
	Net losses on investments	121,444	3,544	124,988
		────────	────────	────────
	Net movement in funds	120,579	37,306	157,885
	Reconciliation of funds
	Total funds brought forward	1,031,562	116,387	1,147,949
		────────	────────	────────
	Total funds carried forward	1,152,141	153,693	1,305,834
		════════	════════	════════
5	Investment income
			2020	2019
			£	£
	Income from listed investments		32,608	35,486
			────────	────────
			32,608	35,486
			════════	════════

16

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED)

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

6	Expenditure
		Staff	Other	Total	Total
		costs	costs	2020	2019
		£	£	£	£
	Raising funds
	Investment management fees	-	2,024	2,024	2,894
	Charitable activities
	Library operation:
	Activities undertaken directly	33,060	24,102	57,162	58,386
	Support costs	-	3,000	3,000	2,400
		────────	────────	────────	───────
	Total charitable activities	33,060	27,102	60,162	60,786
		────────	────────	────────	───────
	Total expenditure	33,060	29,126	62,186	63,680
		════════	════════	════════	═══════

Support costs include governance costs which comprise payments to the independent examiner of £3,000 for independent examination services (2019: £2,400).

7 Members Of Council

No Trustees received any remuneration during the year. During the year two trustees were reimbursed travel and subsistence expenditure totalling £107 (2019: one trustee was reimbursed travel expenditure totalling £714).

8 Employees

Number of employees

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

	2020	2019
	Number	Number
Administration staff	1	1
	═══════	═══════
Employment costs	2020	2019
	£	£
Wages and salaries	33,060	33,125
	───────	───────
	33,060	33,125
	═══════	═══════

There were no employees whose annual remuneration was £60,000 or more in 2020 or 2019. The trustees are the key management and were not remunerated during the period or previous year.

17

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

9 Tangible fixed assets

9	Tangible fixed assets
		Paintings	Fixtures,	Total
			fittings &
			equipment
		£	£	£
	Cost
	At 1 January 2020	100,000	3,004	103,004
		───────	───────	───────
	At 31 December 2020	100,000	3,004	103,004
		───────	───────	───────
	Depreciation
	At 1 January 2020	-	3,004	3,004
	Charge for the year	-	-	-
		───────	───────	───────
	At 31 December 2020	-	3,004	3,004
		───────	───────	───────
	Net book value
	At 31 December 2020	100,000	-	100,000
		═══════	═══════	═══════
	At 31 December 2019	100,000	-	100,000
		═══════	═══════	═══════
10	Fixed asset investments
				Listed
				investments
				£
	Fair value at 1 January 2020			1,134,321
	Disposals at opening book value			(229,615)
	Acquisitions at cost			206,474
	Change in value in the year			129,275
				───────
	Fair value at 31 December 2020			1,240,455
				═══════
	The investment assets are held:
	In the UK			835,574
	Outside the UK			404,881
				───────
				1,240,455
				═══════
	Historical cost:
	At 31 December 2020			827,307
				═══════
	At 31 December 2019			879,744
				═══════

18

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY (LIMITED BY GUARANTEE) NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

10 Fixed asset investments

( continued)

Gains on investment assets totalling £74,873 (2019: £124,988) are shown in the Statement of Financial Activities comprising a loss on disposal of investments of £54,402 (2019: £309) and unrealised gains on investments of £129,275 (2019: £125,297).

11	Debtors	2020	2019
		£	£
	Other debtors	6,571	5,833
		═══════	═══════
12	Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	2020	2019
		£	£
	Trade creditors	15,315	17,283
	Accruals	3,000	3,000
		───────	───────
		18,315	20,283
		═══════	═══════

13 Restricted funds

The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes:

	Balance at				Balance at
	1 January	Incoming	Resources	Gains/	31
	2020	resources	expended	(losses)	December
					2020
	£	£	£	£	£
Himalayan Index
Fund	4,186	167	(10)	382	4,720
Acquisition Fund	10,980	437	(27)	1,003	12,381
Librarian Fund	38,527	1,187	(6,738)	2,726	35,702
Pictures &
Preservation Fund	100,000	-	-	-	100,000
	───────	───────	───────	───────	───────
	153,693	1,791	(6,775)	4,111	152,820
	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════	═══════

19

(LIMITED BY GUARANTEE)

ALPINE CLUB LIBRARY

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (CONTINUED)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

13 Restricted funds

(continued)

The Himalayan Index Fund is used to maintain the charity's database which stores data on ascents of, and attempts on, mountains over 6,000 metres.

The Acquisition Fund is used to facilitate the purchase, at short notice, any special item which comes on the market.

The Librarian Fund is used to fund one day a week of the staff costs of the permanent librarian.

The Pictures and Preservation Fund relates to 3 specific Ruskin paintings donated by Dr Charles Warren.

14 Analysis of net assets between funds

Analysis of net assets between funds
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total
	funds	funds
	£	£	£
Fund balances at 31 December 2020 are represented by:
Tangible fixed assets	-	100,000	100,000
Investments	1,240,455	-	1,240,455
Current assets	25,400	54,590	79,990
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	(16,545)	(1,770)	(18,315)
	───────	───────	───────
	1,249,310	152,820	1,402,130
	═══════	═══════	═══════
	Unrestricted	Restricted	Total
	funds	funds
	£	£	£
Fund balances at 31 December 2019 are represented by:
Tangible fixed assets	-	100,000	100,000
Investments	1,134,321	-	1,134,321
Current assets	35,813	55,983	91,796
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	(17,993)	(2,290)	(20,283)
	───────	───────	───────
	1,152,141	153,693	1,305,834
	═══════	═══════	═══════

15 Related parties

The Alpine Club is a related party to the charity as it has the power to appoint 5 members of the council of the Alpine Club Library.

During the year the charity paid rent & services of £17,500 to the Alpine Club (2019: £17,500). The Alpine Club made donations to the charity during the year of £17,500 (2019 £17,500). At the balance sheet date the Alpine Club Library owed £9,459 (2019: £11,450) to the Alpine Club.

16 Control

The charity is under the control of the board of trustees. No one member has overall control.

20