## CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS LIMITED 

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022 

Registered Company No: 2050251 

Registered Charity No: 518768 



## CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS LIMITED 

## COMPANY INFORMATION 

## REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS 

Registered Company number                                                                                          Registered Charity number 2050251 (England and Wales) 518768 

Registered ofce 3d London Road Liverpool England L3 8HR 

Trustees A Clarkson G Eyres N J Fry V E Hargen J Jackson A Longfield S H Parrington J R Phillips C N Potts F H Roochove I T Sanderson E Stringfellow 

Bankers CAF Bank Ltd 25 Kings Hill Avenue Kings Hill West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ 

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CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS LIMITED Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 December 2022 

The trustees, who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2022. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities' issued in March 2005. 

## STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT 

## Governing document 

The company was formally established as a company limited by guarantee and registered charity in 1986. 

## Inducton and training of new trustees 

Appointment of trustees can be for various reasons. The original trustees were elected from various groups to provide a fair representation to all. Additional trustees have been appointed for their specific knowledge or expertise following an interview. All new trustees are provided with a comprehensive set of induction materials. 

## Organisatonal structure 

The trustees govern the affairs of the Charity. The Charity’s patron is the Marquess of Cholmondeley, KCVO. 

The trustees, who are also directors, are listed on page one. 

## Risk management 

The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. 

## Reserves Policy 

The board of trustees has agreed to hold a reserve amounting to no more than 20% of anticipated turnover during the year of the main production except where monies are held for specific purposes.  This is to support cashflow, particularly during the 12 months prior to the scheduled production. 

## OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES 

To safeguard, promote and produce the Chester Mystery Plays and to ensure their continued production and relevance to today’s audience. 

The Company’s principal objective is, therefore, to produce the Chester Mystery Plays every five years working with theatre professionals and members of the community to provide high quality productions for local, regional, national, and international audiences. 

In shaping our objectives for the year, and planning our activities, the trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit, including the guidance on public benefit and fee charging.  The Charity relies on grants and the income from ticket sales to cover its operating costs.  In setting the level of fees, charges and concessions, the trustees consider the accessibility of the plays for those on low incomes. 

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## CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS LIMITED Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 December 2022 

Chester's original 24 Mystery Play texts form the most complete Cycle of Mystery Plays in existence. Written in the early 14th century by the monastic scholars of the Abbey of St Werburgh (now Chester Cathedral), they were produced regularly by local Guilds until the 17th century. They were then revived in 1951 and have been produced (at least) every five years since. The Chester Mystery Plays bring alive an extraordinary medieval heritage  engaging  community  participation,  local  audiences,  and  visitors  in  a  revival  of  the  tradition established by our medieval forefathers. The last main production, the 15th in the modern era, was in 2018 and preparations are well underway for the next main production to be held 28 June to 15 July 2023. Planning 

to  date  has  included  agreeing  a  venue  (Chester  Cathedral)  and  dates,  making  preliminary  funding applications, reviewing education activity, and confirming key production appointments. 

## FINANCIAL REVIEW 

At the end of 2022 reserves were £97,740 .  The company is well placed as it enters the next cycle with the main production planned for 2023. 

## STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES 

The trustees (who are also the directors of Chester Mystery Plays Limited for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. 

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the situation of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period.  In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to 

- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently; 

- observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP; 

- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; 

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

The  trustees  are  responsible  for  keeping  proper  accounting  records  which  disclose  with  reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. 

## ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD : 

## **I T Sanderson** 

IT Sanderson – Chairman 

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## CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS LIMITED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES 

## FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022 

|INCOMING RESOURCES<br>Notes<br>Voluntary income<br>Educaton project<br>2<br>Investment Income<br>Merchandise<br>Sundry income<br>Friends’ income<br>Total Incoming Resources<br>RESOURCES EXPENDED<br>Charitable actvites<br>Festval expenditure<br>Educaton project (Passion)<br>Publicity & Advertsing (Marketng)<br>Governance costs<br>NET (EXPENDITURE)/INCOME<br>FOR YEAR<br>Total funds brought forward<br>Total funds carried forward|Unrestricted<br>Funds<br>2022<br>£<br>28,000<br>-<br>221<br>-<br>-<br>3,683<br>31,904<br>26,325<br>1,250<br>6,267<br> 176<br>34,018<br>(2,114)<br>99,854<br>97,740|Unrestricted<br>Funds<br>2022<br>£<br>28,000<br>-<br>221<br>-<br>-<br>3,683<br>31,904<br>26,325<br>1,250<br>6,267<br> 176<br>34,018<br>(2,114)<br>99,854<br>97,740|Unrestricted<br>Funds<br>2021<br>£<br>29,210<br>-<br>186<br>25<br>-<br>2,595<br>32,016<br>9,064<br>-<br>1,080<br> 131<br>10,275<br>21,741<br>78,153<br>99,854|Unrestricted<br>Funds<br>2021<br>£<br>29,210<br>-<br>186<br>25<br>-<br>2,595<br>32,016<br>9,064<br>-<br>1,080<br> 131<br>10,275<br>21,741<br>78,153<br>99,854|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||



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## CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS LIMITED 

(Registered number 2050251) 

## BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2022 

||Notes|Unrestricted|Unrestricted|
|---|---|---|---|
|||Funds|Funds|
|||2022|2021|
|||£|£|
|CURRENT ASSETS||||
|Debtors|4|-|-|
|Cash at Bank||97,740|99,854|
|||97,740|99,854|
|CREDITORS||||
|Amounts falling due within one||||
|year|5|<br>-|<br>-|
|NET ASSETS||97,740|99,854|
|Represented by:||||
|Reserves||97,740|99,854|



The company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 December 2022. 

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006. 

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for: 

- (a) ensuring that the company keeps accounting records which comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and 

- (b) preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the situation of the company as at the end of each financial year and of its profit or loss for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the company. 

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies and with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effective April 2008). 

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 28 February 2023 and were signed on its behalf by: 

## **I T Sanderson** 

IT Sanderson – Director 

## **G J Eyres** 

G Eyres – Director 

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## CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS LIMITED NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022 

## 1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES 

## Accountng conventon 

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, and in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (effect April 2008), the Charities Act 1993 and the requirements of the Statement of Recommended Practice, Accounting and Reporting by Charities. 

## Incoming resources 

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

## Resources expended 

Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category.  Where costs cannot be directly attributed to headings, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. 

## Taxaton 

The charity is exempt from tax on its charitable activities. 

## Fund accountng 

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees. 

Restricted funds can only be used for restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. 

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements. 

## 2. VOLUNTARY INCOME 

Donations received including the following: 

|Donations received including the following:||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||2022||2021||
|Mercers||5,000||-||
|CWAC||5,000||5,000||
|CWAC(Covid-19)||-||4,300||
|Meganne Gwynne Jones Trust||10,000||-||
|Peter Spiers||750||-||
|Earl of Chester||5,000||10,000||
|Manleys Solicitors||250||-||
|Gwen Appleton Trust||-|<br>|4,910||
|Press Leakage Control Services Ltd||1,000||-||
|Zoom Trust||1,000||-||
|||28,000||29,210||



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## CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS LIMITED 

## NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022 

## 3. TRUSTEES REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS 

There were no Trustees remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 December 2022 nor for the year ended 31 December 2021. 

No trustee expenses were paid during the year (2022: £NIL). 

## 4. DEBTORS 

|4.<br>DEBTORS|||
|---|---|---|
|Prepayments<br>5.<br>CREDITORS<br>Accruals|2022<br>£<br>-<br>2022<br>£<br>-|2021<br>£<br>-|
|||2021<br>£<br>-|



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