2025-03-31-accounts - Ross Of Mull Historical Centre (SCIO)

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

APPENDIX 1 OSCR Period start date Month Year Apnl 2024 Period end date Month Year March 2025 Da Da 31 From To S(ottish Charity Regulator Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator Reference and administration details Charity name other names charity is known by Registered charity number Charity's principal address The Ross of Mull Historical Centre lonad Eachdraidh an Rois Mhuilich SC030873 Millbrae Cottage Bunessan Isle of Mull ARGYLL Postcode PA67 6DG Names of the charity trustees on date of approval of Trustees, Annual Report Trustee name Office (rf any) Dates acted rf not for whole year Name of person (or body) entitled to point trustee (if any) Board of Trustees Membership at members meetings {AGM) Treasurer 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

APPENDIX 1 Reference and administration details Names of all other charity trustees during the period. if any. (for example, those who resigned parl way through the financial period) Name Dates acted rf not for whole year Structure, governance and management Type of governing document Consts'tution under SCIO Trustee recruitment and appointment Under our nStItUtion. a member can be appointed I reappointed (trustees are required to retire from office at the AGM, but are eligible for reappointment at the AGM) as a trustee by the membership at the Annual General Meeting. The Board of Trustees may at any time appoint a non-member of the organisation on the basis that helshe has specialist experience andlor skills which could be of assistance to the board. Objectives and activities Charitable purposes The or8anisation's piw)oses are to proinote the advanceinent of lieritage, science and ediicatioll by the sttidy, display alld proniotio of the cultural bistory ]d llatural enviroi]lliellt of the Ross of Mull. Summary of the main activities in relation to these objects The Historical Celltre, located ill Bi]nessan, is open to visitoi's fi'om April / May to October, with more limited openillg durllig the wintei. It has a museilln and display area, provides historical, cidttwal. natural ellvironmellt alld visitor illfonllatioll for the Ross of Miill. has a collection of local artefacts and pliotographs, a refffl.ence libi.ary (illcliidillg Gaelic books) and ai'chives to facilitate geiiealogy reseEllch foi. those with allcesty links to the local 'ea of Mull. The Centre also sells a nillllbei of piiblications ielevant to the area, alld has an infonnative website. The Centre grounds are used by the local people as a COll]Milty garden.

APPENDIX 1 Achievements and performance Summary of the main achievements of Ihe charity during the financial period See report below presented at the AGM Financial review Brief statement of the charity's policy on reserves NIA Details of any deficit NIA Donated facilities and services (if any) NIA

APPENDIX 1 other optional information See report below presented at the AGM Declaration The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees, report above. Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees Signature{s) OSCR wlll accept dlgftal or typed 31gnaturnJ Full name(s) Position (e.g. Chair) Treasurer Dale 01 November 2025

Trustees Report 2024-25 – presented at the Annual General Meeting 29 November 2025

The Ross of Mull Historical Centre is described on our leaflets, banners and display boards as an ‘Information Centre’ – that is, a resource for visitors. But equally important is what resources we can offer for the local community, in learning about our shared past, and in building for our future

‘Building’ is not just about stone, bricks and mortar. Nevertheless, we know that there’s necessary work to stabilize the fabric of Bunessan Mill, which is part of RoMHC’s estate and our responsibility. That has been taking up a lot of energy, so we need to report what has been done so far and what is planned.

What to do with The Old Corn Mill

In December 2023 we received the report on the condition of the ruin and proposed remedial works for the Old Corn Mill (a category C listed building adjacent to the Historical Centre) that we had commissioned of Addison Conservation and Design to draw up and that had been paid for by a generous donation. The report advised two levels of remedial work necessary to conserve the ruins. The most urgent and necessary to prevent possible collapse of parts of the walls involved replacing key lintels and removing vegetation growing in the stonework and consolidating the stonework in those affected areas. We were advised to get this work done within 2 years and the report estimated this work would cost £38,000 (plus VAT). The essential but not quite so urgent work involved further repairs to the masonry, including repointing and consolidation of the wall heads. We were advised to get this work done within 5 years and the cost for this work was estimated at £67,000 (plus VAT).

For the small charity that is RoMHC, run by volunteers and relying on donations for our day to day running costs, these sums seemed way beyond reach. The money that had been donated to pay for the report was also for a community consultation to gauge the interest and support of the local community into developing the mill for community use. Our focus in 2024 then was two-fold - to run a community consultation and to scope the grant giving world for funds for pay for the repairs. The community consultation took place in the summer of 2024. We hired , an independent built heritage consultant to consult the community during June and July using a survey and drop-in event on whether we should fully repair the mill and bring it back into use. She delivered her report in October 2024. The summary of the report was that there was support within the local community for a project that brings the mill back into use and support for a variety of new uses.

The next step would be fundraising for an Options Appraisal and Feasibility Study. One question on the survey asked community members if they were prepared to offer practical help to the trustees to move this project further. There was quite a poor response to this question. In light of the results of the consultation the trustees decided we were not able to pursue redevelopment of the mill unless we knew we could rely on significant community practical support. So for now our focus would be the preservation of the ruins in their current state until such time that there was more community support to do more. We decided to focus on the urgent work identified in the report for our initial appeal for grants, so approached a number of organisations that we thought would be sympathetic to our cause.

The corn mill is an important part of the Ross of Mull historical legacy. It had played a significant role in the community from its origins in the mid- 18th century until it stopped operation around the time of the First World War. We weren’t looking at restoring it – that was not feasible any more since the lade that brought water to the overshot wheel had been destroyed in the 1960’s by the building of the new main road while the wheel itself and much of the internal machinery had been sold for scrap. However we did want to preserve the existing ruins and make them safe so people could walk around them and learn about how a water mill of this sort worked and the history and role in the community of this particular mill.

Making grant applications is slow, tedious and detailed work and there isn’t much funding available for repairs to old buildings. By March 2025 we had received one rejection and were in the process of pursuing another three organisations that seemed most likely to support us - The Pilgrim Trust, Historic Environment Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund. All three had approved our initial applications and we were through to more detailed project appraisals.

Developments since April 2025 .

In May 2025 The Pilgrim Trust agreed to give us £5,000. We are still waiting for confirmation of grants from Historic Environment Scotland and The Heritage Lottery Fund that would cover the rest of the estimated £50,000 needed to complete the urgent work. We are cautiously optimistic that we may be able to get the construction work done before the end of the year. During the winter months we will be working on designing interpretation boards to go in and around the mill describing its history and how it would have looked and worked in its hey-day. We are hoping that by the AGM we will have more definite word on both the grants and the work completion date.

Meanwhile, what can we report about other activities during the last financial year?

Keeping the Centre open: challenges During the year covered by this report, a small group of hands-on and hard-working Trustees maintsined a pattern of opening, where possible, belween 10 am and 4 pm each day of the working week. This season, however, it has become much more challenging to recruit volunteers to cover ten sessions of a working week. This has been due lo disabilty, the need to take paid employment, or folk moving off-island. Over this winter we need to sign up for the 2026 rota more 'time-rich' volunteers who are both interested in local history and the activities of ROMHC. Such people. and their presence to open the Centre, are a vital part of our resources. So are the artefacts and photographs which are constantly being donated - creating serious tasks of accession, storage cataloguing and display. These. besides fvnd-raising for work on the Mill, are challenges we need to address. Taking events out into the community At the same time there are achievements- including events outside the walls of the Centre. for instance, our presence year by year with a stand at the Bunessan Show, with eye-catching themes: 'Local heroes, in 2023, 'Keeping the Home Fires Burning, in 2024 and 'Waulking the Tweed, in 2025. In March 2024 an agreement on the details ofjoint working was signed with SWMID. The Community Garden has developed as an inspiring and practical use of formerly neglected land around the Centre. Several folk - including a couple of Trustees and the Ranger whose office is based in the Centre - are involved in exploring its potential. Local families and schoolchildren benefrt from this. and events like 'Wintering Well, or a 'Seed Swap, bring folk together in the open air. The AGM last year packed members into the Centre and featured a presentation by from the National Trust Rangers Team, about their current programme. which now takes in the Treshnish Isles as well as lona, the Ross and Burg, monitoring wild-life and studying land use. Such a focus helps to widen our horizons. Later in the winter we attracted audiences to Bunessan Hall - foi a lively talk by of the Place-names project on An Rois Muleach- origins, songs and stories. The Hall has also been the venue for a couple of meetings based on the Shiaba series of novels by - in which he talked about the background of the Clearances which he has brought alive by the three volumes.. Shiaba. Return to Shiaba. and Shiaba No More. In early summer this year these sessions were complemented by a Ranger- led walk out to the ruined township. These books will be available at the AGM and from our website. An eagerly-awaited talk about the Beaton clan of hereditary healers on the Ross and Brolas and their physic gardens had to be postponed because of the 1n challenges of health problems and wild weather. However the excellent book Hebridean Healers was at last launched at this end of the island, at Creich Hall. al the beginning of June 2025. with the bonus of a presentation by the four contributors, with their different specialisms. Also, at Creich Hall, monthly sessions of Remembering the Ross have included a lively talk by (speaker at this AGM with an intriguing title.. A star is born: the invention of Maculloch's fossil tree). For Remembering the Ross he described family life at Tormore and his pottery. Monthly reminiscence sessions round the fire at Creich {stOP-press- now a wood-burning stove!) on days when the library there is also open will continue, as will 'Stone Chat, sessions in the Historical Centre- telling the geological story behind pebbles picked up on the Ross by visitors and local folk. As the Cenlre opens for half a day over the winter, this will increase our capacity to meet and research genealogy enquiries from folk out-wrth Mull and local families. Both challenges and opportunitiesl As reported at our last AGM, our archive cupboard holds tapes on which (with the right technology) we could hear again the voices of folk like, already preserved by the School of Scottish Studies Kist o 'Riches. In September, asked whether he could look at our Oral History records, which was arranged. He came to the Centre with Adamh O Broin from Culture. Heritage and Arts. Argyll and the Isles. We have extensive record on cassette tapes and on CDS, none of which we can play. However these should be digitised and transcribed to paper. After discussion our visitors suggested that ROMHC should join CHARTS and it was hoped that funding would be found, with their help, to have the materials saved in accessible format. It would be good to have the capacity to listen to these in the Centre. Alasdair has also offered to help with this process. Many of the issues we try to laekle in the Trustees. regular meetings include the use of technology, not only hardware in the Centre, but also the new fibre Broadband. phones no longer on a land-line, or Paypal. or QR codes, or computers which don't connect with printers... Facing up to these challenges is important, but so are all the opportunities we have to come face to face with local folk and visitors. In this way we can be a vital part of our community.

Enter SC No. below

APPENDIX 2

Enter charity name below

SC 0308373

Ross of Mull Historical Centre

				Period start date	Period start date	Period start date	Period start date				Period end date	Period end date	Period end date	Period end date
	For the period from	01 Day		April Month			2024 Year	to	Day 31		Month March			Year 2025
Section A Statement of receipts and payments
	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds			Expendable endowment funds				Permanent endowment funds			Total funds current period			Total funds last period		Total funds last
	to nearest £	to nearest £			to nearest £				to nearest £			to nearest £		to nearest £	to nearest £		to nearest £
A1 Receipts
Donations	3,137											3	3	3,137	2	2,835
Legacies	20,000											20	20	20,000
Grants												-	-	-	650	650	650
Receipts from fundraisingactivities	1,814											1	1	1,814	2	2,549
Gross tradingreceipts												-	-	-
Income from investments other than
land and buildings												-	-	-
Rents from land & buildings	1,760											1	1	1,760
Gross receipts from other charitable
activities Argyll Lottery	553											553	553	553	880	880	880
Pettycash	206											206	206	206	671	671	671
*A1 Sub total*	A1 Sub total 27,470	-	-	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	27,470	27,470	27,470	7,585	7,585
A2 Receipts from asset &
investment sales
Proceeds from sale of fixed assets Proceeds from sale of investments A2 Sub total - - - Total receipts 27,470 - - ~~—~~									- -	- -	- -	- - - 27,470	- - - 27,470	- - - 27,470	- 7,585	- 7,585
A3 Payments
Expenses for fundraising activities	14,558											14	14	14,558	12,065
Gross trading payments												-	-	-
Investment management costs												-	-	-
Payments relating directly to charitable	Payments relating directly to charitable
activities												-	-	-
Grants and donations
												-	-	-
Governance costs:
												-	-	-
Audit / independent examination												-	-	-
Preparation of annual accounts												-	-	-
Legal costs												-	-	-
Other	Other
												-	-	-
												-	-	-
**A3 Sub total **	14,558	-	-	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	14,558	14,558	14,558	12,065
A4 Payments relating to asset and
investment movements
Purchases of fixed assets - Purchase of investments - A4 Sub total - - - - - - Total payments 14,558 - - - 14,558 12,065 ~~——————~~
*Net receipts / (payments)* A5 Transfers to / (from) funds *Surplus / (deficit) for year*	12,912 - - 12,912 - - ~~———~~										- -			12,912 - 12,912	( (	4,480) 4,480) (

APPENDIX 2

Ross of Mull Historical Centre

SC 0308373

Section B Statement of balances

Details	Unrestricted funds to nearest £ 24,091 12,912	Restricted funds to nearest £	Expendable endowment funds to nearest £	Permanent endowment funds to nearest £	Total current period to nearest £	Total last period to nearest £
Cash and bank balances at start of year					24,091	27,701
Surplus / (deficit) shown on receipts and payments account					12,912	4,481
					-
					-
Cash and bank balances at end of year (Agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details	37,003	-	-	-	37,003	32,182
	-	-	- Fund to which	- asset belongs	- Market valuation to nearest £	8,961
						Last year to nearest £





Details		Fund to which	asset belongs	Total Cost (if available) to nearest £	-	-
					Current value (if available) to nearest £	Last year to nearest £









Details			Total - Fund to which liability relates	-	-	-
					Amount due to nearest £	Last year to nearest £





Details			Total Fund to which liability relates		-	-
					Amount due (estimate) to nearest £	Last year to nearest £



Signature*			Total Print Name		-	-
						Date of approval
						##############

/ Statement of balances

December 2007

APPENDIX 2

Ross of Mull Historical Centre

SC 0308373

Section C Notes to the Accounts

C1 Nature and purpose of funds (may be stated on analysis of funds worksheets)

C2 Grants

C3a Trustee remuneration

Type of activity or project supported	Number of grants made £	Number of grants made £





	Total	-

If no remuneration was paid during the period to any charity trustee or person connected to a trustee cross this box (otherwise complete section 3b)
Authority under which paid		£

C3b Trustee remuneration - details

C4a Trustee expenses

If no expenses were paid to any charity trustee during the period then cross this box (otherwise complete section 4b)

C4b Trustee expenses - details

C5 Transactions with trustees and connected persons

	Nature of transaction	Number of trustees £	Number of trustees £





Nature of relationship		Transaction amount (£) Balance outstanding at period end (£)

C6 Other information

/ Notes

December 2007

APPENDIX2 l Not8S Dec8mber 2007

APPENDIX 2

Ross of Mull Historical Centre

SC 030837

Additional analysis (1)

Analysis of receipts and payments

1 Donations

1 Donations
	Unrestricted funds to nearest £	Restricted funds to nearest £	Expendable endowment funds to nearest £	Permanent endowment funds to nearest £	Total current period to nearest £	Total last period to nearest £
	3,137				3,137	2,035
					-
					-
					-
Total	3,137	-	-	-	3,137	2,035
	-	-	-	-	-	reference

2 Grants

2 Grants
	Unrestricted funds to nearest £	Restricted funds to nearest £	Total current period to nearest £	Total last period to nearest £
			-
			-
			-
			-
Total	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	reference

3 Gross receipts from other charitable activities

	Unrestricted funds to nearest £	Restricted funds to nearest £	Expendable endowment funds to nearest £	Permanent endowment funds to nearest £	Total current period to nearest £	Total last period to nearest £
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
Total	-	-	-	-	-	-
	reference error	-	-	-	reference error	reference error

4 Payments relating directly to charitable activities

	Unrestricted funds to nearest £	Restricted funds to nearest £	Expendable endowment funds to nearest £	Permanent endowment funds to nearest £	Total current period to nearest £	Total last period to nearest £
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
					-
Total	-	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-	-

Additional notes (1)

December 2007

APPENDIX 2

SC 0308373

Additional analysis (2)

Receipts 5 Breakdown of unrestricted funds	Unrestricted fund 1 - enter name of fund below	Unrestricted fund 2 - enter name of fund below	Unrestricted fund 3 - enter name of fund below	Unrestricted fund 4 - enter name of fund below	Total unrestricted funds	Total unrestricted funds last period
Donations					-
Legacies					-
Grants					-
Receipts from fundraisingactivities					-
Gross tradingreceipts					-
Income from investments other than land and buildings					-
Rents from land & buildings					-
Gross receipts from other charitable activities					-
*Sub total* Receipts from asset & investment sales	-	-	-	-	-	-
					cross ref error
Proceeds from sale of fixed assets					-
Proceeds from sale of investments					-
*Sub total* *Total receipts* Payments	-	-	-	-	-	-
	-	-	-	-	-	-
					cross ref error
Expenses for fundraisingactivities					-
Gross trading payments					-
Investment management costs					-
Payments relatingdirectlyto charitable activities					-
Grants and donations					-
Governance costs:					-
Audit / independent examination					-
Preparation of annual accounts					-
Legal costs					-
					-
					-
*Sub total* Payments relating to asset and investment movements	-	-	-	-	-	-
					cross ref error
Purchases of fixed assets					-
Purchase of investments					-
*Sub total* *Total payments* *Net receipts / (payments)* Transfers to / (from) funds *Surplus / (deficit) for year*	-	-	-	-	-	-
					-
	-	-	-	-	-	-
					cross ref error
	-	-	-	-	-	-

					-

	-	-	-	-	-	-
					cross ref error
Nature andpurpose of funds

Additional notes (2)

December 2007

APPENDIX 3

Report to the trustees/members of

Independent examiner’s report on the accounts

Charity name

The Ross of Mull Historical Centre

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|||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |Registered charity|SC030673| |number| |On the accounts of the|Period start date|Period end date| |charity for the period|Day|Month|Year|Day|Month|Year| |01|April|2024|to|31|March|2025| |Set out on pages|(remember to include the page| |numbers of additional sheets)| |Respective| |The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance| |responsibilities of| |with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) 2005 Act and the| |trustees and examiner| |Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). The charity trustees| |consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the Accounts Regulations| |does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section| |44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.| |Basis of independent|My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the 2006 Accounts| |examiner’s statement|Regulations. 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 seeks| |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, I do| |not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.| |Independent examiner’s|In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention [other than that| |statement|disclosed on the attached page]| |1.|which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the| |requirements:| |•|to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and| |Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and| |•|to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with| |Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations| |have not been met, or| |2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper| |understanding of the accounts to be reached.| |Signed*:| |Name:| |Relevant professional| |qualification(s) or body| |(if any):| |Address:|

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*Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply. If the words do apply, set out those matters which have come to your attention on the following page.

** OSCR will accept digital or typed signatures

APPENDIX 3 Disclosure section Only complete rf the examiner needs to highlight material problems. Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose