AYRSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
TRUSTEES, ANNUAL REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2026
Management
The Chairperson, S8cr8tary and Treasurer, who are the Truste8s for charity law, have plèasure in
presenting the Report for thè year ending 31st January 2026 as follows..
Contacl and Address
lo lan Holland. 41 East Park Road. Ayr, KA8 9JF
Objectlves
The Society's objectives ar8:
to promote an interest in heritage, culture and onvironment particularly of and within Ayrshir8
by..
enojuraging thè sludy of the8e subjects and stimulating r8s8arch;
holding regular meetings arKI organising 8xcursions,-
promoting the cons8rvation of the heritage of Ayrshire.,
publlshing regularly material rela18d to th8s8 obl8Ctives:
co-operating with any other organisalionls) as may be appropriate.
Constltutlon
The Society is a Scottlsh Charlty, Number SCOH758. and18 governed by the con8titullon
18St revised and adopted at the Extraordlnary General Meeting held on Thursday 9 Octobèr
2014.
Curront Management Commfttee
ChairlPresidenl & Trustee
Mr Rob Clos8
Vicé Pr8sident & Trustee
Mr Dènis Rattenbury
Secretsry
Vacant
Treasurer & Trustee
Mr lan Holland
Minutès Secretsry
Katherin8 Scott
Excursions Convenor
Vacant
Lectures Secretary
Mr Billy Young
Publlcations Convenor
Vacant
Publications Committee
M6ssrs Dan8 Love and Billy Young
Ordinary Members
Mrs Merry Graham, Ms Nora So18sbury, and Messrs Robèrt
Beaton, Gordon Higgs, Dane Love, Laurèn Mltchell and Alan
Macfarlane
Two Convenorshlps are at present unfilled. Mr James Brown demitted the office of Presld8nt
forhealth reasons and the previous incumbent, Mr Rob Close. took ovèra5 President leaving
th8 S8cretary position va¢ant. Mr Simon Glendenning 18ft the committ8è du8 to other
commitments and Alan Macfarlane and Lauren Mirthell were co-opted to the Committe8.
M8mb8rs of thè Management Committee are el8ct8d at th8 Annual Gèn8ral M88ting èach
year and a member can serve for a maximum period of thr88 years b8foro standing for r8-
election. Th8 Manag8m8nt Committee elect from their members persons lo act as
Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer. Thgir tenur8 of office is the same as for the other
members of the Management Committee. These three positions then become the Trust88S
for the Society.
The Annual General M88ting was held on 8 October 2026 at an in-pèrsonlon4ine meeting.
Poge1 of8

AYRSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
TRUSTEES. ANNUAL REPORT (continued)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2026
Management
The Management Committee, who hold r8gular m8etings. are respjnsible for the strategic
direction and govemance of S(Kiety. They 98n8ralty control the acttvilies of the Society
and have a general r8spcffisibilty to saf8guard th8 assèts 01 the Soci8ty.
Actlvltles
In order to achieve the S￿lety's aims, relevant lectur88 are hèld ovèr the wlntèr season,
r818vant excursions are held over the summer season and monographs are produced on
rel8vant subjects. The lectures and excursK)rts are op8n to members of the publlc.
The mnographs, on topics r8levant to Ayrshire, are publish8d at a minimum rat8 ol one por
year and are free to members.
"Ayrshire Not68" are published twice yoarty in o)niunction with Ayrnhiro Fod6ration of
Historical Societies and are free as downloads from our website. A small number are
published In paper fonn for those members who do not use th8 intemot.
Achlovem8nts and Perfomiance
The Society continued to meet this year through In-peraon and on4ine meetings at a new
venue. Using the "hybnd- meeting has allowed our ovepJ8as members to join our m88ting.
We continu8 to hav8 reciprocal arrangements with the Dumfries & Galloway Natural History
and Antiquarian SOc￿ty through Zoom and our publications. This has now been extended
and we have a Zoom armgement with the Kirkcudbright History S[￿lety. These have be8n
most successful. A Zoom meeting can easily have between 40 and 70 attendees which is
comparabl8 with our pre¥￿u3 ￿￿(Son me8ting8.
We are receiving a positivè response regarding the subject matters of the lectures and the
stsndard of our publications. We have r8tumed to havirwJ Summer Excursions l)ut to kxal
locations and these were w811 attended.
We are now advertising through thè Scottish Local History Forum and through Nielsen, our
ISBN contacl. Our moncgraph publication sales have greauy increased following the
publications on Ayr, Arran and on Gallipoli.
We have ￿ntinUed to scan a numb8r of our old8r out-of-print monograph8 and ￿llectionS
and have upk)aded them to our new website. Lik8v￿Se. we have uploaded all ol our
Ayrshire Notes. Also uploaded, are publicatic￿$ from the PreV￿uS organisalion
th8
Ayrshire and Galloway Arthaeolog￿l Associat￿. This will make tham more readily
available to the general public. Th8r8 has b8en an increasé in website visits and this has
resulted in more sales of our aValab￿ publutions. It has also resulted in new m8mbefS.
We now have a Fac0t)￿k presence whith holds Upt￿date infomation for our members and
other intef8Sted parties.
Pffje2(rf1

AYRSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
TRUSTEES. ANNUAL REPORT (conb'nued)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2026
Flnanclal Rev*w
The main sources of our funding are ftom memberships and from sales of publications.
The Receipts exceeded the Payments in lh8 year by £2,615, increasing our totsl liquid funds
balance to £18,920. The reason for the incr8ase is that had then all the equipment required
for the hybrid Tneetings. We also have missed onè publicat￿￿ of one of out mon(yraphs due
to a hiatus in wtential subl￿ts. W8 have also started getting retums from people and
instituttons accessing pubiication. Our Bank investment has also given us £534 in
interest.
We have a commitment to reducing our expenditure wh8rever possible. As such we are
moving to rTh)re use of emails and to FacebcK)k. We have had to post out most of our
publications this year resulting in an increase in postage wsts. However, we still managed
to save over £3C(l in postage costs by hand delivering publications v4h8re possible. We at
present operate a current account with Virgin Mon8y and there continues to be a Temi
Deposit Account with them.
Res•rv•s Policy
The Management Committee's is to maintain ￿elVeS at a lov81 ￿lch WFII allow the
Society to tske advantage of any publishing opportunities which may arise from time to time.
Accordingty, the Trustees expect to maintain reserves at a minimum equtvalent of 12 months
expendtiur8. The ￿J[rent r8serv8s méet this critemn.
10.
Plans for Future Periods
The Management Commttie8 is keen to publish m(x)ographs relevant to Ayrshire but
oCCas￿nal￿ there is the potential to publish a series of related monographs into a larger
publication. We are awaiting potsntial publication of an archaeological investKJation.
Previously we published a similar article in an A4 layout and we would like to do the same
here. This y￿uld be in place of our normal A5 publications. We also have a number of
FQtential mons)3raphs whKh are pn)gressing towards publication stag8.
The Socioty is continuirvJ to upjate its new %￿bSite and are commttted to keeping the
Facebook page up to date and interesting. The numb8rs accessing our si18s havè increased
and we have gained new members through these media. We have also increased our local
advertising.
We have f(xJThY that recenty that a￿eMic$ are now approaching us to publish their articles
though our system which means that we are being seen as the publish8rs of up-to4at8 and
reliable artides. By using Zwm we have increased the F()tential for new speakers from
further afield. It is our intention to C(￿￿.nUe to make use of this additional facility.
The Committee also intend to attempt to reath a wider field of intsrest for our publications.
P￿e5￿8

AYRSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
TRUSTEES, ANNUAL REPORT (continued)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2026
11.
Statement of Trustee's Responslbllltles
The Trustees must prepare financial statements vthich give sufficient detail to enable an
appreciation of the transactions of the Society during the financial year. The Trustees are
responsible for the keeping of proper accounting records which, on r8quest. must reflect the
financial position of the Society at that tim8. This must be done to ensure that the financial
statements comply with the Charities and Trustee Investrnent {Scodand) Act 2005, and the
Charities Accounts (Scouand) Regulations 2006. They are responsible for safeguarding the
assets of the Society and must take reasonable steps for the prevention andlor d8tection of
fraud and oth8r irrègularities.
Approved by the Management Committee and signéd on their behalf by:
lan Holland
Treasurer
Date
9 April 2026
Pap4of8

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2026
Independent Examin•rfs Report to tho Trusloos of Ayrshir• Archaoological and Natural
Hlstory Soclety
I report on the financral statements of the Society for th8 year ending 31 st January 2026, which ar8
Set out on pages 6 to 8.
Respectlve responslbllltles of Trusteos and Examlner
The Socievs Management Committ88 ar8 r8sponsiblè for the preparation of the accounts in
accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trust88s Inv8stmenl (Scotlandl Acl 2005 Ilhe 2005
Act.) and the Charitles Accounts (Scotland) R8gulatlons 2006 {as amended) 1.the 2006
Regulations.). Thè charity's Management Committ88 considar that the audit requirement of
Regulation 1011)(dl of the 2006 Regulations does nol apply. It18 my responsibility to examine the
accounts 88 required und8r sectlon 44 (1)(c) of the 2005 Act and to 8tat8 wh6t￿r partlcular matters
have come to my attèntion.
Basis of tha Independent ExamIn•￿$ Statement
My examination is carrled out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the 2006 Regulations. An
examination includes a réview of the accounting records kept by tha socièty arKI a comparison of
the accounts presented with those records. 11 also includes consideration of any unusual items or
disclosurés in the accounts and seeks explanations from the Management Committee conceming
any such matters. Th8 procedures undertaken do not provide all th8 8vid8nce that would be required
In an audit. and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by Ihe accounts.
Independent Examlnorf$ Staloment
In conn8Ctbn with my examinatlon, no matter has come to my attentlon..
which gives m8 reasonabl8 Cause to belleve that, In any material r88pect, the r8qulr8ment8.'
to keep accountlng r8cords In accordance wlth Section 44 (1)(a) of th8 2005 Act arKI
Regulation 4 of th8 2006 Règulations. and
to prepar8 accounts which accord with the accounting records and r￿mplY wlth
Regulation 9 of the 2006 R8gulations have not been met. or
to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn In order to enable a proper understanding
of the accounts to be reached.
Alastair Fyall
Signed:
Dand8rln
Craigend Road
TROON
KA10 7LE
Datsd:
23.d
202ts
P￿8$of3

AYRSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2026
UnrestriGl8d
Funds
Restrtt•d
Funds
2025126
Total
2024/25
Total
Receipts
Voluntary Receipts..
Donations
Socials
425
425
67
425
425
67
Re￿Ipts fiDm Charitable
Acts'vities..
Publication Sales
Memberships
Excursions
Bank Int6r8st
Other Income
Grft Aid
1,873
2,330
1,873
2,330
3,404
2,232
534
330
559
559
353
Total Receipts
5,721
5,721
6,387
Payments
Cost of Charitable Activits8s
Social Events
Govemance Costs
(3,106)
(3,106)
{5.3851
Total Payments
(3,106)
(3,1061
(5,385)
Net Receipts l (Payments) for
the year before transfers
Transfers between funds
2,615
2.615
1.001
Surplus l (Deficit) for the year
2,615
2,615
1.001
The Notes ¢Jn page 8 form an integral part of these accounts
Po986of8

AYRSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
STATEMENT OF BALANCES
AT 31 JANUARY 2026
2025r26
Total
2024r25
Total
FwKts
Funds
Funds Reconciliation
Bank Balan￿S at 31 January 2025
Surplus l (Deficit) for y8ar
16,304
2.615
16,304
2,615
16.800
1,001
Bank Balances at 31 January 2026
18.920
18,920
17.801
Bank Balances
Currènt Account
DeF#)Sit A￿OUnt
PayPal Account
5.524
13.395
S.524
13,395
5,471
12.330
Bank Balances at 31 January 2026
18,919
18,919
17,801
Other Assets
Nominal valu8 of Books, Maps, Tubes
Liabilities
All liabilities were settled befor8 the year end
The Notes on page 8 fomi an integral part of these a¢￿￿nts
Thè Acojunts were approved by th8 TNsts8s on 9 April 2026 and svJned on their behalf by:
Rob Close
President
P￿7￿1

AYRSHIRE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2026
1. Basis of Accounting
These accounts hav8 b88n prepared on the R8ceipts & Payments basis in accordanc8 with thè
Charities & Trust88 Invostrnènt (Scottand) Ad 2005 and the Chariti8s Accounts (Scotland)
Regulations 2006 las amènded).
2. Nalure and purpos8 of funds
Unrestricted funds are thos8 that may be used at the discretion ol the trustees in furtheranc8
of the objects of the tharity.
Restricted funds may only b8 used for spectfic purposes. Restrictions arise when sp8cifi8d by
the dorK)r or when funds are raised for spectfic purp)ses.
In the TNste8s' opinion all endaof-yaar lunds are unrestricted.
3. Co81 of Charftable Actlvttles
lJnr&flricled
Fundg
Reslricled
2025126
Total
2024/25
Ic)lul
Excursions
Printing. Postage & Stationery
Hire of HalVRoom
Lectures
Subscriptions
Equipment
Other Expenses
(1.192)
(674)
(345)
(475)
(87)
(333)
(1,1921
(674)
(345)
(475)
(871
(333)
(3,044)
(1,276)
(476)
(247)
(3.977)
(737)
{3,106)
(3.106)
{9,756)
4. Gov6mance Costs
No charge has been made by thè Independent ExamU￿r.
5. Trustee Remuneratlon and Related Party Transactlons
During the year no trustee received remunoration.
P￿8118