Annual Report 2014 - Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust

Annual Review 2014
Patron
His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales
Members of the Council
Chairman
President
Nicholas Talbot Rice*
Dame Janet Trotter DBE
H.M. Lord Lieutenant
Vice- Chairman
Vice-Presidents
Sir Henry Elwes KCVO
The Right Reverend Michael Perham
(Bishop of Gloucester)
The Right Reverend Declan Lang
(Bishop of Clifton)
The Reverend Nigel Coles
(Regional Minister West of England Baptist
Association, Baptist Union of Great Britain)
The Reverend Roy Lowes
(Moderator Gloucester District United Reformed Church)
The Reverend Ward Jones
(Chairman Bristol District - The Methodist Church)
Mrs Helen Whitbread*
Ben Woods*s (retired 1/1/14)
Philip Kendell*
Mrs Jane Jenner-Fust
Mrs Ailsa O’Connor
Jonathan MacKechnie-Jarviss (appt 1/1/14)
Mrs Natalie Fenner
Mrs Sylvie Pierce
Mr James Drennan (appt 1/09/14)
Treasurer
David Kingsmill* (appt 15/9/13)
Secretary
Stephen Langton* (appt 1/7/13)
*Trustee
sChairman of Grants Committee
Addresses for Correspondence
Grant Applications
The Trust’s Grants Committee considers
applications and awards grants in June
and December. To apply for a grant,
get in touch with the Chairman of the
Grants Committee,
Mr Jonathan MacKechnie-Jarvis
73 Forest View Road
Tuffley
Gloucester
GL4 0BY
Email: jonathanmj@virginmedia.com
Secretary
Stephen Langton
25 Gloucester Street
Cirencester
Gloucestershire. GL7 2DJ
01285 653164
Chairman
Nicholas Talbot Rice
Pigeon House,
Coln Rogers,
Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire. GL54 3LB
Front cover photo of Holy Innocents’ Church, Highnam, seen from from the Park
Aims and Objectives of the
Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust
The Trust aims to:
• Assist those responsible for the care of places used for public worship which belong
to a Christian religious body;
• Make funds available to help places of Christian worship of all denominations with
repairs and improvements to the fabric of the buildings and their contents, as well as
their surrounding churchyards;
Accordingly, it seeks to:
• Maintain a large, supportive membership whose annual committed income from
subscriptions and donations will give a firm basis upon which to conduct its affairs;
• Foster an informed appreciation of the history, architecture and beauty of the churches
and chapels and so provide a way for the wider community to help to maintain that
irreplaceable heritage;
• Raise substantial amounts of money, primarily through the annual Sponsored Ride &
Stride, an event promoted by The National Churches Trust and supported by other
County Trusts;
• Co-operate with other bodies making funds available for the purposes set out above.
Mrs Joy Starr lights a candle at Highnam
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Chairman’s Report
I hope you will enjoy this report and review of our 2014 operations.
The AGM is being held at St. Mary’s church, Deerhurst on Wednesday 1 July at 5.00pm and I do hope
you will join us that evening. There will be wine and refreshments afterwards too!
St. Mary’s Priory was founded before 800 and is one of the most intriguing and fascinating Saxon
churches still extant. It has important 9th century Saxon carvings. We will be given a guided tour of
this remarkable building and discover something of its history.
I am pleased that we have been able to increase our grants this year to £120,500; slightly higher than
the level achieved in 2013 and is in line with our income from supporters’ donations, generous grants
most especially from the Summerfield and Stratton Davis trusts, the annual Ride & Stride event and
our investment income. Details of the recipients are listed in this report. We are here to help you with
funding requirements for repairs, updating and installing modern facilities and other improvements.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch to discuss any projects and remember that information on how
to apply for grants is available through our website – www.ghct.org.uk
I am mindful that we did not hold any additional fundraising events during 2014. We are arranging a
viewing of Patrick Mark’s acclaimed film on the history of the Fabergé jewellery workshop – Fabergé:
A Life of Its Own. This will be shown at the Parkinson Lecture Theatre of the Royal Agricultural
University, Cirencester, on Thursday 17 September. An application form is available either through our
website or enclosed with this report.
Advanced notice also of a visit to Colesbourne Park in February 2016, kindly donated by Sir Henry
Elwes, one of our Vice Presidents. He will be showing us round and telling us about the remarkable
snowdrop collection. I will let people know details once a date is set.
Our events will ask for a donation with a minimum ‘guide price’. This will allow us to recover Gift Aid
on all of your donation, which is not recoverable on the ‘entry’ element of ticket sales.
We do rely so much on your generous donations to maintain our grants. We do not levy any annual
membership fee, but have a list of supporters. Support can be given in so many ways: for example
we need volunteers to help organise events. Ailsa O’Connor has been organising the September
Ride & Stride event for the last eight years and wishes to stand down after this year’s event. We are
looking for a successor. There is a certain amount of work involved with orchestrating this successful
event and therefore we do pay a small remuneration and refund expenses. Might you, or anyone you
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know, like to take on this role? Gloucestershire is a large county and we also need area organisers to
support the Ride & Stride County organiser – is this something you would do for us? Meanwhile many
thanks to all those who do so much participating in and organising the Ride & Stride and to those
who welcome visitors to churches and provide refreshments on the day – this is much appreciated by
participants.
I am aware that there are still some churches that are not open on the day: this is disappointing to
those who make the effort to visit and I hope that we can improve performance on this front on
Saturday 12 September this year.
We now have Roundhill Communications on board as our PR organisation and aim to raise the
profile of GHCT this year. We have refreshed our website and we are now on Twitter and Facebook
which will hopefully appeal to our more youthful supporters. We will also be issuing more press
releases about our work. Please encourage anyone to become a ‘supporter’ and become registered on
our database. Please also make sure that we have your correct details and when possible an e-mail
address. We really are moving to an age where more and more of the communication is electronic.
This is two-way traffic as:
We can keep you updated with details of our events, and you can make your donation via BACS
when attending
You can access grant application forms online, and find out where we’re helping churches in the
county
You can gift us monies direct to our bank, or support us via Just Giving
You can find out how to take part in Ride & Stride and download sponsorship forms
Our bank account details are as follows, please make sure that you fill in your name in the reference
details and mark it as PD (periodic donation) or ED (event donation):
Lloyds Bank plc,
Sort code: 30-92-72
Account No: 00543961
All this saves postage and administrative work, and hopefully makes us more efficient!
I am keen to increase our endowment funds as this is an enduring base from which we can grow our
grant awards. Despite low inflation, building and maintenance costs increase much above the cost
of living index. We are most grateful to those who make bequests and ask you please to consider
remembering us when you revise your will. Please get in touch with treasurer, David Kingsmill, (or
trustee and legacy ambassador Philip Kendell see page 13) if you would like to discuss this aspect.
I am so pleased to welcome Jim Drennan to our Council: He has a broad experience of finance and
industry and lives in Bristol. I would like to close by thanking all the Members of Council for all they
have done throughout the year.
Nicholas Talbot Rice
Chairman of the Trustees
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Gloucestershire Historic
Churches Trust
Reg. Charity No. 1120266
The Thirty-fifth Annual General Meeting
will be held at 5:00pm on
Wednesday 1 July 2015 at
The Priory Church of St Mary Deerhurst
GL19 4BX
AGENDA
1.Apologies
2. Minutes of the last AGM held on 15 Oct 2014
3. Matters arising
4. To receive the Chairman’s review for 2014
5. To receive the Summarised Financial
Statements for 2014 (Copies of the full
accounts for the year ended 31 December
2014 will also be available at the meeting)
St Mary’s, Deerhurst needs little introduction
6. Election of officers:
to lovers of Gloucestershire churches. It is one
of the most important and interesting Saxon
churches in the country, and enjoys an idyllic
HOW
FIND
USparish have
setting near the
RiverTO
Severn.
The
Deerhurst
village
lies
on
the
bank
of the
worked hard in recent years to improve
the
River Severn, 4 miles south of Tewkesbury by road.
facilities
for worshippers and visitors alike. The
Exit the M5 at J9, drive towards Tewkesbury, following
inadequate
heating and
lighting
are 3miles
now being
signs for Gloucester
on the
A38, after
turn
replaced,
a grant
from
theto
right ontohelped
B4213. by
At the
sharp of
left£8,000
bend, turn
right
Deerhurst.2014.
Post code: GL19 4BX.
Trust in December
Chairman
Vice-chairman
Hon Treasurer
Hon
Secretary
The
priory
church of
st. mary, deerhurst
7. Re-appointment of Stephen Michael Shelley
of Wenn Townsend (Chartered Accountants)
of Cirencester as Independent Examiner
8. Any other business
Directions:
VISITING
AND
TOURS on the
Proceed three
miles south
of Tewkesbury
arrange an
accompanied
group
visit
withonto
guidethe
A38Totowards
Gloucester,
then
turn
west
please contact the Visitors Officer:
B4213. Follow signs
to Deerhurst.
Mrs Sheila Ryan
4
Telephone: 01452 780107
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Email: sheilaeryan@btinternet.com
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SUMMARISED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
FOR THE YEAR ENDED AND BALANCE SHEET AT 31 DECEMBER 2014
Income
Funds
INCOMING RESOURCES
Incoming resources from generated Funds
Subscriptions & Donations
Edward Phillips Legacy
Grant from Diocesan Funds Stratton Davis Bequest
Grant from Summerfield Trust
Ride & Stride event - gross income
Other fundraising Events
Investment Income
£
Capital
Funds
£
Total
Funds
2014
£
Total
Funds
2013
£
22,442
-
-
22,442
-
34,153
112,737
10,000
10,000
38,470
59,845
_______
_______
10.000
10,000
38,470
59,845
_______
10,515
10,000
39,672
61,637
_______
140,757
_______
_______
140,757
_______
268,714
_______
18,815
4,757
-
18,815
4,757
19,836
2,568
120,500
17,500
8,239
_______
_______
120,500
17,500
8,239
_______
120,000
6,886
______
169,811
_______
_______
169,811
_______
149,290
______
(29,054)
-
(29,054)
119,424
_______
27,893
_______
27,893
_______
146,493
______
Net Movement in Funds for Year
Total Funds brought forward
Transfer
(29,054)
157,928
(50,000)
_______
27,893
1,378,124
50,000
_______
(1,161)
1,536,052
_______
265,917
1,270,135
_______
Total Funds Carried Forward
78,874
_______
1,456,017
_______
1,534,891
_______
1,536,052
_______
-
1,456,017
1,456,017
1,384,998
112,113
_______
112,113
33,239
_______
78,874
_______
________
1,456,017
________
1,456,017
________
112,113
_______
1,568,130
33,239
_______
1,534,891
_______
181,779
_______
1,566,777
30,725
_______
1,536,052
_______
Total Incoming Resources
RESOURCES EXPENDED
Ride & Stride - refund of 50%
Cost of generating funds
Charitable Expenditure
Grants payable to Churches
2013 Under accrual
Costs of Governance
Total Resources Expended
Net Incoming Resources
For Year – before Transfers
Gains on Revaluation
of Investments – Unrealised
Represented by Net Assets comprising
Investments
Debtors and Payments in Advance
Short term deposits
Less: Liabilities
NOTE: The summarised statements may not give all the information needed for a complete understanding of the financial affairs of the
Trust, but copies of the full accounts, together with the unqualified reports of the independent examiner and the formal reports of
the Trustees, have been submitted to the Charity Commission and may be obtained, free of charge, from the Treasurer and are also
available on our website.
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Bourton on the Water, Baptist Church
Much less well-known than the nearby parish
church is Bourton on the Water Baptist church,
dating from 1875-6. The exterior is stone faced
with Romanesque detail, but inside is red brick
and many original fittings, including a fine
pulpit. In June 2014 the Trust made a grant of
£5,000 toward repairs to stonework.
St Peter’s, Winchcombe
St John the Baptist, Edge
Stonework repairs in progress at St John the
Baptist, Edge.
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The fine Cotswold church of St Peter’s,
Winchcombe contains much of interest, for
example the organ case, with carving reputedly
by Grinling Gibbons. The organ itself is in need
of a major overhaul, for which the Trust made a
grant of £3,500 in 2014.
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The New Testament Church of God,
Gloucester
is an unlisted former Methodist church of
1901 in the Stroud Road, much adapted and
improved over the years. The Trust gave a
grant of £3,000 towards new lighting and a
false ceiling for the main worship area, where
the noisy acoustics had previously been a
major problem.
St Mary’s Church, Arlingham
Repair of rainwater goods may not sound like
exciting work, but nothing could be more
fundamental to the welfare of a church’s fabric.
These ‘before and after’ photographs show
recent work at St Mary’s Church, Arlingham,
a fine 14th century building close to the river
Severn. Our grant of £4,000 covered roughly
half the cost of this essential project.
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Grants to Churches 2014
Alderton
St Margaret
Repointing, repainting and rewiring £500
Ampney Crucis
Major repairs to roofs Holy Cross
£10,000
Arlingham
Renewal of guttering
St Mary the Virgin
£4,000
Bishops Cleeve
St Michael & AA
Conservation of ancient stair to belfry £5,000
Bitton
St Mary
Conservation of table tombs (phase II) £2,500
Dursley URC Tabernacle
is just to the west of the town centre, and
shares the site with the former Parsonage and
a hall. The Trust was asked to help with a
grant for some essential repairs to the church,
however these were just part of an ambitious
and complex scheme in partnership with the
local authority, providing for new youth group
facilities. The trust was able to make a grant
of £7,000, and it is good to record that the
new youth centre, called Vibe, is now up and
running.
Bourton o t Water
Stonework and other repairs Broad Campden
Urgent reroofing
Baptist
£5,000
Friends Meeting House
£8,000
Cam
Organ Repairs
Daglingworth
New sound system
St George
£500
Holy Rood
£500
Deerhurst
New lighting scheme
St Mary
£8,000
Dursley Tabernacle URC
Repairs to ceiling, roofs and paving £7,000
Dymock
St Mary
Repairs to stonework, and to nave ceiling£4,000
Ebrington
Pointing and other repairs St Mary’s, Frampton on Severn Church
is at the very far end of the village, and a long
way from the nearest public loo. At last the
problem has been resolved and our photo
shows the ground works in progress.
Extending a Grade 1 church is never a cheap
operation: the GHCT was able to make a useful
contribution of £7,000.
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St Eadburgha
£750
Forthampton Overhaul and clean organ
St Mary
£1,500
Frampton on Severn
Extension to accommodate new WC
St Mary
£7,000
Gloucester
New Test. Ch. of God
Create new ceiling to reduce noise
£3,000
Great Witcombe
St Mary
New detached WC block in churchyard £2,000
Guiting Power Reroof nave and tower
St Michael & AA
£5,000
Highnam
Holy Innocents
Provide loos, servery and office £10,000
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Leckhampton
SS Philip & James
Major repairs to rewiring, roofs £8,000
Lydney
Reordering aisles, improve WCs St Mary
£7,000
Marshfield
Internal alterations for WC/servery St Mary
£3,250
Northleach
Repairs to table tombs St Peter
£1,500
Rodmarton
Rehang bells
St Peter
£3,000
St Briavels Restoration of organ
St Mary
£5,000
Stanway
Rehang and augment bells
St Peter
£2,500
Thornbury
St Mary
Stonework repairs also refurbish kitchen £2,500
Winchcombe
Repairs to organ
TOTAL
St Peter
£3,500
£ 120,500
The Friends Meeting House, Broad
Campden
The reroofing of the Friends Meeting House at
Broad Campden was a very genuine hard luck
story. The local trustees had been planning for
a fairly modest programme of roof repair, only
to find, once work had commenced, that the
situation was a good deal more serious, in ways
which could not have been anticipated. The
only option was complete renewal of the roof,
and the GHCT was pleased to rally round with a
grant of £8,000.
Like many Quaker meeting houses, the style
is modest and almost domestic: the building
dates from the late 17th century, and contains
contemporary furnishings.
Holy Innocents Church, Highnam
St Mary’s, Marshfield
is a fine church in a large village between Bath
and Bristol. The Trust made a grant of £3,250
towards a scheme for new loos, kitchen and
servery
is a Grade 1 building of European importance: a
perfect essay in ecclesiastical architecture, made
unforgettable by its lavish ornamentation and
the spirit fresco wall paintings, the work of its
founder, Thomas Gambier Parry. After several
years of planning, the PCC is now embarking
on a major scheme to provide a loo, surgery and
benefice office. The Trust has made a grant of
£10,000 towards this. (Front cover image)
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Saturday 13 September saw almost 300 people setting off on the annual Ride & Stride event. 106
churches around the county took part with 191 people cycling, 74 walking, 6 riding horses and over 20
others manning churches or making up working parties.
The total raised was £45,755 (including an estimate of gift aid) - a little behind last year’s total but one
which places Gloucestershire just outside the top 10 nationally, so there is plenty to celebrate and be
proud of.
The Trust would like to thank all those who participated, sponsored others, manned churches or
provided refreshments in 2014.
Seven churches raised £1,000 or more: All Saints, Down Ampney; St Mary’s, Kingswood; St Mary the
Virgin, Great Witcombe; St Mary’s, Dymock; St Andrew’s, Coln Rogers; St James the Great, Coln St
Dennis and St Michael’s, Dowdeswell.
Many churches take part year on year and raise significant sums, despite having small congregations
and perhaps only one or two people who can take part. We’ve selected just a few regular stalwarts
from around the county: St Peter’s, Cliffords Mesne; St Mary Magdalene, Hewelsfield; St George, Upper
Cam; St Michael & All Angels, Poole Keynes; St Mary Magdalene, Adlestrop; St Lawrence, Lechlade and
St Lawrence, Swindon Village Cheltenham. Thank you all for your commitment and support.
The 2015 event takes place on Saturday 12 September so please join in if you can. It’s a simple way
of enjoying our beautiful churches at the same time as helping to look after them. Even if your church
has no riders or striders please try to ensure it is open for those who come your way. It makes all
the difference for participants to arrive and find the church open, with simple refreshments on offer.
Welcome notices and further details on taking part are available by emailing rideandstride@ghct.org.uk
Thank you. Ailsa O’Connor, Ride & Stride County Organiser
Young participants Winstone
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Taking a break at Duntisbourne Rous
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Alison Eldridge, winner of the Holmes Salver, outside
her church St Nicholas, Cherington
Edward Bagnall & Howard Burdett, Coln Rogers &
Coln St Dennis
Ryan Convery Whitbread trophy winner
2014 Prize Winners
Whitbread Trophy
(best under 16)
Ryan Convery
St Nicholas, Ashchurch
£514.50
John Cannan Trophy
(best 17 – 69)
Edward Bagnall
St Andrew’s, Coln Rogers &
St James the Great, Coln St Dennis
2,341.00
Holmes Salver (best 70+)
Alison Eldridge
St Nicholas, Cherington
£830.00
Eykyn Challenge Cup (best group)
Coln River Group of Parishes£2,958.00
On horseback at St Bartholomew, Winstone
GHCT Challenge Shield
(best church performance)
St Michael, Dowdeswell£1,938.00
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GHCT: Not quite moving in mysterious ways just our
new website
We recently launched our new website at www.ghct.org.uk. Here you can sign up to receive our
e-newsletter which is published twice a year, find out all about our grants, get involved with Ride and
Stride and learn more about the county’s church buildings.
GHCT has had some great press coverage during the past year, in local newspapers & websites, on
the BBC News website and on local BBC radio.
The Trust also now has a social media presence on Twitter @gloshct and on Facebook. Please follow
us to find out what’s happening at GHCT, and to tell us your historic church news.
Opening Doors to a
brighter future
GHCT continues to open doors by
providing funding for essential works
that allow churches to continue to
provide church services for the people
of Gloucestershire.
Please consider becoming a friend or
donor to the trust, knowing that your
contribution will have a lasting effect for
generations to come.
St Mary’s, Thornbury
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Ask, and you will receive; seek and you will find, knock,
and the door will be opened to you. Matthew 7:7
It may not be very British asking for help but we at GHCT are asked for support from an increasing
number of churches and we can only continue to help them if we have the resources to do so. To this
end we are hoping to increase the funds invested which in turn will provide an increasing income.
This can be done by gifts from our many and valued supporters or by receiving legacies. We have
received a legacy over the last couple of years and we are hoping that by asking, over the coming
years, we will be fortunate enough to receive others.
We are asked for help and support, and we hope this annual report gives you an idea of the wide
range of help we do provide. In turn we are being bold enough once again to ask for your direct
help. This valuable support can be either by attending one of our events and making a donation,
simply by making a gift, preferably under gift aid, and in the longer term making a bequest in your
will.
At the same time we would like to thank all who have or continue to make donations to GHCT.
Please consider leaving a legacy to GHCT. This can be done quite simply by including us in your will,
or preparing a codicil to an existing will. The trust and those who benefit from these legacies will be
forever grateful.
If you would like to discuss the possibilities please contact Philip Kendell FCA CTA on 01453 861120
or PJ@Kendell.co.uk or speak to your own advisor or solicitor. We do not prepare wills or codicils.
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A Prayer for
Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust
Eternal God, who in past ages didst inspire thy servants to build
in Gloucestershire many churches of both splendour and simplicity;
Strengthen our resolve to preserve and enrich our heritage.
Deliver us from all pride in achievement, and grant us
patience and perseverance in the face of difficulty.
Prosper our work, if it be thy gracious will,
that those who come after us may have
houses of prayer fit for thy name to dwell in,
and be themselves inspired to lives of witness and service.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
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GHCT are grateful to those churches who have supplied photographs for the Annual Review.
77 Victoria Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire T 01285 653599 E info@earle-ludlow.co.uk