Annual Report and Accounts 2014

335 KENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR 2014 The Council of the Society presents its report and statement of accounts for the year ending 31 December 2014. administrati ve details of the charity, its trustees and advisers The Society is a charity registered with the Charity Commission under number 223382. The principal address of the Society is The Museum, St Faith’s Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1LH. However, correspondence should be addressed to the relevant officer. The members of the governing body of the Society (usually called ‘Council’ and whose members are charity trustees) during the period covered by this report were: I.A. Coulson President H. Basford P.W. Stutchbury Hon. General Secretary M. Berg* B.F. Beeching Hon. Treasurer P. Burton S. Broomfield Hon. Membership Sec. & Vice-President R.A.C. Cockett**** P. Richards+ Hon. Librarian E.P. Connell**** T.G. Lawson Hon. Editor E.C. Edwards A. Richardson Hon. Curator K.J. Fryer E.P. Connell Vice-President* G. Cramp M.L.M. Clinch Vice-President** P.A. Harlow R.F. LeGear Vice-President P. Jardine-Rose J. Saynor Vice-President**† K.H. Kersey P.M. Reid*** S.M. Sweetinburgh*** C.P. Ward S.H. Willis*** + Elected member of Council appointed Hon. Librarian at the AGM on 17 May 2014 * Retired at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 17 May 2014 ** Elected member of Council appointed Vice-President at the AGM on 17 May 2014 *** Re-elected at the AGM on 17 May 2014 **** Elected at the AGM on 17 May 2014 † Deceased 17 July 2014 The officers (other than the Vice-Presidents) hold office for one year, the Vice- Presidents hold office for seven years and the other members for four years. The Society’s main agents and advisers are: Bankers: National Westminster Bank plc, 3 High Street, Maidstone, Kent, M E14 1XUU Auditors: MHA MacIntyre Hudson, 31 St George’s Place, Canterbury, CT1 1XD Stockbrokers: UBS AG (London Branch), 1 Curzon Street, London, W1J 5UB Stockbrokers’ nominee company holding the Society’s investments: Productive Nominees Ltd, 1 Curzon Street, London, W1J 5UB ANNUAL REPORT 336 Structure, governance and management The Society is an unincorporated association governed by its rules which are published in Archaeologia Cantiana from time to time and copies of which can be obtained from the Hon. General Secretary. It is also registered as a charity with HM Revenue & Customs which has made a direction under section 201 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988. This permits certain members (generally those whose employment is related to the Society’s activities) to obtain income tax relief on their subscriptions to the Society; further details can be obtained from the Hon. General Secretary. The governing body of the Society is the Council whose members are its charity trustees and are elected by the members of the Society at its annual general meeting in May each year. A list of them is set out above. The Society’s activities are carried out throughout the ancient county of Kent. It has no staff and its officers are only paid out-of-pocket expenses. It co-operates with its affiliated societies and the organisations to which it is affiliated, or, of which it is a member. In particular, it co-operates with the Canterbury Archaeological Trust in promotion of education. Its activities are carried out by the Council, committees and officers. Members of the Council are nominated by the members of the Society and elected at its annual general meeting. The Council does not consider it proper for it to be involved in this process beyond advising members of their right of nomination. Objectives and activities The Society is established to promote the study and publication of archaeology and history in all their branches, especially within the ancient county of Kent. The Society’s area of benefit is mainly (but not exclusively) the ancient county of Kent which is considered to be the administrative County of Kent, Medway Council, and the London Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and part of Lewisham. Achievements and performance Annual General Meeting: the Society’s annual general meeting was held at Maidstone on Saturday 17 May 2014 when the Council’s annual report and accounts for 2013 were accepted and Larkings (S.E.) LLP were appointed as auditors. The officers and members of the Council were elected; details are set out above under Administrative Details. After the formal meeting Professor Martyn Waller gave an informative presentation entitled Achievements of the Romney Marsh Research Trust which was well received by members. Fieldwork: the Committee has supported post-excavation analysis of the Minster Roman villa, previously excavated by the Society between 1996 and 2004. Assistance given to major fieldwork projects has included Randall Manor and Lyminge Anglo-Saxon settlement. Other projects to receive assistance include East Wear Bay and a publication about the Broadstairs Anglo-Saxon cemetery. A new Kentish marshlands group has been established as a sub-committee; the aims are to monitor development, encourage archaeological fieldwork and research. ANNUAL REPORT 337 Work continues with locating and collecting old excavation archives and finds collections. A very successful one day conference Recent work on Prehistoric Kent was held. Publications: two volumes of Archaeologia Cantiana appeared during the year; a special issue generously funded by the William and Edith Oldham Charitable Trust and the regular annual volume. The latter was in a new softback format with an attractive colour cover and was dedicated to the late Dr Frank Panton who had long served the Society. The cumulative index of AC volumes 121-130 went online during the year and the index for volumes 110-130 was added to the DVD index of the journal available from the Society. Oxbow published Stairway to Heaven: the functions of medieval upper spaces by Toby Huitson, winner of the Hasted Prize in 2009. Council agreed proposals to encourage scholarly research: a sum of up to £2,000 per annum to help with original research and publication, and an annual competitive prize of £250 for a Master’s thesis judged by readers appointed by the Committee. The latter prize to be named after the late Dr Joan Thirsk. Selected theses submitted for both the Hasted and the Thirsk prizes, will be put on the Society website. Revision of An Historical Atlas of Kent (2004) has begun. Churches: a Study Day at St Leonard’s Church, Hythe, was held. Church visits have continued to attract considerable support despite increased costs. The Committee’s webpage has expanded and can be accessed from the main Society website. Historic Buildings: the historic buildings committee has established links with the Wealden Buildings Study Group and participated in an examination of cottages at Chiddingstone. A new resource comprising a standard check list and a directory of experts was created to assist those who wished to research buildings. Volunteers assisted with a substantial number of enquiries. Historic Defences Committee: linked public talks and field visits to the Great War home defences of Sheppey and Swale and to the forts at Allhallows and Grain have taken place, in partnership with Maidstone Museum and Bourne Leisure. A blog site, https://kenthistoricdefences.wordpress.com/ has been created to share news, information and to give volunteering opportunities. Discussions were held with the Heritage Group of Kent County Council to update and re-issue Front-Line Kent. Committee members and associates have contributed to an article for Archaeologia Cantiana. The committee has answered information requests and offered advice. Industrial Archaeology: a joint conference with the Historic Buildings Committee was arranged. A data base of individuals and groups in the Historic County of Kent who have an interest in recording and where possible preserving our industrial past has been established. The South Eastern Industrial Archaeology Conference was attended. Other organisations to receive support include Chatham Historic Dockyard, English Heritage and The National Trust. Advice was given to groups working on the investigation of sites. The members of the committee represent a wide cross section of the industrial archaeology spectrum and our activities reflect this diversity. ANNUAL REPORT 338 Library and collections: the Library has continued to enlarge its holdings and its unique collection of books, pamphlets, journals, ephemera and visual records of Kentish archaeology and history, though donation, purchase and a mutual exchange scheme with other local, national and international Historical and Archaeological Societies. Volunteers assisted with a substantial number of enquiries. The Visual Records group has improved their catalogue with help from the Society’s IT Manager. The transcription group has embarked on a new teaching and research project transcribing a selection of Sir John Leveson’s papers; it is planned to publish them. The Library continues to provide the Society with a venue for committees and meetings as well as an outlet for the popular courses available to members and the public. Hon. Curator: conservation of artefacts from the Society’s collections has continued at CSI: Sittingbourne, under the supervision of Dana Goodburn-Brown. This work has addressed immediate concerns about the condition of the artefacts in the collections, and revealed new information, before work starts on a revision of the Society’s collections catalogue by the Collections Working Group, under the direction of the Hon. Curator and Hon. Librarian. Websites: www.kentarchaeology.org.uk was updated regularly and sections now established include Society News & Events, Other News & Events, opportunities for taking part in archaeological excavations and details of forthcoming lectures. Over three hundred photographs from the Society’s Visual Records collection including images by Catherine Weed Barnes and Witham Bywater, are now available online. Photographs of unknown locations have also been put online with much subsequent identification. Every article from Archaeologia Cantiana Volumes 1 (1858) to 122 (2012) is now online, concluding a fourteen year project involving many Society members; it is a superb research resource. Further Memorial Inscriptions, Tithe Schedules and transcriptions of medieval wills have also been added throughout the year. www.kentarchaeology.ac – the online searchable databases of Library content are still available. Education: a wide variety of activities and projects have been supported with a number of partners including the Canterbury Archaeological Trust (CAT) and Canterbury Museums Service (CMS). County-wide educational activities delivered through CAT and CMS have included workshops at Canterbury Christ Church University and the University of Kent; schools using teaching resources; Dutch and French schools attending a workshop at the Beaney. New educational resource kits based on the Bronze Age Boat were produced. An Anglo-Saxon resource for Lyminge and a new resource for the Visually Impaired are both under development. The Trust for Thanet Archaeology also undertook activities for schools and adults including resource boxes, training in post-excavation processes, workshops and further development of the annual Archaeology for You event. A range of social media was used to highlight the work of the Trust. The North Downs and Canterbury branches of the national Young Archaeologist Club received support from the Society and have run a wide range of activities. ANNUAL REPORT 339 Place Names: the Place Names Committee held its 2014 biennial conference in November. Paul Cullen, Academic Advisor to the Committee, gave two papers, on Kent surnames formed from nicknames and Canterbury Street Names. Other speakers were: Shaun Tyas, on King Ecgberht of Wessex’s conquest of Kent and football club nicknames; Duncan Harrington, on place names in Chartham charters; Sheila Sweetinburgh on naming practices in the registers of St Lawrence’s Hospital Canterbury and Ciaran Arthur on places in Old English Charms. The location of the conference, University of Kent, Canterbury, was an opportunity to attract new audiences for the Kent Place-Names Project, and was well attended. Membership: total membership at 31 December 2014 stood at 1,142 (excluding Corresponding Societies and Institutional subscribers); a small decrease on the previous year, reflecting the loss of 60 members and the addition of 36 new members. This shortfall is considerably less than that experienced by other County and National societies. Communications: the committee has continued to look at ways of increasing membership and improving communication with other committees, members and the wider archaeological community. The remit has now been widened to include the future of the Society and encompasses IT with a small working group called KAS2022, under the auspices of the President and the Hon. General Secretary. With Council’s agreement, two editions of the newsletter were issued. The spring edition included the AGM papers and calendar whilst the autumn edition contained longer reports and articles. The larger format was much appreciated by both authors and readers. Information Technology (IT): members of the Visual Records Group are working with the IT manager to resolve and reconcile issues with the computerised catalogue of images in order to update and import the catalogue database onto modern software. Cataloguing processes and procedures are also under review to produce standardised entries for new additions but work continues to update the library book stock and Gordon Ward Collection online. By all these means, it is hoped to achieve easier database interrogation by Society members. The software on the Society laptops in the Library has been upgraded. Members of the KAS2022 group have started work to examine various IT options for updating the service and website hosting provision, accessibility of information, and to determine the most appropriate delivery format for Society databases. Other activities for members: a number of Saturday morning talks have been made possible by the generous donation of lectures by members of the Society. Latin and Palaeography help sessions for KAS members and members of the public have been made possible by Library Committee members donating their time and expertise. Several courses in history have been offered by Dr Jacqueline Bower on behalf of the Society in the library: Kent Personalities, Kent Towns, The End of the Middle Ages: England 1381-1547, and The British Empire 1497-1763. All courses have been well attended by both members and the general public. ANNUAL REPORT 340 Press Releases: a high level of media coverage was again achieved in 2014 for public events promoted by several of our committees and for the Hasted Prize, the Allen Grove Local History Fund and regular updates on our website. Considerable interest was generated by the announcement about the Bywater Collection; public access to images from glass plate negatives donated to the society by Witham Bywater. Relations with other bodies: the Society appoints members or representatives to a number of other organisations. Regular reports have been received from the Council for British Archaeology: South East and the Council for British Archaeology: London. The Society has regularly been represented at meetings of the Kent History Federation. The Society is also working in partnership with other similar organizations in the county. Joint education work is now well established with Canterbury Archaeological Trust, Trust for Thanet Archaeology and several other organizations. Joint conferences have been very successful with support from the University of Kent, Canterbury Christ Church University and Kent Archaeological Rescue Unit. There is a close working relationship with Kent County Council, English Heritage and the National Trust. All the joint activities have helped achieve, more effectively, the charitable aims of the Society for members and the general public. Plans for the Future Challenges and Opportunities for 2015: the immediate future continues to provide challenges and opportunities to improve communications with members whilst improving administrative efficiency. All committees are encouraged to enable succession planning by recruiting new members whilst ensuring the continuity of expertise provided by long-standing members. Business Planning: the Society continues to explore the potential of information technology to modernise its image; increase public benefit and membership; to generate income and contain the costs of publishing the Newsletter and Archaeologia Cantiana. By reducing overall costs it is hoped to continue a full programme of activities without the need to increase the annual subscription. ANNUAL REPORT 341 financial review The accompanying financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2014 show the current state of the Society’s finances, which its Council considers to be sound. They comply with the Council’s understanding of the current statutory requirements and the requirements of the Society’s rules. Investments: the trustees seek, in the management of their investments, a balance between income and capital growth. The Finance Committee oversees the management of the Society’s investments. The portfolio, managed by UBS AG (London Branch), decreased by 0.3% and now stands at £1,432,935. They currently yield 4%. The C.O.I.F. investments, which currently yield 3.9% increased in value from £88,733 to £92,998. Investment powers: the Society’s investment powers are those given by the general law; its rules do not give it any special investment powers. The Council has delegated some of its investment powers to UBS AG (London Branch) in accordance with a scheme made by the Charity Commissioners on 18 April 1994. Allen Grove Local History Fund: the Society administers the Allen Grove Local History Fund given in the will of the late Allen Grove. Its objects are to promote research, preservation and enjoyment of local history and are consistent with those of the Society. It is a restricted fund and is invested separately from the Society’s other investments. In accordance with the terms of the legacy, decisions on how the fund is to be spent are taken by the Society’s officers. During the year, six grants were made with a total value of £1,795. Policy on reserves: the policy of Council regarding reserves is that the Society should have at all times unrestricted funds representing a minimum of six months expenditure. The unrestricted reserves at 31 December 2014 represent approximately twenty-five months expenditure. Risk Management: the Council considered risk management in accordance with the recommendations of the Charity Commission. It was satisfied that it had appropriate precautions and procedures in place to manage risks and will keep them under review. Public benefit: the Council has paid due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit in deciding what activities the Society should undertake. Council considers that some benefits can be more effectively and efficiently delivered through a membership structure which also provides personnel to carry out its work. The main activities undertaken by the Society in order to carry out its objects for the public benefit comprise: • Publication of its annual journal Archaeologia Cantiana, the Newsletter, and other occasional publications. • Publication of papers and information on historical and archaeological research on its websites ANNUAL REPORT 342 • M aking information available in its library and by conferences, study days and lectures to members and non-members. • Granting aid to others to undertake research or publish research results, provide educational programmes, and promote interest in local history and archaeology. The Society relies on its officers and other members giving their time freely to organise its activities. Without those contributions a substantial sum would be spent on salaries. Auditors MHA MacIntyre Hudson has expressed their willingness to continue in office. Trustees’ responsibilities statement – unincorporated charity The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). The law applicable to charities in England & Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period. ln preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to: • select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently • observe the methods and principles in the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice • make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent • state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements • prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation. The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose wiThe trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. 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. ANNUAL REPORT 343 The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the charity and financial information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. P.W. Stutchbury Hon. General Secretary, on behalf of the Council 20 March 2015 ANNUAL REPORT 344 Kent Archaeological Society Statement of Financial Activities for the year ending 31 December 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 345 Kent Archaeological Society Balance Sheet at 31 December 2014