Chairman's Annual Report for 2003

Richard Oscroft, 22nd April,2004

Madam President, Vice Presidents and Friends of Hylands House.

It gives me joy to report on another successful year for the Friends, coming as it does at a noteworthy time for Hylands, which saw the restored West Wing re-opened at Easter, and the fantastic news in November that Chelmsford Borough Council had been awarded £3.25 millions by the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore major parts of the grounds and outbuildings of Hylands Park. The work will include the restoration of the remaining part of the ground floor - the grand staircase.

Our concert supper parties and other social events have remained as popular as ever; we have undoubtedly earned a reputation for first class, enjoyable entertainment and, regrettably, on more occasions than not, we have been over subscribed.

Detailed reports of all our activities have appeared in our regular newsletters, but for the record, we enjoyed

• A wonderful evening of Gilbert & Sullivan put on by the Trinity Methodist Drama group, which traced the works of the famous partnership from the Sorcerer to the Gondoliers.
• A fascinating insight into the history of the House, revealed during the work on the West Wing, was outlined by Nick Wickenden, Curator of Chelmsford Museums, during his talk which followed our 2003 Annual General Meeting .
• On 27th April the Magic of the Movies evoked memories aplenty as Mostly Musical trio delighted us with their widely ranging programme, taking in romance, tragedy, pathos and adventure.
• This year’s Hylands Experience : the day commenced with an illustrated talk by Lyn McLay Kidd on the 'Hidden Treasures of Hylands - gardens and landscape'; this was followed with a tour of the gardens in the rain. After lunch Ceri Lowen lead a guided tour around the newly restored rooms and the basement; all of which proved to be of great interest.
• A Friends’ coach outing to Henley on Thames in the morning and the boat trip from Caversham to Mapledurham in the afternoon on a beautiful summer’s day with sights and sounds that showed England at its best. Our thanks to Patrick and Hazel Bermingham for the excellent arrangements.
• The ever popular guided evening tour of London: this year entitled 'Sinister London'. The route took in many of the ghostly and infamous parts of Westminster, the City and the East End. Thanks again to Patrick and Hazel.
• The Hylands Natural History Day. The morning was spent in the Park with Claire Cadman, a Biodiversity Co-ordinator of Essex Wildllife Trust, who opened many eyes to the amazing variety of local inhabitants and their habitats. The afternoon walk, lead by Tony Walentowicz, the Keeper of Natural Science for Chelmsford Borough Council, took the group to ponds and the banks of the River Wid. Few, if any of the group had previously ventured so far!
• Our own 'Antiques Road Show' with Tom Burt, an expert from Glemsford, who gave an extremely interesting talk, which he followed with words of advice and the valuation of a wide range of items proffered by members . Thanks to Ron Wood for organising this gem.
• Another sell-out Quiz Night, once again mastered by Chris Hibbitt, and scored by his wife, Wendy, who between them have the ability to set a wide variety of rounds, suitable to all intellects, in which all teams can achieve good marks in at least some of them!
• The Friends’ Christmas lunch, held at the Marconi Sports & Social Club. A festive occasion at which we were entertained by the harmony duo 'Two in One' and Ron Woods accompanying us all for a 'fun' selection of carols.

During 2003 our socials and events contributed over £1550 to Friends’ Funds - a pleasing result considering a number of factors:

• outgoings this year included £300 attributable to 2002 which was not known when the Accounts were prepared last year,
• a planned Viennese evening was cancelled due to lack of support - we suspect the format did not appeal so we will be trying a different one this year.
• the programme in 2002 also included two exceptional items, namely the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Dinner and the members trip to Rome.
• Chelmsford Borough Council has applied a more structured and business like approach to charging us since the beginning of the year.

Without exception everyone on your Committee puts a large amount of effort into planning and organising the programme of events and I am enormously grateful to each of them: this is team work at its very best. We also express and record our thanks to those who have performed for us, often at little or no charge.

The home made cakes of Betty Woods and her tea team remain a special attraction for many visitors to the House on the first Sunday of the month. Had it not been for the unplanned closure of the kitchen on the first Sunday in April immediately prior to the re-opening of the West Wing, gross takings for the year would have undoubtedly been a record. The net contribution to funds is excellent considering not only the absence of any revenue in April and the one-off cost of putting shelving in the basement cupboard (which means we no longer have to take all our boxes home each month), but also the fact that Chelmsford Borough Council introduced a monthly levy for the use of facilities from 1st April.

The highlight of 2003 for the Friends was undoubtedly the arrival from Rome of 'Venus with Apple': the result of many months of deliberation and negotiation. Following our previous unsuccessful attempt to install a replica, hollow statue, the new solid 'granulated marble' model arrived with her plinth amidst much publicity in time for two unveilings! Both by our President, Baroness Platt. The first took place at the formal re-opening of the West Wing by the Lord Bishop of Chelmsford, and the second, a few days later at our Annual Meeting. How magnificent Venus looks restored to the exact position - the entrance hall at Hylands House - for which the original statue was commissioned by Pierre Labouchere in 1816. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Stan Kaluza for all his considerable endeavours in 'bringing Venus home', and also for his enthusiastic pursuit of items for the House. In 2003 we acquired a beautiful credenza (library), a two-seat sofa and enamelled vase (both in the saloon) as well as suitable items for a fireplace. With the re-opening of the West Wing, your Committee has, in consultation with the Managers of the House, updated the list of items we wish to acquire - so I have no hesitation in saying we still have lots of fund raising to do! However we do get surprises, even pleasant ones: only last month we acquired a second, almost identical, credenza as a result of a Chelmsford resident seeing the first one on a visit to the House! It, too, is in splendid condition.

Our involvement with the Borough Council continued apace during 2003: what an age it seemed between the submission to the Heritage Lottery Fund and the time it took for the decision to arrive! How thrilled we were to hear that the Award had been made in full. So work will soon be underway. By the end of 2006 we shall see the restoration of the park to Humphrey Repton’s original design, the recreation of the formal pleasure gardens, the conversion of the stable block to a Visitor Centre, and the restoration of the flint Cottage, not to mention the work to restore the grand staircase here in the House. The Council has also committed a further £1.1m of its own resources to complete the remaining work on the upper floors of the building. It has been my privilege and honour to speak on your behalf at various meetings and to represent you at several functions throughout this interesting time in the development of the house and its associated parkland.

Undoubtedly public interest in Hylands has increased significantly in recent months and this is reflected in our membership. At the end of 2003 membership stood at 450(2002 - 417), but with the inclusion of an additional family member, the actual total was 544(2002 - 473) - a net increase of 15%, and today it stands at 562, including 29 Life Members. Overall membership subscription income grew almost 10% - this figure is influenced by the number of new life members. Brian Hinds has been our membership secretary for four years and he continues to keep our records in a most meticulous fashion. Thanks Brian for all you do - I really hope that we will soon find help for you with the visits to the Libraries within the Borough making sure that they have membership application forms and details of forthcoming events.

Most encouragingly almost 71% of our members have signed Gift Aid agreements: this has enabled us to recover £1,319 in respect of 2001/2 (includes a Gift Aided Donation) and a further £1,092 for 2002/3. Many thanks to Ralph Hayden, a member, for taking on this task which boosts our income in such a worthwhile way. It is appropriate to remind members who submit Self Assessment Tax Returns, that all or part of any refunds can now be directed to approved charities: The Friends is such a charity, our special Gift Aid Code being ZAH83ZG.

We continued to issue Newsletters regularly during the year - seemingly with four in the Accounting year! I continue to receive excellent feed back - it is apparent that articles are well read and the content informative. Our Editor, Patrick Bermingham does a first class job, but I know how much he looks forward to receiving ‘copy, from members so please keep the ink flowing! Ideas and suggestions for different angles or approaches are always welcome. Incidentally, apologies to any member who experienced an ‘Under Postage’ charge during the year: Patrick assures me that he always takes a sample mailing to the Post Office before sending out the Newsletters, but I am aware that a few suffered a surcharge on one occasion.

We continue to explore new ways of publicising ourselves and our activities and to improve media coverage of events. I am grateful to Patrick for his work with the media, to Betty Woods for getting our teas mentioned on BBC Essex and to Vicky Parr, Vice Chairman for the considerable effort she is putting into developing our web space. BBC Essex also includes Hylands House on its website.

On behalf of all Friends, I wish to thank all the members and officers of the Council who have supported our endeavours during the year. If I may be permitted to mention a few by name: at the forefront of these Sue Ireland, Head of Parks Services, for both her inspired leadership, dedication and commitment in preparing the successful submission to the HLF, and her friendship and co-operation as the Friends pursue their endeavours. To Linda Palmer and her hard working team here at the House for their support for our activities. To the Mayor and Mayoress of Chelmsford, Councillor John Hunnable and his wife, Pamela for gracing us with their presence, both officially, and privately as Life members of the Friends.

Looking to the future, the scope for our activities, if not our role, will no doubt evolve as work on the House and the Park continue: the creation of a visitor centre and tea room in the restored Stable block will have an impact. Your Committee will make plans in good time to encompass the changes, using them to review our programme of activities and fund raising opportunities. We will optimise our use of this wonderful venue - we are permitted six Sunday evenings per annum: this winter we will move our ever popular Quiz night to Old Chelmsfordians so that the Christmas event for members can be here. Many thanks to the Borough Council for agreeing that on this occasion we may have the use of the magnificent Banqueting Room at the rate we usually pay for these rooms. Another new venture, being launched tonight, but leaked in our latest Newsletter, is the availability of a miniature version of ‘Venus with Apple’ - members may buy one each at a special price of £15 . If you would like more than one, they will be available in the Souvenir shop at £20+ shortly. Details have yet to be finalised.

I would draw you attention to all the 'legal niceties' which our Independent Examiner has suggested should be included in my report.

A great deal was achieved in 2003: this was only possible as a result of excellent support from our members - yourselves - and the dedication and commitment of a hard working Executive Committee. Individually we have a wide variety of skills, which when used collectively, combine together in a remarkable way to get a job accomplished in a professional, effective way for the benefit of all concerned. And we have some fun ourselves! So to every member of the Executive, named on the front of the Report, especially to Cathy Reeves and Sally Cansdale who are not seeking re-election, my heartfelt thanks. You really are a wonderful group of people who together have achieved so much more than had we been working alone. Finally, a special 'Thank you' to our President and Vice Presidents for being themselves - those to whom we can aspire; those who have achieved so much for us already; those on whose wise counsel and advice we can rely whenever it is needed. Lady Platt, on behalf of all the Friends of Hylands House, I should be honoured if you would accept this very first miniature statue of 'Venus with Apple' as a token of our thanks for all your support during the last eight years.