Annual Report of the Council for 2008

441 KENT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR 2008 The Council of the Society presents its report and statement of accounts for the year ending 31 December 2008. AdministratiINISTRATIve CHARITY, & 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 (which is its Council whose members are its charity trustees) during the period covered by this report were: C.R. Pout President A.I. Moffat Hon. General Secretary R.G. Thomas Hon. Treasurer and Vice President *** B. Beeching Hon. Treasurer (from 17 May 2008) ** S. Broomfield Hon. Membership Secretary F.H. Panton Hon. Librarian and Vice President T.G. Lawson Hon. Editor J. Saynor Hon. Excursions Secretary M .C.W. Still Hon. Curator E.P. Connell V vice President P.E. Oldham V vice President M . Clinch ** I. Coulson ** M . Berg K.J. Fryer J.M. Gibson D .J. Goacher P.A. Harlow * K.H. Kersey R.F. LeGear A. Richardson S.M. Sweetinburgh C.P. Ward S.H. Willis * Denotes re-elected at the annual general meeting on the 17 May 2008; **Newly elected at the AGM on 17 May 2008; *** Retired as Hon. Treasurer at the AGM on 17 May 2008. 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, ME14 1XU Auditors: Reeves and Neylan LLP, 37 St Margaret’s Street, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 2TU Stockbrokers: UBS Wealth Management (UK) Ltd, 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 442 StructureTRUCTURE, 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 the Inland Revenue which has made a direction under section 201 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 which 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 Societys 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 organizations 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. M embers 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. ObjectiBJECTIvES 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. AchieCHIEvemENTS ANd PERFORmANCE Annual General Meeting: the Society’s annual general meeting was held at Canterbury on Saturday 17 May 2008 when the Council’s annual report and the accounts for 2007 were accepted and Messrs Reeves and Neylan were re-appointed auditors. The officers and members of the Council were elected; details are set out above under Administrative Details. Rule 39(d) of the Society’s rules was amended by increasing the age limit for junior members to 25 years and the words ‘but such an applicant may only be accepted as a junior member if the Council is satisfied that this concession is justified in view of his interest in the objects of the Society’ ANNUAL REPORT 443 was deleted from it. After the formal meeting members heard presentations on recent excavations supported by the Fieldwork Committee, the work of the Society’s Historic Buildings Committee and ‘Reflections on the Past, Present and the Future’ by Dr John Williams who had just retired as County Archaeologist. Fieldwork: financial support was again given to the important fieldwork project at Lyminge which was designed to involve the local community. Work continued on post excavation work on the Abbey Farm Roman villa site and a further report by Keith Parfitt appeared in Archaeologia Cantiana; the Society is indebted to Mr Parfitt for the enormous amount of his own time he is putting into this work. Preliminary consideration was given to a new interdisciplinary research project covering several parishes. Publications: the Publications Committee continued discussion of a report on the Society’s publications policy. This looked critically at the Society’s current practices, the merits of electronic publishing and the shape and contents of Archaeologia Cantiana. Heritage Marketing & Publications withdrew from marketing the Society’s books and a start was made on seeking alternative arrangements. The Society’s annual journal, Archaeologia Cantiana, maintained its high standard of content and presentation and the committee agreed a number of publications, in print and on-line, for 2009 and 2010. Dr James Gibson retired as secretary after several years’ service and was replaced by Dr Paul Newton-Taylor. Churches: the usual programme of visits to churches was continued with visits to Chislehurst, St Mary Cray, Ulcombe, East Sutton, St Nicholas at Wade and Chislet. A successful study day was held in June on religious houses in Canterbury. Two parishes were given help to prepare guide books. Historic Buildings: those attending a conference in Lenham in October enjoyed talks on archaeological and archival aspects of building research and visited the village church. The committee published a short book introducing the historical assessment and survey of old buildings which had been prepared for it by Mr Cockett. Library and collections: the unique collection of books, pamphlets and visual records of the history and archaeology of Kent and its towns, settlements and other places continued to increase and work continued cataloguing collections of papers bequeathed by members in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Library continued to be used for educational courses on aspects of history and archaeology. The Hon. Curator continued to answer enquiries from members of the public and liaise with Maidstone Museum over its plans for improved interpretation and display of archaeological material including parts of the Society’s collections. ANNUAL REPORT 444 Web Sites: the Society has two web sites: www.kentarchaeology.ac and www.kentarchaeology.org.uk. The former contains indexes of the Library’s contents and guidance on its use as well as a growing number of transcriptions of records, papers on Kent history, archaeological reports and e-books. The org.uk site received up to 2,000 visits a day; the contents and index pages of Archaeologia Cantiana, tithe award schedules and churchyard memorial inscriptions were very popular and new material was added during the year. Education: support for the work of the Canterbury Archeological Trust’s Archaeology in Education Service and for the North Downs branch of the national Young Archaeologist Club continued. Through the former good progress was made with the CAT KIT project (the loan of boxes of artifacts, etc.) for Kent schools thanks to support from the Society and the KCC. Schools county wide are increasingly using the similar CAT BOX loans service. Community outreach focused in the main on the Thanet Earth excavations but also at other public events in the Canterbury and Maidstone areas. Place names: the Place Names Committee continued to monitor work on research and publications on place names and, in particular, support Dr Paul Cullen’s work on volume 1 of Place Names of Kent. Membership: there were 1,219 members (which excludes institutional subscribers and corresponding societies) at the end of the year which was 182 less than at the end of the previous year despite recruiting 59 new members; this was partly due to the increase in subscriptions at the start of the year. The Society had a stall at Kent History Sunday but unfortunately that event was not well attended. A briefing meeting for new members held in the library was well attended. Other Activities for Members: excursions to Boxley Abbey and Westen-hanger Castle were well attended. The Newsletter continued to be produced four times a year and provide information about activities of the Society and others as well as news about archaeological work and local history in the county. Another Christmas lunch was held at the Hop Farm but the poor attendance put the future of that event in doubt. Relations with other bodies: the Society appoints members or represent-atives to a number of other organisations. Regular reports have also been received from the C.B.A. South East and the Standing Conference on London Archaeology. The Society has regularly been represented at meetings of the Kent History Federation. ANNUAL REPORT 445 FinancialINANCIAL REvIEW The accompanying financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2008 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. I����������nvestmentsnvestments: 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 Wealth Management (UK) Ltd, decreased by 25.9% and now stands at £999,353. They currently yield 4.11%. The C.O.I.F. investments, which currently yield 4.7%, decreased in value from £89,347 to £66,375. Investment powers: ���������������������������������������������������theSociety’sinvestmentpowersarethosegivenbythe 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 Wealth Management (UK) Ltd 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 which was given in the will of the late Allen Grove. Its objects are to promote research, preservation and enjoyment of local history. These objects 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 only one application was made for a grant; that was approved and £250 was awarded to Mr J. Sephton towards the cost of producing a book on the history of the church of St Peter and St Paul, Aylesford. P�����������������olicyonreservesolicy on reserves: the Council budgets each year to spend a sum consider-ably in excess of current income and tries to maintain reserves appropriate to allow this to continue. Risk Management: The Council is considering risk management as recommended by the Charity Commission. The Society relies on its officers and other members giving their time freely to organise its activities. Without those contributions it would have to spend a substantial sum on salaries. A.I. Moffat, Hon. General Secretary on behalf of the Council ������������������28thFebruary200928th February 2009 ANNUAL REPORT 446 Kent Archaeological Society Statement of Financial Activities for the year ending 31 December 2008 ANNUAL REPORT 447 Kent Archaeological Society Balance Sheet at 31 December 2008