THE SHAFTESBURY & DISTRICT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Registered charity 1156273 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as GOLD HILL MUSEUM, SHAFTESBURY & DISTRICT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

The Society owns and operates Gold Hill Museum which is open to the public for seven months of the year;mounts two temporary exhibitions each year in addition to the regular displays;owns and maintains a local history library and archive available by arrangement for research:organises lectures in the winter;organises with the Abbey Museum an all-age learning and outreach programme

Objects

THE OBJECT OF THE CIO IS TO ENCOURAGE THE APPRECIATION, STUDY AND ENJOYMENT OF HISTORY, ESPECIALLY THAT LOCAL TO SHAFTESBURY AND ITS ENVIRONS, AND THEREBY ADVANCE THE EDUCATION OF MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY AND THE PUBLIC OF ALL AGES AND BACKGROUNDS BY, IN PARTICULAR BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY,(A) OPERATING A MUSEUM OF ARTEFACTS WHICH REFLECT THE HISTORY OF THE AREA AND(B) MAINTAINING A LIBRARY OF BOOKS AND DOCUMENTS OF LOCAL HISTORICALINTEREST

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: Education/training · Arts/culture/heritage/science · Environment/conservation/heritage · website · Get email alerts

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity held free reserves of £79,299 at the year end, a decrease from £111,655 in the previous year, driven by a net expenditure of £11,538 largely due to building works. The trustees confirm there are no material uncertainties regarding the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

• Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
• Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Engaging external speakers at charity events policy and procedures
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures
• Volunteer management

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook

Register events

• Received assets from another charity (20/06/2014) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• ELAINE BARRATTchair · trustee of 1 other charity
• Ann Symons
• David Hardiman
• Elizabeth Hack
• Jeanette Hardiman
• John Brian Arnold
• Juliet Gordon
• Rupert William Tapper
• SHEENA COMMONS
• Tony Martin

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Dorset · Wiltshire

Income and spending

Common questions

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).