Annual Reports

Colne Valley Museum Cliffe Ash, Golcar Huddersfield HD7 4PY 01484 659762 Reg. Charity No. 1106550 www.colnevalleymuseum.org.uk Accredited Museum No. 1203 [email protected] Annual Reports to AGM April 2018 Chairman’s Report April 2018 Another year of increased activity, following the generous grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Who would have believed that we would ever finish the project, but with the help of many, the end is in sight. Fortunately, the grant was sufficient to cover unexpected extras. This has allowed us to fit new windows and have the roof fixed - that took us by surprise as the first building survey missed these problems. We now have a museum to be proud of and it should be better than ever for use in the future. We are so fortunate to have an amazing group of volunteers who have worked tirelessly to fulfil the many tasks involved in this major project. I would like to thank all of you for your support over the last few years. I would like to thank Janet Jobber in particular, as she has taken the overall responsibility for seeing the project through and has shown remarkable fortitude and persistence. There are many others that have done a superb job in sorting out what we needed, getting grants, moving stock, keeping our finances in order, and deciding where everything will go. We should now be confident that the museum is good for another 40+ years at least. We still need your support and that of any new volunteers who you can encourage to join the museum. E. Roger Fielding (Chairman) The Treasurer’s Annual Report and Financial Statement for Colne Valley Museum 2017 -18 will be available at the AGM on Thursday May 17th at 7.30pm at the Golcar Scout & Community Centre, Manor Road, Golcar. Copies are also available by email. Please contact Janet Jobber on: [email protected] or send an A5 stamped addressed envelope to: Colne Valley Museum, Cliffe Ash, Golcar, Huddersfield HD7 4PY Annual Report on the Heritage Lottery Project The programme timetable for the project ended officially on December 31st 2017 after three years of concentrated effort from our team of 60+ volunteers. As I write, all the documents required by the HLF to release the final 10% of the funds have been submitted on time to our grants officer in the Yorkshire and the Humber office in Leeds. This included our Evaluation Report on the progress of the project which was driven by the collection of survey reports from visitors by the (gentle) persistence of volunteers. A copy of the report will be made available for anyone interested to read it in the office and we are looking into how we can make it available on line. Once the documents have been cleared the final payment will be made and we can then repay the loan that we received from Keyfund. The final year of the project has been busy to say the least, with volunteers not only completing HLF tasks but also dealing with the day to day running of the museum, the regular openings and events and the schools and group meetings. It was pleasing to see additions to our group visits with young people with physical and learning difficulties, residents from a local care home and youngsters from the Scout and Guide movement all coming and enjoying their time at the museum. Another positive development was that we have been visited by many people for the first time, due for the most part to good coverage in the press and advertisements placed in magazines e.g. The Dalesman. The delays that were caused by the roof repairs created time pressure on the training programme but we were able successfully to train spinners, weavers, clog makers and corn dolly makers as part of our aim to ensure that we have volunteers who can demonstrate these skills to our visitors. The collection team undertook training in the conservation of our costume collection and completed the enormous task of the packing and orderly storage of the costume collection in its new space in the corner of the bedroom. The new museum website is taking shape and will be launched in the near future. This is one part of the project that has been badly delayed by the ongoing building work because it was not possible to create the photographs that will be added. However, work has started on the task of recording items from our whole collection in a digital format and this will be an on-going task for some time. Amidst all the work we did find time to celebrate. Dame Ingrid Roscoe, the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, paid us a return visit in October to see what we have achieved since her last visit at the end of the HLF project in ‘the chip shop’. The Mayor of Kirklees, Cllr Christine Iredale and her consort, Robert Iredale, also joined the guests who included our friends from Museum Development Yorkshire, the contractors and professional people who have worked with us and long standing members of the museum, most of whom were ‘ in at the beginning’ in 1970. It was a very pleasant afternoon and we received many compliments from our guests. In December forty volunteers enjoyed a celebratory dinner at the Golcar Lily with another eighteen attending a lunch in January at the same venue. It was good to enjoy a meal together and remember the trials of the project but also laugh at the things that did not go quite to plan but worked out well in the end. The project has been quite an experience, with highs and lows, downright exasperating at times, but in the end we have a museum and an organisation that is in good heart as we approach our 50th Anniversary. On behalf of the HLF team, I can only give our sincere thanks to our amazing volunteers who lived up to our motto ‘Voluntary but not Amateur’. Janet Jobber Membership Report 2018 2017 2018 Subscriptions paid 80 57 Life Members 7 7 Honorary Members 11 10 2017 Subscriptions 119 262 outstanding TOTAL MEMBERS 217 336 It is good for our museum to be fully open again. 2018 is likely to be a year when we start to understand what a difference all the work that has been undertaken on the museum will show results as our membership stabilising. If anyone is not sure if they have paid or not, please contact me and I will be pleased to update you with your membership details. Similarly, please do keep me updated with your personal details so I send messages to the right destination. It is lovely we are welcoming new members most weekends and lovely to see familiar faces. May I take the opportunity to thank you to everyone for continuing your support and say a big ‘Hello’ to our new members. Hilary Richards Membership Secretary Lifelong Learning Report 2017 During 2017 20 schools visited. 5 uniform organisations 5 visits from a local retirement home 11 social visits from adult groups 2 visits from young adults day centres The team continues to grow in strength and we have 15 members helping regularly. As we expected the number of school visits has dropped. We have employed Amy Baggaley to produce new activity days for us. As well as the Victorian experience day we can now offer: Votes for Women! (the history of women’s suffrage); Weavers at War (World War 1); Local History Explorers (finding out about the people who lived in the cottages); and STEAM, focusing on Science, Technology, English, Art and Maths. These can be half or full day sessions. A new teacher’s leaflet has been produced detailing these activities. We also helped with the 4 children's activity days in August. Sue Starr Children’s activity Teacher’s leaflet Shows Report 2017 – it wasn’t always a mudbath . That’s not to say anyone who attended the Honley and Penistone shows got away without at least slipping and sliding when trying to find the Colne Valley Museum stall. Fortunately at both venues our stall is in a marquee so the volunteers were largely unscathed. In 2017 we attended 10 events mostly in and around Kirklees at venues we have attended in the past. We continue to develop good relationships with the Honley and Penistone agricultural shows and Kirklees Council with their Oakwell Hall event. Sadly the Rotarian Charity Fair and the Lace Fair at Pudsey were visited for the final time but this has opened up new possibilities. During 2018 we will be found at the Steampunk Festival in Hebden Bridge in July and Honley Feast in September. If you know of any events we could attend, either later in 2018 or for 2019 please speak to Mark Ager or Julie Dempster. Mark Ager -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Volunteer Co-ordinator’s Report 2018 A changing year for all volunteers, who came back to a renewed museum with additional goals and aspirations. Early training schedules, to comply with objectives set out in the HLF bid offered volunteers additional skills and interests. The evaluation sessions and forward plan were useful tools for progress. We have recruited steadily and welcomed 5 new volunteers for the clogshop- we’ll need a rota soon! Volunteer Dementia Training A recent intensive volunteer recruitment drive was very successful and we look forward to seeing them at an induction meeting. New recruits - 10 female , 3 male Our museum ‘pink passes’ enable us to visit other establishments, an ideal way to advertise our own heritage and success.

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