2023 AGM and free study day

735px West End of St Pauls Church Clapham

When

9th September 2023 | 12:00pm — 4:00pm

Where

St Paul’s Church, Rectory Grove,
London
SW4 0DZ
United Kingdom

2023 Annual General Meeting and Study Day

Notice is hereby given that the 2023 Annual General Meeting of the Church Monuments Society will be held at 12.15 on Saturday, 9 September 2023 at St Paul’s Church, Rectory Grove, Clapham, London SW4 0DZ. The AGM is for members only but all are welcome to join us for the three free talks afterwards. No need to book – just turn up for a very varied afternoon of talks.

The church is at the top of a pathway, Matrimony Place, that leads from the Wandsworth Road, served by bus routes 77 and 87. The 77 runs from Waterloo Station (York Road) and Vauxhall Bus Station and the 87 from Vauxhall Bus Station – you should alight at Westbury Street. From Clapham Junction Station take either bus and alight at St Rule Street. Details of car parks in the area can be found on the internet.

There are no convenient food outlets so we suggest you bring sandwiches. You can eat them in the meeting room (and there are facilities to make hot drinks) or in the eco garden nearby.

The AGM will be followed by three lectures:

Dr Adam White Nicholas Stone the Elder (c.1587-1647): work in progress.

Dr Elizabeth Blood “Thoughts from a Thesis: Local War Memorials and the Challenge(s) of Continual Commemoration”.

Mr Wayne Hart Contemporary Memorialising

As ever, the AGM is your meeting so do make a note of the date and join us. The 2023 AGM is especially important as it marks the end of Mark Downing’s tenure as President and the election of the next President. We will also need to discuss and approve the new constitution, as the Society has now become a charitable Incorporated Organisation. As part of this process, the four existing Trustees will be standing down and we will need to appoint new Trustees. Scroll down for more details of this.

A copy of the Minutes of the 2022 Annual General Meeting is available on the Society’s website and a printed copy may be requested from the Hon Secretary, Hilary Wheeler (address on back cover of Newsletter). The reports and audited accounts are available on this web site: click on the links below. In order to cut down on waste, printed copies will only be available, on request, from the Hon Secretary.

Agenda

Apologies for absence
Approval of the Minutes of the 2022 Annual General Meeting
Matters Arising
Presidential Address
Hon Treasurer’s Report
Thanks to the Independent Examiner and the Appointment of the Independent Examiner
Hon Membership Secretary’s Report
Hon Publicity Officer’s Report
Hon Archivist’s Report
Hon Event’s Co-ordinator’s Report
Reports on the Society’s Publications
Hon Conservations Cases Recorder’s Report
Election of the President
Election of Officers and three Ordinary Members of Council
Increase in subscription rate
CIO Constitution and amendments
Any Other Business
Announcement of the date and venue of the 2024 Annual General Meeting

Item 13: Election of the President

2023 marks the end of Mark Downing’s tenure as President after five successful years that included guiding the Society through the difficulties caused by COVID. Nominations are invited from anyone interested in becoming President, whose subscription is not in arrears. Nominations should be made in writing, proposed and seconded by two members of the Society and should confirm the willingness of the nominee to stand.

Mark Downing will be happy to answer any questions you might have as you decide whether to go ahead.

A nomination form is available from the hon Secretary to whom the completed form should be returned by Monday,7 August 2023

Item 14: Election of Three Ordinary Members of Council

Click the link below for notice of changes to Council..

Item 15: Increase in subscription rate

Due to increasing costs Council seeks approval for an increase in subscription rates, with exception of the student rate, by £5:00 to take effect from 1 June 2024 –

Ordinary £33:00 Standing order rate £30:00

Family £38:00 Standing order rate £35:00

Corporate £35:00

Item 16: Migration to CIO and Constitution

For further information, the Hon Treasurer, Mr Jon Dawson has provided the following notes:

As members will recall, it was decided at a previous AGM that the Society would convert to CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation ) status

As the first step in this process, it was necessary to form a new CIO charity which will in due course take over the assets and activities of the existing charity. In order to move forward with this phase, the constitution of the new charity was an “off-the-shelf” model “from the Charity Commission website

The process of conversion is underway The new bank account has been opened and we can proceed to transfer assets and agreements, etc to the new charity

It will also be necessary to amend the off-the-shelf constitution to fit in with the needs and customs of the Society. This will have the effect of bringing the new constitution broadly into line with the constitution of the Society as it is now. . The necessary changes to do this will be proposed at the next Annual General Meeting.

The proposed constitution for the CIO is available for download below. This is the constitution as approved by the Charities Commission. It gives ultimate control to the Trustees but empowers them to make rules for the actual running of the Society. These Rules are also downloadable below. They enable us to continue running the Society as before, with a President, Council and officers. .

To send a paper copy of all the changes to all members would require a great deal of time, effort, and cost and so it is proposed that the necessary amendments will be made available on the Society’s website.

Members will have the opportunity to discuss the changes to the constitution at the forthcoming annual general meeting

Jon Dawson

Treasurer