Chairman's Annual Report for 2007
Martin Easteal, 15 April 2008
I am very pleased this evening to make this, my third and the Association's twelfth Report. In the time honoured tradition of the Friends I shall be stepping down from the Chairmanship this evening. Never have three years passed so quickly for me, and I am pleased to report an Association which is in an healthy and robust condition and one which continues to see its objectives for Hylands fully realised.
We were very pleased indeed to see the completion of all the major works to the Hylands Estate when the restored Stable Block and the Repton landscape were officially opened last summer. The Stable Block neatly complements the House providing important facilities for visitors, notably the cafe and the souvenir shop and now of course the Friends bookshop - of which more later. All tastes are now catered for at Hylands! Roll on the shire horses. We were able to make a very specific contribution to the stables by paying for and organising the restoration of the clock on the roof. Now for the first time in over 50 years the regular chime of the clock can be heard ringing out over the Park.
Shortly afterwards, the Estate was host to the World Scout Jamboree, marking 100 years of the world-wide scout movement. This event had been many years in the making - I well remember our first contact with the scout association some 10 years ago - and required tremendous organisation as thousands of scouts from all over the world came to Hylands for a truly memorable occasion celebrating all that is good in our young people today. One of the highlights of the event was the opening ceremony conducted by Prince William and the Duke of Kent. The Prince arrived by helicopter and was mobbed by thousands of young people ( and by quite a few older ones as well!). I was privileged on your behalf to be introduced to the Prince when he opened the One World Garden, built and designed by the Council to mark the Jamboree. This garden is a wonderful addition to the Park, especially the way in which flowing water is such an important feature of its layout. Once again, the Friends were able to make a specific and major contribution to the garden by commissioning, from the young English artist Bex Simon an ornamental gate leading from the garden into the Park. The gate is a memorable addition to the works of artistic merit in the Park - perhaps the Council and the Friends will be able to add to these in future?
The other major purchase by the Friends this year was that of a rare miniature painting of one of the owners of Hylands, Cornelius Kortright, by Andrew Plimer. This miniature was purchased by the Friends at Sothebys and is now proudly displayed in the House. It is purchases such as these where the Friends can and do make a unique contribution to the success of Hylands. We are very pleased to see the work of the House Manager, Ceri Lowen, in finding and displaying portraits of all the other owners of the House, all of which adds greatly to the historical interest of Hylands.
Our Association is in good health. All our events during the year have been well supported, although the very wet summer meant that an evening reception on the lawn had to be cancelled. We were especially pleased to welcome David Batty, of Antiques Roadshow fame to an antiques evening which raised over £ 1000 for our funds. But our costs continue to rise, most recently that of catering, so our net income from events is down despite having to raise prices to members.
Membership in March stood at a record 576 (or 642 allowing for family memberships). It is very pleasing to see our membership grow year by year - we must be doing some things right.
Our finances are in excellent shape and, despite the major items of expenditure during the year to which I have already alluded, we continue to have a healthy surplus in the bank. I wish to pay particular thanks to our Treasurer, Tim Roper, who has kept account of the money so well during my term of office.
But of course the major event for the Friends this year has been the opening of the new bookshop in the Stable Centre. Since the ending of the teas in the House last year, the Committee has been seeking an alternative source of income and a secondhand bookshop always seemed a good possibility. I am grateful to the Council for making available to us a space on the ground floor which, through the hard work of Stan Kaluza has now been transformed into a very stylish bookshop. The shop was officially opened by the Mayor last week and early indications are that it will be a great success. A sign of the good health of our Association is that more than 80 of our members are now involved as volunteer helpers. I must thank Babs Sargeant for putting in so much time and effort in organising the volunteers rota, and also the Stables Manager Louis Bach and his staff for all their help. I am sure the bookshop will go from strength to strength.
I am pleased to record my warm appreciation of the work of all the members of the committee, and now also to the members of the "Bookshop Team". They all work very hard to make our Association the outstanding success that it is today. We were very sorry that Hazel Bermingham was taken seriously ill before Christmas, but are pleased to hear that she is making a good recovery. Hazel has been a stalwart member of the committee for many years and her contribution is greatly appreciated by us all.
Sadly, the Council and Hylands have recently lost the services of Sue Ireland, Director of Parks and Heritage, who has played such a key role over the years in the restoration of the House and the Estate. Sue will be sadly missed, but we wish her well in her new role at the City of London Corporation. I was pleased to present Sue with a specially commissioned painting of Hylands by local artist James Merriott on behalf of you all.
What of the future? Well, provided that the voting later tonight goes according to plan I know that the Association will be in good hands as Richard Oscroft returns to the Chair. Our income remains assured and there will always be continuing areas for restoration and improvement at Hylands and new ideas for attractions, in all of which the Friends will have an important part to play. Thank you for allowing me to occupy this position for three years, and I wish the Friends all the best for the future.