Developing skills and exploring ways to reveal and sustain the heritage

The Heritage Fund – March 2020 update

“Thank you for the generous support we have been given, and through it the excellent people who have stimulated our thinking and helped us change our systems, structures and procedures and given us the chance to formulate plans for the future. We greatly appreciate everything we have received, and I extend the thanks of the PCC/Board of Trustees.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that this work has been transformative of the institutional life of the Minster and the way we engage on a multiplicity of levels with the City of Hull, the region in which we are set and the many visitors who come to this historic site in the centre of the city.”

The Rt. Revd. Frank White, Interim Minister and Hon. Assistant Bishop in York Diocese.

Thanks to lottery players investment, we have had an opportunity to strengthen and grow Hull Minster for the future. The Resilient Heritage Project has helped the Minster managers, staff, volunteers and Trustees plan for the future to ensure the organisation is sustainable, well-funded and well run. In 2019, we were funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to explore the opportunities for developing our business and heritage as a driver for income and regeneration. We engaged consultants to advise and analyse our heritage assets and collections and help us broker partnerships with those who hold collections on our behalf.  We have identified stories and themes for prominent Hull citizens and their East Riding neighbours and hope to tell these through interactive visitor interpretation.

“The project has been like a rocket launched by NASA … at some point when it goes out of the Earth’s atmosphere, the boosters fall away, and the rocket has to continue. It feels like the consultants have been our fuel boosters … giving us the boost that we’ve needed, but now we need to make it work on our own!” John Lawson, PCC Chair, March 2020

We have evaluated, catalogued and appraised our heritage, undertaken surveys and maintenance training, with over 30 staff and volunteers involved at various stages of the project. This aspect of the project has had significant impact on Hull Minster.  It has helped us re-discover the civic and religious identity of the early Holy Trinity Church and its development at the commercial center of Hull. The knowledge we now have will help us contribute to the story of Hull adding a rich human dimension to the ecclesiastical heritage.  The project has helped us identify objects of local and regional significance and understand how we can share the stories of these objects with a wider public.  It has also helped us understand how we can share our core values through heritage.

“This is the start of significant organisational change for Hull Minster. It is also an opportunity to maximise and celebrate more fully the heritage” Heather Lomas, Lottery Fund Mentor

We have developed a heritage database with volunteers who have visited many of our collections and this will soon come on-line for the public to see and use.  It also provides a vital tool for our site management team in recording our assets, their condition and their maintenance requirements. As a result of this work we have been invited to join a national project run by the Cathedrals network.

“I learnt that my professional skills and experience have a useful application in volunteering after retirement and were appreciated.”

A huge range of consultants assisted in this area of the project including Dr Louise Hampson from the Centre for Christianity and Culture, University of York along with her team, Andrew Boyce, our architect, Marianne Gilchrist, a Hull based medieval historian, Ian Panter from the York Archaeological Trust, and Marie Groll from The York Glaziers Trust, and Andy Gomersal, local stone mason.

As part of the Resilient Heritage grant we commissioned a consultant with a specialism in volunteering management to undertake an audit of our scheme and in order to fulfil our business plan and achieve our social welfare aims (using the scheme to address a range of issues such as reducing loneliness and isolation, improve job readiness, increase confidence, develop friendships). As a consequence of the work by our consultant, Alex Lindley from Alchemy Consulting we aim to recruit a dedicated volunteering manager and are seeking funding to progress this in the coming months.  A dedicated volunteering manager will help us

Three strands of business came together to review the business options, business plan, fundraising and finance functions. The Minster team has been able to review and plan for change and improvement, and develop expertise in finance management.

Our consultant, Peter Bell, worked to establish and embed finance systems and procedures, mentoring staff teams in their daily activity and helping to prepare the legal financial reports, monthly PCC accounts and balance sheets. He worked with PCC groups to establish robust accounting management.

Kate Elliot, from DBA Consultants, researched the business activity, the market conditions and context of the Minster, established and tested business options and, using Peter Bell’s finance information, devised a business plan for the Minster’s future use.  This plan is being scoped and budgeted for by the Minster managers and will shape the operational activity and fundraising direction for future years.  It will sit alongside the Minster’s Mission Action Plan and forms part of the Strategic Plan.

Helen Jenkins, from 117 Consultancy, evaluated the Minster’s fundraising capability, using the knowledge and priorities gained from earlier consultants in the process. She discussed priorities and needs with staff and Trustees, and using the information gained through other reporting strands, devised a fundraising plan, cases for support, and mentored the staff member charged with fundraising in Trust applications.  In addition, two members of staff undertook finance training to increase their effectiveness and confidence.

“Through the grant process we have put in place and the training we have undertaken, we are now able to locate and streamline the financial information we receive and process it in a more timely manner.  This leads to greater organisational efficiency and the ability to act more quickly and confidently to make changes where necessary.” Al Hutson, Director of Operations.

The governance of our organisation also undertook a year-long review with many improvements to working practices helping the various boards to become more efficient and strategic.  Our consultant Sara Hilton provided mentoring and facilitation to get the most out of the learning experiences for those involved.  Her recommendations will help the PCC to move forward with strategic decision making, scrutiny and oversight with confidence.

“The Resilient Heritage Project has been a great gift to Hull Minster. It has brought us engagement with significant expertise in the work of the consultants which we would have found difficult to source otherwise and impossible to fund.” PCC Member feedback

Next steps....

In the coming years we aim undertake a new heritage project to share the history, the stories and our rich ecclesiastical heritage with the visitors to the Minster and those engaging with us online.  We will recruit a specialist volunteering manager to ensure that we can support our activities. We have a strong foundation upon which we will develop compatible business and religious activity, fully budgeted, and with the aim for creative a financially resilient organisation and a well conserved heritage asset.

Huge thanks should be given to the project team members, Bishop Frank White, John Lawson, Howell Lloyd, Chris Fenwick, Jonny Bottomley, James Symonds, Alasdair Hutson, and to Heather Lomas, the mentor who supported them, and all the staff and volunteers who helped and continue to help in this work.

Jane Owen, Project Manager on behalf of the project team.