MC/07/72
EPWORTH OLD RECTORY
Report for Methodist Council
March 2007
During the past twelve months the Trustees of Epworth Old Rectory have had to consider seriously
the future of the Rectory in the light of inadequate visitor numbers and income. The immediate future
has been secured, thanks to grants approved by the SRC, the Lincoln and Grimsby District and the
World Methodist Council. This has allowed the Trustees to concentrate on long term planning.
A new vision for the Rectory has been agreed as follows:
The Trustees aim is to restore, re-present and re-interpret the house as it would have been in
the first quarter of the eighteenth century in order to enhance and improve the visitor
experience and to appeal to a wider audience than the present one.
The mission statement has been amended to read:
Epworth Old Rectory wishes to inspire and educate present and future generations through the
interpretation of the life and experiences of the Wesley family and the preservation of the
Rectory and its collections.
It is the desire of the Trustees that the Old Rectory should speak for itself with as little extraneous
information, interpretation and intrusion as possible. It is hoped that this will retain a sense of
pilgrimage for some of the visitors whilst not detracting from the experience of the new audience
sought in a newly restored house. The vision is that a Visitor Centre be built to further enhance the
visitor experience by providing space for permanent displays (and in the case of visitors with
disabilities, by providing an alternative, virtual, experience covering those areas of the house to which
access may not be able to be provided). The physical needs of visitors would also be catered for by
way of a refectory, toilets and a shop area for memento purchases etc. Meeting room/lecture facilities
for visiting parties and groups would be incorporated. It is also essential that the Curator’s
accommodation be relocated out of the house so as not to impact on the visitor experience.
The business plan further envisages three strategic aims:
1. To make Epworth Old Rectory accessible to a wider audience and provide an enhanced visitor
experience.
To this end Audience Development and Access Plans are being developed (see later) which will detail
how the following groups can be welcomed:
 Methodism and the wider Church – as a spiritual pilgrimage
 Other faiths and none – as part of the spiritual legacy in the world and to inspire and inform all
in their search for spirituality
 All spheres of education
 The general public interested in the social history of the early 18th century
 The local community and visiting groups
2. To preserve and care for the fabric of the building, site and collections for future generations.
To this end a Conservation Plan is being produced and the collections policy, security, education and
training plans updated.
3. To ensure that Epworth Old Rectory is financially secure in both the long and short terms.
Much work needs to be done on developing the visitor base, the shop and retail potential of the
museum, a Friends organisation, local community interest and involvement and on serious fundraising
opportunities.
Under the guidance of the scrutiny group of the Methodist Council, the governance of the Rectory has
been amended. The Trustees are now supported by three sub-committees – Project Management and
Development, Finance and Fundraising, and Property Management. Each has Trustee membership
supported by professional expertise provided by volunteers. The previous Finance and General
Purpose and House Committees have been abolished.
The Business Plan was used as a basis for a successful application to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a
project planning grant for £50,000 to help pay for the professional preparation of the Audience
Development, Access and Conservation Management Plans, mentioned above, which are required
before a full submission can be made to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a grant (of potentially
£1,000,000) towards the restoration the Rectory and the development of new visitor facilities.
At an “Awayday” in early September the Trustees met to dream dreams about the future. Arising from
the deliberations the Trustees are determined to increase the amount of professional expertise and
input at their meetings and to ensure the success of the new sub-committee structure. At a
subsequent meeting with the Methodist Council scrutiny group to discuss the financial situation it was
made clear that the sale of assets (namely some of the land attached to the Rectory) had to be
considered seriously and as a matter of urgency. This is seen as the only way, in the short term, to
provide sufficient capital, the interest on which could be used to provide an ongoing income stream
that would contribute to plugging the gap between expenditure and income until income from other
sources materialised. It might also be used to relocate the accommodation for the Curator (essential in
any restoration work on the house) and provide any matching funding that might be required to
complement Heritage Lottery Fund grants for the restoration and development project.
However, timescales for progressing the vision via sale of land and a bid to Heritage Lottery Fund are
very tight (a bid to Heritage Lottery Fund must be submitted in late September, for example). The
Trustees therefore seek permission to continue preparation for such a bid.
Whilst the managing trustees have the authority to submit a bid to Heritage Lottery Fund they would
need to know that they had the support of the custodian trustees (TMCP) and therefore of Council and
Conference. How best can this support be sought and expressed, and to whom should
authority be delegated to make decisions about progressing necessary actions (assuming, of
course, that Property Office would be consulted throughout about legal, financial and technical
design issues)?
Legal, ownership and governance issues are being looked at again by Property Office, the
Connexional Solicitor and a representative of the Trustees. The World Methodist Council is being
approached in a similar manner to consent to the principle of a bid to Heritage Lottery Fund and to
delegate approval to proceed to a bid to the Trustees.
A statement by the Methodist Church on how important Epworth Old Rectory is to the church would be
necessary in any bid process. Who has the authority to produce such a statement? Similar
statements would be sought from Archives and Heritage Committee, Wesley Historical Society, and
the Heritage Forum.
In the light of any decision the Council may make, Conference would be informed of the further work
that had been undertaken and its permission sought for a bid submission.
The Trustees invite members of the Methodist Council to publicise the Rectory to the community of
Methodism, encouraging people to become Friends of the Rectory, raising awareness of the financial
needs and the need for more to visit the place where it all began. This is particularly so in 2007, the
tercentenary of Charles Wesley’s birth at the Old Rectory and as we approach 2009, the tercentenary
of the fire and rebuilding of the Rectory.
Whatever else, we do ask that you will continue to pray for the Trustees in these difficult times and
give them wholehearted support as they struggle to provide a long term future for the Old Rectory.
COUNCIL RESOLUTION
The Council notes this paper from the trustees of the Epworth Old Rectory, directs the SRC to
respond on its behalf, to work with the trustees in support of their future plans and to report
periodically to the Council.