Preservation & Scholarship
Conservation, Cataloguing and Acquisitions
A
Book 2 Agenda item: 5
THE ASSOCIATION OF FRIENDS OF THE WILLIAM
MORRIS GALLERY
Charity Number
Applicant
Present Appeal
800513
Dr Vicky Carroll, Museum, Gallery and Archive Manager
Conservation of key items from the William Morris Gallery collection
Amount Requested
£49,850
Organisation Overview
The William Morris Gallery itself is the only museum dedicated to engaging the public with the life, work and contemporary relevance of Morris and the Arts and
Crafts movement. The Gallery is part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest's
Museum, Gallery and Archive Service. The Gallery holds an internationally significant collection of objects relating to Morris, his associates and the Arts and
Crafts Movement. It also houses an outstanding collection of works by the artist
Frank Brangwyn. The collections are housed a Grade II* building which was
William Morris’ early home.
Project Outline
This conservation project will conserve a selection of the most important items so that they can be displayed upon completion of the William Morris Gallery Development
Project in July 2012. (NB Conservation costs are not included in the Development
Project costs.) The William Morris Gallery Development Project will refurbish and extend the existing Grade II* listed building. It will create a new learning space, a new object store, a temporary exhibition space and improved visitor facilities. The galleries will be completely redisplayed to make them engaging and relevant to diverse audiences and to allow objects to be changed over regularly. The refurbished
Gallery is expected to attract 45,000 visitors in its first year after opening. There are
11 Museum and Gallery staff who work across two sites - the William Morris Gallery and Vestry House Museum. The Friends of the William Morris Gallery is a registered charity which supports and promotes the collections and activities of the
William Morris Gallery in various ways, including organising events and raising funds for exhibitions, publications, acquisitions and the William Morris Gallery
Development Project. This application is being made by the Friends on behalf of the
Gallery.
The Pilgrim Trust is asked to support the conservation of a number of key items from the collection: - A selection of oil paintings from the Gallery's rich and under-used

Preservation & Scholarship Book 2 Agenda item: 5
Conservation, Cataloguing and Acquisitions collection of fine art. A unique collection of 365 printing blocks used to produce
Morris & Co chintzes. A polychrome bust of William Morris made for the William
Morris Hall in Walthamstow, a centre for radical political activity. A rare cottage piano, manufactured by Frederick Priestley, and owned by the Pre-Raphaelite painter
Ford Madox Brown. It is hoped to restore it to working order and make a recording for visitors to enjoy. A Kelmscott Press Chaucer - the deteriorating rare binding must be addressed before it can take prime position in a new gallery dedicated to the 'Ideal
Book'. (NB these are just a selection of the total objects requiring conservation; approaches are being made to other trusts for the conservation of the remainder.)
For each object to be conserved the curators have prepared a condition report and, in consultation with an expert conservator, have drafted a brief describing the work to be completed.
Financial Information
Organisation
Year End
31/03/12
Income
Expenditure
Total Net
Assets
Restricted
360,300
358,746
Unrestricted
36,900
41,990
Project
The total cost of the conservation project is estimated at £100,000.
Total
397,200
400,736
2,890,610
The cost of the delivery phase of the William Morris Development Project is £4.907 million, but this does not include conservation. To date, towards the Development
Project, the Museum has received £1.523 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund,
£1.5 million from the London Borough of Waltham Forest and £1,072,000 from trusts and foundations including the Monument Trust, Foyle Foundation, Wolfson
Foundation, Clothworkers Foundation, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the
Garfield Weston Foundation. Further donations have been received from the Friends of the William Morris Gallery and individuals.

Preservation & Scholarship
Conservation, Cataloguing and Acquisitions
The Pilgrim Trust is asked to fund the following:
Schedule of costs
Category
Oil paintings
Morris & Co wood blocks
Item conservation transport
Thermolignum (a way of treating for pest infestations without using chemicals)
Book 2 Agenda item: 5
Estimated cost
£32,320
£900
£2,300
Plaster bust of Morris conservation grade packing materials
£2,000 conservation pedestal
£1,330
£3,000
Frederick Priestley piano
Kelmscott Press Chaucer conservation of piano conservation of painted panels conservation
£3,000
£2,000
£3,000
£49,850
Total
All prices are quoted ex VAT.
Requested from the Pilgrim Trust........................£49,850
Comments
The Director has visited the Gallery and has seen the various items that need conservation. She was particularly struck by the wood blocks which are in a sorry state, in totally unsuitable storage conditions. Trustees will need to decide how much they wish to offer this project. A grant of £10,000 would cover the cost of preserving the woodblocks and conserving the piano. These are the most urgent works.

Preservation & Scholarship
Conservation, Cataloguing and Acquisitions
Book 2 Agenda item: 5
B
Charity Number
Applicant
THE PALACE TRUST
256356
Mrs Joanna Hall, Fundraising Manager
Previous Appeals
Project Name
Bishop's Palace
Appeal, to extend access to the Palace and its beautiful grounds and
Decision Date
22 Jul 2009
Approved Amount
£15,000.00 treasures making visits a more rewarding experience.
Present Appeal
Unlocking the Bishop’s Palace Collection – revealing the stories behind the Palace, its 57 bishops and the wider community of Wells
Amount Requested
£15,000
Organisation Overview
The Bishop's Palace and Gardens is a site of recognised local, national and international significance. It dates from the early-thirteenth century when Bishop
Jocelin Trotman, the first Bishop to hold the title Bishop of Bath and Wells, received a crown licence. There is evidence that a garden existed here even before Bishop
Jocelin began work on the palace c.1206. Over the years the gardens have changed as successive bishops have built a residence and deer park on land to the south of the
Cathedral of St Andrew. Much of the existing landscaping on the South Lawn was carried out by Bishop George Henry Law in the mid-nineteenth century. This was an era when there was a great nostalgia for the medieval past. The Great Hall was in a state of decay by this time and Law wished to emphasise the impression of a romantic ruin by removing the south wall. The remaining wall and other masonry stand as a decorative curtain, pierced with the tracery of medieval windows and architectural fragments. A wooden bridge takes the visitor over the moat and into the outer gardens. The path leads to a small stone conduit, known as the Well House, which was built by Bishop Thomas Beckynton in 1451. Within the pool in the outer gardens is the source of water from which the City of Wells takes its name. The calm surface, reflecting the Cathedral of St Andrew, belies the great quantity of water that surges up from four “pots” within the silt. The average flow from these is 40 gallons
(100 litres) per second. The Bishop's Palace and Gardens aim to hold a central position in the life of the City of Wells, as an historic venue and visitor attraction. It

Preservation & Scholarship Book 2 Agenda item: 5
Conservation, Cataloguing and Acquisitions is currently undergoing a major development project with the support of the Heritage
Lottery Fund.
Project Outline
Work on site began in November 2010, following a visit by HRH The Earl of
Wessex, Patron of the Bishop’s Palace Appeal, for the official ‘Ground Breaking’ ceremony. The new cafe and shop are programmed for opening in July and the new learning rooms within the existing stable-yard will open in September.
Archaeologists have been working since November and have uncovered many items that have helped to understand the history of the site. They have been able to reconcile etchings from the 18th century with previously uncovered building foundations. Stone flooring is now thought to date back to the time of the great hall’s construction in the 13th century.
In 2010 the Pilgrim Trust made a grant of £15,000 towards the salary of a Collections
Manager at the Palace. (A detailed report on what has been achieved to date is in the project reports on the Pilgrim Trust Trustees’ website). The Trust is now being asked to fund the post for a further year. It is hoped that an exhibition of church treasures will be mounted in 2012, which will be the culmination of the Collections Manager’s work. Funding is already in place to complete the research phase of the Church
Treasures’ project and equipment costs of putting on an exhibition but the Palace
Trust does not have funding for the associated cost of a salary to oversee the delivery of the exhibition or the next steps.
If the Palace Trust is successful at raising the funds it requires it will turn the
Collection Manager role into a full time post and the salary will be covered for the first two years. The Church Treasures exhibition will be staged in year one, after which, a six month feasibility study will be undertaken, resulting in recommendations for a new exhibition or engagement project for Spring 2013. At the same time the
Trust would like to include the costs for digitalising its collection and undertaking some urgent conservation work. It will seek additional funds to make up the year three shortfall, once it knows the outcome of its two applications, which will cover the first two years. Costs are as accurate as possible at this stage, but it expects some re-working of the budget depending on how the project evolves.
Financial Information
Organisation
Year End
31/12/11
Income
Expenditure
Total Net
Assets
Restricted
433,046
370,511
Unrestricted
452,336
454,250
Total
885,382
824,761
318,549

Preservation & Scholarship
Conservation, Cataloguing and Acquisitions
Book 2 Agenda item: 5
Project
Total cost over three years..........................
£128,965
Application to Esmee Fairbairn................................................................£83,000
Requested from the Pilgrim Trust........................ £15,000
Comments
This is an expensive project and although the Bishop's Palace is a wonderful site,
Trustees may consider that they currently have higher priorities than the management of Church silver.