About us
Our Challenge
The scale of the site and the condition of the buildings and monuments presents the Foundation with a financial dilemma. It has an endowment from the MOD which is insufficient to fund the conservation backlog. Although funding for capital projects has been provided by the National Heritage Memorial Fund and other public and private bodies, this has not been sufficient to deal with an estate on this scale.
Similarly, the OpCo has not been able to provide a visitor offer attractive enough to deliver sufficient funding to cover the costs of opening to visitors. Despite its location off the M25, and within an urban area, the niche nature of the “product” has made marketing it to potential visitors challenging. As a result the Foundation has been obliged to provide an annual operating subsidy.
Over the years there have been attempts to address the challenges, without success. Balancing the need to fulfill the conservation, curatorial and educational requirements of the charitable status of both the Foundation and OpCo whilst finding partners to support commercial development has proven elusive. This has been made more difficult by the complicated relationship between the Foundation, as freeholder and funder, and the OpCo, as the operator.
Our Opportunity
Both charities agree that a simpler governance structure is required and will “merge” at the end of 2024. This will mean the OpCo being wound up and its assets passed to the Foundation which will, through a single Board of Trustees, manage the Endowment and the visitor operation. Importantly, the new Board will also lead on the development of a vision and a means of delivering it through a development plan. To take this forward we need to recruit new trustees who will complement the skills of those members from both the Foundation and OpCo who will continue to serve as trustees of the new charity.
Finances
The Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills Charitable Foundation is the Trust which holds the Permanent Endowment assets including the freehold of the site.
The Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills Charitable Foundation Ltd is the trustee company for the Trust.
During 1997 the Trust received a Permanent Endowment Fund of £5,000,000 and an unrestricted fund of £1,850,000. The Permanent Endowment Fund has been invested to provide a future income to support the development and management of the Waltham Abbey site. The unrestricted fund has been used to supplement grants from the National Heritage Lottery Fund and the National Heritage Memorial Fund to develop the site in order to house, conserve and display the collections of The Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills. Amounts are transferred from the Permanent Fund to the unrestricted fund as required.
WALTHAM ABBEY ROYAL GUNPOWDER MILLS CHARITABLE FOUNDATION - 1062985
The Trust is the sole member of The Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills Company Limited, an operating company established to carry out the site development and management. The trust makes grants to the operating company to enable it to carry out such functions. During the 2023 year the trust made grants of £323,175 to The Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills Company Limited to carry out the development and management of the site.
THE WALTHAM ABBEY ROYAL GUNPOWDER MILLS COMPANY LIMITED - 1062968
In 2024 the two organisations agreed to merge into a single charity The Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills Charitable Foundation Ltd. This is planned for implementation on 1 January 2025 with a single Board of Trustees.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Statement
Trustees of WARGM believe that equity, diversity, and inclusion are fundamental to our mission. We are dedicated to creating a positive impact in the community by fostering an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.
Commitment to EDI
Equity: We strive to provide fair access to resources and opportunities, ensuring that all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, regardless of their background or identity.
Diversity: We celebrate the unique perspectives and experiences that individuals from diverse backgrounds bring to our organization.
Inclusion: We are committed to creating an environment where everyone feels valued, included, and empowered to contribute.