The Rochester Bridge TrustA N N U A L R E V I E W 2 0 1 1 - 2 0 1 2

The Court of Wardens and Assistants presents itsAnnual Report and the financial statements of the Trust

for the year ended 31 March 2012.

Welcome from the Senior WardenIn June 2012, I began the second year of my term asSenior Warden and it has been interesting to reflect onall that has been achieved in the last twelve months.

This year, the Trust entered its 613th year of providingand maintaining a bridge across the River Medway atRochester at no charge to the public. Along with myfellow Wardens and Assistants, I am acutely consciousof how fleeting our time is in the context of this historicorganisation and yet how heavy is the responsibility ofensuring its work will continue uninterrupted in thecenturies to come.

The Trust receives no public funds, no grants and does not carry out fundraisingactivities. Instead, our finances continue to be derived from the charitable donationsgiven by benefactors in the 14th and 15th centuries. Those donations came in theform of property and money which our predecessors have managed and invested tosound effect, ensuring the survival of the Trust and its work for the benefit of thetravelling public. It is a legacy of careful financial management that we are committedto continuing.

The Court needs to take a very long-term view of its assets to ensure that funds areavailable for future maintenance and, eventually, the extremely costly replacementof the current bridges. After several years of volatile financial markets and a difficultproperty background, the Court is pleased that its resources are holding upreasonably well. Costs, however, continue to rise, and we must be ever vigilant toensure we leave the Trust in good shape for our successors.

I hope that this Annual Review gives you an insight into the work of the RochesterBridge Trust over the past year (1 April 2011 – 31 March 2012) and that you enjoyreading it.

Russell Race, DLSenior Warden

About the TrustIn 1381, a flood swept away Rochester’s Romanbridge which had crossed the Medway for theprevious 12 centuries. By 1391, Sir John de Cobhamand Sir Robert Knolles had built a new stone bridge.They persuaded other benefactors to give land andproperty for the perpetual maintenance of thecrossing and were, in effect, the founders of theRochester Bridge Trust.

Formally established by Richard II in 1399, theRochester Bridge Trust is a unique survivor of themedieval system of providing bridges. It is the onlyindependent bridge trust still serving its originalpurpose – to provide river crossings free of chargeto the public.

Today, the Trust is a modern charity registered withthe Charity Commission. It has a board of 12 unpaidtrustees, called the Wardens and Assistants ofRochester Bridge. Six of the trustees are appointedby the Trust for their skills and experience. Theother six are nominated independently by Medway,Maidstone Borough and Kent County Councils.They are supported by a small team of salaried staff.

As well as taking care of its two road bridges andthe service bridge at Rochester, the Trust has thepowers (but not the responsibility) to support othercrossings of the Medway and to make charitablegrants.

The Trust’s income and reserves are derived entirelyfrom endowments of land and money frombenefactors in the late 14th and early 15thcenturies. The charity does not raise funds, chargetolls or receive any public funding. Most of theoriginal endowment was in the form of land, someof which remains in the Trust’s ownership.

The bridgesThe Trust owns and maintains three bridges at Rochester. The Old Bridge was originallyconstructed in 1856 to the designs of Sir WilliamCubitt and then substantially modified to its currentappearance in 1914. The New Bridge and ServiceBridge were both built in 1970, the former to carryeastbound traffic and the latter to take essentialpipes and cables across the River Medway.

During the year it was necessary to carry out anumber of repairs to the Old Bridge, much of whichwas the result of damage from traffic accidents andvandalism. Some of this work was covered byinsurance.

One of the large porticos on the Strood side of thebridge had been damaged by a lorry. Chips andcracks had appeared in the structure following theimpact. Traditional techniques were used todismantle the top of the tower and remove thedamaged stone, which was then transported to theoriginal quarry in Cornwall for a duplicate to be cutand lifted back into place. Repairs were made to thestone balustrade on the upstream side and to thepower supply for street lighting cables, and asection of railing was replaced.

During the year, the Trust tendered for theappointment of a new bridge engineering consultantto provide specialist advice on the management ofthe structures. Hyder Consulting (UK) Ltd wasappointed with effect from 1 June 2012, beginningwork with detailed inspections of the condition of allthe bridges. This will be used to plan futuremanagement and investment.

The Trust has a small Bridge Maintenance Team ofthree staff responsible for the day-to-day care of thestructures. The Bridge Maintenance Technician andAssistant Bridge Maintenance Technician have Preparing to repair the damaged portico

continued to attend training courses to add to the skills they have available for use on the Trust’s assets. They are currently studying forqualifications in bench joinery and stone masonryrespectively at the Building Crafts College.

Estate Property rental is a major source of income for theTrust, which has a responsibility to maximise thelong-term return from its property in order to fundits main charitable purpose.

Some properties are still held from the originalendowments; whereas others have been sold andthe proceeds used to invest in new land or buildings,or in financial investments.

Over the past year, planning permission wasobtained to convert redundant traditional farmbuildings into residential units at two Kent farms,and a further farmhouse was sold. The Trustreinvested funds to buy a cottage in Hollingbourneand has committed to buy seven newly-built housesat Kings Hill, West Malling, for residential letting. Onits Cambridgeshire estate at Conington, the Courtcarried out two major residential refurbishmentsand marketed one of its large houses for sale.

The usual programmes of property and estatemaintenance have continued during the year. Newopportunities to enhance property values acrossboth estates are being actively developed.

The Trust’s long history of estate management hasnow been put to use in support of academicresearch. In 2007, David Ormrod, Professor ofEconomic History at the University of Kent, receiveda grant from the Economic and Social ResearchCouncil to research historic rents in London and theSouth East. The estate records in the RochesterBridge Trust Archive provided the raw data, and

Phase I of the City and Region Project extractedfrom the account books and leases the rent andacreage for each property for each year from 1577to 1914. Between July 2010 and December 2011 theRochester Bridge Trust funded Phase II of the Cityand Region Project, which digitised the estate mapsand building plans relating to these properties andincorporated both the images and rent data onto theTrust’s website at www.rbt.org.uk

GrantsThe Trust’s primary activity is the maintenanceof its bridges at Rochester; however, there is alsoa long history of making grants to other charitieswhen surplus funds are available. Because theTrust has limited funds for this purpose, grantsare focused on areas which reflect the Trust’sown history, values and activities, e.g. educationin science and engineering, preservation ofheritage buildings and deepening understandingof the River Medway and its history.

Education in Science and Engineering

This year saw the launch of the Growing ScientistProject, a partnership of six Maidstone secondaryschools which aims to engage up to 1,000 pupilsa year in science, technology, engineering andmathematics, and to encourage further studyand future careers in these subjects.

Funded by the Trust, the Growing ScientistProject was launched with a dinner for teachers,academics and industry representatives at theTrust’s historic buildings in Rochester. The guestspeaker was Dave Rowley, EducationProgramme Director for the BloodhoundSupersonic Car, an initiative that aims topromote engineering and science by developinga car that can travel at 1,000km/h – faster than

Langdon Manor Estate Map, 1699. The estate, near Faversham, is still owned by the Trust

USAF veterans, who were based at an airfield that now forms part of the Trust’s Conington estate, on a visit to Rochester

sound and quicker than a speeding bullet – andby retaining the World Land Speed Record for theUnited Kingdom.

Pupils from some of the Growing Scientistschools took part in a Space Day in the autumnwhen they learned about living in space througha live link-up with the National Space Centre andcarried out experiments in rocket building and awide range of other activities. Throughout theyear the schools have been working together onprojects as diverse as astronomy, beekeeping,and manufacturing miniature Formula One cars.The first year’s activities ended with a verysuccessful Schools’ Science Expo hosted with thehelp of The Historic Dockyard at Chatham. TheTrust is delighted to be funding this excitingproject, which should help to inspire the nextgeneration of scientists and engineers.

The Rochester Bridge Trust is a keen supporterof The Arkwright Scholarships Trust, a nationalcharity dedicated to raising funds frombusinesses, institutions, and individuals tosponsor talented would-be engineers throughtheir sixth-form studies and into university.

The Trust has sponsored two ArkwrightEngineering Scholars through their sixth formstudies and was delighted when both JoshuaMudie and Jessica Salisbury achieved excellentresults in their final year examinations. Bothscholars plan to study civil engineering atuniversity.

The Trust will sponsor two new Bridge Wardens’scholars from the autumn and hopes toencourage other Kent businesses to considersponsoring scholars as a cost-effective andrewarding way to support the development offuture engineering talent.

In partnership with the University of Greenwichand the Arkwright Scholarships Trust, anengineering experience day was organised forGCSE and A-level students from Kent andMedway schools. Participants were able to tryexperiments with ground-penetrating radar,build towers, and use computer-aided design tocreate prototype models.

As part of the 2011 Medway Business Awards,the Trust sponsored a special award forcommitment to training young people inengineering. The award was won by GekuAutomation, a high-tech robotics company basedin Rochester.

The Trust also continued to support projects forwhich it had made major grants in earlier years,most notably the Bridge Wardens’ Chair ofBridge and Tunnel Engineering at the Universityof Greenwich.

Historic Building Preservation

As usual, some small grants were made for thepreservation of the historic fabric of churches.Two of the most notable projects are describedbelow.

The colourful Queen Anne Royal Arms in St Laurence Church, Hougham, near Dover, wererestored, thanks in part to a grant from the Trust.St Laurence Church is a Grade I listed buildingwith 12th-century origins and Victorianalterations. The Queen Anne Arms, displayed onthe north wall of the north aisle, date from thefirst five years of her reign – before the 1707 Actof Union – and celebrate her position solely asQueen of England.

Tom Organ and specialists from The WallPaintings Workshop in Faversham completed the

Making waves at this year’s Growing Scientist Expo...

...and a successful formula for a racing start

conservation and restoration project. Cleaning,removing darkened varnish, and repairs wereundertaken in the church to avoid the oilpaintings, wood panels and supports sufferingfurther stress from temperature fluctuations.Once completed, the refurbished Royal Armswere secured in their original position withadditional space created between the woodworkand the wall to enable air to circulate. As a result,visitors for years to come will be able to enjoy therich colours and the intricacies of the historicpainting which had become so dulled with age.

Through another grant it was possible to renewancient historic ties between the RochesterBridge Trust and Nettlestead. Funding was givento the parish’s medieval church of St. Mary theVirgin, a Grade I listed building, for therestoration of a 17th-century memorial.

The monument depicts Lady Katherine Scott, wifeof Sir John Scott of Nettlestead Place, both ofwhom died in 1616. Lady Katherine is depictedkneeling with a child at a prayer desk. Sir Johnhad an illustrious career, including serving inElizabeth I’s armies under the Earl of Essex inSpain and the Earl of Leicester in theNetherlands, and was closely connected with theRochester Bridge Trust from 1604 to 1616. Duringthis period, he was twice Senior Warden of theTrust. However, the Trust’s links to Nettlesteadgo much further back to the foundation of theTrust in 1399. From that date the parishes in theancient Lathe of Aylesford, which includedNettlestead, were obligated to elect the wardensof Rochester Bridge and to provide for the upkeepof the medieval bridge across the Medway. Theobligation remained legally in place – but was notenforced – until 1908, when the Trust’sconstitution was changed.

Community relationsThe Bridge Clerk, Bridge Archivist and somemembers of the Court gave presentations tonearly 30 local interest groups about the work andhistory of the Trust. As in previous years, theBridge Chapel and Bridge Chamber were open tovisitors for two days in September as part of thenational Heritage Open Days. News andinformation about the Trust were published on thewebsite at www.rbt.org.uk, and there were almost13,000 visitors to the site during the year,including more than 8,600 unique visitors.

Looking aheadIn the coming year, the Trust will focus on themaintenance of its assets and the securing of itsfinancial strength for the long term. In particular itwill:

• support the mobilisation of the newly appointedBridge Engineer, Hyder Consulting, includingnew inspections of all the structures to form thebasis of future maintenance planning;

• review the street lighting and electrical systemson the bridges and parts of the esplanades andcarry out a review of energy costs;

• complete the purchase of further new houses forrent;

• develop new opportunities to maximise the valueand return from other investment propertyacross the estate;

• undertake a full repair of the roof and woodenwindows of the Grade II listed Bridge Chamberand review options for restoring both the originalmetal windows at the Bridge Chamber and theroof of the Bridge Chapel.

Restoring the Queen Anne Royal Arms in St Laurence Church,Hougham, near Dover

FinancesIn August 2011, Helen Corbett joined the Trust as Chief Finance Officer following theretirement of Mike Bird. Helen is a Chartered Certified Accountant with a background inthe asset management industry, where she has held various positions in portfoliomanagement and corporate finance areas. For the Trust she has responsibility for thestatutory accounts, financial management, insurances, and financial relationships withthe Investment Manager and Property Surveyor as well as managing risk and health andsafety issues.

The Trust works hard to ensure that its assets are carefully managed in order to fundmaintenance and eventual replacement of the bridges at no cost to the public. The recentuncertain and turbulent economic climate has continued to have an impact on incomelevels but the charity’s finances have fared reasonably well, largely because of strongmanagement of spending and the diversity of the investment portfolio. A propertyrevaluation was carried out as at 31 December 2011.

The Trust is able to take a long-term view of its financial position, given the extendedperiods between major expenditure. Periods of major investment in the condition of thebridges are followed by more restrained expenditure to allow the reserve balances torecover.

2010/11 2011/12Expenditure on bridge maintenance £1,492,726 £571,423

Expenditure on investment property £676,200 £593,970

Incoming funds (mainly investment income and rents) £2,205,625 £2,431,964

Expenditure on bridge maintenance was much lower during 2011/12 than in 2010/11 whenmajor works were carried out to the Old Bridge upstream parapet.

A formal actuarial opinion is taken every three years to test assumptions and monitorfinancial performance. The latest report was received during the year, and under currentassumptions the Court is satisfied that it has sufficient resources in the short and long-term to deliver its responsibilities. However, the balance between assets and liabilitiesremains very fine, and close attention continues to be paid to ensuring optimum value formoney and maximising investment returns. In light of the analysis, the Court of Wardensand Assistants has determined that its surplus funds are restricted. As a consequence,the funds available for making charitable grants will be limited for the next few years.

Contact us:

Rochester Bridge Trust5 Esplanade, Rochester, Kent ME1 1QEt: 01634 846706e: bridgeclerk@rbt.org.ukFind more information on our website:

www.rbt.org.uk