Tring & District Local History & Museum Society
Society Constitution
CONSTITUTION OF THE TRING AND DISTRICT
LOCAL HISTORY AND MUSEUM SOCIETY
Incorporating all amendments up to and including 19th July 2017
1.   NAME.   The name of the Society shall be THE TRING AND DISTRICT LOCAL HISTORY AND MUSEUM SOCIETY.

2.   AIMS AND OBJECTIVES.   The objects of the Society shall be to advance the education of the general public in the history of Tring and the surrounding area, in particular by the provision of a museum, meetings, lectures, and other similar educational events.   The powers of the Society shall be:

a) To promote interest in the past, present and future of Tring and District; its geological and archaeological origins; its political, religious, civic and social history and its agricultural, industrial, commercial and cultural development.   The term Tring and District will cover the civil parishes of Tring Town, Tring Rural, Aldbury and Wigginton and such other places as have enjoyed an identifiable relationship with Tring.

b) To receive, purchase, select and store artefacts and documents of historic interest connected with the area, and to display and interpret such items for the enjoyment, understanding and benefit of the public.

c) To operate a Museum in the town of Tring in Hertfordshire.

d) To encourage and co-ordinate research into the history of the district and to publish the findings from time to time.

e) To do all such lawful acts or things as are incidental to the attainment of the primary objects of the Society and so far as necessary or desirable to do such acts or things in collaboration with any person, body, institution, authority or otherwise.

f) to strive to ensure that the Society’s activities are so conducted as to achieve the standards laid down for Accreditation, or any successor scheme operated by Arts Council England or its successors.

g) To observe national standards in regard to the proper care and conservation of its collection, in co-operation with appropriate local museum bodies. The Society will adhere to the Code of Conduct of the Museums Association or its successors.

h) To take all reasonable care of all items purchased, loaned or given to the Society in pursuance of its aims and objectives and in appropriate cases to seek the conservation of such items.

i) To conduct the above activities by charitable means and to maintain charitable status.

3.   MEMBERSHIP.   Membership of the Society shall be open to all who are interested in the aims of the Society and shall consist of:
-HONORARY MEMBERS
-ORDINARY MEMBERS
-JOINT MEMBERS
-LIFE MEMBERS (No new Life Members to be admitted after 21st March 2007)
4.   SUBSCRIPTIONS, DONATIONS AND APPEALS.  The annual subscription shall be due on the 1st April of each year and shall be decided at the Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting.   The Society shall have the power to accept donations for any purpose consistent with its objects and may make special appeals for funds to be used in connection with any such purpose.

5.   RESIGNATION.   Any member may terminate his or her membership at any time by notice in writing to the Honorary Secretary.

6.   MANAGEMENT.   The management of the Society shall be vested in a Committee, consisting of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, Honorary Curator, Honorary Membership Secretary and not more than eight members provided that the Committee may co-opt additional members to the Committee.   The members of the Committee shall be the trustees of the charity.  The number of co-optees shall not exceed one half of the Committee.   Five members of the Committee, of whom at least two must be officers, shall constitute a quorum.  Tring Town Council shall be entitled to nominate to the Committee a representative, who shall not have voting rights or trustee status.  Decisions taken between committee meetings shall be subject to ratification at the next quorate meeting.

The Committee has the power to establish sub-groups and working parties to further the aims of the Society with these reporting back to the Committee.

A President and Vice-Presidents may also be elected at a General Meeting of the Society for periods to be decided by such meeting.   The President and Vice-Presidents may attend meetings of the Committee but may not vote at such meetings.

Any vacancies within the officers of the Committee that occur between Annual General Meetings may be filled by the Committee with the length of appointment being until the next Annual General Meeting.

7.   ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE.   The Society shall at every Annual General Meeting elect a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, Honorary Curator, Honorary Membership Secretary and not more than eight ordinary members to constitute the Committee for the ensuing year.   The members of the Committee shall take office at the end of the meeting at which they are elected and shall hold office until the end of the next Annual General Meeting.   All members of the Committee may be re-elected for a further term or terms of office.

Nominations for the election to the Committee shall be made at or before the Annual General Meeting.   They must be made in writing, supported by a seconder and the consent of the proposed nominee must have first been obtained.   If the nominations exceed the number of vacancies, a ballot of those present at the Annual General Meeting shall take place.

8.   FINANCE.   The Honorary Treasurer shall keep accounts of all monies received and expended on account of the Society and shall present such accounts at the Annual General Meeting.   A banking account shall be opened on behalf of the Society and all cheques drawn on the account shall require the signature of at least two nominated members of the Committee.   There shall be three nominated signatories, of whom one shall be the Chairman and another the Treasurer.

All monies at any time belonging to the Society and not required for immediate application for its objects shall be invested by the Committee upon such investments, securities or properties as it may think fit, provided that such investment being under the jurisdiction of the Charity Commissioners is invested in such securities as may for the time being be prescribed by law.

The Committee may borrow for the objects of the Society such monies at such rate of interest and in such manner as it may think fit.

The Committee shall out of the monies received by the Society pay all proper expenses of administration and management.

The Committee shall appoint a properly qualified person to examine the accounts of the Society who shall have examined and signed the accounts prior to the Annual General Meeting.

9.   AUTHORITY FOR COMMITMENTS.   Where signatories are required for documents involving the Society with other parties the signatories acting on behalf of the Society shall be appointed by the Committee.   Every member of the Committee or sub-committee and every officer of the Society shall be entitled to be indemnified out of the assets of the Society against all losses and liabilities incurred in the proper execution of such member’s or officer’s duties provided that nothing in this clause shall entitle such member or officer to any indemnity against liability arising through negligence, fraud or similar actions.

10.  ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.   The financial year of the Society shall end on the 31st March each year and a General Meeting of the Society shall be convened by the Honorary Secretary as soon thereafter as possible and in any case within three months of the financial year end.

The business of the meeting shall consist of receiving the annual report, examined accounts, electing the officers and Committee for the ensuing year and any other business as may be necessary.   Fourteen days’ notice of the meeting shall be sent to all members.

Ten members present in person or one-tenth of the membership, whichever shall be the greater, shall constitute a quorum at the Annual General Meeting.   In the event of a quorum not being present the meeting shall be adjourned to such place date and time as the Chairman shall decide and the members present at such meeting shall constitute a quorum.

11.  SPECIAL GENERAL MEETINGS.   A Special General Meeting of the Society may be convened by a resolution of the Committee or on the requisition of at least ten members of the Society.   A meeting shall be held within twenty one days of receipt of such requisition by the Honorary Secretary and the Honorary Secretary shall give to the other members of the Society fourteen days’ notice of the meeting.   The quorum shall be the same as for the Annual General Meeting.

12.  AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION.   Alterations to this Constitution shall receive the assent of two-thirds of the members present and voting at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting.   A resolution for the alteration of the constitution must be received by the secretary of the Society at least twenty-one days before the meeting at which the resolution is to be brought forward.   At least fourteen days’ notice of such a meeting must be given by the secretary to the membership and must include notice of the alteration proposed.   No alteration shall be made to any clause which would have the effect of causing the Society to cease to be a charity in law.

13.  TRUST PROPERTY.   The title to any real or personal property which may be acquired by or on behalf of the Society shall be vested in Holding Trustees being not less than two or more than four individual persons (not being members of the Committee) or any other form as prescribed by the Charities Act.   The Holding Trustees shall be appointed at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting of the Society.

14.  RECORD.   The Committee shall maintain a proper record of all items entrusted to it.

15.  DISSOLUTION.   The Society may be dissolved by a resolution passed by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting at a Special General Meeting convened for the purpose of which twenty-one days’ notice shall have been given.   Such resolution may give instructions for the disposal of any assets held by or in the name of the Society, provided that if any property remains after the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities such property shall not be paid to or distributed among the members of the Society but shall be given or transferred to such other charitable institution or institutions having objects similar to some or all of the objects of the above charity as the charity may determine and if and in so far as effect cannot be given to this provision then to such other charitable purpose.



Drafted March 1994
Adopted with amendments at AGM on 18th March 1994
Clause 7(but inadvertently not 6) amended at AGM on 24th May 1995
Clause 2 amended to satisfy Charity Commissioners’ requirements at EGM on 20th July 1995
Clauses 9, 12 and 15 amended to their requirements at EGM on 17th January 1996
Charitable Status granted on 27th February 1996
Clause 13 amended to Charity Commissioners’ requirements at AGM on 21st May 2003
Clause 3 amended at EGM on 21st March 2007 to rationalise membership categories
Clause 4 amended at EGM on 21st March 2007 to bring subscription date into line with conventional financial year and to enable changes to be made to the subscription rate within a shorter timescale
Clause 10 amended at EGM on 21st March 2007 to bring financial year into line with conventional financial year and to be consistent with the proposed subscription year

The following clauses were amended at SGM on 19th July 2017:

Clause 2:  To reflect the fact that a museum had been established.  New sub-clause (f) to reflect changes in national practice and the Society’s aspirations.  Existing (f) became (g), amended, as wording was unnecessarily specific.  (g) became (h), amended, as wording was ungrammatical and last phrase was superfluous.  (h) became (i), amended, to reflect the fact that charitable status had been attained.
Clause 6:  For consistency.  When the number of members was increased in 1995, Clause 7 was changed but inadvertently Clause 6 was not.  Other alterations were made for clarity or grammar, to enshrine and clarify a long-established practice, and to ensure sound and democratic practice.
Clause 7:  To reflect that the first meeting had already taken place.
Clause 8 and Clause 10:  To reflect current accountancy practice.
Clause 9:  To correct error.
Clause 11:  For consistency, in both title and text, with terminology of Clause 12.
Clause 12:  For presentational consistency, and because existing was both ungrammatical and unnecessarily restrictive.
Clause 15: For presentational consistency.

Validity confirmed by trustees on 04/04/2022 and ratified at a meeting on 11/05/2022.




Members of the Committee are also trustees of Tring & District Local History Society.  A full list of trustees can be found on the Charity Commissioners website.  Search for 'Tring & District Local History Society', then select 'Tring & District Local History Society' and click on 'Trustees' in the left column.