12 
REPORT OF THE 
The Council beg to draw the attention of the Members of 
the Society to a matter incidentally mentioned in the Keport 
of the Curator of Antiquities. 
The lease of the land and premises now occupied by the 
representatives of the late Mr. Bearpark being nearly tenni- 
nated, the Council for some time past have been in communica¬ 
tion with H. M. Commissioners for Woods and Forests, to 
ascertain upon what terms the possession of the land and 
premises could be secured to the Society. The land comprises 
an area of upwards of three acres in extent, and is the only 
portion of the Manor Shore Estate now undisposed of either by 
long lease or iinfee, and, therefore, the only land available for 
the extension of the Society’s grounds. Although, at present, 
the state of the Society’s funds will preclude the Council from 
incurring further expense in adding the whole of the land to 
the grounds of the Museum, the Council hope that at no distant 
period this great improvement will be carried out. The Com¬ 
missioners have offered the Society a lease of the land and pre¬ 
mises for thirty-one years at a rent of £120 per year, and this offer 
has been accepted. It is estimated that the houses and buildings 
will alone realize an annual rental of upwards of £60, and the 
Society will be able to let off the remainder of the land as 
garden ground at a fair rental, with the exception of a portion 
which the Council propose to offer to the Trustees of the Blind 
School, in exchange for the land comprising the site of the 
Abbey Choir, so as to include the entire remains of the Church 
within the grounds of the Museum. This scheme has been 
mentioned to the Chief Commissioner for Woods and Forests, 
who has expressed his readiness to co-operate in carrying it out. 
The Financial affairs of the Society have, in a certain degree, 
been affected by the general depression prevalent during the 
past year ; yet the Council have much satisfaction in reporting 
that no material decrease has taken place in the Income of the 
Society. The main Income, derived from the Subscriptions of 
the Members, is maintained in a most satisfactory manner. 
The deficiency of Income in 1862, as compared with former 
years, occurs solely in the two items of Money received at the 
Gates and at the Swimming Baths, the former being only 
