KEATS HOUSE

Registered charity 1053381 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

Keats House offers a range of activities, including talks, poetry readings, tours and family days. It has a flourishing schools programme. Research access to the book/manuscript collections is available through London Metropolitan Archives. There are also volunteering opportunities and regular play and poetry reading groups. For more details visit www.cityoflondon.gov.uk and search on Keats House.

Objects

TO PRESERVE, MAINTAIN AND RESTORE FOR THE EDUCATION AND BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC THE HOUSE AND GROUNDS KNOWN AS KEATS HOUSE AS A MUSEUM AND MEMORIAL TO JOHN KEATS.

Area of benefit: HAMPSTEAD

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: General Charitable Purposes · Education/training · Arts/culture/heritage/science · website · Get email alerts

Latest income

£709k

Latest spending

£682k

Registered

1996

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that total income increased to £709,187, largely driven by a £572,404 contribution from the City of London Corporation's City’s Estate fund, which covers the charity's running cost deficits. Free reserves rose to £156,193, exceeding the trustee's stated minimum target of £20,000, while the charity remains wholly supported by the trustee and does not maintain reserves at a fixed level to ensure continued delivery of objectives.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Largest income source: City of London Corporation’s City’s Estate (81% of income)

“An amount of £572,404 (2023/24: £324,423) was received from the City of London Corporation’s City’s Estate as a contribution towards the running costs of the charity.” — page 12

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Reserves policy: minimum of £20,000 (held: £156k)

“For good governance purposes, the trustee considers holding a minimum of £20,000 as free reserves to be suitable in light of the operating model in place”

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: The City Corporation provides various services to the charity, the costs of which are recharged to the charity. This includes the provision of banking services, charging all transactions to the charity at cost and crediting or charging interest at a commercial rate. The cost of these services is included within expenditure, as set out in Note 7.

“The City Corporation provides various services to the charity, the costs of which are recharged to the charity. This includes the provision of banking services, charging all transactions to the charity at cost and crediting or charging interest at a commercial rate. The cost of these services is included within expenditure, as set out in Note 7.”

“The charity is consolidated within the accounts of City’s Estate, a fund of the City of London Corporation (the City Corporation, the Corporate Trustee of the charity), by virtue of the deemed control arising from the provision of the shortfall between the charity’s income and expenditure by City’s Estate” — page 30

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: The charity is consolidated within the accounts of City’s Estate, a fund of the City of London Corporation (the City Corporation, the Corporate Trustee of the charity), by virtue of the deemed control arising from the provision of the shortfall between the charity’s income and expenditure by City’s Estate.

“The City Corporation provides various services to the charity, the costs of which are recharged to the charity. This includes the provision of banking services, charging all transactions to the charity at cost and crediting or charging interest at a commercial rate. The cost of these services is included within expenditure, as set out in Note 7.”

“The charity is consolidated within the accounts of City’s Estate, a fund of the City of London Corporation (the City Corporation, the Corporate Trustee of the charity), by virtue of the deemed control arising from the provision of the shortfall between the charity’s income and expenditure by City’s Estate” — page 30

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: An amount of £572,404 was received from the City of London Corporation’s City’s Estate as a contribution towards the running costs of the charity.

“The City Corporation provides various services to the charity, the costs of which are recharged to the charity. This includes the provision of banking services, charging all transactions to the charity at cost and crediting or charging interest at a commercial rate. The cost of these services is included within expenditure, as set out in Note 7.”

“The charity is consolidated within the accounts of City’s Estate, a fund of the City of London Corporation (the City Corporation, the Corporate Trustee of the charity), by virtue of the deemed control arising from the provision of the shortfall between the charity’s income and expenditure by City’s Estate” — page 30

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Pension scheme deficit: £2.7m

“The Fund’s estimated net liability has been determined by independent actuaries in accordance with FRS102 as £2.7m as at 31 March 2025 (£49.9m as at 31 March 2024).” — page 20

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures
Complaints handling
Complaints policy and procedures
Conflicting interests
Financial reserves policy and procedures
Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
Internal risk management policy and procedures
Investing charity funds policy and procedures
Investment
Paying staff
Risk management
Safeguarding policy and procedures
Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
Social media policy and procedures
Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
Trustee expenses policy and procedures
Volunteer management

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)

Total income

£709k

Total spending

£682k

Cost of raising funds

£7k

Reserves (reported)

£200k

Employees

4

Reported reserves equal ~3.5 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (100% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 1.0% of total income — below the median for charities its size (4.9%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

The Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Camden

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/03/2025	£709k	£682k
31/03/2024	£439k	£463k
31/03/2023	£493k	£479k
31/03/2022	£350k	£363k
31/03/2021	£385k	£378k

Common questions

Is KEATS HOUSE financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that total income increased to £709,187, largely driven by a £572,404 contribution from the City of London Corporation's City’s Estate fund, which covers the charity's running cost deficits. Free reserves rose to £156,193, exceeding the trustee's stated minimum target of £20,000, while the charity remains wholly supported by the trustee and does not maintain reserves at a fixed level to ensure continued delivery of objectives. Its FY2025 accounts were independently examined.

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

Funder	Date	Amount	Purpose
The National Lottery Heritage Fund	05/05/2016	£41k	"OMG Keats! Engaging young people at Keats House"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund	03/03/2011	£70k	"Keats love letter"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund	23/11/2006	£424k	"Magic Casements: The Re-awakening of Keats House"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund	29/07/2004	£36k	"Keats House Restoration & Access Research"

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Funder	Similar charities funded	Amount to them
Friends of the Nations' Libraries	2	£21k
THE CHILDHOOD TRUST	2	£15k
THE GOLSONCOTT FOUNDATION	2	£4k
THE EDWARD GOSTLING FOUNDATION	1	£175k
CHARITY OF SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON	1	£125k
JOHN LYON'S CHARITY	1	£120k
WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT UK FOUNDATION	1	£108k
THE JOHN R. MURRAY CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£81k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with KEATS - SHELLEY MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED).

KEATS - SHELLEY MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED) income £646k
POETRY LONDON LTD income £130k
KEEN LONDON income £397k
THE DICKENS HOUSE AND THE DICKENS HOUSE FUND income £982k
DOORSTEP LIBRARY NETWORK income £749k
BROMLEY HOUSE LIBRARY income £505k

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
KEATS HOUSE	£709k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
KEATS - SHELLEY MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED) FY2024	£646k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
POETRY LONDON LTD FY2025	£130k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
KEEN LONDON FY2025	£397k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
THE DICKENS HOUSE AND THE DICKENS HOUSE FUND FY2025	£982k	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt
DOORSTEP LIBRARY NETWORK FY2025	£749k	—	0	above	—	no doubt

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.