THE SOUTH WEST HERITAGE TRUST
Registered charity 1158791 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register
Museum and curatorial services in Somerset, caring for over 3 million museum objects and operating 3 county museums.Statutory Archives and Local Studies services in Somerset and Devon, providing access to public records.Historic Environment conservation advice to local authorities and partners in Somerset. 400 acres of landscape sites managed.Heritage Education provision across all services.
Causes: Education/training · Arts/culture/heritage/science · Environment/conservation/heritage · website · Get email alerts
Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts
The accounts state that unrestricted income totalled £3,614,031 against total expenditure of £4,652,360, resulting in a net income for the year of £580,164. The trustees report that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future with no material uncertainties about its ability to continue as a going concern.
Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.
What the accounts disclose
Largest income source: Government Grants (39% of income)
“In the Trust year ending 31 October 2025, the core grants from the two Councils accounted for £2,053,572 of the Trust's total income (57% of the unrestricted income, 39% of the total income).” — page 12
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Fundraising cost ratio: 2.1% of fundraised income, as disclosed
“Total expenditure was £4,652,360 (2024: £8,474,068), of which £4,542,855 (98%) (2024: £8,401,456 (99%)) was for charitable purposes. The remainder was for raising funds.” — page 11
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves policy: three months of unrestricted expenditure (held: £1.3m)
“It states that ‘the target provision of reserves should meet operational costs for three months’ and should be achieved by 2025. The target is equivalent to unrestricted reserves of approximately £700k.” — page 12
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Trading subsidiary: South West Heritage Trust Trading Company Ltd
“A subsidiary trading company, South West Heritage Trust Trading Company Ltd (registered company number 09222720), was also formed on 1 November 2014.” — page 5
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Accounts audited by Albert Goodman LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.
In the news
Recent coverage mentioning this charity by name (automated match; headlines belong to their publishers).
Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — South West Heritage Trust (matched by registered charity number).
Funders the charity credits
Named as funders/supporters on the charity’s own website (the charity’s claim, distinct from accounts-verified grants).
- Somerset Council — “South West Heritage Trust is a charity supported by Somerset Council, Devon County Council, Arts Council England and other generous funders” (source page)
- Devon County Council — “South West Heritage Trust is a charity supported by Somerset Council, Devon County Council, Arts Council England and other generous funders” (source page)
- Arts Council England — “South West Heritage Trust is a charity supported by Somerset Council, Devon County Council, Arts Council England and other generous funders” (source page)
Property (HM Land Registry)
10 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (0 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.
Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/10/2025)
Cost of raising funds
£110k
Reported reserves equal ~1.5 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).
Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (87% 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: 2.1% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).
Register events
- Received assets from another charity (17/12/2022) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).
Operates in: Devon · Somerset
Income and spending
Common questions
Is THE SOUTH WEST HERITAGE TRUST financially healthy?
Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that unrestricted income totalled £3,614,031 against total expenditure of £4,652,360, resulting in a net income for the year of £580,164. The trustees report that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future with no material uncertainties about its ability to continue as a going concern. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Albert Goodman LLP.
Who funds THE SOUTH WEST HERITAGE TRUST?
Funders whose own accounts filings name THE SOUTH WEST HERITAGE TRUST as a grant recipient include THE DICKINSON FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST, THE PILGRIM TRUST, Friends of the Nations' Libraries, THE GOLSONCOTT FOUNDATION, THE EXETER CANAL AND QUAY TRUST LIMITED.
Known funders
Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.
Government & lottery funding
Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).
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.
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Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with WEST SOMERSET RAILWAY HERITAGE TRUST LTD.
Side by side with its peers
Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.