THE HISTORIC ENGLAND FOUNDATION

Registered charity 1178368 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

The charity distributes grants to other bodies who operate in line with the charity's objects which are to promote the conservation, protection and improvement of heritage assets situated in England and to advance education by promoting research into, and furthering the public's knowledge and enjoyment of, heritage assets situated in England and their conservation.

Objects

4.1 THE OBJECTS OF THE CHARITY ARE, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC:4.1.1 TO PROMOTE THE CONSERVATION, PROTECTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF HERITAGE ASSETS SITUATED IN ENGLAND;4.1.2 TO ADVANCE EDUCATION BY PROMOTING RESEARCH INTO, AND FURTHERING THE PUBLIC’S KNOWLEDGE AND ENJOYMENT OF, HERITAGE ASSETS SITUATED IN ENGLAND AND THEIR CONSERVATION,IN PARTICULAR BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY WITHOUT LIMITATION BY SUPPORTING THE WORK OF HBMCE; AND4.1.3 TO FURTHER SUCH OTHER EXCLUSIVELY CHARITABLE PURPOSES INCIDENTAL TO THE ABOVE OBJECTS AS THE TRUSTEES SEE FIT.

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

Causes: Education/training · Arts/culture/heritage/science · Environment/conservation/heritage · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Swindon, South West, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2026 accounts

The accounts state that the charity generated total income of £361,425 and ended the year with unrestricted reserves of £124,340. The trustees have determined that holding reserves is unnecessary because the charity has no directly employed staff and can reduce work if funding fails. The charity operates as a subsidiary of Historic England, with fundraising and administrative costs recharged from the parent organization.

Automated summary of the FY2026 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Comptroller and Auditor General, National Audit Office. Discloses 4 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.

• Conflicting interests
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Risk management
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures

From the charity’s annual return (Part A, self-declared)

Answers and figures the charity gave in Part A of its annual return to the Charity Commission. They are self-declared: not verified by the Commission or by this site. Only positive answers and figures are listed; items not listed are simply not shown.

Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

Corporate structure

• Registered company of the charity Companies House 10564101

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Historic England Foundation (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).

• Ancestry — “Partnership with Ancestry” (source page)
• Benefact Trust — “We would like to thank all our supporters, including the following who have supported our work recently: Our Supporters: Ancestry Benefact T…” (source page)

Company officers (Companies House)

Current officers of the charity’s own company per the Companies House register, cross-checked against the Charity Commission trustee list by name. A director not on the trustee list is usually a timing or naming difference between the two registers — check both records before drawing conclusions.

• BARLTROP, Mitchell — director, appointed 15/10/2025on trustee list
• BOYLE KC, Christopher Alexander David — director, appointed 15/10/2025not on trustee list
• KNIGHTS, Samantha — director, appointed 15/10/2025on trustee list
• MOOKERJEE, Purnima Roy — director, appointed 24/10/2024on trustee list
• STRATTON-MORRIS, William Kenneth — director, appointed 24/10/2024on trustee list
• RICHTER, Fabian Felix, Dr — director, appointed 20/06/2019on trustee list

Official officers record.

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2023)

Reported reserves equal ~0.0 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 7.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 1.0% of total income — below the median for charities its size (3.2%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• Fabian Richterchair
• Christopher Alexander David Boyle KC · trustee of 1 other charity
• Mitchell Barltrop
• Purnima Mookerjee
• Samantha Knights · trustee of 1 other charity
• William Stratton-Morris

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

Operates in: Throughout England

Income and spending

Common questions

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.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE HISTORIC TOWNS TRUST.

• THE HISTORIC TOWNS TRUST income £110k
• THE ENGLISH HERITAGE TRUST income £155.2m
• T B H BRUNNER'S CHARITABLE TRUST income £97k
• SIGNIFICANCE income £53k
• LONDON HISTORIC PARKS AND GARDENS TRUST income £222k
• THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION income £463k

Side by side with its peers

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