WALSINGHAM TRUST

Registered charity 1180690 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as BASILICA OF OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM, CATHOLIC NATIONAL SHRINE, CATHOLIC NATIONAL SHRINE OF OUR LADY, CATHOLIC NATIONAL SHRINE OF OUR LADY AT WALSINGHAM, RC NATIONAL SHRINE

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Latest income
£3.3m
Latest spending
£3.0m
Registered
2018
Accounts read
FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that the charity made a deficit of £137,991 on general funds, reducing free reserves (unrestricted funds less fixed assets) to a negative £644,771. The auditors note that while going concern is currently supported by post-year-end cash flow improvements, further deficits could significantly weaken the charity's financial position.

What the accounts disclose

Related-party transaction: The document mentions a loan from CaTEW converted to a grant, but does not explicitly state that CaTEW is a related party. Without explicit disclosure of the relationship, this cannot be classified as a related party transaction based strictly on the text.
Loan from CaTEW converted to a grant £500,000 — page 61
Legacy income misposted to accrued income £10,000 — page 61
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: The document mentions a legacy receipt, but does not disclose the donor as a related party.
Loan from CaTEW converted to a grant £500,000 — page 61
Legacy income misposted to accrued income £10,000 — page 61
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: The document mentions a provision for architects fees, but does not disclose the architects as a related party.
Loan from CaTEW converted to a grant £500,000 — page 61
Legacy income misposted to accrued income £10,000 — page 61
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: The document mentions additional legacy income, but does not disclose the donor as a related party.
Loan from CaTEW converted to a grant £500,000 — page 61
Legacy income misposted to accrued income £10,000 — page 61
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: The document mentions a redundancy programme, but does not disclose any specific related party transactions involving trustees or connected persons.
Loan from CaTEW converted to a grant £500,000 — page 61
Legacy income misposted to accrued income £10,000 — page 61
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Governance: The document is an 'Audit Findings Report', not the statutory accounts. It details control weaknesses (missing documentation, credit card authorisation, VAT reconciliations, IT controls, delays in posting) but does not explicitly state that the accounts were filed late, nor does it mention regulator engagement or serious incident reports in the context of governance failures requiring disclosure.
During our audit, there were several documents that could not be located. This included backup for some income items (deposits and bank receipts) as well as loan documentation and property sales.
During our testing, we found no evidence of authorisation of credit card expenditure. This could mean that unauthorised expenditure will be incurred.
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Governance: Control weakness identified: Credit card authorisation missing.
During our audit, there were several documents that could not be located. This included backup for some income items (deposits and bank receipts) as well as loan documentation and property sales.
During our testing, we found no evidence of authorisation of credit card expenditure. This could mean that unauthorised expenditure will be incurred.
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Governance: Control weakness identified: VAT reconciliations not carried out, leading to underpayment.
During our audit, there were several documents that could not be located. This included backup for some income items (deposits and bank receipts) as well as loan documentation and property sales.
During our testing, we found no evidence of authorisation of credit card expenditure. This could mean that unauthorised expenditure will be incurred.
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Governance: Control weakness identified: Delays in posting transactions due to staff shortages.
During our audit, there were several documents that could not be located. This included backup for some income items (deposits and bank receipts) as well as loan documentation and property sales.
During our testing, we found no evidence of authorisation of credit card expenditure. This could mean that unauthorised expenditure will be incurred.
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited. Discloses 2 of 6 completeness components.

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2024)

Total income
£3.3m
Total spending
£3.0m
Reserves (reported)
£0
Employees
48

Reported reserves equal ~0.0 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Register events

Trustees

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

Operates in: Throughout England

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/12/2024£3.3m£3.0m
31/12/2023£2.3m£2.8m
31/12/2022£2.1m£2.7m
31/12/2021£1.9m£2.1m
31/12/2020£4.2m£2.0m

Common questions

Is WALSINGHAM TRUST financially healthy?

The accounts state that the charity made a deficit of £137,991 on general funds, reducing free reserves (unrestricted funds less fixed assets) to a negative £644,771. The auditors note that while going concern is currently supported by post-year-end cash flow improvements, further deficits could significantly weaken the charity's financial position. Its FY2024 accounts were audited.

Government & lottery funding

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

FunderDateAmountPurpose
The National Lottery Heritage Fund26/03/2024£10k"A historic look at our Shrine of Our Lady"