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BRISTOL FOLK HOUSE

Registered charity 1184395 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

The constitutional objective of the charity remains consistent with its original purpose. It is to improve the conditions of life of the inhabitants of Bristol by the provision and maintenance of a centre for adult education, recreation and other leisure time occupations.

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

Latest income
£1.0m
Latest spending
£908k
Registered
2019
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity achieved a surplus for the year, with total income of £1,025,790 against expenditure of £908,076. The trustees confirm that the charity holds adequate resources to continue operating for the foreseeable future, citing strong course income and careful cost management. However, the trading subsidiary, Bristol Folk House Trading Ltd, reported an operating loss of £7,945 due to rising costs.

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

What the accounts disclose

Reserves policy: three months of unrestricted expenditure (held: £121k)
“The trustees’ policy is to maintain free reserves equivalent to three months of unrestricted expenditure, currently estimated at £55,000 together with maintenance fund of £45,000 as reserves in case of unforeseen events.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Management recharge from subsidiary to charity
“In the year, the charity charged the subsidiary £27,910 (2024: £20,000) as a management fee covering rent, staff time and recharges. A donation of £9,196 (2024: nil) was made from the subsidiary to the parent charity.” — page 27
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Burton Sweet Limited. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Corporate structure

BRISTOL FOLK HOUSE TRADING LTD — per its own Companies House accounts
  • The company owes £13,910 to group undertakings (2024: £0).

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.

Official officers record.

Property (HM Land Registry)

1 registered title in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (1 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/08/2025)

Total income
£1.0m
Total spending
£908k
Cost of raising funds
£217k
Reserves (reported)
£100k
Employees
27

Reported reserves equal ~1.3 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 (75% 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: 21.1% of total income — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 5.2%) (benchmarks).

Register events

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Bristol City

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/08/2025£1.0m£908k
31/08/2024£750k£617k
31/08/2023£680k£593k
31/08/2022£284k£290k
31/08/2021£284k£290k

Common questions

Is BRISTOL FOLK HOUSE financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity achieved a surplus for the year, with total income of £1,025,790 against expenditure of £908,076. The trustees confirm that the charity holds adequate resources to continue operating for the foreseeable future, citing strong course income and careful cost management. However, the trading subsidiary, Bristol Folk House Trading Ltd, reported an operating loss of £7,945 due to rising costs. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Burton Sweet Limited.

Who funds BRISTOL FOLK HOUSE?

Funders whose own accounts filings name BRISTOL FOLK HOUSE as a grant recipient include THE BRISTOL COMMONWEALTH SOCIETY.

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
THE BRISTOL COMMONWEALTH SOCIETYFY2023£300Dark Room Project

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.

FunderSimilar charities fundedAmount to them
GREENHAM TRUST LTD1£432k
THE JOHN R. MURRAY CHARITABLE TRUST1£120k
THE HARAMEAD TRUST1£115k
THE STEVEN BLOCH IMAGE OF DISABILITY CHARITABLE TRUST1£102k
FEEDING BRISTOL1£55k
UNITED ST SAVIOUR'S CHARITY1£50k
BERKSHIRE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION1£45k
THE DAVID ISAACS FUND1£38k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with BRISTOL CHARITIES.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
BRISTOL FOLK HOUSE£1.0m—0unclear—no doubt
BRISTOL CHARITIES FY2025£2.9m——unclear—no doubt
HELP BRISTOL'S HOMELESS CHARITY FY2025£551k—0unclear—no doubt
DEESIDE COMMUNITY TRUST FY2025£599k—0above—no doubt
Berkshire Youth LTD FY2025£1.4m—0unclear—no doubt
CUMNOR HOUSE SCHOOL TRUST FY2025£7.5m——above—no doubt

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