OLD KILN MUSEUM CIO

Registered charity 1200370 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as RURAL LIFE CENTRE

The Old Kiln Museum CIO owns and operates the Rural Life Living Museum, Farnham Surrey. The Museum was founded in 1973 by Madge and Henry Jackson. (Old Kiln Museum, then Rural Life Centre.) The CIO keeps and continues to develop the museum collection, operating the museum for the benefit of the public telling the story of how we lived, tools trades and professions in the English countryside.

Objects

FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION BY THE PROVISION OF AN AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM COMPRISING SUCH EXHIBITS OR ITEMS AS MAY FROM TIME TO TIME BE COMPRISED IN THE FUND AND TO PRESERVE THE SAME AS A COLLECTION ("THE COLLECTION").

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 · Environment/conservation/heritage · Recreation · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Waverley, South East, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity achieved a surplus of £120,749 for the year, driven significantly by a £166,870 public fundraising campaign, resulting in healthy unrestricted reserves of £129,069. While operational trading generated a small surplus of £29,382 after adjusting for bad debts, the charity notes that expenditure on maintenance remains high and the funding situation is still difficult. The trustees report a positive outlook with improved visibility and a more secure financial position following the successful campaign.

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

What the accounts disclose

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
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Paying staff
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• 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

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.

Annual return filing dates (Charity Commission record)

Of its last 3 annual returns with a recorded received date, 2 were received after the due date: year ending 31/03/2024 (received 17/02/2025, 17 days after the 31/01/2025 due date); year ending 31/03/2023 (received 20/06/2024, 141 days after the 31/01/2024 due date).

Due and received dates as recorded in the Commission’s annual-return data; the data does not say whether an extension was agreed. Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

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

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

Reported reserves equal ~34.7 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (35% 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: 6.6% of total income — above the median for charities its size (4.9%) (benchmarks).

Register events

• Received assets from another charity (30/01/2025) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• Joanne Hugheschair
• Andrew David Smith
• Andrew Goundry
• David Joseph Murray
• Lisa Oxborough
• Richard Graham · trustee of 1 other charity
• Robert Pettigrew
• Stephen Rothwell

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

Operates in: Surrey

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

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