SUSSEX HERITAGE TRUST LIMITED

Registered charity 274366 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

The Sussex Heritage Trust is a registered charity established in 1977 to preserve, improve and encourage the appreciation of the architectural and natural landscape of Sussex

Objects

TO PRESERVE AND ENHANCE AND TO ENCOURAGE THE APPRECIATION OF WHATEVER OF THE ENGLISH HISTORICAL, ARCHITECTURAL AND CONSTRUCTIONAL HERITAGE MAY EXIST IN SUSSEX IN THE FORM OF LAND BUILDINGS EQUIPMENT AND FURNITURE OF PARTICULAR BEAUTY OR HISTORICAL, ARCHITECTURAL OR CONSTRUCTIONAL INTEREST.

Area of benefit: EAST AND WEST SUSSEX

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 · website · Get email alerts

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

Latest income

£217k

Latest spending

£243k

Registered

1977

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity incurred a loss of £25,709 for the year ended 31 December 2025, dipping into its reserves to cover exceptional costs related to staff transitions and recruitment. Per the trustees' report, unrestricted reserves stood at £40,838, which is below the stated policy target of six months' expenditure, although the trustees consider this level adequate. The charity remains a going concern with sufficient resources for the foreseeable future, supported by a new three-year grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

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

What the accounts disclose

Largest income source: Charitable activities (61% of income)

“Charitable activities 3 131,854 - 131,854 97,968” — page 8

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Reserves position: below the charity's own stated reserves policy (held: £41k; policy: six months of expenditure, taking into consideration the trust’s two-year activity cycle)

“The Trustees consider the present level and reserves to be adequate in this respect.” — page 3

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Year-over-year changes

Reserves position vs the charity's own policy moved from "above" (FY2024) to "below" (FY2025).

Comparing this charity’s FY2024 and FY2025 accounts as analysed by this site.

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
Campaigns and political activity policy and procedures
Complaints policy and procedures
Engaging external speakers at charity events policy and procedures
Financial reserves policy and procedures
Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
Internal risk management policy and procedures
Investing charity funds policy and procedures
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

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.

Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/12/2024

Volunteers: 12

Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/12/2023

Volunteers: 15

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

Corporate structure

Registered company of the charity Companies House 01331300

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Sussex Heritage Trust (matched by registered charity number).

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.

CLARK, Joanna Lucy — director, appointed 24/09/2025on trustee list
FLIGHT, Graham Leslie — director, appointed 29/04/2025on trustee list
PAVEY, James Robert — director, appointed 29/04/2025not on trustee list
CHAN, Lap-Sun — director, appointed 21/01/2025on trustee list
BACK, Victoria Amanda Mary — director, appointed 23/01/2024on trustee list
WHITMORE, James Nicholas — director, appointed 19/09/2023on trustee list
JONES, Nicholas Streather — director, appointed 02/04/2019on trustee list
PAILTHORPE, Richard David Bruce — director, appointed 02/04/2019on trustee list
COWAN, David Neville — director, appointed 22/01/2019on trustee list
COOPER, James Edwin Tilney — director, appointed 22/01/2019on trustee list
CROOK, Richard Nicholas — director, appointed 16/07/2018on trustee list
CHAPMAN, Sarah — director, appointed 02/11/2017on trustee list
FLIGHT, Graham Leslie — secretary, appointed 29/04/2025

Official officers record.

Property (HM Land Registry)

4 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (4 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

Trustees · trustee networks

David Neville Cowanchair
GRAHAM FLIGHT
James Edwin Tilney Cooper · trustee of 1 other charity
James Nicholas Whitmore
Joanna Lucy Clark
Lap-Sun Chan
Nicholas Streather Jones
RICHARD NICHOLAS CROOK · trustee of 1 other charity
Richard David Bruce Pailthorpe
Victoria Amanda Mary Back

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

Operates in: East Sussex · West Sussex

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/12/2025	£217k	£243k
31/12/2024	£155k	£172k
31/12/2023	£158k	£143k
31/12/2022	£121k	£113k
31/12/2021	£125k	£106k

Common questions

Is SUSSEX HERITAGE TRUST LIMITED financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity incurred a loss of £25,709 for the year ended 31 December 2025, dipping into its reserves to cover exceptional costs related to staff transitions and recruitment. Per the trustees' report, unrestricted reserves stood at £40,838, which is below the stated policy target of six months' expenditure, although the trustees consider this level adequate. The charity remains a going concern with sufficient resources for the foreseeable future, supported by a new three-year grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Its FY2025 accounts were independently examined.

Who funds SUSSEX HERITAGE TRUST LIMITED?

Funders whose own accounts filings name SUSSEX HERITAGE TRUST LIMITED as a grant recipient include THE DULVERTON TRUST, DR RADCLIFFE'S TRUST, THE BASSIL SHIPPAM AND ALSFORD TRUST, THE IAN ASKEW CHARITABLE TRUST.

Known funders

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

Funder	Year	Amount	Purpose (as stated by the funder)
THE DULVERTON TRUST	FY2026	£24k	Heritage Construction Taster Days
DR RADCLIFFE'S TRUST	FY2022	£7k	Sussex Heritage Trust Bursary Scheme
DR RADCLIFFE'S TRUST	FY2025	£4k	Two Workshops
DR RADCLIFFE'S TRUST	FY2024	£3k	Conservation bursaries
THE BASSIL SHIPPAM AND ALSFORD TRUST	FY2022	£2k	General
THE IAN ASKEW CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2022	£1k	Grant
THE IAN ASKEW CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2024	£1k
THE IAN ASKEW CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2023	£1k
THE IAN ASKEW CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2025	£500	Conservation Fund

Government & lottery funding

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

Funder	Date	Amount	Purpose
The National Lottery Heritage Fund	07/05/2025	£208k	"Heritage Skills Taster Days"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund	01/06/2020	£14k	"COVID19: Sussex Heritage Trust"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund	10/03/2010	£496k	"Old St Helens Church Conservation 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.

Funder	Similar charities funded	Amount to them
THE JOHN COATES CHARITABLE TRUST	2	£10k
THE ASHBURNHAM THANKSGIVING TRUST	2	£9k
JOHN SWIRE 1989 CHARITABLE TRUST	2	£2k
ROYAL SOCIETY OF WILDLIFE TRUSTS	1	£751k
THE LAWSON TRUST CIO	1	£503k
CULLUM FAMILY TRUST	1	£495k
THE LYNN FOUNDATION	1	£300k
THE FOYLE FOUNDATION	1	£200k

Charities like this

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

THE SUSSEX HISTORIC CHURCHES TRUST income £123k
THE SUSSEX ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY income £1.6m
THE SUSSEX CATTLE SOCIETY (FORMERLY THE SUSSEX HERD BOOK SOCIETY) income £71k
THE SUSSEX PET RESCUE CHARITABLE TRUST income £47k
SUSSEX WILDLIFE TRUST income £7.2m
Sussex Community NHS Charity income £141k

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
SUSSEX HERITAGE TRUST LIMITED	£217k	—	—	below	—	no doubt
THE SUSSEX HISTORIC CHURCHES TRUST FY2025	£123k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
THE SUSSEX ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY FY2025	£1.6m	—	0	below	—	no doubt
THE SUSSEX CATTLE SOCIETY (FORMERLY THE SUSSEX HERD BOOK SOCIETY) FY2025	£71k	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt
THE SUSSEX PET RESCUE CHARITABLE TRUST FY2025	£47k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
SUSSEX WILDLIFE TRUST FY2025	£7.2m	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt

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