THE SIR MAX AITKEN MUSEUM

Registered charity 278455 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

The charity maintains and manages its funds in order to to ensure that the collection in the Museum is maintained in immaculate condition and is accessible to all. The charity seeks to maintain the properties in their ownership in the best possible order.

Objects

(A) TO PRESERVE AND MAINTAIN FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC THE PROPERTY KNOWN AS "THE PROSPECT" 83 HIGH STREET, COWES, AND TO MAKE KNOWN THROUGH PUBLICATIONS EXHIBITIONS LECTURES AND OTHER MEANS ITS HISTORICAL AND NAUTICAL INTEREST AND ASSOCIATIONS.(B) TO ESTABLISH A MUSEUM FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PUBLIC, AND TO MAKE AVAILABLE FOR RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ITEMS OF NAUTICAL AND LOCAL HISTORICAL INTEREST AND TO PRESERVE THE SAME COLLECTIONS.

Area of benefit: COWES

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

Causes: Arts/culture/heritage/science · website · Get email alerts

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity incurred a net deficit of £12,293 for the year ended 30 September 2025, compared to a surplus in the prior year. Free reserves stood at £987,872 at year-end, which the trustees describe as providing a financial underpin to meet normal annual expenditure. Investment assets increased in value to £966,845, contributing to the overall asset base.

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
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Paying staff
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures

Trustees · trustee networks

• CHRISTOPHER GUTHRIE LITTLEchair
• Graham James Bailey
• ROBERT MORRIS BICKET
• Richard Ian Powell
• Richard Oliver Danvers Power

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

Operates in: Isle Of Wight

Income and spending

Common questions

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 LONDON TRANSPORT MUSEUM LIMITED.

• LONDON TRANSPORT MUSEUM LIMITED income £19.9m
• THE FOUNDLING MUSEUM income £2.0m
• HEUGH GUN BATTERY TRUST LIMITED income £174k
• The Attingham Trust for the Study of Historic Houses and Collections in Britain. income £973k
• GEFEN FOUNDATION income £373k
• ROYSTON MUSEUM TRUST CIO income £153k

Side by side with its peers

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