HERSCHEL HOUSE TRUST

Registered charity 298295 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as HERSCHEL MUSEUM

The Trust maintains a museum at 19 New King Street, Bath, where William Herschel lived and from where he discovered the planet Uranus. The Trust owns the property comprising 19 New King Street and is actively involved in the provision of education of the public about the life and times of William Herschel and about astronomy generally.

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Latest income
£145k
Latest spending
£145k
Registered
1988
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that total funds increased to £491,844, with unrestricted reserves standing at £337,853. The trustees report that the financial position is satisfactory and anticipate no difficulty in meeting immediate obligations, despite noting that current unrestricted funds may not be sufficient to meet all future maintenance requirements. The charity generated a net unrestricted surplus of £19,534 for the year, driven by investment gains.

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

What the accounts disclose

Reserves position: below the charity's own stated reserves policy (held: £338k; policy: sufficient to cover the impact of a loss of fifty percent of annual income, plus a designated fund to cover future maintenance costs)
As disclosed fully in note 16 the current level of unrestricted funds totalling £318,319 may not be sufficient to meet all future maintenance requirements. — page 7
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Bishop Fleming LLP. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/01/2025£145k£145k
31/01/2024£147k£133k
31/01/2023£303k£134k
31/01/2022£157k£75k
31/01/2021£81k£70k

Common questions

Is HERSCHEL HOUSE TRUST financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that total funds increased to £491,844, with unrestricted reserves standing at £337,853. The trustees report that the financial position is satisfactory and anticipate no difficulty in meeting immediate obligations, despite noting that current unrestricted funds may not be sufficient to meet all future maintenance requirements. The charity generated a net unrestricted surplus of £19,534 for the year, driven by investment gains. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Bishop Fleming LLP.

Government & lottery funding

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

FunderDateAmountPurpose
The National Lottery Heritage Fund08/12/2021£61k"Herschel 200"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund03/12/2014£4k"Waterloo and the March of Science"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund05/06/2013£3k"Making Light of It"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund11/01/2011£8k"Exhibition - Omens & Inspirations: Ice, Dust and Fire, the story of the Great Comet of 1811"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund03/12/2008£13k"Events and Exhibition programme for the International Year of Astronomy 2009"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund24/03/2005£4k"The Museum Will Run A Series Of Activities Centred Around Spaced Out, A National Science And Astronomy Project And The Sea Britain Celebrati"
The National Lottery Community Fund24/03/2005£4kSpaced Out exhibition
The National Lottery Heritage Fund21/01/2000£3k"This group maintains the William Herschel Museum. They wish to run a series of events and exhibitions to celebrate the 250th anniversary of"

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 MANSFIELD AND SUTTON ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY CIO.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
HERSCHEL HOUSE TRUST£145k0belowno doubt
MANSFIELD AND SUTTON ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY CIO FY2025£2.5m0unclearno doubt
HOGARTH'S HOUSE FY2025£248k0unclearno doubt
SOMERSET HOUSE TRUST FY2025£25.3munclearno doubt

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