THE BRONTE SOCIETY

Registered charity 529952 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as THE INCORPORATED BRONTE SOCIETY

One of the oldest literary societies in the English speaking world, with an international membership, the Bronte Society owns and runs the iconic Grade I Parsonage Museum celebrating the lives of the Brontes. Our accredited world class collections are displayed throughout the museum and library. We run education and learning activities, artistic events, residencies and exhibitions.

Objects

THE OBJECTS OF THE SOCIETY ARE;TO PROMOTE INTEREST IN THE LIFE AND WORKS OF THE BRONTE FAMILY IN PARTICULAR, BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY, BY ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING PERMANENT MUSEUMS, GALLERIES AND LIBRARIES FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT;TO ACQUIRE BY DONATION, PURCHASE, OR OTHERWISE, AND TO RENOVATE AND PRESERVE ARTEFACTS, BOOKS, PAMPHLETS, MANUSCRIPTS, ENGRAVINGS, PAINTINGS, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, CLOTHING, FURNITURE AND OTHER OBJECTS OF OR RELATING TO THE BRONTE FAMILY, AND IF THOUGHT FIT, OF OTHER AUTHORS, FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT;TO PROVIDE FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE LITERARY REMAINS FOR FURTHER SCHOLARSHIP AND BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE LIVES AND WORKS OF THE BRONTES AND THEIR WRITING AND IF THOUGHT FIT, OF OTHER AUTHORS, AND PUBLICATION OF THE MEMOIRS OF THE BRONTE FAMILY AND OTHER AUTHORS FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT;TO PROMOTE THE ADVANCEMENT OF LITERATURE AND THE ARTS AND TO INITIATE PROJECTS THAT DEEPEN LITERARY ENGAGEMENT LOCALLY, NATIONALLY AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AND WHICH ARE RENDERED INTERESTING BY THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH THE BRONTE FAMILY FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT;TO DO ALL SUCH THINGS AS ARE INCIDENTAL OR CONDUCTIVE TO THE ATTAINMENT OF THE ABOVE OBJECTS

Area of benefit: NOT DEFINED

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

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a net income of £414,867 for the year ended 31 March 2025, resulting in total unrestricted reserves of £1,161,975. The trustees confirm that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, with readily available unrestricted reserves of £556,964 significantly exceeding the stated policy target of three months' operating costs (£330,294).

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

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Clive Owen LLP. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Year-over-year changes

• Employees paid over £60,000: 1 (FY2024) → 0 (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
• Complaints handling
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Conflicting interests
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investment
• Paying staff
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures
• Volunteer management

Corporate structure

• Registered company of the charity Companies House 00073855
• Trading subsidiary: THE BRONTE GENIUS COMPANY LIMITED Companies House 06504497 · Financial health read from its filings

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.

• NUGENT, Marguerite Katherine — director, appointed 21/05/2026on trustee list
• WILD, Alexandra Alice Eve — director, appointed 21/05/2026on trustee list
• WALSH BARNES, Morag — director, appointed 21/05/2026not on trustee list
• HENDRY, Thomas James — director, appointed 05/10/2024on trustee list
• KEEL, Eleanor Clare — director, appointed 05/10/2024on trustee list
• WATSON, Lauren Margaret — director, appointed 05/10/2024on trustee list
• POWRIE, Lucy Georgina — director, appointed 18/05/2023on trustee list
• BEARE, Laura Joanne — director, appointed 05/09/2021on trustee list
• GALLAGHER, Ciara Martina — director, appointed 05/09/2021on trustee list
• JENKINS, Penelope Anna — director, appointed 05/09/2021on trustee list
• MIDGLEY, Andrew John — director, appointed 23/06/2021on trustee list
• MELLER, Helen Clare — director, appointed 09/06/2018on trustee list

Official officers record.

Property (HM Land Registry)

2 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (2 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 31/03/2025)

Reported reserves equal ~4.9 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (78% 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: 14.1% of total income — above the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

• ANDREW MIDGLEY · trustee of 1 other charity
• Alexandra Alice Eve Wild
• Ciara Martina Gallagher
• Eleanor Clare Keel · trustee of 1 other charity
• Helen Clare Meller
• Laura Joanne Beare
• Lauren Margaret Watson
• Lucy Georgina Powrie
• Marguerite Katherine Nugent
• Morag Walsh Barnes
• Penelope Anna Jenkins
• Thomas James Hendry

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

Operates in: Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Common questions

Known funders

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

Government & lottery funding

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

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 BRONTE YOUTH & COMMUNITY CENTRE.

• BRONTE YOUTH & COMMUNITY CENTRE income £1.9m
• THE JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY income £110k
• BROMLEY HOUSE LIBRARY income £505k
• WHITBY LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY income £379k
• THE PARROT SOCIETY U K income £196k
• THE WORDSWORTH TRUST income £2.2m

Side by side with its peers

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