National Maritime Museum Cornwall Trust

Analysis

National Maritime Museum Cornwall Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Falmouth. It was registered in February 1998, 28 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, arts/culture/heritage/science and environment/conservation/heritage, which this site groups under arts, culture, heritage and science. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 03446298). It says it provides buildings/facilities/open space, provides advocacy/advice/information and sponsors or undertakes research.

In the financial year ending March 2025, National Maritime Museum Cornwall Trust reported income of £2.4m and spending of £3.0m, spending 126% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £2.0m to £2.4m (+20%), an average of +4.7% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2024, when income rose by 123%. Over the whole period it spent 96% of the income it received.

Among 17,634 England and Wales charities whose main cause is arts, culture, heritage and science and that reported income, National Maritime Museum Cornwall Trust sits at the 97th percentile: it is larger than about 97% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 97th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Wakefield Theatre Trust (£2.4m), The Ufton Court Educational Trust (£2.5m) and The Little Angel Theatre (£2.4m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 47%, trading 42%, donations and legacies 6.5% and investments 4.5%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £16k. Charitable activities took 89% of spending and raising funds 9.6%. Reserves of £4.1m would cover about 16 months of spending at that rate. It employed 51 people.