Beamish Museum

Analysis

Beamish Museum is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in County Durham. It was registered in January 2008, 18 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 05751540). It says it provides buildings/facilities/open space and sponsors or undertakes research.

In the financial year ending January 2026, Beamish Museum reported income of £21.6m and spending of £20.6m, spending 96% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from January 2022 to January 2026, income grew from £12.1m to £21.6m (+79%), an average of +16% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to January 2025, when income rose by 19%. Over the whole period it spent 99% 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, Beamish Museum sits at the 100th percentile: it is one of the largest 1% in its cause. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 100th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include NMRN Operations (£21.5m), National Library of Wales (£22.3m) and Onside Youth Zones (£20.8m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 53%, trading 36%, donations and legacies 5.3% and investments 2.0%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £507k. Charitable activities took 70% of spending and raising funds 29%.