Jane Austen's House Museum

Analysis

Jane Austen's House Museum is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Alton. It was registered in March 2014, 12 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 incorporated organisation (CIO). It says it provides buildings/facilities/open space, provides advocacy/advice/information and sponsors or undertakes research.

In the financial year ending December 2025, Jane Austen's House Museum reported income of £2.0m and spending of £1.2m, leaving 42% of income unspent that year. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £481k to £2.0m (+314%), an average of +43% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2022, when income rose by 153%. Over the whole period it spent 74% 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, Jane Austen's House Museum 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 96th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include The Regent (Christchurch) Limited (£2.0m), Bfi Trust (£2.0m) and Buxton Arts Festival Limited (£2.0m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from trading 39%, charitable activities 35%, donations and legacies 20% and investments 1.3%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £299k. Charitable activities took 54% of spending and raising funds 1.4%. Reserves of £1.4m would cover about 15 months of spending at that rate. It employed 18 people.