Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre
Analysis
Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Arundel. It was registered in November 1979, 47 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training and environment/conservation/heritage, which this site groups under environment and conservation. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 01402483). It says it provides buildings/facilities/open space.
In the financial year ending December 2025, Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre reported income of £1.2m and spending of £1.1m, spending 86% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £817k to £1.2m (+51%), an average of +11% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2023, when income rose by 35%. Over the whole period it spent 90% of the income it received.
Among 4,574 England and Wales charities whose main cause is environment and conservation and that reported income, Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre sits at the 94th percentile: it is larger than about 94% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 95th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include The Downforce Trust (£1.2m), The Derbyshire Environmental Trust Limited (£1.2m) and The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust (£1.2m).
In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 45%, trading 40% and donations and legacies 14%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £20k. Charitable activities took 64% of spending and raising funds 28%. Reserves of £974k would cover about 10 months of spending at that rate. It employed 32 people.
Income and spending
Where the income comes from
- Donations 13%
- Legacies 1.6%
- Charitable activities 45%
- Trading 40%
- Investments 0.8%
In the charity's own words
The company was established to operate the museum at Amberley, to preserve and restore artefacts of interest and importance that might otherwise be destroyed, to maintain and develop the unique collections and by exhibitions, demonstrations, lectures printed publications and other means to educate the public in the tools, inventions, technologies, customs and social history of previous generations
Similar-sized charities, same cause
| Charity | Location | Income |
|---|---|---|
| The Downforce Trust | Oxford | £1.2m |
| The Derbyshire Environmental Trust Limited | Derbyshire | £1.2m |
| The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust | County Durham | £1.2m |
| The Women's Environmental Network Trust | London | £1.2m |