National Museum of Wales

We operate 7 free-entry museums across Wales, plus the National Collections Centre, to further our core objective of 'the advancement of the education of the public' in the fields of science, art, industry, history and culture.

In the charity's own words, from the register.

In Wales

• Throughout Wales

Area of benefit in its governing document: Wales

The places the charity told the Commission it works in.

In the year ending 31 March 2025, it had income of £49,162,000 and spent £44,780,000.

Figures as the charity reported them to the Charity Commission. Staff and volunteer numbers are only asked of charities with income over £10,000. A year with no row was not reported.

Separate measures from the charity's own returns and accounts, each with its year. Read them together: no single measure says how well a charity is run.

Income over time

Up 43%, from £34,364,000 in the year to 31 March 2021 to £49,162,000 in the year to 31 March 2025.

Spending against income

It spent 91% of its income in the year to 31 March 2025. It spent more than its income in 3 of the 5 years shown.

Money from government

80% of its income in the year to 31 March 2025 came from government grants and contracts (£39,459,107).

Largest funder

Welsh Government gave £38,349,000 in the year to 31 March 2025, 78% of that year's income.Read by AI from the charity's accounts.

From the annual returns the charity filed with the Charity Commission. The largest funder comes from its accounts, read by AI.

Government grants in the year ending 31 March 2025: £38,944,000 from 18 grants. Government contracts: £515,107 from 1 contract.

From the charity's annual return to the Charity Commission, which asks every charity with income over £10,000 how much came from government grants and contracts. It does not say which part of government. These totals are separate from the named funders read from its accounts and the grants published on 360Giving, and are not added to them.

In its accounts for the year ending 31 March 2025, the charity named 7 funders who gave £40,143,000 between them. £39,769,000 of that came from public bodies.

These figures were read from the accounts the charity filed with the Charity Commission by Claude, an AI model, in OpenEconomy's accounts reader. AI can misread a table, so check the accounts on the register before relying on a figure.

Only funding the accounts name with an amount is included. Most charities also have income from donations, fees and trading that is not listed by funder, so this is part of its income.

Funders that publish to 360Giving list 54 grants to this charity since 1997, worth at least £57,832,254.

Only funders that publish their grants to 360Giving are included, and many do not. These are amounts funders awarded, which can differ from what the charity received in a given year, so they are shown apart from the accounts figures above.

Council business that names this charity, from the records councils publish, gathered by OpenCouncil. Newest first.

• 4 March 2026, Rhondda Cynon Taf

  Named in an agenda item or minute of Council

  Members' Questions

  Read the meeting record

• 18 March 2025, Cardiff

  Named in an agenda item or minute of Economy & Culture Scrutiny Committee

  Declarations of Interest

  Read the meeting record

• 18 March 2025, Cardiff

  Anderson declared an interest that names the charity, at Economy & Culture Scrutiny Committee

  Hubs & Library Strategy

  Recorded as a personal interest.

  Read the meeting record

• 13 September 2024, Swansea

  Named in an agenda item or minute of West Glamorgan Archives Committee

  Report of the County Archivist.

  Read the meeting record

• 18 July 2024, Cardiff

  Named in an agenda item or minute of Council

  Public Questions

  Read the meeting record

• 26 October 2023, Cardiff

  Named in an agenda item or minute of Council

  Oral Questions

  Read the meeting record

We count a mention only when the record gives the charity's full registered name or its charity number. A mention shows the charity was named in that record. Follow the link to read what the record says.

Senedd and Welsh Government records that name this charity, gathered by OpenSenedd. Newest first.

• 17 July 2026

  Named in a written question from Cai Parry-Jones

  Addressed to the Trefnydd, Chief Whip and Cabinet Minister for Culture and Sport.

  How is Welsh Government ensuring that the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff remains open? We have already allocated up to £4.8m in 2026-27 to support the most urgent improvement works and help protect the collections at National Museum Cardiff (NMC), whilst continuing conversations with Amgueddfa Cy…

  Read the record

• 3 December 2025

  Named by Julie Morgan in the Senedd

  Minister, world-class museums like St Fagans and the national museum of Wales in Cathays Park are very close to my constituency, and as the Minister will know, people from more deprived backgrounds are less likely to access our fantastic museums in Cardiff and across Wales. What can the Welsh Govern…

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• 19 November 2025

  Named by Heledd Fychan in the Senedd

  …you. It's just understanding across the whole estate and local museums, really. I understand the assurances you've given in terms of the national museum of Wales, but I just wondered if that's an active consideration. Is that being reflected in the draft budget—any need for even an audit or increas…

  Read the record

• 18 October 2025

  Named in a ministerial meeting or engagement: Cabsec SJTCW

  Purpose: Amgueddfa Cymru / National Museum of Wales.

  Amgueddfa Cymru / National Museum of Wales

  Read the record

• 24 February 2025

  Named in a written question from Darren Millar

  Addressed to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Welsh Language.

  How much funding has the Welsh Government allocated to the National Museum of Wales over the last three calendar years, broken down by year? The amount of funding Amgueddfa Cymru receives, including from the Welsh Government, is set out in its annual financial report. The reports are publicly availa…

  Read the record

• 17 April 2024

  Named by Tom Giffard in the Senedd

  …ve heard so far about the future of the national museum. Can I also thank Heledd Fychan for tabling today's question on the future of the national museum of Wales? Now, I do feel a bit sorry for Heledd because, whilst she clearly takes a keen interest in the museum, I think she's been undermined her…

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• 5 March 2024

  Named by Heledd Fychan in the Senedd

  …the future of the national collections. We have heard warnings from our national institutions, from the National Library of Wales and the national museum of Wales, that the collections are at risk. The same warnings were heard in Brazil, and then we saw the fire that destroyed 92.5 per cent of the n…

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• 26 September 2023

  Named in a ministerial meeting or engagement: Dep Min for AST

  Purpose: Bi-annual meeting with the National Museum of Wales.

  Bi-annual meeting with the National Museum of Wales

  Read the record

• 14 September 2023

  Named by Dawn Bowden in the Senedd

  …n. So, anywhere in Wales that a tourist happens to land, they will have access to a national contemporary art gallery site, much like the national museum of Wales. The national museum of Wales is a dispersed model, in effect. We've got seven sites. We don't have just one national museum; we have a n…

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• 18 January 2023

  Named by Heledd Fychan in the Senedd

  …fair wages for everybody working in our national institutions. But we've heard very clear indications from both the national library and national museum of Wales, et cetera, that unless the funding was there for the pay remit, that, actually, there will be a decrease in terms of services they're ab…

  Read the record

• 30 November 2022

  Named by Vikki Howells in the Senedd

  …hundreds of thousands of pounds, with arts organisations in Wales receiving around 80 per cent of all grants. The trust has supported the National Museum of Wales, the National Eisteddfod, the Welsh National Opera, the Royal College of Music and Drama, and Welsh universities. It has also supported m…

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• 4 October 2022

  Named by Dawn Bowden in the Senedd

  …ger. What I can say to you is that the programme for government commitments that we have made in the areas that you have outlined—so, the national museum of Wales, the development of that national museum, Theatr Clwyd, the football museum in north Wales, of course, which is very relevant at the mome…

  Read the record

We count a mention only when the record gives the charity's full registered name or its charity number. A mention shows the charity was named in that record. Follow the link to read it in full.

15 trustees run the charity.

• Kate EdenChairAppointed 1 September 2023
• Cai WilshawAppointed 1 April 2021
• Clare PillmanAppointed 7 April 2026
• Daniel RichardsAppointed 9 February 2024
• David Aled JonesAppointed 9 February 2024
• Dr Justin MorrisAppointed 7 April 2026
• Emma YhnellAppointed 9 February 2024
• Freya StannardAppointed 1 April 2021
• Huw GeorgeAppointed 7 April 2026
• Hywel JohnAppointed 1 January 2017
• Janice Victoria WilliamsAppointed 9 February 2024
• John HuntAppointed 1 January 2023
• Owen HathwayAppointed 15 April 2023
• Rhys EvansAppointed 1 October 2023
• Richard ThomasAppointed 23 September 2020

Trustees are responsible in law for the charity. Names are as they appear on the public register.

Of the last 5 annual returns that were due, 4 arrived by the deadline.

Charities with income over £10,000 send an annual return within 10 months of their year end, and those over £25,000 also send their accounts. Smaller charities only update their income and spending on the register. The dates are when the Commission received each document.

Charity number

525774

Status

Registered

Registered with the Commission

6 August 1963

Governing document

ROYAL CHARTER 19 MARCH 1907, SUPPLEMENTAL CHARTERS OF 6 NOVEMBER 1911, 10 OCTOBER 1991 AND 19 SEPTEMBER 2006.

Website

www.museumwales.ac.ukAs the charity gave it on the register.

Council area of its contact address

Cardiff

• Register details, income, spending, trustees and filing dates: Charity Commission for England and Wales, register of charities. Loaded by OpenEconomy on 2 November 2026.
• Funding from accounts: the charity's filed accounts, read by OpenEconomy's AI accounts reader on 1 November 2026.
• Grants awarded: 360Giving open grants data, from funders that publish there. Loaded by OpenEconomy on 2 November 2026.
• In council meetings: councils' published meeting records, gathered by OpenCouncil and matched to the charity by OpenEconomy on 4 November 2026.
• In the Senedd and Welsh Government: records gathered by OpenSenedd and matched to the charity by OpenEconomy on 5 November 2026.

• This charity on the Charity Commission register
• Its accounts and annual returns on the register
• 360Giving open grants data
• This charity on OpenEconomy

• OpenCouncil: council records that name this charity
• OpenSenedd: Senedd records that name this charity
• OpenCouncil: Cardiff Council's meetings and decisions
• OpenEconomy: Cardiff's economy in figures
• OpenSenedd: the Members of the Senedd for Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf
• OpenSenedd: the Members of the Senedd for Caerdydd Penarth