More information to appear on the Scottish Charity Register from 9 March 2026, including charity trustee names and accounts documents. Click here for more details.

Charity Details

 

The Royal Observatory Edinburgh Trust

SC013784Registered charity from 17 January 1980
2MB ZIP file, with green, blue and mono style logos
2MB ZIP file, with green, blue and mono style logos
Information about this charity:
Charity Information Operations Annual Submissions Income and Expenditure Charity Trustees
Notes:
This SCIO was incorporated as a result of the conversion of a charitable company (SC069720) on 08 February 2023.
Charity Information:
Address Institute for Astronomy
Royal Observatory,
Blackford Hill,
Edinburgh
Postcode EH9 3HJ
Website http://www.roe.ac.uk/
Regulatory Type Standard
Object:
4 The objectives for which the The Royal Observatory Edinburgh Trust (hereinafter 'the organisation') is established are ultimately to benefit the public by advancing education, science and scholarship. The means by which it pursues these objectives are: 4.1 to inspire and inform the public through stimulating an interest in astronomy and related sciences; 4.2 to promote the public understanding of the work carried out by the institutions occupying the Royal Observatory Edinburgh site and the history and heritage of these institutions; 4.3 to foster conservation of, and public interest in, the heritage of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh site and the historic artefacts and archives associated with the site; and 4.4 to encourage and facilitate scholarly study of the history of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh site and the scholarly use of the library, archives and historic artefacts associated with the site.
Operations:
What the charity is set up to do and how it does this:
Ultimately the purpose of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh Trust is to advance education, science and scholarship. The principal means by which it seeks to achieve these ends are (i) to inspire and inform the public through stimulating an interest in astronomy and related sciences and (ii) more specifically to promote the public understanding of the work carried out by the institutions occupying the Royal Observatory Edinburgh site and the history and heritage of these institutions. In particular it seeks to preserve and encourage both public and scholarly interest in the heritage of the Observatory site. It also encourages more general public interest in, and understanding of, astronomy and related sciences. It furthers these aims by, inter alia, runing projects aimed at, or providing equipment for use by, the public, and by organising both public lectures and more specialist meetings for scholars.
Charity Status: Active
Constitutional Form: SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation)
Constitutional Form Date: 17 Jan 1980
Main Operating Location: City of Edinburgh
Number of Staff: 0
Number of Volunteers: 1-50
Purposes: "the advancement of education", "the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science"
Beneficiaries: "Children or young people", "No specific group, or for the benefit of the community"
Types Of Activity Undertaken: "It carries out activities or services itself"
Annual Submissions:
Year End Income Expenditure Annual Return Received Accounts Received Latest Annual Reports and Accounts
05 Oct 2021 £335 £696 16 Oct 2021 Yes
05 Oct 2022 £6,210 £1,988 27 Jul 2023 Yes
05 Oct 2023 £6,210 £1,988 27 Jun 2024 Yes
05 Oct 2024 £6,690 £0 11 Jul 2025 Yes Download
05 Oct 2025 No Annual Information due by 05 Jul 2026
If an annual return has been received on time (within nine months of the Year End Date), the 'Annual Return Received' box is green   . If an annual return is late, the box is red   .
Income and Expenditure:
Charity Trustees:
First Name Last Name
No charity trustee information available
From 09 March 2026, OSCR is required by law to publish the names of a charity’s trustees as part of its Scottish Charity Register entry. We are also required to publish each charity’s annual report and accounts as received from this date, which may include the names of certain individuals. The only exceptions to publication are where a charity or one of its charity trustees applies for this information to be excluded, and OSCR is satisfied that publishing it would jeopardise the safety or security of a person or premises.

If the charity trustee information on a Register entry appears blank, this may mean that an exemption applies or that the charity has not yet provided the required details to OSCR. Supplying this information will become mandatory as part of future annual submissions.
Copyright

From 30 June 2025, OSCR began collecting charity trustee information through OSCR Online. Providing this information is a legal requirement for all charities. The names of trustees will be published on the Scottish Charity Register from early 2026 to promote transparency and strengthen public trust in the sector.

© Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator 2006. Crown Database Right 2006.

The Scottish Charity Register ("The Register") is subject to Crown database right.

The Scottish Charity Register is licenced under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Open Government Licence logo

When you use this information under the OGL, you should include the following attribution: © Crown Copyright and database right 2020. Contains information from the Scottish Charity Register supplied by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0.

Charity accounts and constitution – what information do we publish?

The Scottish Charity Register contains key information about a charity’s operations and finances. This includes:

  • the names of a charity’s trustees (exemptions apply)
  • its annual report and full accounts, if submitted after 9 March 2026
    (Accounts submitted prior to 9 March 2026 will be redacted, or may not be published, depending on the charity’s income level or legal form.)

These changes are designed to improve transparency across the charity sector in Scotland.

Please note that we accept no responsibility for the functionality, accuracy, or content of external websites. If you experience a technical issue with an external link, you should contact the charity directly.

Under section 23(1)(a) and (b) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, you have the right to request the following information directly from the charity:

  • a copy of the charity’s latest statement of accounts
  • a copy of the charity’s constitution
Back to Previous Page

 

Scroll to top