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Charity Details

 

Thirlestane Castle Trust

SC011491Registered charity from 01 December 1983
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
Charity Information:
Address Princes Exchange
1 Earl Grey Street
Edinburgh
Postcode EH3 9EE
Website www.thirlestanecastle.co.uk
Regulatory Type Standard
Object:
The Trustees shall hold the Trust Fund and the income thereof to advance education, to relieve poverty, to advance religion and to promote and aid such other purposes as are recognised by law to be exclusively charitable and in particular but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing: (a) To preserve for the public benefit the whole or such part or parts of the buildings and their grounds known as Thirlestane Castle, Lauder, Berwickshire (hereinafter called "Thirlestane'') as shall or may hereafter be owned by the Trustees or as shall or may hereafter be leased or lent to the Trustees subject to the lease or loan agreement conferring on the Trustees in the event of the termination of the lease or loan full rights of compensation for any money expended on the subjects of such lease or loan; (b) To protect and improve the amenities of Thirlestane for the public benefit; (c) To preserve for the public benefit as an adjunct to Thirlestane furniture, pictures and other chattels ordinarily kept thereat or which may be given or loaned to the Trustees which the Trustees shall consider to be appropriate to be kept at Thirlestane; Provided that money shall only be expended by the Trustees on the enhancement of furniture, pictures and other chattels which are lent to them if the loan agreement confers on the Trustees in the event of the termination of the loan full rights of compensation for any money so expended. (d) To facilitate and encourage access to and study and appreciation of Thirlestane and such furniture, pictures and chattels as aforesaid by the general public.
Operations:
What the charity is set up to do and how it does this:
Thirlestane Castle Trust is a charity established to care for and secure the long-term future of Thirlestane Castle, grounds and its collections. Funds from donations, plus event and visitor income goes directly to helping preserve the building and its unique history and heritage, for the benefit and enjoyment of the public.
Charity Status: Active
Constitutional Form: Trust (founding document is a deed of trust) (other than educational endowment)
Constitutional Form Date: 01 Dec 1983
Main Operating Location: Scottish Borders
Number of Staff: 15
Number of Volunteers: 1-50
Purposes: "the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science", "any other purpose that may reasonably be regarded as analogous to any of the preceding purposes"
Beneficiaries: "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
31 Dec 2021 £497,663 £432,099 11 Jul 2022 Yes
31 Dec 2022 £1,477,148 £1,509,322 29 Sept 2023 Yes
31 Dec 2023 £616,357 £645,124 20 Dec 2024 Yes
31 Dec 2024 £805,183 £715,135 08 Dec 2025 Yes Download
31 Dec 2025 No Annual Information due by 30 Sept 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
Edward Ian Conolly Maitland-Carew
Mrs Sarah Felicity Ball Maitland-Carew
James Ian Mackenzie Gully
Rufus Bird
Jason Dyer
Hamish Michael Baillie
Robert Thomas de Plumpton Hunter
Henry Peter Trotter
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.

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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.

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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
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