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← The Library And Museum Charitable Trust Of The United Grand Lodge

2025-01-31-accounts

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2025

CORE PURPOSE AND VISION

Museum of Freemasonry exists to help people learn about freemasonry in all its social and cultural richness. Through openness, dialogue, many voices and multiple perspectives, we illuminate the history and origins of freemasonry, explore its history, values and spirit, and reveal what it has meant for individuals and society through the ages. We thereby help people gain insight into freemasonry and freemasons past and present.

Our vision is to become a world-class museum, library and archive. Our current strategic aims are as follows:

  1. Public offer: To create an excellent, relevant, accessible visitor attraction and research environment

  2. Communications: To increase awareness, reposition the museum, attract audiences and build long-term relationships

  3. Income generation: To become more entrepreneurial and financially resilient

  4. Collections: To develop, care for and build knowledge of our collections

  5. Our people: To nurture and develop our people, expanding the skills in our team

ABOUT MUSEUM OF FREEMASONRY

The Museum’s origins go back to 1838, when the United Grand Lodge of England, the governing body of English freemasonry, allocated a sum of £100 for collecting books, manuscripts and objects of masonic interest, and for commencing the formation of a library and museum. These were housed in the masonic hall on Great Queen Street in London. After the First World War (1914-1918) it was decided to build a new masonic hall on the site. The Masonic Peace Memorial opened in 1933 and included a purpose-built museum, library and reading room. Initially just for members, the museum began opening to the general public from the 1980s onwards. In 1996, the Library and Museum Charitable Trust (LMCT) was established as an independent charity. Today, we are a fully Accredited museum, and we welcome visitors from across the world to begin or further their exploration of freemasonry.

Like most museums only a fraction of our collection is on display. We look after an extraordinary array of artefacts, many almost 300 years old. These include items as diverse as songbooks, ceremonial regalia and snuffboxes handmade by Napoleonic prisoners of war. Together, our Museum, Library and Archives collections have been awarded Designated Outstanding status.

In total we have approximately 30,000 objects related to freemasonry and other fraternal societies, and we’re still collecting. The Library contains nearly 60,000 items, including books, pamphlets and manuscripts related to freemasonry and esoteric traditions globally. Our Archives contain over three linear kilometres of documents, drawings, private papers, photographs and audio-visual material, plus digital assets. The collection includes the records of the United Grand Lodge of

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England, the Supreme Grand Chapter and various freemasonry charities. It also includes archives relating to individual freemasons, lodges and chapters.

The Museum is open to everyone free of charge, Tuesday to Friday. Researchers can view museum collection material in storage by appointment, and anyone is welcome to register as a reader to access material in the Library and Archives collections.

ACHIEVEMENTS

STATEGIC AIM 1: PUBLIC OFFER

To create an excellent, relevant, accessible visitor attraction and research environment

Exhibitions

Throughout 2024 and into 2025 the exhibition entitled Inventing the Future; the 1723 Constitutions , continues to occupy the Library display cabinets. There is a display of photographs of Museum objects in the corridor leading the Library, highlighting a few of the key items from the exhibition as well.

South Gallery

In September 2024 the exhibition occupying the South Gallery entitled Inventing the Future; the 1723 Constitutions was demounted and put back into storage.

The UGLE Events and Hospitality team approached the Museum about using the South Gallery for dining events and various filming projects.

In October the gallery was set up for filming for a TV series, which required a Museum for scenes mimicking the British Museum. The Museum team worked with various members of the Art Department crew, particularly the set dresser to make adapt the display cases suitable for filming. The crew used their own props and some of the objects from the Museum collection.

The South Gallery was reconfigured for Masonic dining in November and various displays associated with lodges using this space have been created throughout the year.

STRATEGIC AIM 2: COMMUNICATIONS

To increase awareness, reposition the museum, attract audiences and build long-term relationships

Blog

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We continued to expand our blog post series, about specific items from the collections. A total of five new posts were written. They covered contemporary collecting, tracing boards, erased lodge records, John Yarker and the history and conservation of a newly discovered Old Charge.

Moments

The ‘Moments’ section of our website includes picture-led stories about key events or people in freemasonry’s history. We created a new Moment entitled ‘Potted Histories’, highlighting the stories behind some of the named ceramics in our collection. This content was linked to via a QR code in a case in the South Gallery displaying the items featured

Social media

Our social media audience continues to grow but in a slower rate than in previous years. This can be attributed to a reduction in capacity due to staff shortages. Twitter followers increased by 1.4%, Facebook by 9% and Instagram by 9%. 98% of visits to our website were from new users.

Printed publications

Staff submitted articles to Freemasonry Today magazine. Topics included erased lodge records, a newly discovered Old Charge, loans of museum items to external exhibitions and Royal Arch archives.

STRATEGIC AIM 3: INCOME

To become more entrepreneurial and financially resilient

Donations and payments

Throughout 2024 we have been able to offer the public various ways to donate and support the Museum financially. On-site cash and contactless card donations can be made in person, and online donations can be taken via the website. All outgoing email communications from the Museum team members include a signature promoting online donations. There is also a legacy giving page on the Museum’s website, encouraging gifts in wills.

Funding from the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE)

UGLE provides the greater part of the financial resources required by the Museum of Freemasonry.

The activities of the Museum are also funded by donations and fees charged for through genealogical research. We also generate income through our Photography services.

At the beginning of 2024 seven members of staff have run the Museum services on a daily basis. This number reduced to six at the end of August 2024. The three Senior Management team members (Curator, Librarian and the Archivist and Records Manager) continue to report directly to the Chairman of Trustees.

STRATEGIC AIM 4: COLLECTIONS & RESEARCH To develop, care for and build knowledge of our collections

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Digital preservation

We have continued to add material to Preservica, our digital preservation software, including material collected as part of our Covid Collecting project. To date we have ingested 72.1 GB of material contributed by 53 freemasonry organisations and Provinces. The Archives Team have attended regular digital preservation User Group meetings to keep up to date on software developments and have taken advantage of available training.

Digitisation

We partnered with the Factum Foundation to host a volunteer who digitised our collection of Stukeley manuscripts, creating 2,555 images, both TIFF and JPEG, that we hope to make available via a project website in due course.

Documentation

During 2024 we created 1935 catalogue records across all three areas of the collection (2023: 1402; 2022: 1579). We continued to improve access for researchers by making images of key archival items available on the museum’s online catalogue. We also worked with our online catalogue supplier to produce an export of museum object records for submission to the Museums Data Service (MDS) in 2025.

Research service

Throughout 2024 the library and archives has been open for researchers on Tuesdays to Fridays, 10am-5pm, which can be pre-booked via our website. We welcomed 457 researchers to the library over the course of the year, answered 958 research enquiries and 194 family history enquiries.

Specialist talks

In addition to our public talks, we delivered private talks to masonic bodies and specific lodges in person and online.

The Archivist and Records Manager was invited by the Grand Lodge of Turkey to do a presentation about freemasonry and World War I as part of the Grand Lodge of Turkey’s Biennial Symposium in November 2024. This provided an opportunity to share details of resources relating to Freemasonry in Turkey held in the Museum of Freemasonry’s collections, which has led to several Turkish researchers contacting and / or visiting the Museum since to study and look at items.

We also did on-line presentations to the Cheshire and East Surrey Family History Societies, which helped us to reach new audiences and encouraged attendees to use and visit the Museum of Freemasonry to view records to investigate their ancestors.

In September 2024, the Archivist and Records Manager was asked to contribute a presentation to the Families in British India Society conference at Oxford. Over fifty participants took part in learning how archival records relating to freemasons in India can add details for family members.

The Archivist and Records Manager was also asked to provide an on-line presentation to the Grand Lodge of India (Scottish Constitution) in Mumbai, India about the Parsi community and freemasonry in India and London.

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Outreach

In May and July, we hosted visit to the Museum from thirty former pupils from the Royal Masonic School for Girls. We were able to assist them to find out the circumstances that lead to them receiving education at the school.

Collections care

In November the Curatorial team were approached about the condition of the textile objects in the Museum’s care that are used for the ceremonial occasions by UGLE. The condition of the items was assessed, and it was agreed that remedial conservation would be required to stabilise them for the future. A leading provider of specialist art restoration services have been employed to carry out the work and the objects are due to be returned for use by March 2025.

STRATEGIC AIM 5: OUR PEOPLE To nurture and develop our people, expanding the skills in our team

Although the Visitor Services team are now managed by UGLE their roles remain integral to the day to day running of the Museum. Throughout 2024 they have worked regularly in conjunction with all the members of the museum team. They open and close the Museum’s North Gallery, provide welcome services for visitors in this space as well as invigilation tasks of this space.

During 2024 the Archivist and Records Manager recruited six volunteers to assist with re-packing and box listings of erased lodge and chapter records. More than 100 boxes of records were listed aiding cataloguing by the archivists. The records were then sent off to Deepstore, Cheshire.

Towards the end of 2024 UGLE put out a message to its members to volunteer at Freemasons’ Hall, including the Library Reading Room. The role involves assisting the Reading Room Supervisor by collecting and reshelving books for readers, invigilating the Reading Room, answering the phone calls and questions from Museum visitors. There has been a lot of interest to date and interviews will be conducted with a view to the volunteers starting the roles in May 2025.

PLANS FOR FUTURE PERIODS

STRATEGIC AIM 1: PUBLIC OFFER

We intend to have an exhibition fully installed by the end of December 2025 in both the Library and South Gallery spaces about Women and Freemasonry. This project is currently in the planning stages and will include short term loans from outside bodies. It will also involve input from several outside organisations including Freemasonry for Women and the Order of Women Freemasons.

Dining events will continue to be hosted in the South Gallery space throughout 2025 along with special displays installed to support these events.

STRATEGIC AIM 2: COMMUNICATIONS

Our focus will be on the creation and promotion of digital content, on our website and third-party platforms.

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We will continue to focus our marketing efforts on digital channels, enhancing our online advertising and social media presence.

We will continue to engage with freemasons through content in masonic publications and e-newsletters.

We will continue to raise our profile with academic and sector colleagues through presentations at conferences and seminars and contributing papers for publication by the academic sector.

STRATEGIC AIM 3: INCOME

To support our legacy giving webpage we plan to expand this with the development of a “support us” leaflet, that will explain to our visitors how they can support us further, through donations, legacy giving and a newly developed patrons scheme to replace the existing friends scheme.

We will apply for external funding to enable us to deliver public facing and collections-based projects.

STRATEGIC AIM 4: COLLECTIONS AND RESEARCH

We will continue to plan projects around cataloguing and digitisation of high priority material to enhance its accessibility by diverse audiences.

We are working towards providing online access to material in Preservica, with a particular focus on providing access to outputs from digitisation projects.

We plan to complete our submission of museum object catalogue records to the Museums Data Service (MDS) to enhance access to our object collection.

We have a series of information sheets covering subjects such as Royal Freemasons, Commemorative jewels and Friendly and Fraternal Societies, which we will continue to update and make available to download via our website.

We plan to produce online exhibitions through Google Arts and Culture . This offers a free, flexible platform to upload high quality images and text stories to create online exhibitions. It will provide an opportunity for people who may not ever get the chance to visit the museum in person to learn about freemasonry and engage with our collections.

We plan to add other catalogue records to the Archives Hub resource in order to enhance awareness of the richness of our archive collections.

Our Librarian has been invited to deliver a paper on English theatrical lodges in the late 19th and early 20th century at the 13th International Conference on Freemasonry (Freemasonry and Popular Culture), sponsored by the Grand Lodge of California, which will be held at UCLA Los Angeles on 22nd March 2025.

We plan to explore an Adopt a book scheme within the Library to help support conservation of the collection and engage with our audiences.

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STRATEGIC AIM 5: OUR PEOPLE

We will work closely with the UGLE Visitor Services team now employed by UGLE to ensure the smooth running of the services we provide.

Priorities for skills development include disaster salvage, digital skills and media training.

Staff will also be encouraged to identify and attend online and offsite training for professional development that are related to Libraries, Archives and Museums.

Recruitment for volunteers for the Library Reading room will continue throughout 2025.

The LMCT Council will continue to review aspects of governance, including succession planning for the Council and the staff.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The consolidated are set out on pages 11 to 18.

As at 31 January 2025 the consolidated net assets of the Library and Museum Charitable Trust were £1,140,937 (2024: £1,084,326) .

Principal funding sources

The United Grand Lodge of England (“UGLE”) provides the greater part of the financial resources required by the Museum. The Friends of the Library and Museum established in 2001 enables individuals (whether freemasons or not), lodges and chapters to support the Museum by way of an annual subscription. The Friends scheme is open to all those interested in developing their understanding of the varied collections of the Museum and who wish to contribute to their development and care.

The Museum of Freemasonry has not engaged with third parties to raise funds and any direct approach to members of the public for funding has been limited to museum visitors and is financially insignificant. No complaints were received in relation to our fundraising activities.

Investment powers and policy

The Council’s powers of investment are governed by the Trust Deed and regulations applicable to registered charities. There is an Investment Policy reviewed by the Council each year. This does not include any specific social, environmental or ethical guidelines. Investments are professionally managed and are monitored by an Investment Sub-Committee established by the Council in February 2005 against a target for capital growth and income generation against pre-determined benchmarks. In the twelve-month period ending 31st January 2025, the portfolio returned 11.3% (net of all fees) compared to the composite benchmark’s 15.3% and charity peer group comparator’s (as measured by ARC Charity Steady Growth Index) 12.0%. The Investment Committee reviews this performance regularly and was satisfied with the performance of the investment managers in 2024-25. Funds held in anticipation of planned expenditure during the year are maintained as cash deposits with major banks and the charity’s fund managers.

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Reserves policy

The Council has a policy of maintaining reserves at half of annual expenditure. On 31 January 2025, the charity had free reserves totaling £784,887( 2024: £625,471) . This complies with the policy above.

Going Concern

The trustees made the unanimous decision to transfer the activity of the LMCT along with its assets and liabilities into a new legal entity structured as Charitable Incorporated Organisation (“CIO”). The CIO structure provides legal protection, operational clarity, and reduces administrative burdens compared to unincorporated charities or charitable companies. Upon transfer the legal entity the Library and Museum Charitable Trust will cease all trading activity and as this transfer is anticipated to occur withing 12 months of the signing of these accounts, the accounts are prepared on a basis other than a going concern.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The Library and Museum Charitable Trust is a registered charity constituted by a Trust Deed dated 31 July 1996.

Charitable objects

The charitable objects of the Museum, as expressed in its Trust Deed, are to collect, preserve, conserve, display and make available to enquirers the archives, records, printed material, regalia, jewels and artefacts of Freemasonry and the continued running of a library and museum for the benefit of the general public and making the items available for research and education and the preservation of the items as collections.

Public benefit

The Council keeps under review the Museum’s areas of activities, achievements and performance with regard to the Charity Commission’s published guidance and is satisfied that its activities are carried out for public benefit.

Appointment of the Council

The Chairman is appointed by the Board of General Purposes of UGLE. As set out in the Trust Deed (including amendments), four members of the Council are ex-officio appointments of UGLE: the Pro Grand Master, the Second Grand Principal of the Supreme Grand Chapter of England and the President and Deputy President of the Board of General Purposes.

The Board of General Purposes also appoints up to three other members who are to be freemasons and can appoint up to six other members.

When considering appointments to the Council, the Board of General Purposes has regard to the requirement for any specialist skills needed.

Organisation

The Council administers the charity. It meets at least three times a year. There is an Investment Committee which meets at least twice a year.

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The three Senior Management Staff manage the day-to-day operations of the Museum. To facilitate effective operations all matters including finance, employment and acquisitions are communicated by the Senior Management staff to the Chair of the Council.

Members of the Council

The members of the Council are the trustees of the Museum. Members serving during the year 2024 to the year-end were as follows: J Campbell (Chair) R A Berman S R N Fenton (Treasurer) P Glanville M Aspey J Whittaker (appointed 1 May 2025) Tom Milner (appointed 1 May 2025) Robin Felleman (appointed 1 May 2025) M Ward (resigned 29 October 2024)

Related parties

UGLE has placed its extensive collections on loan to the Museum and there is a Loan Agreement dated 18 November 1997 which sets out the terms and conditions of the Loan.

Certain operating and administrative expenses are charged to the Museum by UGLE on a basis which reflects the amount of space occupied by the Museum within Freemasons’ Hall, which is owned by UGLE.

Risk management

The Council believes that it has identified major risks to which the Museum is exposed.

The collections are subject to potential physical deterioration due to handling and environmental factors. Handling of objects, fragile books and archives is undertaken only under the supervision of staff and in accordance with recommended practice in the sector. Measures are in hand to improve the conditions of storage of objects, regalia and jewels. Environmental conditions are regularly monitored and preventative measures taken where possible.

The collections held by the Museum are insured against loss arising from fire, theft or damage. Preventative measures, including security arrangements are reviewed regularly.

Computer systems maintained by the Museum are supported by appropriate back-up arrangements.

The Council is satisfied that adequate systems and procedures are in place to manage the identified risks.

Key management personal details

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The Council judges that the key management personnel are the managers of the museum, library and archives functions. The remuneration of these key management personnel is set by the Council taking into account performance during the year and current advertised rates for similar roles.

ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Name

The Library and Museum Charitable Trust of the United Grand Lodge of England is known as the Museum of Freemasonry.

Charity number

1058497

In June 2007 The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council awarded Designated status to the collections held by the Museum as collections of international significance. Having been a Registered Museum since October 2001, in October 2022 the Museum’s Accredited status was renewed for a further 5 years.

Principal Office

Freemasons’ Hall 60 Great Queen Street London WC2B 5AZ

Auditors

Crowe U.K LLP 55 Ludgate Hill London EC4M 7JW

Bankers

Barclays Bank PLC 1 Churchill Place London E14 5HP

Investment Advisers

Rathbone Investment Management 8 Finsbury Circus London EC2M 7AZ

Legal Advisers

Wedlake Bell 52 Bedford Row Covent Garden London WC1R 4LR

Approved by the Council on 25 September and signed on its behalf by:

Chair: J Campbell

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Independent Auditor’s Report to the Trustees of The Library and Museum Charitable Trust of The United Grand Lodge

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Library and Museum Charitable Trust of The United Grand Lodge (‘the charity’) for the year ended 31 January 2025 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheets, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Emphasis of Matter – Financial Statements prepared on a basis other than going concern

We draw attention to note 1 to the financial statements, which explains that the trustees intend to transfer the charitable activities along with the associated assets and liabilities to a new legal entity and all current activity within the charity will cease. As this transfer is expected to occur within twelve months of the date of these accounts the trustees therefore do not consider it to be appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements. Accordingly, the financial statements have been prepared on a basis other than going concern as described in note 1. Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

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Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 151 of the Charities Act 2011, and report in accordance with the Acts and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Details of the extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations are set out below.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We identified and assessed the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements from irregularities, whether due to fraud or error, and discussed these between our audit team members. We then designed and performed audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks within which the charity operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The laws and regulations we considered in this context was the Charities Act 2011 and taxation legislation, together with the Charities SORP (FRS 102). We assessed the required compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items.

In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which might be fundamental to the charity’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. We also considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the charity for fraud. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were employment legislation, health & safety legislation and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities, including fraud, to be within the recognition of income and the override of controls by management. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included enquiries of management and Trustees about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, analytical procedures and sample testing of income, sample testing on the posting of journals, reviewing accounting estimates and judgements for biases, reviewing regulatory correspondence with the Charity Commission and reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

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Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it. In addition, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’s trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Crowe U.K. LLP

Statutory Auditor

London, UK

Date: 22 November 2025

Crowe U.K. LLP is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2025

Unrestricted
Funds
2025
Note
ref.
£
Income from
Donations
2
885,329
Charitable activities
7,839
Income from investments
3
21,821
Other
1,136
Total
916,125
Expenditure on
Raising Funds
4
19,340
Charitable activities
5-8 &13
889,819
Other
4,398
Total
913,557
Net gain / (loss) on investments
54,042
Net income / (expenditure)
56,611
-
56,611
15,16
1,084,326
1,140,937
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds carried forward at 31 January
Total funds brought forward at 1 February
Transfer between funds
3		 Unrestricted
Funds
2025
Note
ref.
£
Income from
Donations
2
885,329
Charitable activities
7,839
Income from investments
3
21,821
Other
1,136
Total
916,125
Expenditure on
Raising Funds
4
19,340
Charitable activities
5-8 &13
889,819
Other
4,398
Total
913,557
Net gain / (loss) on investments
54,042
Net income / (expenditure)
56,611
-
56,611
15,16
1,084,326
1,140,937
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds carried forward at 31 January
Total funds brought forward at 1 February
Transfer between funds
3		 Restricted
Funds
2025
£
-
-
-
-		 Total Funds
2025
£
885,329
7,839
21,821
1,136		 Total Funds
2024
£
566,361
11,910
23,819
8,054
916,125 - 916,125 610,144
-
-
-		 19,340
889,819
4,398		 15,768
820,768
7,627
913,557 - 913,557 844,163
54,042
3		 - 54,042
3		 (26,338)
56,611 - 56,611 (260,359)
- - - -
56,611 - 56,611 (260,359)
- 1,084,326 1,344,685
1,140,937 - 1,140,937 1,084,326

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THE LIBRARY AND MUSEUM BALANCE SHEETS AS AT 31 JANUARY 2025

Heritage
Operating and
and Other Exhibition
Assets Assets Total Total
2025 2025 2025 2024
£ £ £ £
Note
ref.
Fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets 9 1,534 354,516 356,050 458,856
Investments 10 632,769 - 632,769 634,560
Total fixed assets 634,303 354,516 988,819 1,093,416
Current assets
Debtors 11 15,633 - 15,633 21,128
Cash at bank and in hand 259,643 - 259,643 110,204
Total current assets 275,276 - 275,276 131,332
Liabilities
Creditors:Amounts falling due within one year 12 (123,158) - (123,158) (140,422)
Total net assets / (liabilities) 152,118 - 152,118 (9,090)
Total net assets 786,421 354,516 1,140,937 1,084,326
The funds of the charity
General Reserves 786,421 - 786,421 631,403
Heritage and Exhibition Reserves - 354,516 354,516 452,923
Total charity funds 15,16 786,421 354,516 1,140,937 1,084,326

The accounts were approved and authorised for issue by the Council on 25 September 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

J W P Campbell

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CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2025

Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash provided / (used) by operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Disposal of tangible fixed assets
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Net cash used in investing activities
Cash flows from financing activities:
Dividends and interest from investments
Proceeds from sale of investments
Purchase of investments
Net cash from in financing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period
Net income / (expenditure) for the reporting period
(as per statement of financial activities)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
Gains / (Losses) on investments
Dividends and interest from investments
Decrease/(increase) in debtors
(Increase)/decrease in creditors
Net cash provided / (used) by operating activities		 Total funds
2025
£
72,713
-
(927)
(927)
21,821
723,846
(668,013)
77,654
149,440
110,204
259,643
56,611
103,733
(54,041)
(21,821)
5,495
(17,264)
72,713		 Total funds
2024
£
(121,107)
-
(70)
(70)
23,819
471,660
(400,853)
94,626
(26,551)
136,755
110,204
(260,357)
106,594
26,338
(23,819)
(3,948)
34,084
(121,107)

1 6

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNTS

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

a) Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015) – Charities SORP (FRS 102). The Library and Museum of Freemasonry meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

The Trustees made the unanimous decision to transfer the activity of the LMCT along with its assets and liabilities into a new legal entity structured as Charitable Incorporated Organisation (“CIO”). The CIO structure provides legal protection, operational clarity, and reduces administrative burdens compared to unincorporated charities or charitable companies. Upon transfer the legal entity the Library and Museum Charitable Trust will cease all trading activity and as this transfer is anticipated to occur withing 12 months of the signing of these accounts, the accounts are prepared on a basis other than a going concern.

The accounts (financial statements) have been prepared to give a ‘true and fair’ view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a ‘true and fair view’. This departure has involved following Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014 rather than the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice effective from 1 April 2005 which has since been withdrawn.

b) Recognition of incoming resources

Voluntary income and donations are credited to incoming resources when the amounts have been confirmed and there is certainty of receipt. Grants are credited to incoming resources on the earlier date of when they are receivable under the terms of the grant or when they are received. Earned income is accounted for when it is receivable.

c) Resources expended

Resources expended are included in the statement of financial activities on an accruals basis, inclusive of any irrecoverable VAT. Costs not directly allocated to categories of activity are apportioned as support costs in accordance with time spent by staff on each activity. Governance costs represent the statutory costs of administering the charity.

d) Heritage and Exhibition Assets

Heritage and exhibition assets held by the charity are capitalised unless reliable information about cost is unavailable or where there would be significant costs involved in obtaining a valuation. Items purchased during the year are shown in Note 9 on page 20 and the Museum maintains a register of all purchases. It is the view of the Council, however, that the cost of obtaining a valuation of items already held or donated during any year is likely to be significant and would outweigh the benefits of undertaking such an exercise and these items are therefore capitalised at cost.

Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the value of each asset on a straight line basis over its expected useful life, as follows:

Exhibition space over 9 years Computer equipment over 5 years Office equipment, furniture and fittings over 5 years

f) Financial instruments

Library and Museum Charitable Trust has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. (i) Listed investments, including fixed interest securities and cash held for investment, are measured at fair value through income and expenditure accounts and are reported at their market values at the balance sheet date.

(ii) Other financial instruments, which comprise bank and cash, debtors, other creditors and accruals are initially recognised at transaction value and are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Assets, other than those measured at their fair value, are assessed for indicators of impairment at each balance sheet date.

g) Taxation

No taxation is payable by the Library and Museum Charitable Trust as it is able to make use of the tax exemptions on income and capital gains available to charities.

h) Pension contributions

Multi-employer defined benefit scheme current service contributions are charged in the year in which the service is provided by the relevant employees. Contributions to fund the past service scheme deficits as identified by the actuarial valuation are provided for at the net present value of any agreed future payments.

1 7

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNTS (Continued)

2
DONATIONS AND LEGACIES
Donations:
United Grand Lodge of England
Other donations and income including The Friends of the Museum
3
INCOME FROM INVESTMENTS
Dividends and Interest
Direct
costs
£
4
RAISING FUNDS
Investment management costs
5,570
Fundraising
-
Total
5,570
5
CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
Exhibitions and tours
2,237.00
Cataloguing and conservation
20,112.93
Library and museum acquisitions
337.61
Provision of research resources
-
Awareness raising
28.00
Governance costs
6,217.14
Total
28,933		 Apportioned
support costs
£
-
13,770
13,770
428,550.08
86,127.30
61,521.16
232,311.95
52,375.36
-
860,886		 2025
£
879,750
5,579
885,329
2025
£
21,821
21,821
2025
Total
£
5,570
13,770
19,340
430,787
106,240
61,859
232,312
52,404
6,217
889,819		 2024
£
559,204
7,157
566,361
2024
£
23,819
23,819
2024
Total
£
5,990
9,778
15,768
396,282
107,997
51,094
221,037
42,423
1,935
820,768

The charity incurred audit fees of £7,835 (2024: £1,632).

1 8

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNTS (Continued)

From time to time, the Library and Museum uses volunteers as stewards for open days or for short term projects organising archive material. All volunteers sign a Volunteer Policy. They are entitled to claim their travel expenses.

7
STAFF COSTS
(Library and Museum Charitable Trust )
Salaries and miscellaneous payments
Total staff costs
Life assurance contributions
Employer's national insurance contributions
Contributions to the defined contribution pension scheme		 2025
£
280,494
25,012
32,462
3,044
341,012		 2024
£
281,023
24,487
32,451
1,020
338,982

The average monthly number of staff was 7 (2023:6) .

The Council judges that the key management personnel are the managers of the museum, library and archive functions . The remuneration of these key management personnel is set by the Council taking into account performance during the year and current advertised rates for similar roles. No member of staff received emoluments exceeding £60,000.

Key management personnel cost 2025
£
190,405		 2024
£
177,777

8 TRUSTEES EXPENSES

The members of the Council are the trustees of the Library and Museum. During the year no member of the Council received any remuneration (2024: NIL) nor benefits in kind (2024: NIL). One member of the Council received reimbursement of expenses incurred relating to travel amounting to £45 (2024: £337).

9 TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Exhibition
space costs
Library and
Museum
heritage and
exhibition
assets
Library and
Museum
computers,
furniture &
fittings
£
£
£
Cost
At 1 February 2024
894,000
254,256
332,024
Disposal
-
-
Additions in year
-
927
-
At 31 January 2025
894,000
255,183
332,024
Depreciation
At 1 February 2024
695,333
-
326,091
Disposal
-
-
Charge for year
99,334
-
4,399
At 31 January 2025
794,667
-
330,490
Net book value
At 31 January 2025
99,333
255,183
1,534
At 31 January 2024
198,667
254,621
5,568
Summary of transactions in Museum heritage and exhibition assets
Year ended
31.1.25
31.1.24
31.1.23
£
£
£
Acquisitions in the year
927
70
355		 Total
£
1,480,280
-
927
1,481,207
1,021,424
-
103,733
1,125,157
356,050
458,856
31.1.22
£
2,351

Museum heritage and exhibition assets consist of heritage collection assets such as books, objects, paintings and Masonic jewels covering the period from 1717 to date that are held for the duration of their physical lives because of their unique cultural and historical attributes. They assist the Museum meet its objectives in regard to exhibitions, education, research and preservation, all of which are directed at providing a cultural service to the general public. All objects, books and papers which are added to the collections, whether by purchase, donation or loan are recorded in registers of accessions in accordance with museum practice.Heritage assets are not depreciated since their long economic life and high residual value, supported by these conservation measures, mean that any depreciation would not be material. With current UK museums policy, these “assets” are unlikely to be realised.

1 9

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNTS (Continued)

10 INVESTMENTS ( Library and Museum Charitable Trust )

UK listed investments
Non-UK listed investments
Cash
Total Investments
Market value as at 1 February
Net monies disinvested
Net gains / (losses) on investments
Market value as at 31 January		 Cost
2025
£
557,476
-
67,785
625,261		 Market
value
2025
£
564,984
-
67,785
632,769
2025
£
634,560
(55,832)
54,041
632,769		 Cost
2024
£
368,830
195,572
7,661
572,063		 Market
value
2024
£
381,352
245,547
7,661
634,560
2024
£
731,704
(70,806)
(26,338)
634,560

From time to time investments are sold and the proceeds reinvested as part of managing the portfolio.

11
DEBTORS
Prepayments
Sundry debtors
12
CREDITORS
Trade creditors
Sundry creditors
Accruals
HM Revenue & Customs-PAYE
HM Revenue & Customs-NI		 2025
£
6,525
9,108
15,633
2025
£
82
118,476
4,600
-
-
123,158		 2024
£
10,194
10,934
21,128
2024
£
394
122,309
9,286
4,150
4,283
140,422

20

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNTS (Continued)

13 TRANSACTIONS WITH THE UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND

Certain operating and administrative expenses of £408,852 (2024: £347,216) are charged by the United Grand Lodge of England on a basis which reflects the amount of space occupied by the Museum within Freemasons’ Hall. The amount due to the United Grand Lodge of England at 31 January 2025 was £114,905 (2024: £118,506) . United Grand Lodge made donations to the Library and Museum Charitable Trust of £879,750 (2024: £559,204) .

14 PENSIONS

The Museum participates in the United Grand Lodge Group Personal Pension Plan (GPPP). Employer contributions to the GPPP Pension Scheme in the year totalled £32,462 (2024: £32,451). All staff are automatically enrolled in the GPPP Pension Scheme.

15 CHARITY FUNDS

The Museum hold funds represented by its net assets which can be allocated into two categories

a) In providing its public benefit the Museum holds heritage and exhibition assets and exhibition space in the Prince Regent Room at Freemasons’ Hall in which some of these are exhibited. Although the Museum has necessarily incurred costs in acquiring these assets, they are not held with any expectation that they will be realised by way of sale or other disposal. Accordingly these assets ("Heritage and Exhibition Assets") do not form part of the general reserves of the Museum.

b) The Museum also holds investments and other current assets and liabilities which provide the charity with the funding necessary for its operations as set out in its reserves policy ("General Reserves").

The Council of the Library and Museum Charitable Trust consider that, taking account of the differing nature of Heritage and Exhibition Reserves and General Reserves, the balance sheet presentation should reflect the liquidity of the Museum. Accordingly the balance sheet has been presented as two columns to separate and record the above allocation of the Museum funds and assets.

To comply with the requirements of the Charity SORP(FRS 102) a total balance sheet column is also presented.

16 CHARITY INFORMATION

The charity is constituted by a trust deed dated 31 July 1996 and is a public benefit entity registered as a charity in England and Wales,charity number 1058497.The charity operates from its principal office Freemasons' Hall, 60 Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5AZ

21