A heritage charity is set to transfer its assets to the National Trust after facing financial difficulties.
The Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust (IGMT) is due to move the 10 museums and 35 listed buildings and scheduled monuments it operates into National Trust stewardship on 2 March next year.
Transfer of the Ironbridge Gorge, considered the “the birthplace of the industrial revolution” and one of Britain’s first UNESCO world heritage sites, is being supported by a £9m government grant.
In a blog post last week, the Charity Commission’s head of regulatory authority Christine Barker said that the “high cost of running 10 museums and caring for 35 listed buildings” put IGMT into “financial difficulty”.
“Consequently, the trustees concluded that the best long-term solution for financial stability would be for the charity to transfer its museums and property to the care of the National Trust,” she wrote.
In its 2024 annual report, IGMT stated that it was becoming “increasingly difficult” to function as an independent museum while remaining financially resilient and generating consistent surpluses.
The report read: “The trust is heavily reliant on visitors with the majority of its income from visitors through admission charges.
“This cost base [the 10 museums and 35 monuments] continues to be under pressure with high levels of inflation across its whole cost base.”
Visitors had not returned to pre-Covid levels of about 450,000 annually, the report revealed. This number was down to 351,000 in 2024, which meant that income did not cover the charity’s running costs.
Last year, IGMT’s total expenditure of £9.56m exceeded its total income of £9.19m, which had declined from £13.4m a year earlier.
Citing an “ongoing challenging environment”, the trust said it was in “advanced discussions” in last year’s report to transfer the museums, assets and operations to a large heritage charity.
Charity to close after transfer
Announced in October 2025, the Department for Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS) said the heritage site, with 330,000 yearly visitors, would be “saved” through its funding injection.
Lisa Nandy, culture secretary, said at the time: “It is absolutely vital that the museums in the Ironbridge Gorge are protected as a key heritage asset.
“I have every confidence that this government support will help the National Trust take this area from strength to strength.”
Hilary McGrady, director general of the National Trust, said: “I cannot think of something more at home in the National Trust's care – an institution built to protect and preserve the things our nation loves on behalf of everyone, everywhere.
“It’s a privilege to be able to work with DCMS and with the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, which has looked after the site and its collection with care and dedication for many decades, on this next chapter.”
Jim Clarke, Friends of Ironbridge Museum chair, said in a statement in October: “Naturally the friends are saddened that the days of the museum’s status as an independent charity will draw to a close.
“Assurances have been received about the importance of the friends in this new arrangement and we look forward to working with the National Trust.”
Mark Pemberton, IGMT chair, said that supporting its staff – numbered 247 according to its Charity Commission listing – and volunteers throughout the transition was its “priority”.
Neither the National Trust or IGMT have confirmed whether all 247 employees will be transferred in March 2026.
