01 Identity
Scottish charity record
- OSCR charity number
- SC013784
- Status
- Active
- Regulatory type
- Standard
- Designated religious body
- No
- Geographical spread
- More than one local authority area in Scotland
- Volunteers
- 1-50 volunteers
- Staff
- 0
- Postcode
- EH9 3HJ
OSCR note: This SCIO was incorporated as a result of the conversion of a charitable company (SC069720) on 08 February 2023.
02 Purpose and work
What the charity exists to do
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.
Charitable 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
Activities
- It carries out activities or services itself
Constitutional objectives
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.
03 Annual returns
Income and expenditure history
| Year end | Total income | Donations | Charitable activities income | Trading income | Investment income | Other income | Total expenditure | Raising funds | Charitable activities spending | Other spending | Staff | Return received |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 October 2025 | £6,685 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £1,180 | £0 | £0 | £0 | 0 | 4 August 2026 |
| 5 October 2024 | £6,690 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | 0 | 11 July 2025 |
| 5 October 2023 | £6,210 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £1,988 | £0 | £0 | £0 | 0 | 27 June 2024 |
| 5 October 2022 | £6,210 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £1,988 | £0 | £0 | £0 | 0 | 27 July 2023 |
| 5 October 2021 | £335 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 | £696 | £0 | £0 | £0 | 0 | 16 October 2021 |
Figures are those reported by the charity and supplied in the OSCR bulk download. Blank facts remain distinct from zero.
04 Contact record
Principal office or trustees address
- Address supplied to OSCR
- Institute for Astronomy, Royal Observatory,, Blackford Hill,, Edinburgh
- Website supplied to OSCR
- http://www.roe.ac.uk/
- Parent charity
- Not supplied
No direct external links on this profile. The official OSCR record and source documentation are available through BritDB’s dedicated source page.
05 Provenance
Source for this profile
© Crown Copyright and database right 2026. 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. BritDB is an independent service and does not claim to be the Scottish Charity Register.