King John's House and Museum

What King John's House and Museum does

King John's House and Museum is a registered charity (No. 276961) and company (No. 01441318) operating a heritage visitor attraction on Church Street in Romsey, Hampshire, United Kingdom. The site comprises three historic buildings: King John's House (a Grade I listed medieval building claimed to have been part of Romsey Abbey and associated with King John since 1927), Tudor Cottage (Grade II listed, timber-framed), and 13 Church Street (a Victorian Moody family home housing the reconstructed gun shop and parlour). Operations are run by 7 paid staff and supported by over 70 volunteers covering heritage asset management, collections, housekeeping, environmental monitoring, tour guiding, museum welcoming, costumed interpretation, and gardening; the chair of trustees is Freddie Law-Turner.

The trust generates revenue across multiple small streams: paid admissions (currently suspended), a cafe serving homemade cakes and afternoon teas (now operating from 13 Church Street as Miss Moody's Tea Room), garden tours at £5 per person, conservation/restoration tours post-fire, themed afternoon teas at £18.95, a monthly book club at £7, an annual Friends membership at £25, donations via JustGiving and BACS, and grants from Test Valley Borough Council and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (£16,250 disclosed). Distribution is entirely local — physical on-site visits, group bookings (minimum 10 people), school visits, and an online TicketSource ticketing channel — with marketing limited to the website, Facebook, Instagram, and email newsletters.

In February 2025 a major fire caused extensive damage to King John's House and smoke damage to Tudor Cottage; the museum building remains closed while the cafe operates Tuesday–Saturday and gardens Monday–Friday. The trust is undertaking a significant restoration project supported by Hampshire Cultural Trust, the Association of Independent Museums, Museum Development South West, Hampshire Field Club, and University of Winchester, and is investing in a new schools and community spaces programme funded by public-sector grants.

Name

King John's House and Museum

Legal name

King John's House and Tudor Cottage Trust Limited

Website

https://kingjohnshouse.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1927

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

King John's House and Museum is a registered charity operating a heritage visitor attraction in Romsey, Hampshire, across three listed historic buildings, offering admissions, a cafe, gardens, tours, events, and a Friends membership programme to local residents, schools, and tourists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Romsey

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Admission and Tours: Paid admission to the House and Museum, guided conservation tours of the fire-damaged site, and garden tours. Group bookings available for parties of 10 or more at reduced rates.
2. Cafe and Tea Room: The Cafe at King's John's House operates Tuesday to Saturday, serving homemade cakes, loose leaf teas, coffee, and afternoon teas. Relocated to 13 Church Street after the February 2025 fire.
3. Friends Membership: Annual membership at £25 per person providing 10% discount in the cafe, regular newsletters, members social events, special members events and lectures, and volunteer opportunities.
4. Events and Activities: Revenue from ticketed events including afternoon teas (£18.95), book club sessions (£7 per session), garden tours (£5 per person), and restoration tours.
5. Grants and Public Funding: Supported by Test Valley Borough Council through grants including £16,250 for schools facilities project, Community Infrastructure Levy funding for signage, and UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Additional support from Hampshire Cultural Trust.
6. Donations and Fundraising: Charitable donations and bequests accepted. JustGiving platform used for post-fire recovery fundraising. Business community appeals for restoration support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

King John's House and Museum is a heritage visitor attraction operating three historic buildings — a Grade I listed medieval house associated with King John, a Grade II listed Tudor cottage, and a Victorian home — alongside historic period gardens, an on-site cafe serving traditional afternoon teas, and a programme of guided tours, themed events, book club sessions, and primary-school educational activities. It is run as a registered charity by the King John's House and Tudor Cottage Trust Limited, supported by Test Valley Borough Council, with revenue drawn from admissions, the cafe, Friends membership, donations, and grants.

Product overview

King John's House and Museum is a heritage attraction offering access to three historic buildings: King John's House (Grade I listed medieval building), Tudor Cottage (Grade II timber-framed Tudor building), and 13 Church Street (Victorian Moody Museum). The site provides visitor experiences including cafe services, historic gardens, conservation/garden tours, themed afternoon teas, book club, and educational programs. A major restoration project is underway following a February 2025 fire. The organization is managed by the King John's House and Tudor Cottage Trust Ltd, a registered charity.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• King John's House and Museum Heritage Visit
• Cafe at King's John's House
• Historic Gardens Visit
• Garden Tours
• Conservation Tours (Restoration Tours)

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• University of WinchesterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025Post-graduate student from University of Winchester discovered a Bronze Age axe head while sifting through ash from King John's House during post-fire clean up. Partnership for educational research and recovery work.
• Test Valley Borough CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2025Primary public sector supporter of King John's House and Tudor Cottage Trust. Provides ongoing financial support, grants for projects (signage, schools facilities), and works in partnership to share the heritage property. Key partner in tourism strategy for the borough.
• Hampshire Cultural TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2025Provided expert guidance during post-fire recovery operation. Led specialist team in recovering 133 items from fire-damaged building. Assessed condition of recovered items and determined conservation needs.
• AceLiftawayminorOthers · 1 February 2025Business that provided support in the aftermath of the February 2025 fire. Nature of support not specified but listed among organizations offering assistance.
• Clarenden CommunicationsminorOthers · 1 February 2025Business communications support provided following the February 2025 fire. Listed among organizations offering assistance in fire aftermath.
• Solent PlasticsminorOthers · 1 February 2025Provided boxes for the recovery operation following the fire. Community contribution to the painstaking work of moving and referencing recovered items.
• The Association of Independent Museums (AIM)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2025Membership organization supporting independent museums. Provided support following the February 2025 fire as part of the museum sector community response.
• Museum Development South WestminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2025Regional museum development organization supporting museums in the South West. Provided support following the February 2025 fire.
• Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2025Local historical and archaeological society providing support following the February 2025 fire. Aligns with the museum's heritage preservation mission.
• Romsey FutureminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Local future planning organization that endorsed the UK Shared Prosperity Fund grant application for schools and community facilities project.
• Smith and Jones (Heritage Signage Designers)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 July 2024Designed new signage and interpretation boards for the historic property as part of refreshed strategic direction and visitor prominence initiative.
• Tony Tibbott SignwritingminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 July 2024Portsmouth-based heritage signwriter hand-painted the hanging sign beside the entrance door to the House. Sign designed to be eye-catching yet sympathetic to the setting and architecture, featuring a distinctive crown.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tudor House Museum, Southampton: A Southampton-based heritage museum housed in a Tudor timber-framed building, offering a comparable period-property visitor experience, gardens, and city-scale heritage programming. Directly comparable in mission and audience to King John's House as a small, charity-supported historic building open to the public in southern England.
• Romsey Abbey: An adjacent medieval heritage site in Romsey, historically connected to King John's House (which is believed to have formed part of Romsey Abbey). Operates as a heritage visitor destination in the same town with overlapping tourist catchment and complementary educational programming.
• Weald and Downland Open Air Museum: An open-air heritage museum in Sussex preserving historic buildings and offering costumed interpretation, heritage crafts demonstrations, and educational programming. Comparable as a heritage attraction with volunteer-driven operations, period buildings, and event-led revenue.
• Priest's House Museum, Wimborne: An independently operated historic house museum in Dorset run as a charitable trust, with period rooms, gardens, events, and education programs. Highly comparable operating model (small paid team, volunteer dependent, charity-run) and visitor proposition to King John's House.
• Breamore House and Museum: An Elizabethan manor house museum near Salisbury offering historic house tours, a museum of country bygones, events, and tearoom service. Closely comparable as a small, privately-operated heritage attraction of similar scale and programming mix in southern England.

Broad incumbents

• English Heritage: A national charity operating over 400 historic sites across England including Stonehenge, medieval castles, and abbeys. A broad incumbent in the heritage attraction sector that competes for tourist attention and grant funding, though at very different scale than the trust.
• National Trust: The UK's largest conservation charity operating historic houses, gardens, and countryside properties. Sets the standard for heritage tourism in Hampshire and beyond, and is a major counterparty for grant funding and operational partnerships in the heritage sector.

Others

• Hampshire Cultural Trust: A Hampshire-based cultural charity that led the post-fire recovery operation at King John's House, recovering 133 items. Functions as an enabling/ecosystem partner rather than a direct competitor, providing specialist conservation support across the county's independent museums.

Regional players

• Mottisfont (National Trust): A National Trust heritage property in Hampshire featuring historic interiors, gardens, and a program of themed exhibitions. Operates at larger scale but draws a similar regional visitor base and competes for tourist itineraries in the Test Valley area.
• The Vyne (National Trust): A National Trust Tudor heritage property in Hampshire with historic house, gardens, and community programming. Comparable as a regional heritage attraction in the same county, sharing visitor demographics and competing for day-trip itineraries.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/KingJohnsHouse
• Instagraminstagram.com/kingjohnshouse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/king-johns-house-and-museum

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about King John's House and Museum