Dorset Museum and Art Gallery has recorded losses of almost £5 million since a major redevelopment four years ago, figures filed with the Charity Commission show.
The museum, in Dorchester, reopened in 2021 following a £16.4m transformation, which expanded exhibition space and created new galleries.
The repairs were funded through redevelopment grants and donations, including a £12.4m grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, £750,000 from Arts Council England and £500,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation, and are not connected to the museum's present operating losses.
But publicly available records shopw that expenditure exceeded income in each of the four subsequent financial years.
In the year to March 2022, the museum reported income of £1.44m and expenditure of £2.83m - a shortfall of about £1.39m.
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That was followed by shortfalls of around £1.06m in 2022/23, £1.73m in 2023/24 and £593,000 in 2024/25.
The figures amount to a combined gap of approximately £4.78m.
They do not necessarily represent a cash loss of that amount, as charity accounts can include restricted funding, depreciation, capital expenditure and other non-cash accounting adjustments.
But they show that annual expenditure was greater than income in each of the four years of available figures.
The figures have prompted renewed questions over Dorset’s ability to acquire, conserve and display major fossil collections from the Jurassic Coast, following the sale of fossil collector Chris Moore’s collection to the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi.
The collection, assembled over 45 years and including fossils found around Lyme Regis and Charmouth, was sold after UK museums were unable to meet the reported eight-figure cost.
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Former Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site earth science manager Richard Edmonds said the museum’s financial position illustrated a wider failure to develop a major regional home for internationally important fossils.
The museum has previously acknowledged financial pressures since reopening.
In early 2024 it said it needed to increase visitor numbers and public support to secure its future, after struggling to generate enough income to meet its running costs.
The museum received a £250,000 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant in 2024 to support a recovery programme, including marketing, retail diversification, staff training and development of new income streams.
It was also awarded more than £940,000 from Arts Council England in 2025 for repairs and maintenance.
The museum's executive director, Claire Dixon, admitted museums across the country are struggling, and hot summers make it even more difficult as visitors chose other attractions
She said: "It is a difficult time for museums and the heritage sector, and this is especially challenging with the hot summer weather.
"Dorset Museum & Art Gallery has world class collections storage and display facilities, and expert curatorial staff who are supported by well trained volunteers who care for all of our collections, that include natural history, archaeology, social history, costume and textiles, photographs, books and fine and decorative arts."
Ms Dixon also pointed to a new exhibition next year which will focus on Mary Anning, one of Dorset most famous fossil collectors.
The museum director hopes members of the public will continue to help with donations to bring the fossil hunter's story to life.
She added: "In January 2027, Dorset Museum & Art Gallery opens a major exhibition guest curated by bestselling author Tracy Chevalier, celebrating the pioneering fossil hunter 180 years after her death.
"The exhibition will feature fossils discovered by Mary and others, letters and drawings, and interactive displays revealing the remarkable tale of a woman whose scientific legacy changed our understanding of the world.
"We are seeking public support to help us bring Mary Anning's extraordinary story to life and anyone who would like to donate can do so on the link below."
To donate, visit: https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/30843#!/DonationDetails
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