In 1837, Soane left £30,000 with which his Museum was to be maintained. The Trustees were able to honour his trust over a century, but only by using much of the capital, and this continued until World War II when the Museum was closed.
In 1945 the income was insufficient to enable it to re-open and the Treasury agreed to make an annual grant to the Museum. It now receives annual grant-in-aid from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport covering its main operating costs, supplemented largely by self-generated income, donations and fundraising.