Society of Antiquaries of London

History and antecedents

A precursor organisation, the College of Antiquaries, was founded c. 1586 and functioned largely as a debating society until it was forbidden to do so by King James I in 1614.

The first informal meeting of the modern Society of Antiquaries occurred at the Bear Tavern on The Strand on 5 December 1707. This early group, conceived by John Talman, John Bagford, and Humfrey Wanley, sought a charter from Queen Anne for the study of British antiquities; its projected ventures included a series of 35 books to be issued. The proposal for the society was to be advanced by Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford, but his dismissal from government caused it to become idle. The formalisation of proceedings occurred in 1717, and the first minutes at the Mitre Tavern, Fleet Street, are dated 1 January 1718. The first secretary of the revived society was William Stukeley.

Those attending these early meetings examined objects, gave talks, and discussed theories of historical sites. Reports on the dilapidation of significant buildings were also produced. The society was also concerned with the topics of heraldry, genealogy, and historical documents. In 1751, a successful application for a charter of incorporation was sought by its long-serving vice president Joseph Ayloffe, which allowed the society to own property.

The society began to gather large collections of manuscripts, paintings, and artefacts, housing such gifts and bequests while a proper institution for them did not exist. The acquisition of a large group of important paintings in 1828 preceded the establishment of the National Portrait Gallery by some 30 years. A gift of Thomas Kerrich, which included portraits of Edward IV, Mary Tudor, and two of Richard III, reveal anti-Tudor bias in their later portrayal.

Following the London Blitz, the society organised many of the excavations of Roman and medieval ruins exposed by the bombing of the City, with annual surveys performed every year between 1946 and 1962. Among other finds, they discovered the previously unknown London citadel (Latin: arx) in the northwest corner of the London Wall. The findings were summarised in 1968 by W. F. Grimes.

In 1962, the society became the owner of the house and land of Kelmscott Manor, the former home of William Morris.

In 2007, the society celebrated its tercentennial year (recognising the first, less formal meetings) with an exhibition at the Royal Academy entitled Making History: Antiquaries in Britain 1707–2007. The tercentenary was also marked by two substantial publications: a collection of seventeen scholarly essays on the parallel themes of the history of the society itself and changing interpretations of the material relics of the past over the three centuries of its existence; and the illustrated catalogue of the exhibition, which included fifteen shorter thematic essays by various expert contributors.

The society faced controversy in 2019, when its council was unable to pass a resolution to eject fellow Hubert Chesshyre. In 2015, a trial of the facts had reached the verdict that Chesshyre had committed child sexual abuse offences, leading to a recommendation from the Honours Committee that he be stripped of honours. The council issued a statement saying that it "regrets that a majority of those present [at the vote] did not see fit to support the resolution" and that the incident showed "need to modernise the society's statutes and governance procedures".

In 2020, following comments made by David Starkey on slavery and genocide, the society announced that they were modernising their procedures for dealing with behaviour which runs contrary to their values. Starkey subsequently resigned his fellowship.

Library

The society's library is the major archaeological research library in the UK. Having acquired material since the early 18th century, the Library's present holdings number more than 100,000 books and around 800 currently received periodical titles. The catalogue include rare drawings and manuscripts, such as the inventory of all Henry VIII's possessions at the time of his death.

As the oldest archaeological library in the country, the Library holds a collection of British county histories, a collection of 18th- and 19th-century books on the antiquities of Britain and other countries and a wide-ranging collection of periodical titles (British and foreign) with runs dating back to the early to mid-19th century.

Officers

Presidents

The following have served as Presidents of the Society:

• 1717–24 Peter Le Neve (Norroy King of Arms)
• 1724–50 Algernon, Earl of Hertford
• 1750 Charles, Duke of Richmond
• 1750–54 Martin Folkes
• 1754–65 Hugh, Lord Willoughby of Parham
• 1765–68 Charles Lyttelton, Bishop of Carlisle
• 1768–84 Jeremiah Milles (Dean of Exeter)
• 1784–85 Edward King
• 1785–1811 George, Earl of Leicester
• 1811–12 Sir Henry Englefield
• 1812–46 George, 4th Earl of Aberdeen
• 1846–75 Philip, Viscount Mahon
• 1876–78 Frederic Ouvry
• 1878–85 Henry, 4th Earl of Carnarvon
• 1885–92 Sir John Evans
• 1892–97 Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks
• 1897–1904 Harold, Viscount Dillon
• 1904–08 John, Lord Avebury
• 1908–14 Sir Charles Hercules Read
• 1914–19 Sir Arthur Evans
• 1919–24 Sir Charles Hercules Read
• 1924–29 David, 27th Earl of Crawford
• 1929–34 Sir Charles Reed Peers
• 1934–39 Sir Frederic Kenyon
• 1939–44 Sir Alfred Clapham
• 1944–49 Sir Cyril Fox
• 1949–54 Sir James Mann
• 1954–59 Sir Mortimer Wheeler
• 1959–64 Dame Joan Evans
• 1964–65 Sir Ian Richmond
• 1965–70 Francis Wormald
• 1970–75 J. N. L. Myres
• 1975–78 Arnold Taylor
• 1978–81 Richard Dufty
• 1981–84 Christopher Brooke
• 1984–87 John Davies Evans
• 1987–91 Michael Robbins
• 1991–95 Sir Barry Cunliffe
• 1995–2001 Simon Jervis
• 2001–04 Rosemary Cramp
• 2004–07 Eric Fernie
• 2007–10 Geoffrey Wainwright
• 2010–14 Maurice Howard
• 2014–18 Gill Andrews
• 2018–21 Paul Drury, IHBC FSA
• 2021–present Martin Millett