Friends of the ABA visit to the Society of Antiquaries

The tour will last approximately 45 minutes.

We encourage those who work locally to join us on their lunch break, if they are able.

The ABA Friends will explore 300 years of collecting history at the Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House premises. Founded in 1707 the Society of Antiquaries is the oldest learned society concerned with the study of the past. The Society obtained its Royal Charter from George II in 1751, although ‘Royal’ is not in its title (probably because it would have got confused with the Royal Society) and its mission is ‘the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries’.

The range of the Society’s interests covers a wide field, from the archaeology of all periods and all countries to heraldry, art history, architectural history, and other subjects based on the study of the material remains of the past. It has some 3,000 Fellows distinguished by their achievements in a variety of heritage disciplines.

Visitors will see an important series of royal and other portraits from the 15th and 16th centuries. Probably the most notable in the Meeting Room are the portrait of Mary I by Hans Eworth, painted from life, and the 2 portraits of Richard III – the arch-topped portrait in the case to the right of Mary I and the portrait of Richard III with a broken sword on the far left by the window. In the display cases in the Hall are a number of objects from the Society’s museum collections including a processional cross found on the site of the Battle of Bosworth and a temporary display of archive material. On the staircase there are portraits of some of former Fellows of the Society who established the Society’s meetings at the Mitre Tavern, Fleet Street in 1707. The library collection contains more than 130,000 volumes, ranging in date from the 15th century to the most recent publications. We have almost 8,000 early printed books which include 50 incunables (books printed before 1501, plus 2,000 royal proclamations dating from 1464 to the mid-nineteenth century, around 1,000 broadsides (historic posters) and some 1,400 pamphlets from the Civil War. We also have an extensive archive that covers most of the Society’s history. It encompasses minutes of meetings, papers of past Fellows, papers of other heritage organisations and includes thousands of photographs, glass slides, and bookplates. Patrons will also visit the Fellows Room, which contains an eclectic range of collections acquired by Fellows since 1717 before finally returning to the ground floor.

If ABA Friends like what they see, they are welcome to join the Society as Affiliate Members https://www.sal.org.uk/membership/affiliatemembership/