Legacies and gifts

A leaflet explaining how your gift or legacy can make a difference to the Society can be downloaded here (PDF file 305 KB).

The Society is charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with ‘the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries’. By making a bequest to the Society of Antiquaries you will make a very real difference to securing the Society’s future and addressing our long-term needs. For those who choose to do so, the Society will ensure that you are acknowledged and remembered as a benefactor.

Our objectives

The Society aims to raise £11 million of new funds to enable it to expand its role and services into its fourth century of activity – principally through increasing the value of its research grants, enhancing its publications programme, undertaking much-needed work to renovate the library and create more study space, and to conserve and provide enhanced access to its collections of books, manuscripts, art and antiquities. In addition, the Society has plans to improve the facilities and educational opportunities at its historic estate of Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire, the former home of our Fellow William Morris.

Your contribution

For development needs, we are reliant for financial support on the donations of well wishers who value the Society’s work and wish to see it thrive and grow. Because the Society is a small charity, you can be sure that any gift you make will be received with the warmth, gratitude and recognition due to those whose generosity makes a major difference to our activities.

Naming opportunities

Naming opportunities exist for commemorating donors during and after their lifetime: your name, or that of somebody you wish to see remembered, could be associated with particular staff posts, with rooms or buildings at Burlington House or Kelmscott, or with scholarships, research funds, publications, a lecture series or other named activities.

What could my legacy do?

In the past, the Society has received substantial gifts from Joan Evans and her niece, Susan Minet, which made it possible for the Society to undertake a comprehensive restoration of Kelmscott Manor, which had itself been left as a result of a bequest. On a smaller scale, the late Janet Arnold (1932–98) made provision in her will for £100,000 to be used to establish an annual research award to encourage the in-depth study of Western dress.

Today your bequest could enable us to refurbish the Library at Burlington House, or endow a post in our Library and Collections team so that the curation and cataloguing of the Society’s rare and nationally important collections can be made secure for the future. Our Library and Collections are a major resource for the study of our heritage both in this country and abroad. They need safe guarding by providing online resources and access, conservation, improved storage facilities and an exhibition loan programme.

Smaller gifts could help us give grants to support the research work of independent scholars. The Society is one of a very small number of research bodies offering such grants, but we can only fund a small proportion of the worthwhile projects that are presented to us, just as
we are often forced by lack of funds to turn away proposals for publications that could be valued reference works for decades to come.

Which kind of gift or legacy?

You can give or bequeath to the Society a sum of money, a share of your estate or specific assets, such as a portfolio of shares or a house. Some Fellows have left us a collection or specific assets from their estate, which would not be liable for inheritance tax. Some of our bequests have come in the form of a residuary gift, whereby the Society receives whatever is left of your estate after you have made specific bequests to your family and friends or other good causes. You can leave it up to the Society to decide how your bequest is used, or you can specify an area of work you would like to support.

Where do I start?

If you are thinking of making a bequest, you might wish to attend one of our regular supporter lunches, which provide an opportunity to learn more about the Society’s work and the specific funding opportunities. Some donors may not wish to draw attention to themselves and would prefer anonymity, but we can discuss privately how to fulfil any wishes you might have for the use of your gift bequest.

Inheritance tax

Because we are a charity, the value of any gift you make to the Society in your will is deducted by the Inland Revenue from the value of your estate before any inheritance tax liability is calculated – so money that might otherwise have been paid in tax can instead be used to support the Society in its work of promoting antiquarian scholarship and sharing knowledge about our past.

Further information

If you are considering a gift or bequest and would like more information we are very happy to talk through the options. If you have already
included the Society in your will, we would appreciate being able to say thank you. In both cases, you are welcome to contact the President or
General Secretary at admin@sal.org.uk or on 020 7479 7080.