Welcome to the Society

Fellow Michael Wood has made a video to help us build on the mounting support from across the UK and beyond, to urge the Government to help us find a new basis for tenure.  From unearthing secrets of the Staffordshire Hoard, to finding out the true life of Richard III – he highlights what makes Burlington House so special.  We need your support more than ever as we enter into a critical stage in our campaign to remain at Burlington House.  Please share Michael’s video with your MP and share it with friends and colleagues. For more information about how you can help visit our campaign page.

The Society of Antiquaries is an educational charity that promotes the understanding of the human past and recognises distinction in this field through election to its Fellowship.

Founded in 1707, the Society meets its remit through a wide-ranging programme of activities at Burlington House in London and at Kelmscott Manor – the inspirational retreat of William Morris – in the Cotswolds. It runs regular public, educational and academic events, lectures and exhibitions, gives grants for research and conservation, publishes books and journals on heritage topics and contributes to the formulation of public policy on the care of our historic environment and cultural property.

Burlington House is a hub of discovery – home to over 40,000 objects, paintings, prints and drawings, as well as a world-renowned library of over 130,000 books and manuscripts. Our collections span many centuries of human history, from Neolithic stone tools to Tudor royal portraits, copies of the Magna Carta to illuminated manuscripts saved from the dissolution of the monasteries.

The result of nearly 300 years of accumulation, the Society’s collection has a unique role in making rare and valuable material accessible to professional scholars and the visiting public.

The Society is a determinedly outward-facing charity, where enthusiasts meet experts from all over the world and ideas are shaped and discussed in our Library, lecture room and via the internet.

Over the last six years:

• 52,179 people have used or visited Burlington House.
• 122,637 people have visited Kelmscott Manor.
• £825,866 has been distributed in conservation and research grants; the latter focusing on early-years and independent researchers and/or high-quality projects that find it difficult to attract funding from other sources.
• 174,982 digital downloads or full text views of our academic journals and monographs have taken place.

From 19th July until the end of the month, the Library will be open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 10-5pm.

In August, usually the Society’s annual closure period, we will be opening the Library on Wednesdays (4th, 11th, 18th, 25th August), 10-5pm.

Please see information about visiting the Library for further information and to make an appointment (external researchers). Fellows do not need to book to use the Library.

Our event programme has been moved online and you can join us for our lectures, conferences and seminars by booking here. If you would like to support our event programme through a donation of any size please visit our support us page here.

For updates about the Society’s operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, please see our latest news.