Welcome to the Society

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.

Burlington House is closed during lockdown but we are still open online.

The Library will reopen on Tuesday 13th April

Due to the England-wide lockdown restrictions implemented by the Government on 5th January 2021, Burlington House and the Library are closed to all visitors until lockdown is lifted. Staff will be working remotely during this time and are contactable by email. You can all the details here.

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.

Lockdown restrictions for libraries are due to be lifted on 12th April. From this date onwards the Library will be open for research visits on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11am-1pm and 2-4pm, with advanced booking only. Please see information about visiting the Library for further information and to book a slot.

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