Our Grant Programmes

General Information

The Society makes annual project grants of £500 to £5,000 to support research into the human past through its material culture or material remains. Within this there are no period, geographic or disciplinary restrictions and applications are encouraged across the full range of the Society’s remit and interests: archaeology, art history, architectural and buildings history, studies of material culture items and assemblages (including books and manuscripts), the history of collecting and collections, and the development of intellectual enquiry into the human past through its material remains.

Applications will be accepted for:

• projects where the Society will be the main or a significant financial contributor
• support for definable objectives with specific, measurable outcomes within larger projects funded from a range of sources (but not simply ‘topping up’ applications to major funding bodies)

We welcome applications from early career researchers, and for projects that are innovative in their approach, entail new initiatives, and/or create interdisciplinary interest.

Applicants who require funds primarily for their own research travel should consider applying for a Lambarde Travel Award.

Timing and Duration of Funding

Awards are made on an annual basis with possible renewal for up to to two further years. A new application is required each year and no project will be funded for more than three years.

Amount of Award

£500 to £5,000

Deadline for Applications

15 January annually

Eligibility

• Applications must be from the project director or principal investigator.
• Awards will not be made for work contributing to an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.
• Retrospective applications will not be considered.

Eligible project costs include:

• travel & subsistence for members of the project team
• the costs of specialist or scientific investigation, and of technical services such as imaging and illustration, where these have to be commissioned
• the hire of plant and site accommodation
• materials and consumables
• the hire of specialist equipment to which the applicant cannot reasonably be expected to have access

Please note that the following costs are not eligible and will not be considered:

• personal remuneration
• salaries of staff holding current appointments
• institutional overheads
• internal hire charges within the applicant’s institution or between project partners
• publication subventions and publication grants (including costs of digital dissemination)
  contingency estimates

Decisions

The Research Grants scheme is competitive, and we are not always able to award grants to all applicants. In reaching its decisions Research Committee will put weight on the quality of the research proposal and its viability, both financial and practical. All decisions made by the Committee are final.

Among successful applications, Research Committee will make a number of named awards in commemoration of benefactors:

• The Marion Wilson Awards for research projects in southern Britain
• The Joan Pye Awards for early-career researchers (within five-years of completing their PhD), in the fields of prehistoric and Roman archaeology in the United Kingdom
• The Hugh Chapman Memorial Awards for research projects on the Western Roman Empire or antiquarian matters in London and its environs

Application Requirements

Applications must be made via our Grants Application Portal. Applications will be assessed solely on the basis of the information provided on the application form.

Applicants must:

• present a clear and detailed articulation of their research aims and how these will be achieved, with costings and the proposed duration of research; this must include a clear statement of the contribution of the proposed research to scholarship
• present a clear plan for the timely publication/dissemination of the results of their research; applicants are encouraged to consider submission to the Society’s journal and the Society may invite grant recipients to give lectures on their projects
• request a specific sum from the Society and declare all applications to other funding bodies
• provide a statement of the minimum sum needed to make the project viable in the event of full funding not being obtained

Projects should not start before 1 April in the year of application and grants should be taken up by 31 December of the year in which they are awarded.

Successful applicants must demonstrate that they have received all relevant permissions to undertake their project before the funds can be released.

Where this is the second (or subsequent) application for a grant from the Society relating to the same project, applicants are required to submit a brief summary of their results to date and a statement of their expenditure covered by the previous grant.

Should any part of an award remain unspent, it is to be returned to the Society of Antiquaries of London for reinvestment in the Research Grants Fund.

Reporting and Acknowledgement

Successful applicants will be expected to submit via our Grants Application Portal:

• a satisfactory report, of no more than 1,000 words, setting out how the research objectives were met
• a financial statement detailing how the Society’s money was spent
• two or three digital images illustrating the project that the Society may use in its reporting and publicity (.jpg or .tiff with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi)

Reports and images must be received no later than 28 February of the year following the award of the grant (thus if the grant is awarded in March 2018, the reports should be submitted no later than 28 February 2019). No further grant will be made to any applicant who fails to meet this requirement.

In addition, the Society may request short reports suitable for inclusion in its newsletter, Fellowship News; its e-newsletter, SALON; or on its website.

Acknowledgement of the Research Grant should be made in any publication or practical use of the research.

Applying for a Research Grant

• Please read the eligibility criteria above.
• One reference is required, please make sure you arrange your reference in advance.
• All applications must be submitted using our Grants Application Portal.

Please note: Members of the Society’s Research Committee cannot act as referees for Janet Arnold applications.

Past Awards

Details of all successful applications since 2017 are available from Recent Awards.

Janet Arnold (1932–98) was an artist, teacher and fashion designer. Her practical skills, together with a passion for accuracy, made her a powerful advocate for the study of historical dress as a serious discipline. The use of archival material and visual and literary records are important, but as she demonstrated in her own work, a real comprehension of historical dress depends on the close examination and understanding of surviving garments, both whole and fragmentary.

These grants are to further in-depth study of the history of dress and the materials from which it is made. Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they wish to pursue a particular piece of original research based on items of dress or their remains with a view to eventually disseminating the results through publication, digital resources, display, cataloguing, teaching or through practical use in conservation or realistic reproduction. Within these parameters there are no geographical or chronological restrictions.

The Society currently offers Annual Awards of up to £5,000.

We would like to encourage applications which:

• explore dress and its components as material culture in the contexts of colonialism and its legacies
• redress narratives that would characterise costume and its components as craft or vernacular art by exploring their artistic and cultural value
• liberate previously unheard voices and explore new approaches to costume studies
• explore decolonising museums and their collections with a focus on dress and the materials from which it is made

ANNUAL AWARDS

Applications will be accepted for:

• projects where the Society will be the main or a significant financial contributor (annual awards)
• support for definable objectives with specific, measurable outcomes within larger projects funded from a range of sources (but not simply ‘topping up’ applications to major funding bodies)

Applicants who require funds primarily for their own research travel should consider applying for a Lambarde Travel Award.

Timing and Duration of Funding

Awards are made on an annual basis

Award Amount

£350 to £5,000

Deadline for Applications

15 January annually

Eligibility

• Applications must be from the project director or principal investigator, and must be for original work that is not already covered by publication.
• Awards will not be made for work contributing to an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.
• Retrospective applications will not be considered.

Eligible costs include:

• travel & subsistence
• the costs of specialist or scientific investigation
• the costs of technical services such as photography, imaging and illustration, where these have to be commissioned
  materials and consumables

Please note that the following costs are not eligible and will not be considered:

• personal remuneration
• salaries of staff holding current appointments
• institutional overheads
• internal hire charges within the applicant’s institution or between project partners
• publication subventions and publication grants (including costs of digital dissemination)
• contingency estimates

Decisions

The scheme is competitive and we are not always able to award grants to all applicants. In reaching its decisions the Research Committee will put weight on the quality of the research proposal and its viability, both financial and practical. All decisions made by the Committee are final. All decisions made by the Committee are final.

Preference will be given to applicants who have not previously received a Janet Arnold Award.

Application Requirements

Applications must be made via our Grants Application Portal. Applications will be assessed solely on the basis of the information provided on the application form.

Applicants must:

• present a clear and detailed articulation of their study aims and how these will be achieved, with costings and the proposed duration of research; this must include a clear statement of the contribution of the proposed research to scholarship
• present a clear plan for timely dissemination of the results of their research; the Society may invite grant recipients to give lectures on their projects
• obtain consent from the owner(s)/custodian(s) of any item(s) to be examined
• demonstrate that they have the skills necessary to undertake the proposed work, and that this will be undertaken without potential damage to the item(s) of dress concerned
• request a specific sum from the Society, and declare all applications to other funding bodies where the application is for a discrete element of a larger project
• provide a statement of the minimum sum needed to make the project viable in the event of full funding not being obtained

Projects should not start before 1 April in the year of application and grants should be taken up by 31 December of the year in which they are awarded.

Successful applicants must demonstrate that they have received all relevant permissions to undertake their project before the funds can be released.

Where this is the second (or subsequent) application for a grant from the Society relating to the same project, applicants are required to submit a brief summary of their results to date and a statement of their expenditure covered by the previous grant.

Should any part of an award remain unspent, it is to be returned to the Society of Antiquaries of London for reinvestment in the Janet Arnold Award Fund.

Reporting and Acknowledgement

Successful applicants will be expected to submit via our Grants Application Portal:

• a satisfactory report, of no more than 1,000 words, setting out how the objectives were met
• a financial statement detailing how the Society’s money was spent
• two or three digital images illustrating the project that the Society may use in its reporting and publicity (.jpg or .tiff with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi)

Reports and images must be received no later than 28 February of the year following the award of the grant (thus if the grant is awarded in March 2018, the reports should be submitted no later than 28 February 2019). No further grant will be made to any applicant who fails to meet this requirement.

In addition, the Society may request short reports suitable for inclusion in its newsletter, Fellowship News; its e-newsletter, SALON; or on its website.

Acknowledgement of the Janet Arnold Award should be made in any publication or practical use of the research.

Applying for a Janet Arnold Award

• Please read the eligibility criteria above.
• One reference is required (Annual); please make sure you arrange your reference/s in advance.
• All applications must be submitted using our Grants Application Portal.

Please note: Members of the Society’s Research Committee cannot act as referees for Janet Arnold applications.

Beatrice de Cardi undertook pioneering fieldwork and research in the Arabian Gulf and Pakistan. Over the course of a long and distinguished career she was President of the British Foundation for the Study of Arabia, the first Secretary of the Council for British Archaeology, and a recipient of the Society’s Gold Medal. The awards are for the furtherance of archaeological research by field survey, excavation and the publication of the fieldwork in the United Arab Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the Pakistan province of Balochistan.

Applications will be accepted for:

• projects where the Society will be the main or a significant financial contributor
• support for definable objectives with specific, measurable outcomes within larger projects funded from a range of sources (but not simply ‘topping up’ applications to major funding bodies)
  The images of Beatrice de Cardi above are reproduced by courtesy of The British Council for Archaeology.
• In the case of Beatrice de Cardi awards only, we will consider applications for the analysis and publication of post-excavation materials with the following conditions:· We will pay for the analysis of excavated materials, including dating and laboratory-based analysis, for publication but will require a clear and detailed articulation of your research aims and how these will be achieved; this must include a clear statement on the contribution of the proposed programme of work in advancing our understanding of the archaeology of the region.· We require a clear timetable with milestones, and a fully costed plan for the production of the material for publication and dissemination of the project report.· We will not pay publication subvention costs

Timing and Duration of Funding

Awards are made on an annual basis with possible renewal for up to two further years. A new application is required each year and no project will be funded for more than three years.

Award Amount

£5,000 to £15,000

Deadline for Applications

15 January annually

Eligibility

• Applications must be from the project director or principal investigator.
• Awards will not be made for work contributing to an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.
• Retrospective applications will not be considered.

Eligible project costs include:

• travel & subsistence for members of the project team
• the costs of specialist or scientific investigation, and of technical services such as imaging and illustration, where these have to be commissioned
• the hire of plant and site accommodation
• materials and consumables
• the hire of specialist equipment to which the applicant cannot reasonably be expected to have access

Please note that the following costs are not eligible and will not be considered:

• personal remuneration
• salaries of staff holding current appointments
• institutional overheads
• internal hire charges within the applicant’s institution or between project partners
• publication subventions and publication grants (including costs of digital dissemination)
• contingency estimates

Decisions

The awards scheme is competitive and we are not always able to award grants to all applicants. In reaching its decisions the Research Committee will put weight on the quality of the research proposal and its viability, both financial and practical. All decisions by the Committee are final.

Application Requirements

Applications must be made via our Grants Application Portal. Applications will be assessed solely on the basis of the information provided on the application form and accompanying proposal.

Applicants must:

• present a clear and detailed articulation of their research aims and how these will be achieved, with costings and the proposed duration of research; this must include a clear statement of the contribution of the proposed research to scholarship
• present a clear plan for the timely publication/dissemination of the results of their research; applicants are encouraged to consider submission to the Society’s journal and the Society may invite grant recipients to give lectures on their projects
• request a specific sum from the Society and declare all applications to other funding bodies
• provide a statement of the minimum sum needed to make the project viable in the event of full funding not being obtained

Projects should not start before 1 April in the year of application and grants should be taken up by 31 December of the year in which they are awarded.

Successful applicants must demonstrate that they have received all relevant permissions to undertake their project before the funds can be released.

Where this is the second (or subsequent) application for a grant from the Society relating to the same project, applicants are requested to submit a brief summary of their results to date and a statement of their expenditure covered by the previous grant.

Should any part of an award remain unspent, it is to be returned to the Society of Antiquaries of London for reinvestment in the De Cardi Grants Fund.

Reporting and Acknowledgement

Successful applicants will be expected to submit via our Grants Application Portal:

• a satisfactory report, of no more than 1,000 words, setting out how the research objectives were met
• a financial statement detailing how the Society’s money was spent
• two or three digital images illustrating the project that the Society may use in its reporting and publicity (.jpg or .tiff with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi)

Reports and images must be received no later than 30 June of the year following the award of the grant (thus if the grant is awarded in March 2019, the reports should be submitted no later than 30 June 2020). No further grant will be made to any applicant who fails to meet this requirement.

In addition, the Society may request short reports suitable for inclusion in its newsletter, Fellowship News; its e-newsletter, SALON; or on its website.

Acknowledgement of the Research Grant should be made in any publication or practical use of the research.

Applying for a De Cardi Grant

• Please read the eligibility criteria above.
• Two references are required; please make sure you arrange your references in advance.
• All applications must be submitted using our Grants Application Portal.

Past Awards

De Cardi grants will be awarded from 2019 onwards.

These awards are endowed through a bequest by Margaret Jones FSA.

Between 1965 and 1978 Margaret and Tom Jones oversaw excavation in advance of gravel extraction of an area of 18 hectares overlooking the Thames Estuary at Mucking in Essex. One of the largest and most extensive excavation projects in Europe at the time, this revealed a complex palimpsest of settlement, funerary and landscape features from the Neolithic to the post-Medieval periods. Now published in a five volume report, Mucking remains a key site for UK archaeology and represented a milestone in the development of excavation methods and approaches, and in the archiving, analysis and publication of large and complex archaeological data-sets.

The awards are available to support archaeological investigation of large sites or landscapes in the UK of the periods revealed by the Mucking excavation (i.e. Neolithic to post-Medieval), specifically:

• the field investigation, excavation or analysis of large sites or landscapes
• the development or testing of methodologies and approaches for the field investigation, excavation or analysis of large sites or landscapes

Applications will be accepted for:

• projects where the Society will be the main or a significant financial contributor
• support for definable objectives with specific, measurable outcomes within larger projects funded from a range of sources (but not simply ‘topping up’ applications to major funding bodies)

Timing and Duration of Funding

Awards are made on an annual basis with possible renewal for up to two further years. A new application is required each year and no project will be funded for more than three years.

Award Amount

£1,000 to £10,500

Deadline for Applications

15 January annually

Eligibility

• Applications must be from the project director or principal investigator.
• Awards will not be made for work contributing to an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.
• Retrospective applications will not be considered.

Please note: the awards are not open to those previously in receipt of funding for Mucking post-excavation.

Eligible project costs include:

• travel & subsistence for members of the project team
• the costs of specialist or scientific investigation, and of technical services such as imaging and illustration, where these have to be commissioned
• the hire of plant and site accommodation
• materials and consumables
• the hire of specialist equipment to which the applicant cannot reasonably be expected to have access

Please note that the following costs are not eligible and will not be considered:

• personal remuneration
• salaries of staff holding current appointments
• institutional overheads
• internal hire charges within the applicant’s institution or between project partners
• publication subventions and publication grants (including costs of digital dissemination)
• contingency estimates

Decisions

The scheme is competitive and we are not always able to award grants to all applicants. In reaching its decisions the Research Committee will put weight on the quality of the research proposal and its viability, both financial and practical. All decisions made by the Committee are final.

Application Requirements

Applications must be made via our Grants Application Portal. Applications will be assessed solely on the basis of the information provided on the application form and accompanying proposal.

Applicants must:

• present a clear and detailed articulation of their research aims and how these will be achieved, with costings and the proposed duration of their work; this must include a clear statement of the contribution of the proposed research to scholarship
• present a clear plan for the timely publication/dissemination of the results of their research; applicants are encouraged to consider submission to the Society’s journal and the Society may invite grant recipients to give lectures on their projects
• request a specific sum from the Society and declare all applications to other funding bodies
• provide a statement of the minimum sum needed to make the project viable in the event of full funding not being obtained

Projects should not start before 1 April in the year of application and grants should be taken up by 31 December of the year in which they are awarded.

Successful applicants must demonstrate that they have received all relevant permissions to undertake their project before the funds can be released.

Where this is the second (or subsequent) application for a grant from the Society relating to the same project, applicants are required to submit a brief summary of their results to date and a statement of their expenditure covered by the previous grant.

Should any part of an award remain unspent, it is to be returned to the Society of Antiquaries of London for reinvestment in the Jones Award Fund.

Reporting and Acknowledgement

Successful applicants will be expected to submit via our Grants Application Portal:

• a satisfactory report, of 1,000 – 1,500 words, setting out how the research objectives were met
• a financial statement detailing how the Society’s money was spent
• two or three digital images illustrating the project that the Society may use in its reporting and publicity (.jpg or .tiff with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi)

Reports and images must be received no later than 28 February of the year following the award of the grant (thus if the grant is awarded in March 2018, the reports should be submitted no later than 28 February 2019). No further grant will be made to any applicant who fails to meet this requirement.

In addition, the Society may request short reports suitable for inclusion in its newsletter, Fellowship News; its e-newsletter, SALON; or on its website.

Acknowledgement of the Jones Award should be made in any publication or practical use of the research.

Applying for a Margaret and Tom Jones Award

• Please read the eligibility criteria above.
• Two references are required, please make sure you arrange your references in advance.
• All applications must be submitted using our Grants Application Portal.

Past Awards

Details of all successful applications since 2017 are available from Recent Awards.

The awards are in memory of Tessa Verney Wheeler (1893 -1936) and Sir Mortimer Wheeler (1890-1976) and were established through an appeal by the British Academy, the Institute of Archaeology (University College London) and the Society of Antiquaries of London.

The purpose of the award is to assist undergraduate or first-year postgraduate students studying archaeology at a UK university to gain archaeological fieldwork experience in addition to their degree studies, away from their home base and ideally abroad. Grants will be made toward travel and travel-related expenses.

Award Amount

Up to £500

Deadline for Applications

15 January annually

Eligibility

• The award is open to undergraduates and first-year postgraduates studying archaeology at a university in the UK.
• Travel for conference attendance is not eligible.
• Awards will not be made for work contributing to an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

Decisions

The scheme is competitive and we are not always able to award grants to all applicants. In reaching its decisions Research Committee will put weight on the quality of the application and its viability, both financial and practical.

Preference will be given to applicants who have not previously received a Wheeler Award.

Application Requirements

Applications must be made on the form provided.

Applicants must:

• present a clear articulation of the purpose for which the grant is sought and how it will benefit them
• present as detailed an estimate as possible of travel and associated expenses

One reference is required. The referee must be a supervisor of recognised status and position who has agreed to supervise the grant if it is awarded. The reference must indicate agreement to be responsible for overseeing the work, comment on the quality and viability of your proposal, and demonstrate an assessment of any risks involved.

Grants must be taken up by 31 December of the year in which they are awarded.

Reporting and Acknowledgement

Successful applicants will be expected to submit a short report, no longer than 750 words, on the work undertaken.

The report must be submitted via our Grants Application Portal no later than 28 February of the year following the award of the grant (thus if the grant is awarded in March 2018, the reports should be submitted no later than 28 February 2019). No further grant will be made to any applicant who fails to meet this requirement.

Applying for a Wheeler Travel Award

• Please read the eligibility criteria above.
• One reference is required, please make sure you arrange your reference in advance.
• All applications must be submitted using our Grants Application Portal.

Past Awards

Details of all successful applications since 2017 are available from Recent Awards.

The awards are endowed by a bequest from Mrs M.E. Lambarde (with additional funding from the Society) in memory of her ancestor, the antiquarian William Lambarde, whose works included A Perambulaton of Kent (1576), the first English county history.

The purpose of the awards is to support antiquarian or archaeological research by assisting with travel expenses.

Award Amount

Up to £500

Deadline for Applications

15 January annually

Eligibility

• Applications must be for travel to support the applicant’s individual research. Applications for travel to participate in an established project (eg as a participant in a field survey or excavation) or as one of multiple funding applications for a larger project (eg long-term fieldwork) will not be considered.
• Travel for conference attendance is not eligible.
• Awards will not be made for work contributing to an undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

Decisions

The scheme is competitive and we are not always able to award grants to all applicants. In reaching its decisions Research Committee will put weight on the quality of the application and its viability, both financial and practical. All decisions made by the Committee are final.

Preference will be given to applicants who have not previously received a Lambarde Award.

Application Requirements

Applications must be made via our Grants Application Portal.

Applicants must:

• present a clear articulation of their research aims the contribution to scholarship
• present as detailed an estimate as possible of travel and associated expenses
• request a specific sum from the Society and declare any applications to other funding bodies
  Grants must be taken up by 31 December of the year in which they are awarded.

Reporting and Acknowledgement

Successful applicants will be expected to submit a short report, no longer than 750 words, on the work undertaken.

The report must be submitted via our Grants Application Portal no later than 28 February of the year following the award of the grant (thus if the grant is awarded in March 2018, the reports should be submitted no later than 28 February 2019). No further grant will be made to any applicant who fails to meet this requirement.

In addition, the Society may request short reports suitable for inclusion in its newsletter, Fellowship News; its e-newsletter, SALON; or on its website.

Acknowledgement of the Lambarde Award should be made in any publication or practical use of the research.

Applying for a Lambarde Travel Award

• Please read the eligibility criteria above.
• One reference is required, please make sure you arrange your reference in advance.
  All applications must be submitted using our Grants Application Portal.

Past Awards

Details of all successful applications since 2017 are available from Recent Awards.

We make these awards from the Morris Fund, which was formed in 1939 using a bequest to the Society from May Morris, the younger daughter of William and Jane Morris. In accordance with May’s will, we only support work carried out under the principles of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), which was founded by her father.

Who can apply?

You can apply on behalf of a church, a chapel or any other place of worship in the United Kingdom.

What do we fund?

We fund smaller programmes of work concerned with the conservation of decorative or non-structural features inside the building. This might include, for example:

• stained glass windows
• sculpture
• furniture
• internal monuments and tombs
• wall paintings

The object must have been made no later than 1896 (the year of William Morris’s death), even if it is in a building which is older. Turret clocks and organs are not grant aided.  However applications for a clock or an organ case that makes a significant contribution to the interior of a church, and/or is of specific antiquarian interest, may exceptionally be considered.

What don’t we fund?

• projects outside the UK
• structural repairs and fabric maintenance
• alteration or decoration of buildings
• electrical rewiring, plumbing or central heating systems
• bells or organs
• works already completed (grants are not made retrospectively)
• anything created after 1896
• items on the outside or in the grounds of the building

How much can I apply for?

Our grants are between £500 and £5,000.

When should I apply?

You can apply at any time but the deadlines for the two rounds each year are:

• 31 March (applicants notified by 31 May)
• 31 August (applicants notified by 30 November)

What other conditions are there?

• A professional architect or established conservator must be engaged to direct the work.
• The work must be completed within one year of receipt of the grant.
• Completion of the work must be certified by an appropriate professional.

Is any other funding available?

The following organisations also offer funding for church conservation projects:

• The Church Buildings Council of the Church of England
• National Churches Trust
• Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme
• The Worshipful Company of Glaziers
• The Georgian Group Cleary Fund
• The Monumental Brasses Society

How do I apply?

Please follow this link to our Make a Grant Application page and follow the instructions there.

Past Awards

Details of all successful applications since 2018 are available from recent awards.

Download a flyer for the Jane and William Morris Church Conservation Grants programme.