Frequently Asked Questions

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. It runs regular public, educational and academic events, gives grants for research and conservation, and contributes to the formulation of public policy on the care of our historic environment and cultural property.

Today our 3,000 Fellows are a diverse group of archaeologists, historians of art and architecture, museum professionals, and many others holding positions of responsibility across the cultural heritage sector or simply passionate about the past. The Fellowship is international in its reach and its interests are inclusive of all aspects of the material past.

The Society is also the guardian of thousands of precious artefacts, books, and works of art.  Our collections span many centuries of human history, from Neolithic tools to Tudor royal portraits, copies of the Magna Carta to illuminated manuscripts saved from the dissolution of the monasteries. The Society is entrusted by its Fellowship and the public to protect and foster public understanding of this heritage.

In 2005, our tenure at New Burlington House was formalised through a lease, with rent agreed on a non-profit basis – to cover (the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s) capital charge and depreciation, and to rise slowly to market rent over 80 years. The government invested in the repair of the fabric of the buildings, and the Society invested in updating the interiors.

However, from around 2014, government accounting policy changed and New Burlington House began to be treated as an investment property. While a lengthy arbitration in 2016 confirmed that the government’s interpretation of the formula for setting the rent was legally correct, the market value of property in the West End soared. In consequence, unforeseen back in 2005, the rent rose from £4,800 to £150,000 per annum when comparing figures from 2012-13 and 2018-19 respectively – a rise of 3,100%. As a self-supporting charity and with the indirect Government support of affordable rental terms dissolving – the Society cannot afford to pay rent escalating at this rate, which makes it imperative that we find a workable and affordable solution with Government to secure the precious collection’s place at Burlington House in future. A recent offer by government to peg the increase to 8% per annum (compound) for five years does not address the problem. This rate of increase is unaffordable for the Society as the rent would double in 13 years and will force the Society to move within the next three years.

The Societies at Burlington House welcomed a recent response from the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) within which the Government confirmed its ambition to find a lasting solution to keep these charitable organisations at Burlington House. The Government recognised the ‘valuable and unique portfolio’ of the Society, however the proposed approach remains unaffordable and would see funds diverted away from our charitable objectives.

We are keen to progress towards an affordable solution that will bring the most value to UK society. As such we encourage the Government to engage in a dialogue with us to find a route forward.

In 2005, our tenure at New Burlington House was formalised through a lease, with rent agreed on a non-profit basis – to cover (the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s) capital charge and depreciation, and to rise slowly to market rent over 80 years. The government invested in the repair of the fabric of the buildings, and the Society invested in updating the interiors.

However, from around 2014, government accounting policy changed and New Burlington House began to be treated as an investment property. While a lengthy arbitration in 2016 confirmed that the government’s interpretation of the formula for setting the rent was legally correct, the market value of property in the West End soared. In consequence, unforeseen back in 2005, the rent rose from £4,800 to £150,000 per annum when comparing figures from 2012-13 and 2018-19 respectively – a rise of 3,100%. As a self-supporting charity and with the indirect Government support of affordable rental terms dissolving – the Society cannot afford to pay rent escalating at this rate, which makes it imperative that we find a workable and affordable solution with Government to secure the precious collection’s place at Burlington House in future. A recent offer by government to peg the increase to 8% per annum (compound) for five years does not address the problem. This rate of increase is unaffordable for the Society as the rent would double in 13 years and will force the Society to move within the next three years.

The Societies at Burlington House welcomed a recent response from the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) within which the Government confirmed its ambition to find a lasting solution to keep these charitable organisations at Burlington House. The Government recognised the ‘valuable and unique portfolio’ of the Society, however the proposed approach remains unaffordable and would see funds diverted away from our charitable objectives.

We are keen to progress towards an affordable solution that will bring the most value to UK society. As such we encourage the Government to engage in a dialogue with us to find a route forward.

As a self-supporting charity, the Society is under enormous pressure to raise funds for alternative premises to house its precious collections where they would remain safe and ensure they are accessible to academics, students, and the historically curious public.

It is highly unlikely alternative premises would be feasible for the Society to afford in a central city location such as Burlington House in Piccadilly; a more remote location would potentially reduce public access to the collection. A 2019 assessment by PwC estimated that 78% (£4.2 million) of the total gross public value delivered each year by the Society of Antiquaries (£5.4 million) would be at risk if the Society is forced to relocate from Burlington House.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds would be spent on the relocation alone; moving fragile historical items en masse is a huge undertaking, and such a collection would require customised premises to house it suitably and make it accessible.

The Society does not have the reserves to fund a highly complex relocation and purchase new premises. The trustees are fully focused on persuading the government to allow the Society to remain at Burlington House. However, if they are unsuccessful, they will potentially have to think what should be the unthinkable, and consider disposing of some of the objects entrusted to the Society for centuries. This would go against every belief and instinct of the trustees and Fellows of the Society, but it will have to be considered in order to ensure the survival of the charity in new premises where the Society can continue to host lectures, conferences, public events and exhibitions, and to conserve, display and make accessible our library and collections for future generations.

We are asking the Government to work with us to find an affordable arrangement that provides the location and long-term security needed for the Society of Antiquaries of London to fulfil its plans to continue and further enhance its offering to the UK public and research community.

Our campaign has gained broad support across UK Parliament, among scientific and cultural circles, as well as from members of the general public and, as such, a Westminster Hall Debate took place 4.50-5.50pm on Tuesday 8th June and you can listen to it here from 16.50, or read the transcript here. 

We are however asking our supporters to keep up momentum and continue to write to their local Member of Parliament on the issue in order to ensure we have as much political support behind this issue as possible . You can find more information about how to do this along with a template letter here. 

We also ask those in support of keeping the Society at Burlington House to help raise further awareness of the campaign in their own networks by retweeting @SocAntiquaries, and by using the hashtag #BurlingtonHouseSaveBH.

Without resolution, relocation from New Burlington House represents a major threat to the continued existence of the Society of Antiquaries of London in its current form. The damage caused to the Society in being forced to vacate Burlington House will reduce its cultural societal and heritage contribution to the UK.

A 2019 assessment by PwC estimated that 78% (£4.2 million) of the total gross value delivered each year by the Society of Antiquaries (£5.4 million) would be at risk if the Society is forced to relocate.

It is highly unlikely alternative premises would be feasible for the Society to afford in a central city location such as Burlington House in Piccadilly; a more remote location will potentially reduce public access to the collection.

The Society is asking the Government to recognise the value of the libraries and collections at Burlington House as well as the world-leading research that is supported here and work with us to find an affordable arrangement for the Society to remain. This will provide us with the location and long-term security needed for us to fulfil our plans to continue and further enhance our offering to the UK public and research community.

Government originally brought the Society to Burlington House under a bespoke arrangement which has delivered immense public value as a hub of cultural and scientific discovery. Historical circumstance places a duty upon the Government to find a workable, affordable arrangement which recognises the value of the Society’s activities and its library and collections to the nation.

Our latest correspondence with Government highlights that it supports our aim to find a lasting solution to remain at Burlington House and recognises the unique value of having the Societies together. However, we are yet to reach a solution that means we can stay. 

The rent has escalated and is already unaffordable, so simply slowing down the rate of increase is not enough. We are urging the Government to help us to find a new basis for tenure, to remove the need for large funds to be directed away from our charitable objectives, and to help us stay at Burlington House.

Burlington House is the Society’s purpose-built premises in Piccadilly. Dating from the 1870s, it is Grade II* listed and of nationally exceptional architectural and historic significance.

Burlington House holds the Society of Antiquaries library, heritage collection, ancillary offices and meeting rooms, used for both charitable and educational purposes.

Burlington House was conceived with a grand vision to bring together multiple learned societies of major cultural, scientific and academic importance from a range of disciplines. The Society of Antiquaries has a close relationship with its neighbours including the Royal Astronomical Society, The Geological Society, and The Linnean Society. As intended by the Government’s original vision, the unique co-location of these organisations has allowed them to thrive over the past 145 years and make significant contributions to the economy and public life.

Why not support the Government’s aim of ‘levelling up’ the North or other regions?  London is expensive, wouldn’t you get a better deal somewhere else in the country? 

Burlington House is perfectly positioned to house the Society’s collection in such a way that maintains its cultural societal and heritage contribution to the UK. The building was purpose-built for the Society by the government and has since acted as a hub of discovery as the Society has played its unique role in promoting the understanding of the human past.

Burlington House was also conceived with a grand vision to bring together multiple learned societies of major cultural, scientific and academic importance from a range of disciplines. The Society of Antiquaries has a close relationship with its neighbours including the Royal Astronomical Society, The Geological Society, and The Linnean Society. As intended by the Government’s original vision, the unique co-location of these organisations has allowed them to thrive over the past 145 years and make significant contributions to the economy and public life.

Having to relocate would likely result in the Society being based further away from the excellent international connections London has to offer. This would likely result in fewer researchers being able to study our library and collection, and fewer members of the public being able to discover the fascinating stories behind the history of the UK and wider world.

In addition, leaving Burlington House, whether leaving London or not, would require the prohibitively costly process of replicating this infrastructure elsewhere. Moving fragile historical items en masse is also a huge and extremely costly undertaking in itself.

Furthermore, the damage caused to the Society in being forced to vacate Burlington House will put its cultural societal and heritage contribution to the UK at risk. A 2019 assessment by PwC estimated that 78% (£4.2 million) of the total gross value delivered each year by the Society of Antiquaries of London (£5.4 million) would be at risk if the Society is forced to relocate. According to this, the Government is set to lose 44 times what it would gain through the current agreement (approximately £120,000 in income compared to £5.4 million in public value). This is while the uncertainty of the Society’s tenure has already restricted it’s contributions to society over the last eight years, with investment in the building and public engagement activities shelved, and resources instead directed at quietly appealing to the Government to help form an affordable solution.

An almost unthinkable yet looming scenario is that the Society may have to sell items from its collection to fund new premises in order to appropriately house the rest of its artefacts, even outside of a major city.

In transferring the collection to another trustee body, the recipient organisation would still be faced with similar added costs in housing and protecting the collection. They would also need substantial funds, and potentially a cash endowment, to continue to make it accessible to academics, students, and the historically-curious public, as per the role of the Society at Burlington House.

The rent is recalculated annually and between 2012-13 and 2018-19 rose from approx. £4.8k to £150k per annum, an increase of 3,100%.

The rent is recalculated annually and between 2012-13 and 2018-19 rose from approx. £4,800 to £150,000 per annum, an increase of 3,100%.

Despite an offer by the landlord at the end of 2019 to peg increases to 8% per annum (compound) for five years, this rate of increase is unaffordable for the Society as the rent would double in 13 years and will force the Society to move within the next three years.

This will become increasingly unaffordable as government intends to raise the rent to the equivalent of £50 per square foot – at around £600,000 per annum.

Following more recent conversations with Government it has been suggested that the rent increases at a slightly smaller rate, however the rent is already unaffordable, so slowing down the rate of increase is not enough. 

We are urging the Government to help us to find a new basis for tenure, to remove the need for large funds to be directed away from our charitable objectives, and to help us stay at Burlington House.

In a settlement with government in 2005, there was a mutual understanding that the rents for the Courtyard Societies, under new leases, would slowly rise to market level over 80 years.

However, as the market in Central London property rose, so did the rent and between 2012-13 and 2018-19 it increased from approx. £4.8k to £150k per annum, an increase of 3,100%.

Despite an offer by the landlord at the end of 2019 to peg increases to 8% per annum (compound) for five years -, and more recent proposals from Government to reduce this rate of increase – it remains unaffordable for the Society and will force it to move away from Burlington House.

It has been encouraging to receive confirmation from the Government that it supports our aim to find a lasting solution to retain the Learned Societies at Burlington House, and recognition that the co-location of these charitable organisations provides a valuable and unique portfolio.

As the rent is already unaffordable, slowing down the rate of increase is not enough. We are now urging the Government to help us to find a new basis for tenure, to remove the need for large funds to be directed away from our charitable objectives, and to help us stay at Burlington House.

As a result of campaign efforts, Parliament hosted a debate in Westminster Hall on “The Future of the learned societies at Burlington House”, following an application by Tim Loughton MP.

Westminster Hall Debates give MPs an opportunity to raise local or national issues and receive a response from a government minister in attendance. For further information on these debates please go to this explainer page on the Parliamentary website.

The debate will took place at 4:50pm – 5:50pm on Tuesday 8th June and you can listen to it here from 16.50, or read the transcript here. 

The Society consists of over 3,000 elected Fellows who are distinguished in their fields of archaeology, architectural or art history, or other antiquarian subject matters across the academic, charitable, heritage and private sectors. Some of the Society’s most prominent fellows include Sir David Attenborough, Professor Mary Beard and Loyd Grossman:

You can find out more about the Fellows here.

Burlington House is a hub of discovery, where researchers and the public come to learn more about the cultural heritage of the UK and benefit from the cross-collaboration and multidisciplinary events across the resident organisations.

Anyone keen to research our past can access by appointment, and the opportunity is taken up by many. The Society hosts undergraduate and postgraduate students through study sessions, open days and conferences with mentoring also available with our distinguished Fellows. The Society is also a key resource for early career researchers from around the UK, who come to Burlington House to explore the collections and network.

The Society also gives grants to researchers to help them enhance our understanding of the human past. The grants are geared to supporting independent and early- or mid-career researchers, enabling important work that would not otherwise happen without the Society’s support. The Society has awarded research grants totalling £350k in the three years prior to 2020, covering a broad range of subjects and disciplines including the archaeology of the earliest humans in Africa and Europe, the Viking impact on urbanism and industry in England, west African textiles in 18^th century English society, and the Jewish built heritage of London’s East End.

The Society’s independent position as allows for an expert perspective on advocacy that really enables the progression of our study and understanding of the human past.

Having to relocate would likely result in the Society being based further away from one of the major centres of the UK’s research ecosystem. This would likely result in fewer researchers being able to study our library and collection, and fewer members of the public being able to discover the fascinating stories behind the history of the UK and wider world.

Manuscripts:

The Society’s collection comprises over one thousand manuscripts, including:

• The Lindsey Psalter, a 13th century Book of Psalms illuminated with gold, it is a national monument of English medieval art.
• Three of the earliest copies of the Magna Carta, regarded as the chief constitutional defence against arbitrary rule (dating from 1215 and 1225). Third revision of the Magna Carta, the great charter of English liberties, issued by Henry III in 1225.
• A 41 ft-long illuminated 15^th century genealogical roll showing Christ’s descent from Adam and the succession of the Kings of England, Popes, and Kings and Emperors of France.
  • The fine roundels are attributed William Abell, an outstanding mid-15^th century English illuminator. The first portion of the roll, dedicated to Henry VI, dates to c.1455 and is made up of 17 vellum membranes.
• A vellum jousting cheque with the names of challengers and defenders from a contest held at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, June 1520 – the celebrated meeting of Henry VIII and Francois I of France. The cheque notes the scores achieved by knights competing in mounted lance combats. Few jousting cheques are known to survive.
• A two-volume inventory of Henry VIII’s 17,810 movable goods (including ships and their ordnance, musical instruments, maps, paintings and furnishings) compiled 1550-1551 after his death. This acts as a significant source for the material culture of Henry VIII’s court and provides insight into the King’s private, everyday life.
• The 12^th century Winton Domesday – two surveys of the entire city of Winchester, made c. 1110, 1148. It is among the earliest and most detailed descriptions of any European town of the early Middle Ages and includes information on the inhabitants of the city.

Proclamations:

A rare copy of the proclamation of Lady Jane Grey is contained within the Society’s collection of 2,000 proclamations. Printed 10^th July 1553, the text advocates for Jane, a great granddaughter of Henry VII, as the rightful – Protestant – heir to throne and goes into detail disputing the claims of both Mary and Elizabeth Tudor.

Books:

The Society’s collection of historic printed documents is one of the largest and most important in the country. The Society holds over 50 books printed in Europe before 1500, including:

• An edition of Dante’s Divine Comedy printed in Venice in 1491, with 100 woodcut illustrations.
• Henry VII’s Statutes and Ordinances of War, printed in London in 1492 by Richard Pynson, who was one of the first printers of English books and responsible for the standardisation of the English language. His books are typographical masterpieces.
• A copy of the Boke of Saint Albans. A work on hunting, hawking and heraldry, attributed to Juliana Berners, who wrote treatises on field sports and is said to have been prioress of the Priory of St Mary of Sopwell, near St Albans, where the book was printed in 1486.
• A German 1488 edition of the 13^th century Passional, das ist Der Heyligen Leben ‘the Lives of the Saints’ [printed by Anton Koberger, Nuremberg, 1488] compilation by Jacobus de Voragine (more commonly known as the Golden Legend) with woodcut illustrations attributed to Albrecht Dürer, and owned by William Morris.
  • An inscription at the beginning of the book records that Morris later gave it to his friend and fellow artist and printer Emery Walker. Morris designed the initial letters, borders and typefaces for the Kelmscott Press edition of the Golden Legend which was printed in 1892, with illustrations by Edward Burne-Jones.
• An English translation of Pope Innocent VIII’s declaration confirming the marriage of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. It was printed in London in 1486, the same year the marriage, which unified the houses of York and Lancaster, took place.

Prints and drawings:

• Beautifully detailed coloured engravings of the Bayeux Tapestry in its entirety, taken after the original was damaged during the French Revolution and before repairs were carried out in the nineteenth century.
• Vetusta Monumenta (Ancient Monuments) print series with high-quality engravings of a wide variety of ancient buildings, sites, and artefacts mainly across Britain. It remains an important record of methods and techniques for the discovery of the past, as well as for the antiquities of Britain.
• Cowdray Engravings – in the 1770s, the Society commissioned the copy a series of Tudor wall paintings in Cowdray house in Midhurst, West Sussex. The drawings were published in 1788, but shortly after Cowdray House burned down (1793) and the murals were destroyed, leaving the Society’s engravings a hugely significant record of the originals.

Paintings:

Next to the Royal Collection, the most important early sixteenth-century royal portraits to survive as a group, including:

• One of the earliest surviving portraits of Richard III, with the prototype from which it was taken, painted in the monarch’s reign (painted in the 16th Century), Henry VII (painted in the 16th Century), Henry VIII (painted in the 16th Century) and Jane Seymour (painted in the 16th Century).
• Portrait of Charlemagne / Charles the Great, one of the monarchs that defined medieval Europe (15th or 16th Century).
• The first major portrait of Queen Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, captured by court painter, Hans Eworth, shortly after her coronation (16th Century).
• Six beautifully painted fragments from possibly the earliest cycle of paintings of the Saxon Kings of England.

Objects:

• Late bronze-age ceremonial shield for Beith, Ayrshire. This is made from a single sheet of bronze with carefully embossed decoration in 29 concentric rings. The shield was found buried in ceremonial fashion and is the most complete example of its kind.
• Medieval processional cross from the site of the Battle of Bosworth, where the Wars of the Roses where finally settled. The cross was found with the decaying remains of a wooden staff bearing traces of paint and gilding. This suggests that the cross was lost in its processional mode and might indeed have been abandoned on the field of battle.
• Viking torques and brooches, found lodged in a crevice in Cumbria (9th / 10th Century AD).
• Ornate enamel reliquary designed to hold the remains of St Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. The champleve enamel decoration depicts the martyrdom of St Thomas and is one of the few caskets to depict all four knights.
• Neolithic stone pounder from Stonehenge. It is thought that the pounder would have been used as a tool for shaping the Sarsen Stones on site.
• Woodblocks designed by Edward Burne-Jones for William Morris’ ‘An Earthly Paradise’ and ‘Cupid and Psyche’. Many of the woodblocks were carved by Morris himself.
• The Second Great Seal of Elizabeth I. An original wax seal impression of the official seal of the British Monarch. The double-sided seal would be attached to documents and correspondence as a means of validation.

The Societies warmly welcome the desire of MHCLG “to find a lasting solution to retain the 

Learned Societies at New Burlington House” for the duration of the existing lease agreement, and the recognition that “the Learned Societies offer a valuable and unique portfolio”.

We welcome the involvement of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to help broaden current discussions and ensure that the voice of Government-as-landlord is balanced with the interest of the Department with responsibilities for protecting our national culture and heritage.

However the proposed approach from the Government would still see rents continue to rise at an unaffordable rate, meaning that the future of the Societies at Burlington House remains under threat.

As negotiations are ongoing we are not currently in the position to share the proposal.

We welcome and appreciate the Government’s efforts in presenting a proposed way forward. 

Despite our shared common ambitions, we are unable to accept the current terms because the fundamental problem of unaffordable rents is not solved. The Government’s proposed route forward would remain unaffordable in such a way that we would be unable to modernise our building to improve our effectiveness, open up access to more people, and sustain and grow our offer of public benefit to UK society. Ultimately, we will remain in the same situation, and will still be forced to leave.

The proposal has also not recognised that the uncertainty created around the Societies’ future at Burlington House has ruled out its ability to look to funds such as the Arts Council England, or the National Lottery Heritage Fund to help support the Societies’ future work.

There must be a balance between paying rent and meeting our charitable objectives. Our primary aim in increasing revenue and strengthening our finances is so that these funds can be reinvested in meeting our charitable objectives, directed towards the public benefit and generating public value.

Unlike investment properties, Burlington House is a world-class and unique cultural, educational and scientific hub. It therefore requires a bespoke solution for the benefit of the nation. In fact, the precedent set by other heritage assets in government ownership, including Somerset House and the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, would be much more appropriate for Burlington House.

The MHCLG proposal also lacks recognition of the extensive efforts to increase public engagement and outreach the Societies have undertaken. These efforts have also taken place at a time when the Societies have been tied to unaffordable and rapidly rising rents, preventing the full extent of our ambitions from being realised.

We could go further than this if we were enabled to focus our organisations on creative ways to maximise impact and public good, invest further in them, rather than on raising funds to pay ever-increasing rents.

You can find more information on the public value we contribute and our public outreach programmes here. As a group, the Societies hold Lates in the Courtyard, public lectures and educational activities. Some have fully digested versions of the collections available online, with many of these events published on YouTube.

With the Government’s recognition of our situation and all-party Parliamentary support we encourage the Ministry for Housing and Local Government to lead a process with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and HM Treasury to find a bespoke solution. We are looking to engage parties from across these Departments alongside the Prime Minister to ensure that an agreement that further increases the public value we deliver to the nation can be agreed.

We now wait for a response from these parties.  

The Government’s latest proposal lacks recognition of the extensive efforts to increase public engagement and outreach of the Societies. These efforts have also taken place at a time when the Societies have been tied to unaffordable and rapidly rising rents, preventing the fall extent of our ambitions from being realised.

You can find more information on the public value we contribute and our public outreach programmes here. As a group, the Societies hold Lates in the Courtyard, public lectures and educational activities. Some have fully digested versions of the collections available online, with much of these events published on YouTube.

We could go further than this if we were enabled to focus our organisations on creative ways to maximise impact and public good, invest further in them, rather than on raising funds to pay ever-increasing rents.

The rent is recalculated annually and between 2012-13 and 2018-19 rose from approx. £4,800 to £150,000 per annum, an increase of 3,100%.

Despite an offer by the landlord at the end of 2019 to peg increases to 8% per annum (compound) for five years, this rate of increase is unaffordable for the Society as the rent would double in 13 years and will force the Society to move within the next three years.

This will become increasingly unaffordable as government intends to raise the rent to the equivalent of £50 per square foot – at around £600,000 per annum.

Following more recent conversations with Government it has been suggested that the rent increases at a slightly smaller rate, however the rent is already unaffordable, so slowing down the rate of increase is not enough. 

We are urging the Government to help us to find a new basis for tenure, to remove the need for large funds to be directed away from our charitable objectives, and to help us stay at Burlington House.