Society of Antiquaries of London

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The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society, based in the United Kingdom, concerned with "the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries". An antiquary was a person interested in the study of the past, particularly the physical traces of the past. The term was current from the late 16th century to the 19th century. Antiquarianism then evolved into more specialised fields of interest such as archaeology, architectural history, art history, conservation, heraldry, anthropology, and ecclesiastical studies, and there is no such thing as a professional antiquary today. The continuing use of the word in the Society's name is an anachronism, but reflects both the antiquity of the Society and its continuing broad range of interests.

1 History
2 Notable Fellows
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

A precursor organisation, the College of Antiquaries, was founded in 1586 and functioned largely as a debating society until it was forbidden to do so by James I in 1614. The Royal Society showed some interest in archaeology until in 1707 when the Society of Antiquaries was founded—the first meeting taking place in the Bear Tavern in The Strand on the 5th December, though the new Society only received a Royal Charter 44 years later. The Society is now based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London.

On May 3, 2007, during the year of its 300th anniversary and a Royal Academy exhibition to mark this, it had its first contested election for chairman since 1959.^[1]^[2] Eric Fernie, former director of the Courtauld Institute, retired as President and the Council's recommendation for his replacement, Geoff Wainwright, an expert on the Preseli bluestones of Stonehenge, beat off a challenge from John Barron, former Master of St Peter's College, Oxford, who warned of problems meeting the cost of renovating the premises (for which the Society had only recently started to pay rent, for the first time since its foundation).

Members of the Society, known as Fellows (FSA), are elected by existing members of the Society, and Fellowship is regarded as a sign of recognition as an established scholar.