Like so many archaeological stories, the history of the Society of Antiquaries of London began in a pub. The hostelry in question was the Bear Tavern in the Strand, the year was 1707, and John Talman, John Bagford, and Humfrey Wanley had met up to share not only a few drinks, but also their love of all things ancient. This was not a casual gathering, however: that evening the three friends resolved that they would hold a similar meeting every Friday evening ‘upon the pain of forfeiture of sixpence’. Their newly formed society would focus on ‘the study of Antiquities’, especially those relating to Britain – an unusual choice at a time when the Classical world was a much more fashionable field.
Early assemblies floated around various taverns, functioning like a scholarly ‘show and tell’ with members bringing objects of interest and discussing pet theories. The fledgling fellowship almost foundered, however, when a favourite haunt, the Young Devil on Fleet Street, went bankrupt. Fortunately, by 1717 the group had found a new meeting place nearby at the Mitre, and from there the Society flourished. Within a year, they were taking meticulous minutes of each meeting, and eagerly commissioning etchings, publishing prints, and purchasing useful books (as well as a chest that the itinerant association used to carry them around). Proceedings became even more formalised in 1735, with the introduction of presidential regalia including a ceremonial mace, but the Antiquaries remained without a proper home – even in 1753, two years after George III had granted the Society a Royal Charter, it was renting space in the former Robin’s Coffee House in Chancery Lane.
This all changed in 1776, when the Society was given a permanent suite of rooms in the Neoclassical grandeur of Somerset House. There, the Antiquaries were able to start amassing collections in earnest, and to host larger meetings. Indeed, in 1802 the Rosetta Stone – discovered in Egypt only three years earlier – was displayed at Somerset House ahead of its deposition at the British Museum, during which time the Antiquaries took plaster casts of its inscription and circulated prints of the tripartite text to help those striving to translate it.
Major Oak has died