The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society is a

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an discipline (academia), academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and s ...

concerned with the history and antiquities of the City of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and the historic county of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. It was founded on 21 April 1876; and is a registered charity, number 202014.

Aims and activities

The aims of the society are to "advance and promote the education of the public in the history, heritage and archaeology of Bristol and Gloucestershire".Home.
The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2011. The activities of the society include: *encouraging and facilitating research and practical engagement *providing avenues for publication and the public dissemination of knowledge *public engagement through meetings, talks and events *advocating the appropriate care and protection of historic sites, buildings, objects and records; and the appropriate development of public facilities and access.

Protection of historic sites

Particularly in its early decades, the society took steps to rescue several important sites and buildings in its area of interest. These included: *1899 – intervention to excavate and arrest the deterioration of the ruins of

Hailes Abbey Hailes Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey, in the small village of Hailes, two miles northeast of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England. It was founded in 1246 as a daughter establishment of Beaulieu Abbey. The abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII ...

, exciting great public interest; it renovated an old barn to serve as a site museum *1906 – erection of sheds to protect Roman pavements at Great Witcombe Roman Villa *1923 – an initiative to save

Chedworth Roman Villa Chedworth Roman Villa is located near Chedworth, Gloucestershire, England and is a scheduled monument. It is one of the largest and most elaborate Roman villas so far discovered in Britain and one with the latest occupation beyond the Roman per ...

(discovered 1864), raising the funds to buy the property and put it in the care of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. *1928 – persuading the owner of Belas Knap long barrow to place it in the care of the state (Office of Works), allowing methodical investigation and restoration to begin *1928 – with the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

, forming a trust to run

Arlington Row Arlington Row at Arlington in the parish of Bibury, Gloucestershire, England was built in the late 14th century as a wool store and converted into weavers houses in the late 17th century. It is a Grade I listed building, owned by the National ...

, Bibury, which the RSA had just acquired. After joint fund-raising, this trust continued to 1949, when the properties were conveyed to the

Publications

The society has an extensive history of publication. Its annual journal, the ''Transactions'', has been published continuously since 1876. All volumes to vol. 132 (2014) have been digitised, and are freely available on the society's website. The society acts as a

text publication society A text publication society is a learned society which publishes (either as its sole function, or as a principal function) scholarly editions of old works of historical or literary interest, or archival documents. In addition to full texts, a text p ...

, and between 1952 and 1985, its Record Section issued 13 editions of Bristol and Gloucestershire records and related material, all now available via its website. Since 1988 the society has published annually in its ''Gloucestershire Record Series'' a volume comprising an edition of some historical record or collection of records relating to the history of Gloucestershire. (This Series does not publish records relating exclusively to Bristol, to avoid undue overlap with the activities of the separate

Bristol Record Society The Bristol Record Society is a text publication society which publishes scholarly editions of historical records and texts relating to the history of the City of Bristol. Founded in 1929, it is one of the oldest such societies devoted to the publi ...

, founded in 1929.) The society has also published occasional monographs and thematic essay volumes relating to its areas of interest.

Library

The society's library is held at the

University of Gloucestershire , mottoeng = In Spirit and Truth , established = , type = Public , endowment = £2.4 m (2015) , chancellor = Rennie Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie , vice_chancellor ...

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

References

External links

*
The BGAS Library''Transactions''
vols 1–45 (1876–1923).

HathiTrust HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries including content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digitized locally ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society 1876 establishments in England Charities based in Bristol Charities based in Gloucestershire Archaeological organizations Organizations established in 1876 History of Bristol History of Gloucestershire Archaeology of Gloucestershire