The Spalding Gentlemen's 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 ...

based in Spalding,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, England, concerned with cultural, scientific and

antiquarian An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

subjects. It is Britain's oldest such provincial body, founded in 1710 by Maurice Johnson (1688–1755) of

Ayscoughfee Hall Ayscoughfee Hall is a grade I listed building and modest associated parkland in central Spalding, Lincolnshire, England, and is a landmark on the fen tour. History The house, currently a museum, was built for a local wool merchant, trad ...

. Membership is open to anyone aged 18 or over: the term "gentlemen" in the title is historical – there is no discrimination between men and women. Its

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

museum in Broad Street, Spalding, was designed by Joseph Boothroyd Corby and opened in 1911; additions to the building ensued in 1925 and 1960. The carved outside panels were by Jules Tuerlinckx of Malines, a Belgian refugee in the First World War.

History

The Spalding Gentlemen's Society started in 1710 with informal meetings of a few gentlemen at a local

coffee house A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non- ...

in Spalding called Youngers. Many gentlemen's clubs formed in this way around that time. They talked about local antiquities and discussed the popular London newspaper ''

The Tatler ''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...

''. In 1712 the society was organised in a more formal way as a ''Society of Gentlemen, for the supporting of mutual benevolence, and their improvement in the liberal sciences and in polite learning''. Officers were appointed and minutes were kept.

Francis Scott, 2nd Duke of Buccleuch Francis Scott, 2nd Duke of Buccleuch, KT, FRS (11 January 1695 – 22 April 1751) was a Scottish nobleman. Family background Buccleuch was the son of Sir James Scott, Earl of Dalkeith (son of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and Anne Scott, ...

(1695–1751), became Patron in 1732. Records of the society's earliest activities have been published by the

Lincoln Record Society Lincoln Record Society is a British text publication society founded in 1910 which edits and publishes historic records relating to Lincolnshire and the Diocese of Lincoln. The ancient diocese covered not only Lincolnshire, but also Leicester ...

as ''The Correspondence of the Spalding Gentlemen's Society, 1710–1761'' and ''Minute-Books of The Spalding Gentlemen's Society, 1712–1755''. Later works appear in catalogues as produced by "Spalding Gentleman's Society" in 1892 and 1893.

Notable members

Noteworthy and early members of the "Gentlemen's Society at Spalding" include: *Sir

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...

. Stukeley's unpublished memoir of Newton mentions his joining the society, and making a substantial donation of books. *

Ayuba Suleiman Diallo Ayuba Suleiman Diallo (17011773), also known as Job Ben Solomon, was a prominent Fulani Muslim prince from West Africa who was kidnapped to the Americas during the Atlantic slave trade, having previously sold slaves himself. Born in Bundu, Sene ...

, freed slave, Muslim cleric and aristocrat from Senegal *Dr

William Stukeley William Stukeley (7 November 1687 – 3 March 1765) was an English antiquarian, physician and Anglican clergyman. A significant influence on the later development of archaeology, he pioneered the scholarly investigation of the prehistoric ...

, cleric and antiquary *Sir

Hans Sloane Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector, with a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Mu ...

, President of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

, whose museum and library formed the nucleus of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

* "Honest Tom" Martin, antiquary *

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

, poet *

Alexander Gordon Alexander Gordon may refer to: * Alexander Gordon, 1st Earl of Huntly (died 1470), Scottish magnate * Alexander Gordon (bishop of Aberdeen) (died 1518), Precentor of Moray and Bishop-elect of Aberdeen * Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly (died ...

, antiquary *Sir

Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...

, naturalist and botanist *

Emanuel Mendes da Costa Emanuel Mendes da Costa (5 June 1717 – 31 May 1791) was an English botanist, naturalist, philosopher, and collector of valuable notes and of manuscripts, and of anecdotes of the literati. Da Costa became infamous for embezzling funds while ...

, botanist and conchologist *Sir

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

architect *Alfred,

Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

, Poet Laureate *

George Vertue George Vertue (1684 – 24 July 1756) was an English engraver and antiquary, whose notebooks on British art of the first half of the 18th century are a valuable source for the period. Life Vertue was born in 1684 in St Martin-in-the-Fields, ...

, engraver *

Joseph Ayloffe Sir Joseph Ayloffe, 6th Baronet FRS, FSA (1708 – 19 April 1781, London) was an English antiquary. Life He was the great-grandson of Sir William Ayloffe, 1st Baronet, through his third wife (Alice, daughter of James Stokes of Stoke near Cov ...

, antiquary * John Anstis, F.R.S.

Garter King of Arms The Garter Principal King of Arms (also Garter King of Arms or simply Garter) is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms, the heraldic authority with jurisdiction over England, Wales and Northern Ireland. ...

John Gay John Gay (30 June 1685 – 4 December 1732) was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for ''The Beggar's Opera'' (1728), a ballad opera. The characters, including Captain Macheath and Polly Peac ...

, the poet *Rev.

Richard Bentley Richard Bentley FRS (; 27 January 1662 – 14 July 1742) was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian. Considered the "founder of historical philology", Bentley is widely credited with establishing the English school of Hellen ...

, D.D., classical scholar *Captain John Perry, engineer *

Pishey Thompson Pishey Thompson (1784–1862) was an English publisher and antiquarian writer, known as a historian of Boston, Lincolnshire. He spent the years 1819 to 1846 in the United States. Life Thompson was born at Peachey Hall, Freiston, near Boston, Linco ...

, historian of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Andrew Michael Ramsay Andrew Michael Ramsay (9 July 16866 May 1743), commonly called the Chevalier Ramsay, was a Scottish-born writer who lived most of his adult life in France. He was a Baronet in the Jacobite Peerage. Ramsay was born in Ayr, Scotland, the son o ...

, Scottish writer * Lord Curzon of Kedleston * Lord Peckover, Quaker banker and philanthropist of Wisbech *

Lord Ancaster Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

, the Society's Patron from 1960 to 1983 * Francis Bellinger, LRCP, (d. 1721), English physician

Gallery

File:Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton (4670221).jpg, Isaac Newton File:Stukeley William.jpg, William Stukeley File:Joseph Banks 1810.jpg, Joseph Banks File:Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson - Project Gutenberg eText 17768.jpg, Alfred, Lord Tennyson File:AlexanderPope.jpg, Alexander Pope File:Alexander Gordon, 2nd Duke of Gordon, after Godfrey Kneller.jpg, Alexander Gordon File:George Vertue by Richardson.jpg, George Vertue File:John Anstis Garter.jpg, John Anstis File:John Gay - Project Gutenberg eText 13790.jpg, John Gay File:Richard Bentley - Imagines philologorum.jpg, Richard Bentley File:Li Hung Chang, Lord Salisbury, Lord Curzon-2.jpg, Lord Curzon

References

External links

* *
The Gentlemen's Society at Spalding: its origin and progress (1851)
Bound with a catalogue of the society's library, 1893 {{DEFAULTSORT:Spalding Gentlemen's Society 1710 establishments in England Scientific organizations established in 1710 Clubs and societies in England Culture in Lincolnshire History of Lincolnshire Regional and local learned societies of the United Kingdom Science and technology in Lincolnshire Spalding, Lincolnshire Organisations based in Lincolnshire Scientific societies based in the United Kingdom Museums in Lincolnshire

History

Notable members

Gallery

References

Further reading

External links