The Highland Society of London is a

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * C ...

registered in England and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, with "the view of establishing and supporting schools in the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

and in the Northern parts of Great Britain, for relieving distressed Highlanders at a distance from their native homes, for preserving the antiquities and rescuing from oblivion the valuable remains of Celtic literature, and for promoting the improvement and general welfare of the Northern parts of Great Britain".

History

The Society was founded in 1778 by Highland gentlemen resident in London and was incorporated by

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

on 21 May 1816. Within a year of its foundation, its members had come to include a number of notable Scots:Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster Bt., ''An Account of the Highland Society of London'' (London, 1813)
Appendix II
/ref> * Lord Macleod * Sir Harry Monro * Hon Archibald Fraser of Lovat *

Archibald Macdonald Sir Archibald Macdonald, 1st Baronet (13 July 1747 – 18 May 1826) was a Scottish lawyer, judge and politician. Early life He was the posthumous son of Sir Alexander Macdonald, 7th Baronet, and younger brother of the 8th baronet (see Baron Ma ...

* Hon. General Fraser (President) * Lord Adam Gordon * The Earl of Eglinton * John Macpherson * The Duke of Gordon * The Duke of Atholl * John Campbell of Calder * The Earl of Seaforth *

Lord Frederick Campbell Lord Frederick Campbell (20 June 1729 – 8 June 1816) was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He was lord clerk register of Scotland, 1768–1816; Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Burghs (1761–1780) and for Argyllshire (1780–1799). B ...

* The Earl of Caithness * Major-General Munro * William Wemyss The Presidents over the first 25 years of the Society's existence were: * 1778

Simon Fraser of Lovat Simon Fraser of Lovat (19 October 1726 – 8 February 1782) was a son of a notorious Jacobite clan chief, but he went on to serve with distinction in the British army. He also raised forces which served in the Seven Years' War against the Fren ...

* 1779 Archibald Montgomerie, 11th Earl of Eglinton * 1780

James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

* 1781 Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon * 1782 Lord Adam Gordon * 1783

John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl, KT, PC, FRS (30 June 1755 – 29 September 1830), styled Marquess of Tullibardine from 1764 to 1774, was a Scottish peer. Life and career Murray was the eldest son of John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl, and his ...

* 1784 Lord Adam Gordon * 1785 John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore * 1786 John Campbell, 1st Marquess of Breadalbane * 1787

Douglas Hamilton, 8th Duke of Hamilton Douglas Hamilton, 8th Duke of Hamilton, 5th Duke of Brandon and 2nd Baron Hamilton of Hameldon, (24 July 1756 – 2 August 1799) was a Scottish peer, nobleman, and politician. Life Hamilton was born at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the son of ...

* 1788

Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth Lieutenant-General Francis Humberston Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth, (9 June 1754 – 11 January 1815) was a British politician, soldier, and botanist. He was Chief of the Highland Clan Mackenzie, as which he raised the renowned 78th (Highland ...

* 1789 Francis Stuart, 9th Earl of Moray * 1790 James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife * 1791 Alexander Macdonald, 1st Baron Macdonald * 1792

George Campbell, 6th Duke of Argyll George William Campbell, 6th Duke of Argyll, (22 September 1768 – 22 October 1839), styled Earl of Campbell from 1768 to 1770 and Marquess of Lorne from 1770 to 1806, was a Scottish Whig politician and nobleman. Background Argyll was the el ...

* 1793 George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon * 1794 Robert Hay-Drummond, 10th Earl of Kinnoull * 1795

* 1796

Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster, 1st Baronet, (10 May 1754 – 21 December 1835), was a British politician, a writer on both finance and agriculture, and was one of the first people to use the word ''statistics'' in the English language, in h ...

* 1797

George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly, (28 June 1761 – 17 June 1853), styled Lord Strathavon until 1795 and known as The Earl of Aboyne from 1795 to 1836, was a Scottish peer. Early life George was the son of Charles Gordon, 4th Earl of Aboy ...

* 1798 Eric Mackay, 7th Lord Reay * 1799

Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, PC, FRSE (28 April 1742 – 28 May 1811), styled as Lord Melville from 1802, was the trusted lieutenant of British Prime Minister William Pitt and the most powerful politician in Scotland in the late 18t ...

* 1800 Hector Munro, 8th laird of Novar * 1801

James Forbes, 17th Lord Forbes James Ochoncar Forbes, 18th Lord Forbes (1765–1843), was a Scottish soldier and peer. He was the eldest son of James Forbes, 17th Baron Forbes, by Catherine, only daughter of Sir Robert Innes, baronet, of Orton. The lands of Forbes, Aberdeens ...

* 1802 Alexander Macdonald, 2nd Baron Macdonald * 1803 George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon * 1804 Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton * 1805

Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton and 6th Duke of Brandon (15 July 1740 – 16 February 1819) was a Scottish peer and politician. Background and education Hamilton was the second son of the 5th Duke of Hamilton, by his third wife, Ann ...

* 1806

Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, (27 January 1773 – 21 April 1843) was the sixth son and ninth child of King George III and his queen consort, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. He was the only surviving son of George III who did not ...

* 1807 Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex * 1808 Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex * 1809 George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon * 1810 George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon * 1811 George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon * 1812 George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon * 1813 Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex

Activities

In 1782, the Society was instrumental in securing the repeal of the statutory proscription of

Highland Dress Highland dress is the traditional, regional dress of the Highlands and Isles of Scotland. It is often characterised by tartan (''plaid'' in North America). Specific designs of shirt, jacket, bodice and headwear may also be worn along with cla ...

introduced after the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took ...

. It has a well known and definitive collection of clan tartans, established in the early 19th century. In its early days it was active in the investigations into the authenticity of the poems supposedly by Ossian, which it had also helped to publish. The Society supports and awards annual prizes for

piping Within industry, piping is a system of pipes used to convey fluids (liquids and gases) from one location to another. The engineering discipline of piping design studies the efficient transport of fluid. Industrial process piping (and accompa ...

, including gold medals at the Northern Meeting and Argyllshire Gathering. Its early records are deposited in the National Library of Scotland.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Highland Society Of London Music organisations based in the United Kingdom Scottish clothing Bagpipe societies Charities based in London 1778 establishments in Great Britain Organizations established in 1778