Grants
Grants for research
The Society administers a number of different research funds, some of which are dedicated to specific areas of interest. Individuals may apply for more than one award. However, only one application will be accepted for each award. With the exception of the Wheeler Memorial Travel Fund, these grants are not intended for research that leads to the award of a university degree.
The closing date for all research funds is the Friday of the first full week in January in the year of application.
Applications for all awards are assessed by the Research Committee. The Committee meets in early March to consider the applications, and applicants are notified of the results by the end of March.
The Society provides funds for the support of archaeological and antiquarian research within its fields of interest. Some of the funds are limited by date and period but the Society is also able to consider applications over a wider geographical and chronological range. In recent years the total allocated has been approximately £30,000, in amounts varying from £500 to £5,000. Minor Research grants are open to Fellows and other researchers who have links with the UK.
The benefaction of Miss Joan Pye has been used to establish an award scheme to assist scholars who have completed their post-graduate degree within the last five years. The aim of the scheme is to assist research work in the fields of prehistoric and Roman archaeology in the United Kingdom.
This award was instituted in memory of Hugh Chapman, the Society's General Secretary from 1988 to 1992. Grants are awarded to research projects within Hugh Chapman's areas of interest, especially the Western Roman Empire and antiquarian matters in London and its environs.
Tessa and Mortimer Wheeler Memorial Travel Fund
This Fund was established in memory of Sir Mortimer and Tessa Verney Wheeler as the result of an appeal by the British Academy, the Institute of Archaeology and the Society of Antiquaries. The purpose of this travel grant is to support students of archaeology (defined as undergraduates, or first-year postgraduates) to gain experience in the UK and abroad. A total of £2,000 is available each year, with successful applicants receiving up to £500.
The William Lambarde (1536–1601) Memorial Fund
This Fund was established as a result of a bequest to the Society by Mrs M M Lambarde with additional funding from the Society. The fund gives grants for scholarships for travel in the field of archaeology or antiquarian studies. These awards are made annually with approximately £2,000 being available each year; successful applicants can receive amounts up to £500.
The Janet Arnold (1932–1998) Award
Miss Arnold established this award to further in-depth studies of the history of Western dress. Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they wish to pursue a particular piece of original research based on items of dress or their remains with a view to eventually disseminating the results through publication, display, cataloguing, teaching or through practical use in conservation or accurate reproduction. The award may be used for travel, accommodation and incidental expenses such as the purchase of photographs.
The Society of Antiquaries of London has received an extension to its funding stream from the Headley Trust in order to augment our research support for British archaeology. This Headley Trust Research Bursary will be awarded for 2010 and 2011. The Research Committee has decided that this funding can best be used to assist in the synthesis and communication of research or outputs from excavation or fieldwork that will make an important contribution to British archaeology. In addition to supporting the analysis of results of research projects, the emphasis of the scheme is to bring important new discoveries to full academic publication within a defined and agreed deadline. Those working in the independent and commercial sectors of British archaeology are particularly encouraged to apply
The total grant available for distribution is £20,000 over two years. The Research Committee will look to awarding a total of £10,000 in each year of the award. Depending on applications, one or multiple awards may be granted in each year.
The Margaret and Tom Jones Fund
This recent bequest from the estate of the late Mrs M U Jones FSA may be used to support fieldwork and research. First priority will be given to applications related to excavations at Mucking, Essex, 1965-78. Otherwise applications pertaining to the following research themes will be considered for funding:
- British landscape archaeology of the periods covered in the Mucking excavation (i.e. Neolithic to post-medieval);
- projects relating to the methodology for the field investigation, excavation or analysis of large sites or landscapes.
The bequest stipulates that any person previously employed on the Mucking Archives shall not be eligible. In addition, these grants are not intended for research that leads to the award of a university degree.
The total grant available for distribution in 2009-10 is £10,500. Depending on applications, one or multiple awards may be granted.