The British Archaeological Association (BAA) was founded in 1843 and aims to inspire, support and disseminate high quality research in the fields of Western archaeology, art and architecture, primarily of the mediaeval period, through lectures, conferences, study days and publications.[1]

The BAA was founded in December 1843 by Charles Roach Smith, Thomas Wright and Thomas Joseph Pettigrew, to encourage the recording, preservation, and publication of archaeological discoveries, and to lobby for government assistance for the collection of British antiquities. All three men were Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London but felt the older body was too aristocratic, too London-focused and lacked the campaigning vigour required. The naming of the new body was symbolic: British referred to the campaign for a museum of British Antiquities, Archaeological differentiated their field from older antiquarian methods and Association had reformist, even revolutionary, overtones. Smith became its first secretary and arranged the first six annual congresses. Although he remained one of the secretaries until 1851, he had effectively resigned the post in 1849.

One of the aims of the association was to promote dialogue between self-identified experts and local archaeologists, to be achieved through the organization of an annual congress, along the model of the French Congres Archaeologique or the annual meetings of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. The first meeting was held in Canterbury in 1844. The site, with its magnificent cathedral, had obvious appeal and was close to the seat of the association’s first president, Lord Albert Conyngham (1805-1860). The Canterbury Congress occasioned the dispute which led to a split and the formation of the Archæological Institute (AI). The public reason for the feud was the publication by Thomas Wright of The Archæological Album, or, Museum of National Antiquities (1845), a commercial publication from which Wright drew profit. This infuriated Oxford publisher John Henry Parker, who was to have been the publisher of the official proceedings. Behind the scenes, however, the dispute had other dimensions, both social (all the founders of the BAA were 'trade', the seceding members of the AI considered themselves to be socially superior) and religious (the Oxford Chronicle of 16 August 1845 suggested that the dispute had acquired Tractarian/anti-Tractarian overtones).

The nineteenth-century passion for archaeology meant that both the BAA and the AI (later the Royal Archaeological Institute) flourished, although the earlier society retained the reputation for enthusiasm rather than elegance. In 1905, however, the BAA had reached a low ebb. The congress, held in Bath, made no money, the journal was delayed and many members were in arrears. The custom had emerged of electing as president a dignitary from the locality in which the next Congress was to take place. In 1905, the mayor of Reading was elected, to preside over a Congress in the same town. However, by the time the Congress took place, local landowner and former High Sheriff of Berkshire, Charles Edward Keyser, had become president. Keyser remained resident until his death in 1929.

From 1945 until 1951, Rose Graham, a religious historian, served as its first female president.

The annual conference was revived in 1975, with the first of the new series being held in Worcester. Since then, the association has held an annual conference at a centre of established importance in the mediaeval period, usually in the British Isles and occasionally in mainland Europe, collating the results of recent research on major cathedrals, minsters and abbeys and including visits to places of relevant interest. The conference proceedings are published as the British Archaeological Association Conference Transactions.

The association's annual publication is The Journal of the British Archaeological Association.[2]

Annual Congresses of the British Archaeological Association

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NB An index to the first 30 volumes of the association's journal was published in 1875[47]

References

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  1. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". Maney Publishing. Archived from the original on 2018-10-11. Retrieved 2018-10-11 – via www.history.ac.uk.
  2. ^ "Annual Journal | British Archaeological Association". thebaa.org. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
  3. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". British Archaeological Association. 1846.
  4. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". British Archaeological Association. 1846.
  5. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". 1845.
  6. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". British Archaeological Association. 1847.
  7. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association Volume 3". British Archaeological Association. 1848.
  8. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association Volume 4". 1845.
  9. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association Volume 5". 1845.
  10. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". 1845.
  11. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". 1845.
  12. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association Volume 7". 1845.
  13. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association Volume 7". 1845.
  14. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". 1845.
  15. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association Volume 11".
  16. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association".
  17. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". 1845.
  18. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association Volume 18 (1862)". 1845.
  19. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association Volume 19 (1863)". 1845.
  20. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association Volume 20 (1864)".
  21. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". 1845.
  22. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association Volume 25 (1869)". 1845.
  23. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". British ArchaeologicalAssociation. 1872.
  24. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association Volume 29". 1845.
  25. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". 1845.
  26. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association Volume 31". 1845.
  27. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association Volume 33 (new series)". 1845.
  28. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association Volume 38 (new series)". doi:10.1080/00681288.1879.11895070. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  29. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association Volume 38 (new series)". 1845.
  30. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association Volume 38 (new series)". 1845.
  31. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". 1845.
  32. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association".
  33. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". 1845.
  34. ^ "Annual Congress". South Wales Daily News. 19 August 1892. p. 6.
  35. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". 1845.
  36. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". 1845.
  37. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". 1845.
  38. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association".
  39. ^ "Annual Congress". Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 22 July 1901. p. 5.
  40. ^ "British Archeological Association". The Times. No. 36874. London. 16 September 1902. p. 4.
  41. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". 1845.
  42. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". 1845.
  43. ^ "Annual Congress". Gloucester Citizen. 26 June 1912. p. 3.
  44. ^ "Annual Congress". Cambridge Independent Press. 11 July 1913. p. 8.
  45. ^ "Journal of the British Archaeological Association". 1845.
  46. ^ "Annual Congress". Peterborough Standard. 18 November 1932. p. 10.
  47. ^ "Index to Volumes 1-30 of the Journal of the British Archaeological Association". 1845.

Further reading

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  • Wetherall, David (1994). "From Canterbury to Winchester: the foundation of the Institute". In Vyner, Blaise (ed.). Building on the Past: celebrating 150 Years of the Royal Archaeological Institute. London: Royal Archaeological Institute. pp. 8–21. ISBN 9780903986304.
  • Wetherall, David (1998). "The growth of archaeological societies". In Brand, Vanessa (ed.). The Study of the Past in the Victorian Age. Oxbow Monograph. Vol. 73. Oxford: Oxbow. pp. 21–34. ISBN 9781900188289.
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