The Monumental Brass Society
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The Society was founded in 1887 by a group of Cambridge undergraduates keen to preserve and record monumental brasses. Initially it was known as the Cambridge University Association of Brass Collectors. Later it was renamed the Monumental Brass Society. From a membership of 60 in 1887, the Society has grown to around 500 today.
Early research into brasses focussed chiefly on English brasses of the medieval and
early modern periods. Today, however, the field is much wider. Chronologically it
extends to brasses of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and geographically
to those of Continental Europe and beyond. Incised slabs are also the subject of
growing interest. Areas of current research include the artistic context of brasses,
workshop organisation and the self-
Membership will particularly benefit those with an interest in genealogy, ecclesiology and the study of costume, armour and heraldry, as well as those interested in church monuments.
Rev. Herbert Walter Macklin (1866-
More about the history of the MBS can be found in:
Richard Busby, The Monumental Brass Society: a Short History 1887-
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Transactions, published annually with articles on brasses and incised slabs, with an average of 100 pages in each issue.
Bulletin, published three times a year, with information about current activities,
work in progress and new literature, with 20 fully-
Other occasional publications. For most there is a charge, but to celebrate the millennium a copiously illustrated volume Drawings of Monumental Brasses and Incised Slabs by the Waller Brothers, edited by Robert Hutchinson F.S.A., will be provided free of charge to all current members and new members while stocks last.
General meetings with illustrated lectures followed by discussions and an opportunity to meet other members, held 3 times a year, in London on Saturday afternoons.
Annual one-
Periodic weekend Conferences, usually in September, held in different parts of the country. These are normally residential and the cost includes lectures, visits to churches of interest, workshops and members' contributions.
Biennial study days, each on a specific church of outstanding interest, with lectures on the church and its monuments and an extended visit to the church, sometimes followed by a visit to a stately house.
Annual General Meeting held in London in October, with a short lecture after the formal business.
Society's bookstall, with new and second-
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In a major initiative in 1995 the Society entered into an agreement with the University
of Birmingham for the establishment of a research centre for the Society. By the
terms of the agreement, the Society is committed to placing its collections of rubbings
on deposit in the University Library as the nucleus of a major research collection
for the study of brasses and incised slabs. The process of depositing and cataloguing
the rubbings is well advanced and it is planned to put the catalogue on-
Every member of the Society is entitled to make use of the collections. Anyone who wishes to gain access should contact the Birmingham University Library Admissions Office to arrange for a reader's ticket (switchboard number 0121 414 3344).
An article on the centre is in The Heslopian No. 1 (University of Birmingham Information
Services, 2003), 14-
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The Society provides advice and assistance to churches on the care and preservation of their brasses and incised slabs. Grants are available to assist funding of conservation of brasses.
The Society is actively involved in publishing a county survey of brasses and indents in the British Isles. Volumes are fully illustrated and are providing an important aid to the study of monumental brasses and family history.
The Society continues to influence brass-
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With effect from 1 January 2005, subscription rates are:
Individual UK membership
£25
Overseas membership
£25 or U.S. $45
Second person at same address, receiving no literature
£10
People under 18 or in full-
£12.50
Institutional membership
£25
Subscriptions are due on 1st January each year. Cheques should be made payable to The 'Monumental Brass Society' and sent to the Hon. Treasurer.
Dr. H. Guilford,
14 Green Park,
Prestwood,
Buckinghamshire,
HP16 0PZ
UK members may pay by cheque or bankers order, though the latter is preferred.
Members may choose to pay the £25 subscription in two instalments of £12.50. Those who require an invoice or have any other query should contact the Hon. Secretary (details above).
If you are a taxpayer and would like to permit the Society to claim back tax, it would help if you signed a Gift Aid form, a copy of which should be kept for your tax records. To obtain a copy of the Gift Aid form please contact the Hon. Treasurer. Click here for a web copy of the Gift Aid Form.
USA members preferring to pay in U.S. dollars should send a check for U.S. $45 to the Hon. North American Secretary:
Shirley B. Mattox
1313 Jackson Street
Oshkosh, WI 54901
USA
(920)233-
The Bulletin may be airmailed for U.S. $5 extra, payable with your subscription.
Other overseas members should send sterling drafts payable in London, to the Hon. Treasurer (address above). The Bulletin may be airmailed for £3 extra, payable with your subscription.
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Please complete the application form and send it with your subscription to:
Hon Membership Secretary
Monumental Brass Society
Barlows Cottage, 2 Barlows Lane
Wilbarston, Market Harborough
Leicestershire
LE16 8QB
For an application form, click here
Why not give a subscription to the MBS as a gift? Recipients will receive straight
away a letter of welcome with a notification of the gift and who it is from, together
with a copy of the latest issue of MBS Transactions (currently the special double
issue on the brasses of the British Museum), the MBS Occasional Publication No 2:
Robert Hutchinson, Drawings of Monumental Brasses and Incised Slabs by the Waller
Brothers 1837-
For a gift subscription form, click here.
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The Society has been granted registration as a charity by the Charity (no. 214336). The Inland Revenue has accepted the Society as a charity within the definitions of section 506(1) Income & Corporation Taxes Act 1988, as a result of which the Society's income and gains are not taxable to the extent that they are applicable and applied to charitable purposes.
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c/o The Society of Antiquaries
Burlington House
Piccadilly
London W1J 0BE
.
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Click here to see the Annual Repost and Accounts for 2008
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President: |
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Ven.. D.G. Meara, M.A., F.S.A. |
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Vice Presidents: |
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Rev. J.F.A. Bertram, M.A., F.S.A. |
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P.D. Cockerham, M.A., Ph.D., Vet. M.B., F.S.A., M.R.C.V.S. |
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Prof. N.E. Saul, M.A., D.Phil., F.S.A., F.R.Hist.S. |
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H.M. Stuchfield, J.P., F.S.A., F.R.Hist.S. |
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Hon. Secretary: |
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H.M. Stuchfield, J.P., F.S.A., F.R.Hist.S. |
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Hon. Treasurer: |
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H. Guilford, B.Sc., D.Phil. |
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Hon. Editor: |
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N.J. Rogers, M.A., M.Litt. F.S.A. |