About the Society
History, Charity & the Old Families of Glasgow
Who We Are
The Grand Antiquity Society of Glasgow is a charitable society of the city's old Burgess families, instituted on 16th November 1756 and incorporated by Royal Charter in 1899. It is one of the Seventeen Burgess Associations of Glasgow, standing alongside the Trades House of Glasgow, the Fourteen Incorporated Crafts and the Deacons' Association.
Where the Trades House and its Crafts admit Burgesses and Guild Brethren of the city, the Society asks for something rarer still: each member must be a Burgess of the third generation in direct line — or married to one. It is this requirement that has made the Society, for nearly three centuries, the keeper of Glasgow's longest family threads. Several of its families have held Burgess-ship continuously since the seventeenth century.
Today the Society is a Scottish charity (No SC003224) of around 400 members, whose purposes remain those of 1756: benevolence to members and their families in need, the continuity of Burgess-ship from generation to generation, and the celebration of Glasgow's history, culture and architecture.
The Royal Connection
On 4th September 1992 the Society was honoured when HRH The Princess Royal followed family tradition by joining as Royal Patron and honorary member.
Royal members before her have included King Edward VIII, King George VI, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, and the late Dukes of Gloucester and Kent.
Few of Glasgow's clubs and societies, however venerable, can claim a roll of Royal members of such length.
The Society Today
Benevolence, History & Fellowship
Grants & Relief
The Society's funds, of approximately half a million pounds, are invested and the income applied in grants to members and their families in need — given quietly, and never as of right. True to the founders of 1756.
Glasgow's Heritage
Each year the Society holds a public lecture on the history of Glasgow and presents the Sir Robert Smith Award for a significant published work on the city's heritage.
Fellowship
The annual dinner, the lecture, and the civic occasions shared with the Trades House of Glasgow and the Fourteen Incorporated Crafts keep the Society's company as warm as it is old.
Part of Your Family's Story?
If your parent and grandparent were Burgesses of Glasgow — or if you would like help finding out — the Society would be glad to hear from you.
Join the Society Write to the Clerk