Annual General Meeting
Apart from our annual publications and newsletters, we do rather pride ourselves on our annual general meetings, which are attended by about one quarter of the entire membership. Although the growth of the Society is making it increasingly difficult to find large enough locations, we try to meet in an interesting building in central London, often one which is not normally open to the public, or is appropriate to our annual publication.
2013 - The 113th Annual General Meeting of the London Topographical Society will be held on Tuesday, 9 July 2013 at the Central Church of the RAF, St. Clement Danes Church in the Strand. [www.raf.mod.uk/stclementdanes]
Recent locations have included:
- St Botolph’s Church, Bishopsgate.
- British Museum, to celebrate its 250th anniversary and see the “London 1753” exhibition.
- Grand Temple, Freemasons' Hall, in association with the Freemasonry in the Community initiative, with access to the Museum of Freemasonry.
- St James’s Palace for the Society’s 100th AGM, in the presence of our patron The Duke of Edinburgh.
- The Banqueting House, the sole surviving part of Whitehall Palace, with its Rubens ceiling and the window through which Charles I was led to execution.
- Westminster School, where we arranged tours of the buildings including the fine seventeenth century Ashburnham House.
- The Governors’ Hall of St Thomas’ Hospital.
AGMs are normally held early in July at 6.00pm. If possible, we start with tea, served in the hour before the meeting, featuring sandwiches and cakes. The annual publication is distributed to members and there is a chance to buy other publications, some at bargain prices. After the business part of the meeting, we have two or three short talks about the year’s publication(s) and the building where we are meeting.
And, just in case you wondered, here is the full list of AGM locations for the last 53 years:
1959 Wax Chandlers’ Hall
1960 Stationers’ Hall
1961 St Bartholomew's Hospital
1962 Port of London Authority, Trinity Square
1964 The Charterhouse
1965 St Paul's School, West Kensington
1966 St Paul's Cathedral, Chapter House
1967 Gresham College
1968 Royal Institute of British Architects, Portland Place
1969 The Crypt, Guildhall
1970 Dudley House, 100 Park Street
1972 Althorp
1973 Institute of Chartered Accountants
1974 Southwark Cathedral, Chapter House
1975 Fishmongers’ Hall
1976 Chapter House, St John's Gate, Clerkenwell
1977 Home House, Portman Square
1978 Society of Antiquaries, Burlington House
1979 Mercers’ Hall
1980 Coutts & Co, Strand
1982 The Brewery, Chiswell Street
1983 St Etheldreda’s, Ely Place
1984 London School of Economics
1985 Staple Inn Hall
1986 St Bartholomew’s Hospital
1987 Crosby Hall, Chelsea
1988 Honourable Artillery Company
1989 Royal Geographical Society
1990 University College School, Frognal
1991 Bishopsgate Institute
1992 Royal Society
1993 King’s College, Strand
1994 St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden
1995 Governors’ Hall, St Thomas’ Hospital
1996 St John-at-Hackney
1997 Westminster School
1998 Banqueting House, Whitehall
1999 Guildhall Old Library
2000 St James’s Palace
2001 Senate House, University of London
2002 Grand Temple, Freemasons’ Hall
2003 British Museum
2004 Royal College of Music
2005 Dutch Church, Austin Friars
2006 Friends House, Euston Road
2007 St Mary’s Church, Wyndham Place
2008 St Pancras Church, Euston Road
2009 City of London School for Girls, Barbican
2010 Wesley’s Chapel, City Road
2011 The Liberal Jewish Synagogue, St John's Wood
2012 St Botolph’s Church, Bishopsgate