What we do
The Victorian Society is the charity championing Victorian and Edwardian buildings in England and Wales. Our Conservation Advisers help local planning authorities and churches to make better decisions about adapting Victorian and Edwardian buildings to the way we live now, while keeping what is special about them. We also seek to engage the public in our campaigns to help increase the likelihood of conserving buildings.
As a charity, our members’ support, via donations and volunteering, is vital to our work. In return for joining, members receive our magazine ‘The Victorian’, our journal 'Studies in Victorian architecture and design' and get priority booking at our numerous events around the country.
Find out more about our work via the links below or click here to join the Victorian Society.
Linley Sambourne House
Linley Sambourne House, 18 Stafford Terrace, London, is a unique example of a late Victorian townhouse. Home to the cartoonist Edward Linley Sambourne and his family from 1874, it survives with almost all of its furniture and fittings intact. The first meeting of the Victorian Society was held here in 1958, and for a number of years the Society ran the house as a museum.
Our archives
Much of our casework archive covering 1958-2005 is kept at the London Metropolitan Archives, under reference LMA/4460. Church case files and other records are generally retained in our office.
History of the Victorian Society
Dr William Filmer-Sankey takes a look back at the origins and early history of the Victorian Society, which was founded in 1958. This article was published in the first edition of our magazine, The Victorian, in 1998.
Trustees
The Society is managed by a Board of Trustees. The trustees are also the directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act. Who are they, and how are they elected?
Our role in saving Victorian and Edwardian buildings
Victorian and Edwardian buildings are irreplaceable, cherished, diverse, beautiful, familiar and part of our everyday life. They contribute overwhelmingly to the character of places people love and places where people live. They belong to all of us. Their owners are really only custodians for future generations.
Donations and legacies
A bequest is a very effective way of making a gift to the Victorian Society. It may enable you to make a contribution of a size and significance which may not be possible during your lifetime.
Campaigning guide
As a charity, we don’t have the resources to run a campaign for every threatened building. This page gives you the information you need to help run your own campaign.