This paper appraises the current reception of the early Tudor church musician and composer Robert Fayrfax and the information upon which it is based. The first section summarily introduces Robert and traces how the image of him developed. The second assesses this image in the light of armorial and other evidence. The third explores further material about Robert and his family contained in an important document. The fourth relates the findings to a wider context. The fifth investigates the interrelationship of two manuscripts once owned by Robert’s father.

The Society of Antiquaries of London’s collection of one hundred and seventy historical printing plates, dating from the early eighteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries, has long been a hidden gem. This paper presents the results of a research project initiated in 2022, focusing on the provenance, manufacture and bibliographical use of these plates. It explores the evolution of printing practices and the role of coppersmith stamps, shedding light on production methods and industry connections. The project involved digitising the plates for improved accessibility and preservation and cataloguing efforts to establish standardised guidelines for similar collections. Furthermore, the study uncovers the Society’s historical interest in maintaining and utilising these plates, providing valuable insights into past printing practices and collection management. This research enriches our understanding of the Antiquaries’ holdings through meticulous investigation and documentation and underscores the significance of exploring overlooked aspects of historical collections. It also calls for future research endeavours and collaborations to explore connections within the Society’s collections further and expand our knowledge of printing history. Overall, this study emphasises the importance of preserving and studying printing technology as valuable artefacts that contribute to our understanding of the past.

The Society of Antiquaries of London holds, under ms 86, an unconventional manuscript described in its catalogue as ‘brief notes on the Kings of Portugal’. The manuscript is in a mid-sixteenth-century hand and has personal annotations by William Cecil (1520–98), better known as Lord Burghley. It recounts the history of Portugal by reigns and belonged to Cecil’s personal library. Until now, no other extant example of a history of Portugal written in English in the sixteenth century was known. This article publishes the first transcription of this unique document, while analysing its contents and explaining its importance. The first section will discuss the history of the manuscript itself, explaining its owners, its likely date of composition and the problems relating to authorship. The second part will deal with the raft of reasons why we believe William Cecil ordered its composition. The third section will detail the major contents of the manuscript, discussing its most interesting details. Finally, the conclusion will reflect on why this manuscript is important for British history.

Between 1899 and 1902, Anglo-French archaeologist George Bonsor carried out an exploration of the Scilly Isles (United Kingdom). At that time the archipelago was believed to be the Cassiterides or Tin Islands mentioned by authors such as Strabo, Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy – an idea first posited by William Camden in his Britannia (1586). Adopting Camden’s theory and guided by ancient literature on the Cassiterides – which refers to the Phoenicians as the first controllers of this trade route – Bonsor sought traces of the Phoenicians and their tin trade in the Scilly Isles, becoming the first person to conduct such research from an archaeological perspective. Not having found any evidence, his exploration remained unpublished and went mostly unnoticed in debates about the Tin Islands over following decades. This paper presents a brief historiographical account on the Cassiterides before and after the explorations, as well as a critical analysis of Bonsor’s field notes regarding his use of ancient sources and his archaeological method. The analysis carried out suggests that Bonsor’s archaeological exploration has been overlooked thus far and that a new assessment of his work is required.

This paper publishes for the first time two apparently unprovenanced Westland cauldrons in the collections of the Society of Antiquaries of London. An argument is made that these vessels are two of the three cauldrons from the lost Halkyn Mountain hoard found c 1760.

Three late medieval inventories of the chapel surrounding the shrine of St Edward the Confessor at Westminster Abbey, London, record the presence of a number of books and pamphlets among the relics and liturgical paraphernalia. This article discusses these books, their significance and the reason for their maintenance at the shrine, and offers possible identifications with several surviving manuscripts.

This essay explores two texts in a fifteenth-century manuscript from Thetford Priory, Norfolk (now ms 329 in the Parker Library, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge). The first is an account of Marian miracles leading to the building of the Lady Chapel in the thirteenth century, and the second is an account of the formation of its relic collection in the twelfth century, which would be housed inside a statue of the Virgin Mary. The destruction of Thetford Priory at the Dissolution lends them a special significance since they offer evidence of a minor Marian cult that would be otherwise lost to us. The texts also highlight the interactions of aristocratic patrons – the Bigod family – and their Cluniac foundation. This essay explores the texts for the first time, offers a transcription and translation of them and considers their place in the cult of the Virgin at Thetford and in England generally.

The expeditions removing and excavating antiquities at the site of Xanthos in Lycia (1841–4) have been highlighted by scholars as setting a new precedent for whole-sale collection from a single site, and the support – through the national museum and the Royal Navy – of the British government for archaeological endeavours. Questions remain, however, regarding the failure of the first mission to remove the antiquities. According to the current narrative, the blame rests on the navy officer assigned to support Charles Fellows. Based on archival research, this article presents the concerns that Commander Thomas Graves had with the undertaking. His perspective sheds new light on how ill-planned the initial attempts were, and consequently how much was learned. The obstacles encountered in the first Xanthos expedition spurred developments in archaeological practice, introduced by people of non-academic professions.