The Devonshire Association
Encyclopedia
Learned society
A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline/profession, as well a group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies,...
founded in 1862 by William Pengelly
William Pengelly
William Pengelly, FRS FGS was a British geologist and early archaeologist who was one of the first to contribute proof that the Biblical chronology of the earth calculated by Archbishop James Ussher was incorrect....
and modelled on the British Association, but concentrating on research subjects linked to Devon in the fields of science, literature and the arts.
History
The first meeting was held in Exeter in 1862 with a membership of 69 and, except for 1942, meetings have been held annually in different locations around the county every year since. Although similar in format to older groups such as the Plymouth Institution (inaugurated in 1812) and the Devon and Exeter Institution (1813), The Devonshire Association's aims were broader and more ambitious.By 1877, there were around 500 members and this number remained fairly constant until just before the Second World War. In 1932 the first of a number of local branches was established in Plymouth, and subject-based sections were formed, specialising in the botany, buildings, entomology, geology, history, literature, folklore and dialect of Devon. By 1952 membership had risen to 1,100 and to over 1,800 by the centenary in 1963. In 2009 membership stood at 1,306.
Today
The DA is a registered charity. Annually, it publishes its Report and Transactions which includes reports from the sections and branches, and peer reviewPeer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
ed research papers.
The Association's three-day Annual Conference takes place in June, at a different Devon venue each year. At this event local visits are organised, along with a formal dinner and an AGM
AGM
-Military and navy:* Air-to-ground missile, a missile designed to be launched from military aircraft* Artillery Gun Module, an air-portable self-propelled howitzer...
, at which an honorary president takes office, invited from those "of standing and importance" in the county. Since 2006 the Association has also held an annual President's Symposium
Academic conference
An academic conference or symposium is a conference for researchers to present and discuss their work. Together with academic or scientific journals, conferences provide an important channel for exchange of information between researchers.-Overview:Conferences are usually composed of various...
on a topic of his or her choosing; the one in 2007, for instance concerned farming in Devon.
A number of events take place throughout the year, including presentations, visits to notable places in the county, and training courses on various aspects of the Association's work. The DA also makes grants to support Devon-related research projects.
The President for 2010–11 was Roger Thorne, JP, CEng, MICE, FSA who was succeeded by Professor Nicholas Orme
Nicholas Orme
Nicholas Orme is a British historian specialising in the Middle Ages and Tudor period, specialising in the history of children, and ecclesiastical history, with a particular interest in South West England....
, MA, DPhil, DLitt, FSA, FRHistS in 2011. The Association's 150th anniversary in 2012 will be marked by a major conference in Torquay, the home town of its founder, William Pengelly.
Some notable presidents
The year shown is the one in which the Presidential address was given.- 1863 John BowringJohn BowringSir John Bowring, KCB was an English political economist, traveller, miscellaneous writer, polyglot, and the 4th Governor of Hong Kong.- Early life :...
- 1864 Charles Spence BateCharles Spence BateCharles Spence Bate, or Spence Bate, FRS was a British zoologist and dentist, who who practiced first at Swansea, and then Plymouth, taking over his father's practice. He was an authority on the Crustacea, and a frequent correspondent of Charles Darwin, mostly concerning their shared interest in...
- 1865 Charles DaubenyCharles DaubenyCharles Giles Bridle Daubeny was an English chemist, botanist and geologist.Daubeny was born at Stratton near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, the son of the Rev. James Daubeny. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford under Dr. John Kidd...
- 1866 John Russell, 1st Earl RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
- 1867 William PengellyWilliam PengellyWilliam Pengelly, FRS FGS was a British geologist and early archaeologist who was one of the first to contribute proof that the Biblical chronology of the earth calculated by Archbishop James Ussher was incorrect....
- 1868 John Coleridge, 1st Baron ColeridgeJohn Coleridge, 1st Baron ColeridgeJohn Duke Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge PC was a British lawyer, judge and Liberal politician. He held the posts, in turn, of Solicitor General for England and Wales, Attorney General for England and Wales, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and Lord Chief Justice of England.-Background and...
- 1869 George Parker BidderGeorge Parker BidderGeorge Parker Bidder was an English engineer, architect and calculating prodigy.Born in the town of Moretonhampstead, Devon, England, he displayed a natural skill at calculation from an early age...
- 1870 James Anthony FroudeJames Anthony FroudeJames Anthony Froude , 23 April 1818–20 October 1894, was an English historian, novelist, biographer, and editor of Fraser's Magazine. From his upbringing amidst the Anglo-Catholic Oxford Movement, Froude intended to become a clergyman, but doubts about the doctrines of the Anglican church,...
- 1871 Charles KingsleyCharles KingsleyCharles Kingsley was an English priest of the Church of England, university professor, historian and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and northeast Hampshire.-Life and character:...
- 1872 Frederick TempleFrederick TempleFrederick Temple was an English academic, teacher, churchman and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1896 until his death.-Early life:...
(bishop of Exeter) - 1877 Alfred EarleAlfred Earle (bishop)The Rt Rev Alfred Earle DD was Bishop of Marlborough from 1888 to 1900. Born in 1827 he was educated at Eton and Hertford College, Oxford. Ordained in 1858 he was appointed Curate of St Edmund's, Salisbury then Rector of Monkton Farleigh. Afterwards he was Vicar of Alvington followed by a 15...
- 1878 Samuel White Baker
- 1879 Robert Collier, 1st Baron MonkswellRobert Collier, 1st Baron MonkswellRobert Porrett Collier, 1st Baron Monkswell was an English lawyer, politician and judge.-Background and education:Collier was the son of a prominent merchant of Quaker extraction. He was educated at Oxford.-Career:...
- 1884 Thomas Roscoe Rede StebbingThomas Roscoe Rede StebbingThe Reverend Thomas Roscoe Rede Stebbing F.R.S., F.L.S. was a British zoologist, who described himself as "a serf to natural history, principally employed about Crustacea". Educated in London and Oxford, he only took to natural history in his thirties, having worked as a teacher until then...
- 1887 William DallingerWilliam DallingerRev. Dr. William Henry Dallinger F.R.S. was a British minister in the Wesleyan Methodist Church. He was also an accomplished scientist, being the first to study the complete lifecycle of unicellular organisms under the microscope and studying the adaptation of such organisms to temperature.He made...
- 1889 Wilfred Hudleston HudlestonWilfred Hudleston HudlestonWilfred Hudleston Hudleston FRS was a British geologist. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1884. He was the president of the Geological Society of London from 1892 to 1894...
- 1895 Hardinge Giffard, 1st Earl of HalsburyHardinge Giffard, 1st Earl of HalsburyHardinge Stanley Giffard, 1st Earl of Halsbury PC, QC was a leading barrister, politician and government minister. He served thrice as Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.-Background and education:...
- 1896 Sabine Baring-GouldSabine Baring-GouldThe Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould was an English hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1240 publications, though this list continues to grow. His family home, Lew Trenchard Manor near Okehampton, Devon, has been preserved as he had it...
- 1901 Roper LethbridgeRoper LethbridgeSir Roper Lethbridge C.I.E was a British academic and civil servant in India and a Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1892.-Early life and education:...
- 1903 Edgar Vincent, 1st Viscount D'AbernonEdgar Vincent, 1st Viscount D'AbernonEdgar Vincent, 1st Viscount D'Abernon, GCB, GCMG, PC, FRS was a British politician, diplomat, art collector and author.-Early life:...
- 1905 Basil ThomsonBasil ThomsonSir Basil Home Thomson, KCB was a British intelligence officer, police officer, prison governor, colonial administrator, and writer.-Early life:...
- 1906 Frederick Thomas ElworthyFrederick Thomas Elworthy-Works:*1875: The Dialect of West Somerset 2 vols. London: Trübner for the English Dialect Society, 1875-1886...
- 1907 Archibald RobertsonArchibald Robertson (bishop)The Right Reverend Archibald Robertson was the seventh Principal of King's College London who later served as Bishop of Exeter....
(bishop of Exeter) - ...
- 1952 Margaret CruwysMargaret CruwysMargaret Campbell Speke Cruwys née Abercrombie was an archivist and Devon historian. She was born in Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland, and was the daughter of Alexander Houghton Abercrombie, an officer in the 21st Royal Scots Fusiliers. She married Lewis George Cruwys of Cruwys Morchard, Devon, on 19...
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- 1978 William George Hoskins
- 1981 Frank BarlowFrank Barlow (historian)Frank Barlow CBE FBA FRSL was a British historian, known particularly for biographies of medieval figures.Barlow studied at St John's College, Oxford. He was Professor of History at the University of Exeter from 1953 until he retired in 1976 and became Emeritus Professor...
- 1984 Basil GreenhillBasil GreenhillDr. Basil Jack Greenhill , was a diplomat, museum director and historian.He went to Bristol Grammar School, before reading philosophy, politics and economics at Bristol University, but his time there was interrupted by wartime naval service...
- 1988 John Parker, 6th Earl of MorleyJohn Parker, 6th Earl of MorleyJohn St Aubyn Parker, 6th Earl of Morley is a British peer.He retired as a lieutenant-colonel from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in 1970. Morley was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Devon in 1973, Vice-Lieutenant of Devon in 1978 and Lord Lieutenant of Devon in 1982. On 9 May 1987 he was...
- 1997 Sir Hugh Stucley, 6th Baronet
- 2001 John Seymour, 19th Duke of SomersetJohn Seymour, 19th Duke of Somersetthumb|right|200px|Portrait by [[Allan Warren]]John Michael Edward Seymour, 19th Duke of Somerset, DL is the present holder of the Dukedom of Somerset and a major landowner in Wiltshire and Devon. He is the son of Percy Seymour, 18th Duke of Somerset and Jane Thomas, and was styled Lord Seymour...
- 2003 Eric DancerEric DancerEric Dancer, CBE, JP was educated in Sheffield at King Edward VII School and Sheffield Polytechnic, where he was awarded a Diploma in Management Studies in 1965.Former managing director of Dartington Crystal, Eric is the current Lord Lieutenant of Devon...
- 2011 Nicholas OrmeNicholas OrmeNicholas Orme is a British historian specialising in the Middle Ages and Tudor period, specialising in the history of children, and ecclesiastical history, with a particular interest in South West England....