The Highland Society of London is a charity registered in England and Wales, with "the view of establishing and supporting schools in the Highlands and in the Northern parts of Great Britain, for relieving distressed Highlanders at a distance from their native homes, for preserving the antiquities and rescuing from oblivion the valuable remains of Celtic literature, and for promoting the improvement and general welfare of the Northern parts of Great Britain". Open Charities web site, accessed on 16 November 2013
History
The society was founded in 1778 by Highland gentlemen resident in London and was incorporated by an act of Parliament, the (56 Geo. 3. c. xx) on 21 May 1816.
Within a year of its foundation, its members had come to include a number of notable Scots:Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster Bt., An Account of the Highland Society of London (London, 1813), Appendix II Lord Macleod Sir Harry Monro Hon Archibald Fraser of Lovat Archibald Macdonald Hon. General Fraser (President) Lord Adam Gordon The Earl of Eglinton John Macpherson The Duke of Gordon The Duke of Atholl John Campbell of Calder The Earl of Seaforth Lord Frederick Campbell The Earl of Caithness Major-General Munro William Wemyss
The Presidents over the first 25 years of the Society's existence were:
1778 Simon Fraser of Lovat 1779 Archibald Montgomerie, 11th Earl of Eglinton 1780 James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose 1781 Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon 1782 Lord Adam Gordon 1783 John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl 1784 Lord Adam Gordon 1785 John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore 1786 John Campbell, 1st Marquess of Breadalbane 1787 Douglas Hamilton, 8th Duke of Hamilton 1788 Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth 1789 Francis Stuart, 9th Earl of Moray 1790 James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife 1791 Alexander Macdonald, 1st Baron Macdonald 1792 George Campbell, 6th Duke of Argyll 1793 George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon 1794 Robert Hay-Drummond, 10th Earl of Kinnoull 1795 John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl 1796 Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet 1797 George Gordon, 9th Marquess of Huntly 1798 Eric Mackay, 7th Lord Reay 1799 Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville 1800 Hector Munro, 8th laird of Novar 1801 James Forbes, 17th Lord Forbes 1802 Alexander Macdonald, 2nd Baron Macdonald 1803 George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon 1804 Alexander Hamilton, 10th Duke of Hamilton 1805 Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton 1806 Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex 1807 Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex 1808 Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex 1809 George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon 1810 George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon 1811 George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon 1812 George Gordon, 5th Duke of Gordon 1813 Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex
Activities
In 1782, the Society was instrumental in securing the repeal of the Dress Act 1746, the statutory proscription of Highland Dress, introduced after the Jacobite rising of 1745. It has a well known and definitive collection of clan tartans established in the early 19th century. In its early days it was active in the investigations into the authenticity of the poems supposedly by Ossian, which it had also helped to publish.
The Society supports and awards annual prizes for piping, including gold medals at the Northern Meeting and Argyllshire Gathering. Its early records are deposited in the National Library of Scotland.
Highland Book Prize In 2017, the Society established the Highland Book Prize in collaboration with Moniack Mhor. Open to fiction, non-fiction and poetry, the prize "celebrates the finest published work that recognises the rich talent, landscape, and cultural diversity of the Scottish Highlands".
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019 prize was jointly awarded to all four shortlisted authors "equally as a collective, as a celebration of life, literature and community".
YearWorkAuthorResultRef(s)2024Night Train to OdesaJen StoutWinnerBirds Humans Machines DolphinsGenevieve CarverShortlistGliffAli SmithWomen of the Hebrides / Ban-eileanaich Innse GallJoni Buchanan2023Sea BeanSally HubandWinnerColumba's BonesDavid GreigShortlistElixir: In the Valley at the End of TimeKapka KassabovaNothing Left to Fear from HellAlan WarnerWild Air: In Search of BirdsongJames Macdonald Lockhart2022Crann-Fìge/ Fig TreeDuncan GilliesWinnerCompanion PieceAli SmithShortlistConfessions of a Highland Art DealerTony DavidsonWAH! Things I Never Told My MotherCynthia Rogerson2021The Stone AgeJen HadfieldWinnerSlaves and HighlandersDavid AlstonShortlistIslands of AbandonmentCal FlynIn a Veil of MistDonald S. Murray2020The Changing Outer Hebrides: Galson and the Meaning of PlaceFrank RennieWinnerThe Nature of SummerJim CrumleyShortlistTo The Lake: A Journey of War and PeaceKapka KassabovaSummerAli Smith2019The Frayed Atlantic Edge: A Historian’s Journey from Shetland to the Channel David GangeWinnerSurfacingKathleen JamieSpringAli SmithModer DyRoseanne Watt2018Now We Shall Be Entirely FreeAndrew MillerWinnerThe Assynt Crofter: Allan MacRae, A LifeJudith Ross NapierShortlistThe Last Wilderness: A Journey Into SilenceNeil AnsellThe Valley at the Centre of the WorldMalachy Tallack2017Border: A Journey to the Edge of EuropeKapka KassabovaWinnerThe Finest Road in the WorldJames MillerShortlistThe Angel in the StoneR.L. McKinneyThe Potter's Tale: A Colonsay LifeDion Alexander
References
External links