ABSTRACT
With the rapid expansion of London in the eighteenth century, more archaeological remains came to light, and antiquarians sought to understand artefacts and structures in context (Cotton, 1999). A more focused appreciation of archaeological deposits in London can be seen through the works of Flaxman Spurrell (Scott and Shaw, 2009), and particularly Charles Roach-Smith (Sheppard, 1991). The mid-nineteenth century also saw the formation of a new generation of societies — rather than the formal grandeur of institutions like the Society of Antiquaries, more modest organizations
developed, including the British Archaeological Association (1843), the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society (1851), the Surrey Archaeological Society (1854), and the Kent Archaeological Society (1857). These societies were concerned with studying and recording remains, but also preservation. The London and Middlesex Archaeological Society constitution reads: ‘To promote the preservation and recording of historic buildings, ancient monuments, documents and other remains’.
