About The Heron-Allen Society

The Heron-Allen Society was formed at a meeting at the West Sussex Record Office in Chichester on 5th June 2000 (minutes). Founding members present included Ivor E. Jones (grandson of Edward Heron-Allen), Professor Brian W. Harvey, Carol Harvey, Thomas J. McCann (WSRO), Peter Wilkinson (WSRO), and Ray Russell (Tartarus Press).

The objectives of the Society were to study and record all aspects of the life and interests of Edward Heron-Allen, F.R.C.,1861-1943, and to promote his work. The Society encouraged the publication of material by or about Edward Heron-Allen, initially in separate studies related to his various interests, with the ultimate goal of a comprehensive biography.

The first publication was Opusculum I: Notes Upon the Literary, Scientific, and Artistic Activities of Edward Heron-Allen, F.R.S., which was extracted from his diaries and other Documents by Christopher Blayre, Ph.D., D.Litt. This edition was published by the Edward Heron-Allen Society and the Tartarus Press in February 2000, Horam, East Sussex, U.K. Between 2000 and 2019, the society published twenty-seven Opuscula, which included the Edward Heron-Allen Bibliography in 2018.

The society printed the first Heron-Allen Society Newsletter, no. 1, Spring 2001. From 2001 to 2024, forty-two newsletters were published, featuring in memoriam articles on the death of the society’s Chairman, Timothy John McCann, in Autumn 2022 (No. 41), and the society’s founding member and “Mainstay,” Dr. John E. Whittaker, in Spring 2024 (No. 42).

The society held its first Heron-Allen Annual Symposium at the West Sussex Record Office in Chichester on 7 July 2001. The society held its final twentieth Heron-Allen Symposium at St. Peter’s Church Hall at Selsey on 9 July 2022, with a theme of “Fossils, Monsters, and Roman Heads.”

In May 2024, the Heron-Allen Society’s governing committee announced the impending closure of the Heron-Allen Society as a functioning membership organization, along with its notable features, including publications and symposia. Several factors contributed to this decision: the Pandemic disruptions, the deaths of key members of the governing committee, the advancing age and subsequent deaths of previous members who had contributed to the society’s functions, presentations, and publications, and the unsuccessful recruitment of new young members.

In 2025, except for maintaining the Heron-Allen Society website, all other functions of the membership organization have ceased. Effective July 7, 2025, with the concurrence of the society’s governing committee, the website files were transferred to member John P. Mahoney in Tallahassee, Florida, with a webmaster to be announced.

I say to all current and past members of the Heron-Allen Society, our organization has been an overwhelming success over the past twenty-five years. The society met and exceeded all of its objectives, except for publishing a comprehensive biography of Edward Heron-Allen. We thank you for your incredible dedication, the memories, and a job well done.

John P. Mahoney
Editor: The 2025 Heron-Allen Society website and digital newsletter.
July 2025