The Burgon Society
We are a learned society for study of academic dress and regalia - design, history and practice around the world.
Founded in 2000, we hold regular meetings comprising a lively mixture of social interaction and scholarship. The peer-reviewed journal, Transactions of the Burgon Society, publishes many papers arising from the Society's research, and is supplemented by the newsletter, Burgon Notes.
Latest News
3rd North American Conference
Posted: 14th May 2025
The Burgon Society will be the guests of Yale University in New Haven, CT for its third North American Conference to be held at the Greenberg Center, a state-of-the-art venue in the heart of Yale’s historic campus.
Spring Conference Update
Posted: 28th April 2025
The Society had a very enjoyable and successful Spring Conference.
Hood of the Month
Glasgow BSc , University of Glasgow
This is the Bachelor of Science (BSc) hood of the University of Glasgow which has about 100 different hoods. All its hoods are of a full shape, classified [f9], which is similar to Cambridge in having a square-cut cape, but is larger with the cape extending further down the back of the wearer. All Glasgow bachelor hoods are black, lined with coloured silk and bordered on the outer edge with scarlet cord. For Science the colour of the silk lining is gold. When the BSc degree was created and the lining colour specified in 1873, the gold colour was described in botanical terms as the colour of whin blossom. Whin, also known as gorse, grows extensively in the wild in Scotland. Nowadays the colour is more prosaically described as Pantone 107. It has been suggested that Glasgow chose this colour because the University of London had previously chosen gold as the colour for its Science degrees, but there is no evidence to prove or disprove that.
Neil K Dickson FBS
Photograph by Chris Williams FBS courtesy of Burgon Society Archive.
Join Us
Membership of the Society is open to anyone who is interested in academic dress. The annual subscription entitles Members and Fellows to a free copy of our annual peer-reviewed journal Transactions of the Burgon Society on publication, as well as our quarterly newsletter Burgon Notes. Members enjoy discounts on purchases from the Society’s shop, including tickets for events, and may apply for Fellowship of the Society by examination.