The Society’s Archive of Academical Dress

The Archive of the Burgon Society is believed to be the largest collection of academic dress in the world. It comprises not only a panoply of robes and accoutrements, but photographs, papers, and other ephemera relating to their  history and design. The Archive is open by appointment for consultation by all interested persons: members of the Society, historians, authors, and other researchers. 

View the Archive

The images record every item of academic dress in the Society's extensive collection. The gowns and robes are shown from both front and back, while the hoods are displayed hanging, as well as laid flat. The series of images is continually updated as new items are added. If you would like to see any specific detail not included here, please contact the Curator. All images from the Archive may be used under the Creative Commons – Attribution, Non-Commercial 4.0 International Licence.

Notices for users of photographs from the Archive:

  • The University/Institutions and their official robemakers are the final arbiters on the design of their academical dress.
  • The photos in the Burgon Society Archive show historical examples, not standards.
  • The bar appearing in some of the images is in British Imperial inches, unless marked otherwise.
  • The Society does not take responsibility for the interpretation or final use of the images.
  • Enquiries from members of the public wishing to use the photographs should be made to the Curator.

To view items, please select the type of institute below:

Search: start typing to find an institution:

Note: if you would like to compare items in the archive, each image has a checkbox associated with it allowing you to add it to a "compare list". You can then access the compare list by either returning to this archive home page or by clicking the "help / compare list" dropdown shown on every image page.

Get in touch

The Archive and Collection is maintained by the Curator, Chris Williams, FBS. To contact him with enquiries about the Archive and its holdings, including arrangements to visit, or to donate, please complete the form on this page.