Joining the Stewart Society

Membership is open to all who bear the name of Stewart (in any form of spelling) or who are Stewarts by birth or descent.  Associate Membership is open to those having a special connection with the Stewarts or a special interest in their history.  The Objects of the Society are philanthropic, historical, genealogical, and to further kinship.  Activities include: -

Why Should I Join?

• You will be able to attend the Annual Gathering, where you will have the opportunity to meet old friends, make new friends among the Members and often have the chance to see a Stewart home or shrine, which may not be open to the general public.
• You will receive the annual magazine.
• A member of your family may be able to take advantage of the Stewart - St Andrews's Scholarship.
• You will have access to a worldwide network of Stewarts with whom you will have the bond not only of membership of the Society, but also of common ancestry and a shared heritage.
• The Society produces various items for sale - exclusive to members - any surplus benefits our funds.
• The more Members the Society has, the more value it can deliver to its Members.  So please do consider joining and encouraging your family and Stewart friends to join.
• The Secretary, the London Branch Chairman, the President, or any of the Commissioners whose addresses are available from the website or the Secretary, will be delighted to answer your questions and tell you more about the Society's activities.

London District:

• Members living in the South of England are very welcome to participate in events organised in the South from time to time.  Sir Alastair Stewart Bt. (Branch Chairman), will be delighted to welcome new members from this area and keep them advised of current events.

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What Membership Includes?

The Annual Gathering

The Society holds a gathering of members in August or September each year usually in Scotland - at a Stewart house or other place of Stewart interest or connections.  A typical Gathering will start on a Saturday with a buffet lunch, followed by the annual General Meeting.  In the evening there will be an informal dinner - with some country dancing - at a local hotel.  On the Sunday morning, a visit to another place of interest to the Stewarts will conclude the weekend.  The Gatherings attract anything up to one hundred members and a number of members plan a Scottish holiday around the Gathering.  Every effort is made to keep costs modest so that as many members as possible can attend.  It is a thoroughly friendly and informal occasion and a great way of making friends with other Stewarts.

The Magazine

This appears annually and is an extremely professional publication containing articles of an historical or topical nature on matters of general or specific Stewart interest, book reviews, an account of the previous year's Gatherings, etc.  An index is available which enables readers to refer to articles written between 1899 and 1975.  (Work is in hand to update the index to the present day.)  To anyone with an historical bent, the Magazine alone is worth the membership subscription.

The Newsletter

"Stewart News", the Newsletter of the Stewart Society, is issued to members twice a year, in June and December. This interesting publication is packed full of information about Stewart Society events, publications etc and is an essential companion to the Magazine.

The Website

www.stewartsociety.org

The Library and Portraits

Through the generosity of members past and present, the Society has formed a unique collection of books, pictures and memorabilia relating to Stewart history.  These are housed at the Society's premises in Edinburgh, which are open to members by arrangement with the Secretary.

Benevolent Fund

The Society's Benevolent Fund each year gives bursaries at St. Andrew's University to students who are Stewarts (or with mothers who were Stewarts.)  Up to thirty bursaries, worth up to £300 per student, are awarded each year.  Student Educational grants my also be available for Stewarts pursuing particular interests or studies - usually overseas.

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How Can I Join?

Go to our secure online membership form.  Select the type of membership (ordinary, associate, family, life, etc.) which suits you best.  Send the form and we will contact you to let you know about your membership application as soon as possible. Alternatively, you can print off the online form and send it via post with a cheque, if you would prefer to pay offline.

• "…without the inexplicable personal fascination of the Stewarts, the long tragedy of their lives and reigns, and the poetry and romance to which it all gave birth, the world would unquestionably be poorer today…"
  
  
• "…when they came to the throne, the Stewarts found oppression, violence and misery rampant, and from a scene of warring discord they tried to evolve an ordered kingdom, They championed the cause of the people against the tyranny of the nobles even thought their own lives paid the forfeit and their own fortunes suffered shipwreck in the long minorities which ensued on their early deaths.  They fostered literature, architecture and the fine arts, and spent wealth and substance in such religious and charitable benefactions as Paisley Abbey - the noblest instance of the religious generosity of a single private family which the world has ever seen…"

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