The Folklore Society Archive

Records of the Folklore Society, including minute books, lecture attendance books, correspondence and records of various sub-committees. The Folklore Society archive also includes a large number of deposited papers created by or formerly owned by folklorists and prominent members of the society.

The Folklore Society (FLS) is a learned society devoted to the study of traditional culture in all its forms. It was founded in London in 1878 and was one of the first organisations established in the world for the study of folklore. The term 'folklore' describes the overarching concept that holds together a number of aspects of vernacular culture and cultural traditions, and is also the name of the discipline which studies them.

The Folklore Society's interest and expertise covers such topics as traditional music, song, dance and drama, narrative, arts and crafts, customs and belief. Members of the Society are also interested in popular religion, traditional and regional food, folk medicine, children's folklore, traditional sayings, proverbs, rhymes and jingles.

The aims of the Folklore Society are to foster the research and documentation of folklore worldwide, and to make the results of such study available to all, whether members of the Society or not.

The archive is divided into two main sections: the records created by the FLS itself, and records deposited by others.

Certain restrictions apply

The papers are available subject to the usual conditions of access to Archives and Manuscripts material, after the completion of a Reader's Undertaking. Some sections are restricted. Please see the detailed catalogue for full information.

A full detailed list is available online for the Records of the Folklore Society (RefNo FLS/1). Please contact Special Collections for further information about the deposited records (RefNo FLS/2)