RIBA Honorary Fellows throughout history
RIBA Honorary Fellowships are almost as old as the Royal Institute of British Architects itself. The first recipients appeared in records dating from shortly after the Institute of British Architects (as it was then known) was first founded in 1834. However, the definition and criteria for the honour has evolved considerably over almost two centuries since then.
To perhaps confuse matters, individual members of RIBA were originally known as ‘Fellows’ of the institute. Alongside these professional members, the institute’s early regulations provided for a class of Honorary Fellows (high-ranking individuals who had donated a substantial sum to the institute) and Honorary Members (who received the accolade based on their “acquirements” and were not expected to pay fees). The latter category most closely matches what we now call Honorary Fellows, and the two honorary categories eventually merged under this banner.
Honorary Members
Among other aims, the election of Honorary Members enabled RIBA to expand its international influence during its formative years, particularly in India, which was then under the rule of the East India Company. In 1835, Nasir-ud-Din Haidar Shah, king of the princely state of Awadh, was named an Honorary Member, alongside Rajah Shivaji of Thanjavur. Reports of the meeting in which their election was confirmed show that they were appointed at the recommendation of British colonial official, Sir Alexander Johnstone, on the basis of their interest in architecture.
Developing a cohort of Honorary Members and Honorary Fellows also helped RIBA to build its library and collection, a central ambition among the institute's founding aims. For example, at the request of RIBA’s Council Rajah Shivaji sent drawings showing the architecture of Thanjavur, which are still held in the RIBA Collections today (catalogue reference SB80/7).
Other original RIBA Honorary Members included the scientist Michael Faraday, and antiquarian John Britton, whose 1826 'Historical and Descriptive account of The Deepdene, Surrey, Seat of Thomas Hope' can also be found in our collections, alongside drawings and other material donated or produced by Britton.
Honorary Fellows
Among the first cohort of Honorary Fellows were two father-and-son pairs: the 'merchant millionaire' James Morrison and his son Charles; and architect Sir John Soane and his son, also named John. Soane (senior) had initially been considered the natural choice to become RIBA's first president, but the rules of the Royal Academy forbade its members from joining other artists' organisations. Instead, he sent a gift of 1,000 guineas and a copy of the painting by Sir Thomas Lawrence that still hangs in Soane's house, and was named Honorary Fellow.
The list of 19th century Honorary Fellows reads like a roll call of Britain's landed gentry and Members of Parliament, with a smattering of well-to-do architects such as Charles Cockerell (also a Royal Academician and presumably unable to join RIBA as a member for the same reason as Soane): antiquarians and archaeologists such as Sir Austen Henry Layard; and writers like John Ruskin and Thomas Hardy.
Members of the Royal Family were also a regular fixture, reflecting RIBA's role as a royal chartered institute. In 1879, Princes Alfred, Arthur, and Leopold (Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s second, third, and fourth sons) were awarded Honorary Fellowships, and in 1947, Princess Elizabeth became the first woman to be named an Honorary Fellow. When she acceded to the throne as Queen Elizabeth II, she became RIBA’s royal patron, and her sister Princess Margaret was presented with an Honorary Fellowship.
It wasn't until 1966 that two more women became Honorary Fellows. By coincidence, both were named Evelyn. The first was Evelyn Denington, a Labour politician who had previously worked at 'Architecture and Building News' and went on to chair the Greater London Council. The second was Evelyn Sharp, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.
By the second half of the twentieth century, RIBA's Honorary Fellows included painters, photographers, sculptors, historians, civil servants, designers, lawyers, writers, heritage campaigners, curators, educators, planners, politicians, philanthropists, engineers, journalists, and members of the clergy. Prime Minsters (including Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee, Anthony Eden, and Harold Macmillan) also featured among them.
The list of Honorary Fellows through history can be seen as a mirror of RIBA's evolving relationships, ambitions, and values - and has not been without its controversies. When Sir John Betjemen opened the RIBA bookshop in 1975 he was described as "the institute's best-loved Honorary Fellow". On the other hand, the art historian Anthony Blunt resigned his Honorary Fellowship in 1979, when he was exposed as a Soviet spy.
Explore the list of historic RIBA Honorary Fellows from 1835-1979 (PDF), or find out about more recent recipients.
The registers and nomination papers of historic RIBA Members, including Honorary Fellows, can be consulted through the RIBA Collections. Find out more and get in touch to start your search.
