18th century European scholarly societies and academies/Bath and West of England Society

Summary
Name of Society: Bath and West of England Society

Alternate Name: Bath Society

Country: England

City: Bath

Active Dates: 1777-present

The Bath and West of England Society was formed in the fall of 1777. A group of men formed a society for the encouragement of agriculture, arts, manufactures, and commerce. Twenty-two men attended the first meeting including Edmund Rack, William Matthews, and Dr. Falconer. The goals of the society were to promote the good of the community by encouraging industry and the birth of new ideas. In essence the idea was to bring in ideas from the rest of the kingdom to the western counties and to form new ideas to improve the community.