Regular Meetings at 15 Abchurch Lane
Meetings are held at our London premises usually twice per month from September to June.
The Meeting Programme for the 2025-2026 Session
The full meeting programme for the 2025-2026 session, including a programme of online presentations, can be found here.
Membership Subscription Rates for 2026
Some good news! For U.K Town and Country Members, subscriptions will be held at the same rates in 2026 as those in 2025 if you sign up to a Direct Debit facility for payment!
We do encourage all Town and Country Members to sign up to the Direct Debit facility as soon as possible. A copy of the Direct Debit form can be downloaded here.
Subscriptions are payable on 1 January each year. The subscription rates for 2026 are:
U.K. Town members, living within a 40-mile radius of Charing Cross: £300 (if paid before 31 March 2026); £320 (if paid after 31 March 2026). If, when paying before 31 March 2026, U.K. Town Members elect to pay by Direct Debit, they will receive a discount of £25 (for this year only), so paying the same subscription as in 2025.
U.K. Country members, living outside the 40-mile radius of Charing Cross: £195 (if paid before 31 March 2026); £215 (if paid after 31 March 2026). If, when paying before 31 March 2026, U.K. Country Members elect to pay by Direct Debit, they will receive a discount of £5 (for this year only) so paying the same subscription as in 2025.
Any U.K. Town members or U.K. Country members who already have a Direct Debit arrangement in place will also receive the discounts for the 2026 subscription.
Overseas members, £185 (if paid before 31 March 2026); £205 (if paid after 31 March 2026). For Overseas members work is in hand to have a Direct Debit facility in place as soon as is possible.
Any members who pay after 31 March 2026 will be able to request copies of The London Philatelist that they may have missed, from the Administration Office upon payment of the appropriate postage.
Any member whose subscription remains unpaid after 30 June 2026 will be deemed to have left the Society.
Steven Harrison FRPSL
Honorary Secretary
The King William Street Pedestrian Priority Project
Impact on Access to Abchurch Lane
A major project will be undertaken during the summer and autumn of 2024 and the first quarter and second half of 2025 covering King William Street, Lombard Street, Cannon Street and many of the lanes that connect them including Abchurch Lane.
This will mean that there will be road closures due to roadworks. Access during these times will be for pedestrians only, with very limited access to vehicles. Click here for details.
President's Newsletter
October 2025
The 2025/26 season has got off to a splendid start, over 100 members and guests were present for the German members' group display and Abchurch Lane had a real ‘buzz’ to it. Then last week we were treated to a magnificent display of classic Mexico by Joseph Hackmey RDP, which must be the finest collection of these issues in existence. Freshly written up for the RPSL and with an accompanying Edition d’Or in the Hackmey/GPN ‘White Line Series’, members had a wonderful afternoon.
A Great Philatelic Week this month
Next week sees two of Europe’s biggest annual philatelic exhibitions – Stampex at the Business Design Centre in Islington, organised by the PTS, and just three stops from Abchurch Lane on the Northern Line. This will run from Wednesday 22nd October to Saturday 25th October. Then in Ulm there is the annual German Masters of Postal History event where there will be a substantial number of (different) dealers; this runs from Thursday 23rd October to Saturday 25th October. So, you will have to choose where to spend your money.
The Royal Philatelic Society London has been working behind the scenes to ensure this clash does not recur in 2026 and we are very pleased to say that Royal members have been invited to participate in Ulm 2026 – the event is solely for competitive postal history entries and further details of how to register your interest will be coming out shortly.
In 2025 the Royal will be running a number of events to compliment Stampex and make sure visitors have a great philatelic week:
Wednesday 22nd President’s Dinner – Stationers' Hall
This really is the final call to get your tickets for the President’s Dinner on Wednesday 22nd October 2025 at Stationers' Hall. Available from the website here - but do act today.
Thursday 23rd RPSL Meeting Day
Ian Greig FRPSL will be showing us material from the Port Phillip District and the Colony of Victoria 1842-1864, this is a traditional 13:00 display.
Friday 24th RPSL Meeting Day
Steve McGill will display three of his collections of Great Britain material at Abchurch Lane including his Machin collection that won the Grand Prix National at Europhilex 2025. This will be accompanied by a Powerpoint presentation at 14:00; for the presentation please register on Eventbrite here as places are limited.
2025/26 programme
November will see both digital and physical events. On Tuesday 4th November our regular 15:00 ‘Zoom’ meeting will feature Wayne Menuz who will talk to us about ‘Creating the New Catalogue: British East Asia Postal Stationery’. You can register for it here on Eventbrite.
Then on Thursday 6th November we will be treated to another award-winning display by Lars Jorgensen who will be showing Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek / Transvaal. This will be accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation at 16:00.
Africa will again be the theme on 24th November when the West Africa Study Circle members will be celebrating their 75th Anniversary with a display at Abchurch Lane.
Regional and International Meetings
Full details of these and our regional meetings can be found on the website here. Do encourage non-members to attend as your guest. With fewer local Societies these days it is an opportunity for all and an opportunity to recruit new members.
I will be in Paris for the Salon D’Automne in the first week of November and it would be great to restart Royal regional meetings in France next year, which will be my first encounter with the new EU border control system. A regional meeting is planned for India on 21st December, which I will be attending.
With best wishes,
Simon.
Simon Richards RDP FRPSL
President
The Royal Philatelic Society London
14 October 2025
Collections Events
From time to time informal talks and seminars take place, showing the diversity of philately and how it can provide unexpected insights into social, cultural and local history. Click here for information about these events.
Meeting Videos
5pm meetings that have been videoed may be viewed on YouTube, accessible through links on the All Meetings with Documents page.
The full list of meetings can be viewed here.
Meeting Handouts
Our archives hold over 700 handouts provided by displayers at meetings since 1918. These range from single sheets of paper listing the items on display to extensive publications including complex images that can be regarded as significant contributions to the literature. Explanatory notes were at first provided only occasionally but have become normal practice since the 1980s. Many contain material of value to researchers and their production quality has steadily improved. These have been scanned and converted to searchable PDF documents. Click here for a list of the handouts available to view online.
Standing Displays and Regional Meetings
Information about the standing displays and regional meetings, in the United Kingdom and around the world, can be viewed by clicking the menu to the left.