Since the publication in 1950 of E. S. de Beer’s valuable article on ‘The Earliest Fellows of the Royal Society’ (1), there have come to light some early account books of the Society (2). The earliest one is particularly useful because of the way in which it presents information on the membership of the Society before the granting of the first and second charters of incorporation. The first collected statement of accounts is that of the treasurer, William Balle,* and relates, in respect of receipts, to the period of 134 weeks from 28 November 1660 to 24 June 1663, this being the date up to which the Council of the Royal Society ‘ordered, that all persons, that have been elected or admitted into the Royal Society, do pay their whole arrears . . . ’(3). The statement is presented in columns, which give the following information: 1. Number of entry. 2. Name of member. 3. Number of weekly subscriptions due. 4. Date on which subscriptions first became due. 5. Admission money. 6. Amount paid by member. 7. Arrears owing by member. With two exceptions’)* only the names are listed in the order in which the members were accepted or admitted into the Society; in subsequent years the names are given roughly alphabetically. The information in the third and fourth columns provides the date on which any individual was, in so far as subscriptions were concerned, considered to be a member, but in some cases does not agree with the date given either in the Journal Book of the Royal Society or the
Minutes of Council.
AN EARLY ACCOUNT OF DIGHTON ROCK