The Francis Bacon Society

The Society's Mission

The Francis Bacon Society was established in 1886, ‘to encourage, for the benefit of the public, the study of the works of Francis Bacon, his character and his life, to encourage the general study of the evidence in favour of Francis Bacon's authorship of the plays commonly ascribed to Shakespeare, and to investigate his connection with other works of the Elizabethan period.’

As an educational literary charity our remit is necessarily wide because our namesake was a true Renaissance man. Baconian research and works explore Bacon’s life and diverse writings on law, philosophy, religion, science, politics, masques and dramatic devices. The Shakespeare authorship question is only one part of Francis Bacon’s extraordinary life, far reaching influence and vast literary output.

If you are interested, curious or wish to explore any aspect of Francis Bacon and his Life and Works please join us - all enquirers and new members are most welcome.                                                                                                         Sally Gibbins, Principal

The Society

The Francis Bacon Society was founded by the indefatigable Constance Mary Pott in 1886. She was a truth seeker and her love for Francis Bacon began at 9 years old when reading Francis Bacon’s Essay Of Truth. She later said, ‘on this day I was thenceforward a Baconian.’

Constance Mary Fearon was a learned scholar of Francis Bacon and his works encouraged by her lawyer father. It was not until she met her future husband Henry Pott who was a keen student of Shakespeare, that she brought all her knowledge of the Bacon works to the Shakespeare canon and immediately noticed the striking parallels and resemblances. This wealth of unusual knowledge served her well when publishing her first monumental work The Promus which was a detailed transcription of Bacon’s personal notebook held at the British Museum with corresponding passages found in the works of Shakespeare. Four more works followed  including the groundbreaking Francis Bacon and His Secret Society with its singular achievement of detailed research on the arcane subject of watermarks used in Elizabeth and Jacobean works relating to Francis Bacon and the Brotherhood.

A most remarkable woman not just for her time but for all times, Pott had 11 children and even managed to have her first born on January 22^nd Francis Bacon’s birthday. A passionate advocate of Francis Bacon and at the forefront of the authorship question, a biography of her is long overdue. The Society holds many of her fascinating personal papers and correspondence with leading luminaries of the day, so this would be a very worthwhile project. Described after her death as Leader, Teacher, Friend, Baconian, the Society would also like to add with gratitude, our Founder.

Watch The Francis Bacon Society Talk on Constance Mary Pott

Since 1886, the Society has tirelessly researched many facets of Francis Bacon’s extraordinary diverse Life and Works and has a long and rich history of its Members publishing many works and contributions to its journal Baconiana.

The birth of the Society, marked the beginning of the rise of the Baconian movement, championing all aspects of Francis Bacon, the great Philosopher and Writer and Father of the Modern World. Through his vast and wide-ranging intellect and Herculean labours he laid the foundations for the bases of eternity and the future progress of humankind, evidence of which is all around us in the world we now live in today.

Today the Society continues to present original groundbreaking research through books, papers, videos, meetings and its yearly journal Baconiana. Above all, the Society is itself a remarkable information resource, a repository of expertise, unique scholarship, social history, enthusiasm and initiative which encourages the active participation of Our Members. Enquiries to join one of the oldest literary societies in the UK are always welcome. Join the Society

Baconian Scholarship and the Baconiana Journal

For nearly two centuries, there has been a substantial and extensive collection of works written relating to Francis Bacon from a Baconian perspective with several hundred books, papers and speeches. Many of these works from the early Baconian pioneers (some annotated) are housed at the Senate House Library at the University of London in the impressive Francis Bacon Collection owned by the Society where there also resides many 1st editions of Bacon’s works. Editions of early Baconian works are available on our online Bookstore

Read the Latest Baconiana 2025