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. You can use this link to set up a Direct Debit.
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). We encourage members in the European Union, Australia and New Zealand to sign up to the Direct Debit facility as soon as possible. You can use this link to set up a Direct Debit.
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
Ulm 2026 – RPSL invited to display
The annual postal history masters will take place in Ulm in October 2026 and RPSL members have been invited to take the leading role in competing for the famous Gold, Silver and Bronze Posthorns – there are six categories, plus literature so 21 Posthorns are available. The exhibition is open from 22 to 24 October 2026 and I’m sure there will be a great response from members.
Chris King has agreed to co-ordinate the RPSL participation and there will be at least one London-based commissioner. Please let Chris know if you would like to take part (you can contact him by email), more details are in your December edition of The London Philatelist and the entry form can be found on the website using this link.
This opportunity is open to members worldwide and we hope to have a broad participation, but you do need to get your entry either to Abchurch Lane or directly to Ulm. Frames take 16 pages each and there is an entry fee of 45 euros per frame for 1-3 frames and 35 euros per frame for larger exhibits – seemingly plus VAT! Please let Chris know if you want to participate by 28 February.
2025/26 Programme
Tuesday 2nd December RPSL Zoom Meeting
The latest offering from Sandeep Jaiswal FRPSL with his ‘Favourite things from Jammu and Kashmir’, those who have seen his display of gems from the other Indian states will know that they are going to see some remarkable material, so do join them. Remember to register on Eventbrite.
Thursday 4th December RPSL Meeting Day
After the splendid group display to mark the 75th Anniversary of the West Africa Study Circle, we stay with that region as we are delighted that Dr Philip Levine FRPSL has come all the way from Australia to show us his award winning collections of Gold Coast, the stamps, the postal stationery and more, another 1pm meeting.
Thursday 11th December RPSL Meeting Day
The final meeting of the calendar year will be just a week later with a spectacular display by David Feldman of his imperforate classics of the world in green. You may have seen parts of this display as eight frames at various internationals, but the additional frames at Abchurch Lane offer a chance to see the whole collection and it will be a real feast.
Regional and International Meetings
David Feldman kindly agreed to bring the meeting forward a week to enable me to go to India to combine a family wedding with a regional meeting in Mumbai. Our representative there, Markand Dave, has gone that 'extra mile' to put on a spectacular meeting on 21 December, which may give me just long enough to get back to cook the Christmas dinner!
There was an excellent turnout for the West Midlands meeting at Knowle on 22 November, which I very much enjoyed.
Full details of these and our regional meetings can be found on the website. 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.
The AEP meeting at the Salon D’Automne last month was an excellent venue for meeting old friends and making new ones; fingers crossed we may have a regional meeting in France in 2026.
Boston 2026 – RPSL Dinner – save the date
The RPSL will be holding a dinner at Boston in 2026 on Wednesday 27th May at The Exchange on Boston’s historic waterfront. So do mark the date in your diary now. Tickets will be available on the RPSL website from early in the New Year.
Experts
Our Expert committee has had a busy year and will have its final meeting for 2025 on 3rd December. The dates for 2026 are now on the website at www.rpsl.limited. Each calendar year, RPSL members are entitled to receive a 50% discount on their first two submissions for expertising. Contact experts@rpsl.limited or +44 (0)20 7935 7332.
Christmas Outreach
A festive form of outreach is provided by our Collections team who have arranged for Barry Feltham to present 'The Christmas Story' on 10th December 5.30pm-6.30pm at 15 Abchurch Lane. Designed to appeal to a broader audience, admission is free, but registration on Eventbrite is required – a few places are still available using this link.
Finally, it remains for me to wish you and your loved ones a wonderful Christmas Season and I hope that you enjoy a prosperous and healthy New Year that will also be philatelically rewarding for you.
Simon.
Simon Richards RDP FRPSL
President
The Royal Philatelic Society London
1 December 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
The 4pm and 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.