A Brief History
The Pendragon Society was founded in October 1959 by Jess Foster (Secretary) and Geoffrey Ashe (Chairman) with the aim to:
“stimulate interest in King Arthur and his contemporaries; to investigate the history and archaeology of the Matter of Britain; and to study the significance of the Arthurian legends.”
In its early years, the Society was centred around Winchester—particularly the old church at Otterbourne. Foster led a local youth group on explorations of the surrounding countryside, encouraging them to read and learn about the legends of King Arthur. One early ambition was to establish an “Arthurian Day” in Winchester, though this never materialised.
In 1965, Foster relocated to Bristol, and the Society became involved in one of its most important contributions: supporting the archaeological excavation at South Cadbury. Both Foster and Ashe served on the dig committee, alongside leading archaeologists such as Mortimer Wheeler, G.A. Ralegh Radford, Leslie Alcock, Sheppard Frere, and Barry Cunliffe.
It was during this period that the Society launched its journal, which provided regular updates on the excavation and invited members to get involved. After the Cadbury dig concluded in 1970, some members participated in another dig at Llanmelin, and their findings were shared in the journal.
As the 1970s progressed, the journal expanded its focus, engaging with the then-popular “earth mysteries” movement while continuing to explore Arthurian themes. In 1977, Chris Lovegrove—who had volunteered at Cadbury—took over as editor. Although the mantle of editor was also taken over for periods by Kate Pollard (daughter of Jess Foster), Eddie Took, Charles Evans-Gunther and others, Lovegrove continued in the role until the Society’s closure in 2009, its aim to ‘stimulate interest in King Arthur’ fulfilled.
Throughout its life, the journal published work by a number of authors who would go on to publish Arthurian books including Geoffrey Ashe, Chris Barber, Rodney Castleden, Chris Gidlow and Dan Nastali. Its subscriber list included notable figures such as Alan and Barbara Lupack, Anya Seton and Rosemary Sutcliffe and in total had more than a thousand subscribers in its fifty year history. Some of these articles predate the published books and show how the journal offered a unique space for authors to develop their ideas and receive feedback from members in the letters section. The feedback was often critical and was usually delivered in a friendly way, although the occasional heated exchange of letters did happen from time to time!
The journal’s review sections offer a wealth of information on now-forgotten events, exhibitions, and publications spanning over fifty years. They reference newspaper and magazine articles, which would be near impossible to track down otherwise and thereby providing valuable insights for researchers. Advertisements for booksellers, tour guides, and artists offer a fascinating glimpse into a vibrant era of amateur Arthurian study—before the digital age transformed how amateur communities shared information with their members.
Thanks to the kind permission of the editor, all issues of the Pendragon Journal are now available below as fully searchable PDF files. I have also included some non-journal publications published by the society which provide information about its history. have been unable to find a few issues, so if anyone has copies I would delighted to hear from you! They are offered here freely, in the same spirit of enthusiasm and accessibility with which they were originally produced. If any author objects to their work being made available in this way please contact me.
Volume 1/1 Autumn 1965
Volume 1/2 March 1966
Volume 1/3 June 1966
Volume 2/1 February 1967
Volume 2/2 May 1967
Volume 2/3 September 1967
Volume 2/4 January 1968
Volume 3/1 [May]1968
Volume 3/2 October 1968
Volume 3/3 January 1969
Volume 3/4 May 1969
Volume 4/1 [October] 1969
Volume 4/2 [January] 1970
Volume 4/3 May 1970
Volume 5/1 [October] 1970
Volume 5/2 January 1971
Volume 5/3 May 1971
Volume 5/4 [October] 1971
Volume 6/1 March 1972
Volume 6/2 [May] 1972
Volume 6/3 [August] 1972
Volume 6/4 [October] 1972
Volume 7/1 [March] 1973
Volume 7/2 July 1973
Volume 7/3 November 1973
Volume 7/4 March 1974
Volume 8/1 August 1974
Volume 8/2 [November] 1974
Volume 8/3 March 1975
Volume 8/4 July 1975
Volume 9/1 [October] 1975
Volume 9/2 January 1976
Volume 9/3 May 1976
Volume 9/4 August 1976
Volume 10/1 November 1976
Volume 10/2 February 1977
Volume 10/3 May 1977
Volume 10/4 September 1977
Volume 11/1 January 1978
Volume 11/2 April 1978
Volume 11/3 July 1978
Volume 11/4 September 1978
Volume 12/1 December 1978
Volume 12/2 May 1979
Volume 12/3 Midsummer 1979
Volume 12/4 Autumn 1979
Volume 13/1 Winter 1979
Volume 13/2 Spring 1980
Volume 13/3 Summer 1980
Volume 13/4 Autumn 1980
Volume 14/1 Winter 80-81
Volume 14/2 Spring 1981
Volume 14/3 Summer 1981
Volume 14/4 Autumn 1981
Volume 15/1 Winter 1981-2
Volume 15/2 Spring 1982
Volume 15/3 Summer 1982
Volume 15/4 Autumn 1982
Volume 16/1 Winter 1982-83
Volume 16/2 Spring 1983
DOUBLE ISSUE
Volume 16/3 Summer 1983
Volume 16/4 Autumn 1983
Volume 17/1 Winter 1983-84
Volume 17/2 Spring 1984
Volume 17/3 Summer 1984
Volume 17/4 Autumn 1984 (February 1986)
DOUBLE ISSUE
Volume 18/1 Winter 1984 (July 1986)
Volume 18/2 Spring 1985 (July 1986)
Volume 18/3 Summer 1985 (Easter 1987)
Volume 18/4 Winter 19[87]-88
Volume 19/1 Midsummer 1988
Volume 19/2 [Spring] 1989
Volume 19/3 Summer 1989
Volume 19/4 Autumn 1989
Volume 20/1 Winter 1989
Volume 20/2 Spring 1990
Volume 20/3 Summer 1990
Volume 20/4 Autumn 1990
Volume 21/1 Winter 1990
Volume 21/2 Spring 1991
Volume 21/3 Summer 1991
Volume 21/4 Autumn 1991
Volume 22/1 Winter 1991
Volume 22/2 Spring 1992
Volume 22/3 Summer 1992
Volume 22/4 Autumn 1992
Volume 23/1 Winter 1992
Volume 23/2 Spring 1993
Volume 23/3 August 1993
Volume 23/4 November 1993
Volume 24/1 February 1994
Volume 24/2 May 1994
Volume 24/3 August 1994
Volume 24/4 December 1994
Volume 25/1 April 1995
Volume 25/2 August 1995
DOUBLE ISSUE
Volume 25/3 Winter 1995 (April 1996)
Volume 25/4 Spring 1996 (April 1996)
Volume 26/1 Winter 1996
Volume 26/2 Spring 1997 Grails and Stars
Volume 26/3 Summer 1997 Arthurian Topography
Volume 26/4 Autumn/Winter 1997 Relics of the Past
Volume 27/1 Spring 1998 Avatars of Arthur
Volume 27/2 Summer 1998 The New Matter of Britain
Volume 27/3 Winter 1998-99 The Celtic West
Volume 27/4 Spring 1999 Dark Age Saints
Volume 28/1 Summer 1999 Stories
Volume 28/2 Winter 1999/2000 Visions
Volume 28/3 Spring 2000 Origins of the Arthurian Legends
Volume 28/4 Summer 2000 Caridwen
Volume 29/1 Winter 2000-01 The Future of Arthur
Volume 29/2 Spring 2001 Dark Age People
Volume 29/3 Summer 2001 The Lady of the Lake
Volume 29/4 Winter 2001-02 Avalon
DOUBLE ISSUE
Volume 30/1 Spring 2002 The Bard
Volume 30/2 Summer 2002 The Bard
Volume 30/3 Autumn/Winter 2002-03 Camelot
Volume 30/4 Spring/Summer 2003 Chroniclers
Volume 31/1 Autumn 2003 Perceval
Volume 31/2 Winter 2003-04 Arthur and the UK
Volume 31/3 Spring 2004 The Muse
Volume 31/4 Summer 2004 Grail Castles
Volume 32/1 Autumn 2004 Arthur Abroad
Volume 32/2 Winter 2004-05 Merlin’s Study
Volume 32/3 Spring 2005 Arthurian Beasts
Volume 32/4 Summer 2005 Igraine
Volume 33/1 Autumn 2005 Heroes & Villains
Volume 33/2 Winter 2005-06 Treasures of Britain
Volume 33/3 Spring 2006 Historians
Volume 33/4 Summer 2006 Knight’s Move
Volume 34/1 Autumn 2006 Merlin
Volume 34/2 Winter 2006-07 Sword in the Stone
Volume 34/3 Spring 2007 Otherworlds
Volume 34/4 Summer 2007 The Fisher King
Volume 35/1 Autumn 2007 Bloodlines
Volume 35/2 Winter 2007-08 Gawain
Volume 35/3 Spring 2008 Storybook
Volume 35/4 Summer 2008 Guineveres
Volume 36/1 Autumn 2008 King of the Castle
Volume 36/2 Winter/Spring 2008-09 The Fellowship of the King
Volume 36/3-4 2010 The Jubilee Anthology
South Cadbury Information Sheet produced by the society for sale to visitors at the excavation (1966).
A for Arthur: Jess Foster writes about the early days of the society (1975)
Till Hope Creates… an informal history of the pendragon society by Jess Foster (1972)
Glastonbury Fair edition: Available for sale at the society stand at the fair in 1971.
Arthurian Societies and Journals 