The Burgon Society was founded in 2000 for the study and promotion of academical dress, to preserve its history and to advise film and television companies and interested others in its correct usage. The president of the society is James P.S. Thomson, former Master of London Charterhouse. His predecessor was the organist John Birch, who served two terms ending in 2011. The society is named after John William Burgon (1813–1888) from whom the Burgon shape academic hood takes its name. The Burgon hood is depicted in profile in the society's emblem, surrounded by Bishop Andrewes caps.