History of the Club
Originally limited to just 100 members the club began to grow for a number of reasons, not least because of the pressures to provide a venue where CPD could take place, in the widest sense of the word, but also because a large number of Junior surveyors wished to join in order to learn the skills required of a party wall professional. At that time party wall legislation, Part VI of the London Building Acts (Amendment) Act 1939, only applied in the inner London boroughs.
The Club played a pivotal role in the framing of the present Party Wall etc. Act 1996 and several members were present when the Bill was introduced into the House of Lords and during the committee stages where amendments were made. The Party Wall Bill was sponsored through Parliament by John Lytton, The Earl of Lytton, a past Chairman of the Club.
The following links will take you to a record of the debate in the House of Lords:
Party Wall Bill – first reading (23 Nov 1995)
Party Wall Bill – second reading (31 Jan 1996)
Party Wall Bill – committee stage (22 May 1996)
Working with Government
The Pyramus & Thisbe Society continues to maintain a strong relationship with several government departments, such as the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister which is now the Department for Communities and Local Government and is constantly looking at ways of dealing with anomalies in the legislation and promoting best practice.
Acknowledgment
In a case in 2008 in Romford County Court, His Honour Judge Platt acknowledged the Club’s members when he said, “It is a tribute to the surveyor’s profession as a whole, and to the members of the Pyramus & Thisbe Society in particular, that issues over party walls have generally been resolved by a pragmatic and cooperative approach to the provisions of the Act and consequently appeals to the County Court have been extremely rare.”
The Learned Society
Since the 1996 Act extended the legislation to the whole of England and Wales, regional branches of the club have been set up around the country.
In 2020 the decision was taken by the National Council to develop the Pyramus & Thisbe Club as a Learned Society in order to provide members with a structured framework for professional development together with recognised post nominal status. Members and Fellows of the Pyramus & Thisbe Society can be identified by their post nominals – MPTS and FPTS.
Why Pyramus & Thisbe?
Pyramus & Thisbe were star crossed lovers separated by the wall between their houses and forbidden to meet by their feuding fathers. Their only means of communication was through a small crack in the wall and they finally arrange a secret meeting in order to consummate their tryst. However, due to an unfortunate set of circumstances, involving a lioness and a mulberry bush, they both come to the saddest of ends.
This classical tale is the inspiration for both the Pyramus & Thisbe Society’s name, its logotype and visual identity. The two faces in the society’s logotype not only represent the forlorn characters in the tale but also allude to the nature in which the members of the society set out to resolve party wall disputes, through collaboration and communication. The colours of the mulberry bush leaves and berries are also reflected in the society’s corporate colours of green and burgundy.
