The British Society for the Turin Shroud
This website is developed and manintained by members of the British Society for the Turin Shroud (BSTS). The Society is non-denominational, with no party line for or against the Shroud’s authenticity and its officers all work on an entirely voluntary basis.
The principle aims of the Society include:
- The encouragement of, and support for, research into the Shroud of Turin in all aspects.
- The dissemination of reliable information about the Shroud of Turin in the form of written matter, websites, videos, photographs, exhibition materials and other means as may assist in spreading knowledge of the Shroud.
The BSTS was founded in 1976 as a forum for individuals from all walks of life sharing an interest in the mystery of the Shroud. Group Captain Leonard Cheshire, who had been actively raising awareness of the Shroud since the 1950s, was the group’s honorary President and its membership included high-profile Anglican bishops Hugh Montefiore and John Robinson, scientists, historians, medical practitioners, a textile specialist and Egyptologist. In the years since its foundation, the BSTS has played an important role in encouraging and supporting research into the Shroud of Turin. This was particularly true during the early years of the organisation when the custodians of the Shroud were willing to allow scientific examinations of this remarkable cloth. Our membership list features the names of many of the world’s leading Shroud researchers whose discoveries have revealed much of the information that appears on this website.
Our membership today includes several authors and film producers whose work over the years has helped to increase worldwide awareness of these fascinating discoveries. These include historian and author Ian Wilson, who chaired the meeting which established the BSTS in December 1976, and film producer David Rolfe. Ian’s 1978 book The Turin Shroud was an international best-seller and David’s first major film about the Shroud, The Silent Witness, was an international box-office success that also earned him a BAFTA for Best Documentary in 1979.
There is little doubt that these two BSTS members made a significant contribution to the widespread surge in interest in the Shroud that occured in the 1970s and 1980s. Indeed many current BSTS members readily acknowledge that their passionate interest in the Shroud of Turin began as a result of reading The Turin Shroud or watching The Silent Witness.
The BSTS issued its first newsletter in June 1982 under the editorship of Ian Wilson. The newsletter has been in continuous production ever since and publishes two new editions each year. In December 2017 we launched our BSTS Newsletter website to give subscribers online access to digital versions of every BSTS newsletter. The website also made it possible to offer a new, digital subscription costing just £10 per year, providing a low-cost, online-only alternative to the UK and International postal subscription options.
Our newsletter archive is stored and maintained on Shroud.com. We are indebted to those members who generously contributed to making digital versions of all the earlier issues. We are also grateful to our good late friend, Barrie Schwortz, who as founder and editor of Shroud.com established and maintained this archive until his passing in 2024, and to Joe Marino and his colleagues at the Shroud of Turin Education and Research Association (STERA) who have continued Barrie’s work.
We keep subscriptions as low as possible but there is much more we would like to do. If you can readily afford to contribute more, please use the button below to make a donation. All contributions will be gratefully received.
Acknowledgements
The banner image that appears at the top of each webpage was designed by Philippa Foster (© 2025 Philippa Foster)
We are grateful to David Rolfe for allowing the BSTS to use still images taken from Who Can He Be?, his most recent film about the Shroud.
