The son of the Reverend Samuel Lysons (1730–1804) and Mary Peach Lysons of Rodmarton, Gloucestershire, Lysons studied law in Bath, was called to the Bar at Inner Temple in 1798 and, choosing the Oxford Circuit, practiced law until December 1803.
He was also one of the first archaeologists to investigate Roman sites in Britain, where he specialised in the study of mosaics. Lysons served as director of the Society of Antiquaries of London from 1798 to 1809. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1797 and later served as vice-president and treasurer (1810–1819) of the Society.
Shortly before he died, he also served as antiquary professor in the Royal Academy.
His portrait was painted by, among others, academicians Sir Thomas Lawrence and George Dance the Younger. He was Keeper of the Records in London from 1803 until his death in 1819.
Lysons died close to his Rodmarton birthplace at Cirencester, Gloucestershire, in June 1819.
Royal Society.
