The Great Room within RSA House was designed by the Adam brothers in 1774 as an assembly room for Society Members discussions and debates.
Ten artists including James Barry were invited to decorate the Great Room in return for the right to exhibit their pictures, they all declined.
In 1777 Barry offered to decorate the entire Great Room free of charge…if he could live at RSA. His aim was to trace the development of civilisation from primitive to modern times through a sequence of 6 paintings. The painting is called - The Progress of Human Knowledge & Culture and can be seen today.
Not only does the Great Room host these wonderful paintings but in also has many other interesting facts, that make the room so fascinating:
Image: Alexander Graham Bell
In 1877 RSA fellow Alexander Graham Bell gave the first practical demonstration of his invention, the telephone, in the Great Room!
The clock in the Great Room is older than the building itself and was once stolen in 1980. The society found the clock wrapped in a sleeping bag in a derelict garden in Peckham.
The Grand staircase leading to the Great Room at RSA House was modified in 1922 to give better access to the space. It was originally covered in hard board and carpet, and the original flooring was discovered in 2012! The panels on the staircase display names of Chairmen of the Society’s Council (until 2003), the Secretaries (Directors, and now Executive Directors) and the society’s Presidents.