Open House London 2023

As part of Open House London, discover the historic home of the British Academy, the UK’s national body for the humanities and social sciences. Explore the Grade 1 listed John Nash-designed terraced houses built in 1831.

Explore the building at your own pace on a self-guided tour with our digital map, or join one of our passionate members of staff for a 45-minute guided tour.

Guided tours run every half hour between 11:00 and 14:45, with a maximum of 15 people per tour and are on a first come first served basis. Self-guided tours are available between 10:45 and 15:45.

We invite you to join us for one of two free, drop-in talks that will be taking place on the day in the Wolfson Room:

“Democratising Space: Transforming the British Academy” with Stephen Smith (Wright & Wright)

Manijeh Verghese (Architectural Association) will be in conversation with Stephen Smith, partner at Wright & Wright Architects, to discuss the practice’s major refurbishment of the Academy’s basement at 10-11 Carlton House Terrace. Our speakers will be looking at how you begin to reimagine the future-orientation of a Grade I listed building, with equity and inclusivity at its heart, whilst preserving architectural heritage.

Talk 1 : 12:30 - 13:15

Talk 2 : 14:30 - 15:15

Free, drop-in, first come first served
No need to book.

If you have any questions about this event, please refer to our Public Events FAQ. If your question is not answered, please email [email protected].

About The Academy

The British Academy is the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. We are a fellowship of outstanding scholars and distinguished researchers and a community for everyone engaged in the humanities and social sciences. We are also a funder, supporting research and working for the benefit of the public.

You may notice on your visit that some rooms are currently closed. This is because we are currently undertaking an exciting multi-million pound redevelopment of our historic home which will Open Up the Academy for the future.

As part of it we will transform our basement into three state-of-the-art multifunctional event spaces beautifully designed and in keeping with our historic building, but with modern functionality.

Opening in Summer 2024 - along with our relaunched public events programme - it will create a global platform for debate and engagement, enabling us to bring the vital knowledge, perspectives and creativity from across the humanities and social sciences to audiences in the UK and internationally.

Find out more about our redevelopment here

Sign-up to hear the latest updates and our upcoming events via our Read, Watch, Listen newsletter