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Music Room

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.

The Music Room at the British Academy

The Music Room derives its name from the representation of musical instruments in its ornamental plasterwork.

It is believed that the Music Room was redecorated aroun 1900 when Arthur Guinness and his family lived at No. 11. The room is not dissimilar to the ballroom at Farmleigh House in Dublin, which was owned by Arthur’s brother Edward Guinness. Both rooms are decorated in the style of Louis XVI, which was popular in the Edwardian era, and feature the same swags of musical instruments. It is not known which room was decorated first.

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