Secrets of Senate House

Image: Imperial War Museum IWM (D 1199)

This event will introduce you both to the hidden history of Senate House and the resources available to you at the Institute of Historical Research (IHR).

In the morning session the director of History & Policy at the IHR, Professor Philip Murphy, will explore the origins of the idea of creating a headquarters for the University of London in Bloomsbury and the connection between this and the establishment of the IHR itself in 1921. He will trace how Sir Charles Holden came to be commissioned as the architect of Senate House and how he went about designing the building. Barely had the University moved into its new home, when the outbreak of the Second World War led to the arrival of a new set of occupants – the staff of the Ministry of Information. The tour will explain the layout of the Ministry in Senate House and surrounding buildings, its role and the activities of some of the people it employed. You will then be guided through the building itself and will have the opportunity to examine some of the key features of Holden’s work and learn about the different uses to which its various halls and offices were put, both in War and in Peacetime. Finally, you will watch a presentation showing how the spaces just visited were used by film and television directors as the locations for dramas supposedly set in New York, Moscow and even Gotham City.

In the afternoon the IHR Director Professor Claire Langhamer and colleagues will introduce you to the IHR’s library collections and discuss opportunities to get involved in the IHR community.

Timetable:

10:45 arrival

11:00-13:30: The Secrets of Senate House

13:30-14:30: Bring your own Lunch

14:30-16:00: The IHR’s Collections and Resources

Total event time is approx 4.5 hours excluding one hour lunch break.
London Historians members only. .

Proceeds go to the .

Host or Publisher London Historians