Durham Street Auditorium

When the Adam Brothers built RSA House on the site of Old Durham House, they had to consider the public right of way running from the Strand to the River Thames. This was a stretch of 18th-century cobbled Victorian roadway.

As the House was constructed, the roadway was preserved and formed part of a tunnel running beneath the House down to the Thames.

In the mid-19th century, horses were used to haul coal wagons up this steep passage to the Strand. Some vaults in other buildings within the Aldephi development were used as stables. Cows were also kept here to provide fresh supplies of milk to the area.

The right of way was abolished by an act of Parliament in the 1920s. The roadway was converted by Green Lloyd into a fully equipped auditorium seating 60.

The original road and stone setts (pieces of stone, usually granite, worked to form regular shapes) have been preserved to this day and can be seen from the walkway to the rear of the auditorium.

Our auditorium is intimate and charismatic and is a unique setting for presentations, seminars, panel discussions, and private screenings. The space features original exposed 18th-century brickwork, and built-in tiered theatre-style seating and audio-visual equipment.