One Birdcage Walk

Birdcage Walk has been our home since 1899.

The first meetings were held at the Queen’s Hotel in Birmingham, with larger Ordinary Meetings held at the Philosophical Institution’s lecture theatre, which was on Cannon Street. A year-long lease was arranged for holding Council meetings in the Temple Buildings. The Institution soon needed more room and a three-year lease at 54 Newhall Street was arranged (they stayed for 14 years). In 1851, during the Great Exhibition, the Institution held its first meeting in London. The Institution soon resolved to build their own facilities. Originally they were going to stay in Birmingham but in 1877 they decided on London instead. The new building had modern features such as a lift and telephones and it retains many features.