Old Speech Room Gallery

The Old Speech Room was completed in 1820 and used as a space where boys could learn the art of public speaking. In 1976, it was converted into a Gallery - a safe repository for the School's distinguished collection of antiquities and fine art.

A professional curatorial team manages the collections in accordance with best museum practice under the direction of the Curator. There is an ongoing programme of conservation and collections care, as well as a loans scheme. In the OSRG Arts Society, Harrovians can learn about object handling, conservation, documentation and collections care; help to research, design, curate and advertise exhibitions; and enjoy regular visits to major art collections in and around London. To see examples of some of the 19th-century watercolours held in the OSRG collection please visit Watercolour World.

Key Collections

Recent Gifts and Acquisitions

Greek, Etruscan, Roman and Egyptian antiquities 19th-century English and European watercolours, prints and engravings 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century oil paintings and sculpture 19th-century Japanese prints, Chinese ceramics and sculpture Manuscripts, rare Bibles and early printed books Coins, medals and stamps Photographs by Beaton and Lichfield Natural history

Cruden’s Concordance of the Old and New Testaments, 1738 The Fellows’ Garden, Exeter College, 1986, watercolour by Valerie Petts ‘Leavers’, 1991, a montage of Harrow Leavers’ cards by OH Jeremy Cooper View of Old Schools and the War Memorial Building, c.1925 engraving by Wallace Hester The cricket ground at Harrow, engraving by H Sargent The signal station, 1887, watercolour by Thomas Bush Hardy Visit with Winston Churchill, c.1970, signed lithograph by Sarah Churchill The Highgrove Florilegium, 2008, compiled for Prince Charles by OH Richard Shirley Smith (The Knoll, 1949) Anti-Slavery Convention Medal depicting Thomas Clarkson, 1840

Exhibitions

Apart from significant artworks of the 19th and 20th centuries, permanent displays include Greek vases and Old Harrovian subjects such as Lord Byron, Admiral Sir Edward Codrington and Sir Winston Churchill. These are primarily used for teaching.

As not all parts of the collection can be displayed at the same time, the Gallery runs a termly programme of temporary exhibitions. Recent subjects include From Reynolds to Matisse: Treasures of the OSRG Collection; The Muse and the Maker: a Celebration of Women on the Hill and the major exhibition for the Harrow 450 programme: Harrow 1572-2022.

The following exhibitions are running this term:

The Architecture of Harrow

The main display this term celebrates the key buildings of Harrow on the Hill: from St Mary’s Church, Pye House and Old Schools to Lyon’s and the School’s new Science Building.

From the Scholar's Library: Highlights of the Antique Books Collection

A curated selection of rarely exhibited works dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries, including the First Edition of Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (1632) and Captain Cook’s Voyage toward the South Pole and Round the World (1777), the work that revealed important scientific discoveries in the fields of natural history and ethnology in the new territories Cook charted in the southern hemisphere.

The H B Harris Collection of Chinese Ceramics and Sculpture

A loan exhibition of exceptional vessels from the Tang to the Qing Dynasties collected in the early 20th century by Henry Blackwall Harris (Small Houses and The Head Master’s 1885). Harris, a serious collector, was a founder member of the Oriental Ceramics Society.

Autumn Term Opening Hours

Members of the public are welcome to visit the OSRG this term between 2 October and 28 November.

The OSRG is open between 2.30pm and 5pm on the following dates: 2, 3, 10, 16, 30 and 31 October, and 1 (1.30-4pm), 7, 20, 21 and 27 November. Occasionally the gallery closes for School business or exeats. Please call 0208 872 8205 to check opening times before planning your visit.