RSArchive

Drawing similarities

RSA Senior Archivist Abby Matthews argues that museums and archives do more than preserve the past. At their best, they ignite conversations between generations, reimagining memories and mapping the futures we choose to build

15 Apr 2026 Abby Matthews

RSArchive

Sweeping change

RSA Resident Historian Anton Howes reflects on how a competition to create a mechanical chimney cleaner helped to outlaw the use of child chimney sweeps across the rooftops of Britain.

10 Dec 2025 Anton Howes

RSArchive

Minding the gaps

The RSA’s newly appointed senior archivist, Abby Matthews, reflects on archives, missing identities and the artefacts that connect us.

23 Sep 2025 Abby Matthews

RSArchive

Stones, songs and secrets 

From a laundry list on limestone to Lear’s vibrant parrots, the RSA’s role in the birth of lithography is a tale of invention, intrigue and the elusive Madame Gleissner

9 Jul 2025 Richard Hale

RSArchive

Journaling through time 

Looking back at the visual history and key milestones of RSA Journal – and to the exciting future ahead.

26 Mar 2025

RSArchive

RSArchive: liquid legacy

RSA House first opened its doors in 1774. Since then the site has seen carousing, consciousness-raising and confidence deserting some of history's most renowned orators. Today it remains a source of inspiration and refreshment.

6 Dec 2024 Jerry Lockspeiser, FRSA

RSArchive

RSArchive: 250 years of RSA House

RSA House first opened its doors in 1774. Since then the site has seen carousing, consciousness-raising and confidence deserting some of history's most renowned orators. Today it remains a source of inspiration and refreshment.

18 Sep 2024

RSArchive

RSArchive: a school of one’s own

Maria Grey, one of the founders of the Girls’ Day School Trust, first called for men and women to be given the same educational opportunities in a speech to the Society of Arts in 1871.

25 Jun 2024 Journal contributor