The windows on each side allow light to pour in. They capture sunshine on the darkest winter day. When it was too cold or wet to get outside, the gallery was the place to walk and play games. It stretches for over 52m (172 feet). Even today it’s impossible to stop yourself from wandering along it, gazing out of windows or chatting if you’re walking with someone else. If this is what you find yourself doing, then it’s just what the architect William Arnold intended.
Portraits to inspire conversation
Here you can still find yourself face to face with those who would have been familiar with the shelter of similar galleries on rainy days long ago. Through our partnership with the National Portrait Gallery, the side rooms are full of people of the time. The famous, occasionally the notorious and many of those less well known. Our exhibitions continue another original use of these spaces:a place to hang picture collections, each portrait a talking point or source of a story to share on a dull day.