Stairwell wall hangings

Originally five wall hangings were specially commissioned in 1988 to represent the founding Societies of London, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield and also Wales . These were unveiled in April 1991 by ICAEW President Michael Lipkiss.

At a later date, further wall hangings of Birmingham and Newcastle were added to the collection, which is housed in the main staircase from the Copthall entrance foyer that leads to the Great Hall.

The tapestries were designed by artists Penny Roberts and Julia Crallan (1944-2019), who specialised in screen printing on textiles. They had met at Dartington College, where Penny was Julia's art teacher. Their studio was in the basement of Julia's house in Stockwell, South London.

The pair visited all the society cities and took a year to complete the initial 5 works. Other commissions they undertook were for the British Embassy in Seoul, and to illustrate the history of the Territorial Army (1994).

• Read Julia Crallan's obituary in The Times (subscription required)

The Birmingham & West Midlands wall hanging shows the Birmingham International Airport 'Maglev' (opened in 1984), as well as a barge on one of the West Midland's many canals and the four of the regions cathedrals: Coventry, Worcester, Lichfield and Hereford.

Liverpool's wall hanging shows the iconic Liver Building, the Mersey tunnel ventilation shaft and the Albert Dock (which had reopened in 1984).

The Manchester tapestry shows Manchester Central Library and Manchester Town hall (and extension) below the former Manchester Central Station which reopened as the G-Mex exhibition centre in 1986.

The wall hanging for Newcastle shows the famous Tyne Bridge and Swing Bridge with the silhouettes of a coal mine and power station in the background. Also depicted are Durham Cathedral, Newcastle Cathedral, Bamburgh Castle, Newcastle Castle, Hadrian's Wall and the bridge and castle in Barnard Castle, County Durham.

Sheffield's depiction is of the city in the Don Valley beyond countryside with hills of the Peak District in the distance.

Wales is a depiction of a water fall, almost certainly Swallow Falls in Snowdonia.

The London Society wall hanging is currently in storage, but it depicts various bridges, churches and other London landmarks.

All the wall hangings have the relevant Society's badge in the bottom left hand corner