The Royal Anthropological Institute began making inquiries regarding the lease of rooms at 56 Queen Anne Street in January 1976 and they began to occupy the premises in 1977. In 1979 they extended the numbers of rooms to include two small back rooms to house their photographic collections. They finally agreed to leave the premises on 5 January 1988.
The material concerns the Underlease agreements between the Royal Asiatic Society and the Royal Anthropological Institute. These are:

• Underlease between the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland for the Ground Floor Front Rooms at 56 Queen Anne Street, dated 7 February 1977.
• Licence between the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland for the use of the various rooms for storage, administration and lectures. Dated 7 February 1977.
• Licence between the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland relating to the use of ground floor rooms and other facilities. Dated 1 March 1983.
• Photocopy of Licence between the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland relating to the use of ground floor rooms and other facilities. Dated 27 July 1984.
• Correspondence concerning the agreements between the two Societies, the rental arrangements, and the timing of the move of the Institute on the Royal Asiatic Society relinquishing the lease for the premises. These are mainly between the Royal Asiatic Society, the Royal Anthropological Institute, the Howard de Walden Estate and the institutions' solicitors.

Lease agreements and correspondence concerning the residential flat on the second floor of 56 Queen Anne Street. These include:

• Correspondence regarding the setting of the rent in 1958. The tenant Richard Bailey had taken a 13 year lease in 1947 and in 1958 began to inquire as to whether his tenancy would be renewed.
• Correspondence with Richard Bailey regarding the renewal of his lease in 1962
• Lease Agreement between the Royal Asiatic Society and Richard Bailey for the 2nd floor flat, dated 28 February 1962.
• Correspondence regarding Richard Bailey leaving the flat in 1964 and the tenancy being taken on by Dr A.A. Alderdice.
• Letter concerning the surrendering of the lease by Dr Alderdice in 1965.
• Correspondence regarding a Dr Layard assigning the remainder of his lease to Mr Hugo Alyasha Kensho, 1968.
• Correspondence regarding the relinquishing of the lease by Layard and its reassignment to Messrs Parry and Norris, 1970.
• Letter from the solicitor informing the Society the retirement of one of their partners and the subsequent relocation of their office, dated December 1976.
• Correspondence regarding Mr Norris's guests and his damage of the property, 1976 -1978.
• Correspondence regarding the tenancy of Professor Charles Beckingham, potential conflict of interest as a member of the Society and his subsequent relinquishment of the flat when the Society vacated the premises, 1978 -1988.

The correspondence is primarily between the Royal Asiatic Society, the tenants, and their solicitors.

Correspondence regarding the lease of the third floor flat. These include:

• Correspondence with Mr Seal regarding an extension to his lease, 1956.
• Correspondence regarding the transfer of the lease from Dr Seal to Elizabeth Holloway (later Mrs Erleigh), 1961.
• Correspondence regarding the Erleigh's tenancy. This includes a newspaper cutting about the unexpected birth of Mrs Erleigh's child, 1962-1965.
• Correspondence regarding temporary/unofficial residents, Mr Leon and Mrs Hardy, 1968.
• Correspondence regarding the relinquishment of the lease by Mrs Erleigh and its reassignment to Mr N. A. Lane and Mr M.E. Feirtag, 1968-1969.
• Correspondence regarding the relinquishment of the lease by Mr N. A. Lane and Mr M.E. Feirtag and reassignment to Howard Anthony Jacobs and Michael Horowitz, 1970-1972.
• Correspondence regarding the tenancy of Mr and Mrs Jacobs, 1976-1985.
• Director's Note regarding possible tenancy of Mr and Mrs Davidson, 1986.

The majority of the correspondence is between the Royal Asiatic Society, their tenants, and their respective solicitors.

Correspondence from organisations wishing to hire room from the Royal Asiatic Society for their meetings. These are:

• The Shakespearean Authorship Society, 1975.
• The Association of South-East Asian Studies, 1976.
• The China Society, 1976.
• The Asian House Trust Committee, 1976.
• The Centre for South-East Asian Studies, 1978.
• The Muhammadi Trust, 1979.
• The Society for the Preservation of the Architectural Resources of Egypt, 1980.

Correspondence concerned with the repair of the glass roof dome. Application was made for funds from the Historic Buildings Council (refused), the Greater London Council and The Pilgrim Trust (accepted). The correspondence is with these organisations, and with the Building Surveyors, Morton-Smith & Co. There are also two large and sixteen small black and white photographs of the dome and 17 photographic negatives.

The Royal Asiatic Society considered over its tenancy both ways of developing the property, of increasing its income through extra rental, of extending the lease and of trying to buy the property from Howard de Walden Estates. For this purpose, at various times a Development Committee was established. These papers contain Minutes from Development Committee Meetings and allied correspondence.

Minutes of the Development Committee of the Royal Asiatic Society for 19 December 1974, 23 July 1975, 1 December 1975, and 22 January 1976.

Correspondence concerning the possible development of the property at 56 Queen Anne Street. These include internal correspondence and reports on the needs of the Society and possible courses of action; correspondence with the solicitor, Michael Downs of TL. Wilson; correspondence with the building surveyors, Morton-Smith and Co., and with the Howard de Walden Estates.

In 1984, the Royal Asiatic Society sought letters of support for the Society concerning a possible move to larger premises. The letters are from:

• Godfrey Goodwin, Director of Royal Asiatic Society
• Jack Franses, Sotheby & Co.
• Professor Joshua Blan, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Halil Inalcik, University of Chicago
• Helen Philon, Benaki Museum
• C. K. Pattanashetti, Bangalore University
• K. Enoki, The Toyo Bunko
• Dr. Hani Al-Amad, University of Jordan
• V Durairajan, Annamalai University
• H.A. [Backakob] Kirpal Singh, Guru Nank Dev University
• Hajime Nakamura, The Eastern Institute, Tokyo
• K. Brooker, London Head Teachers Association

In 1987 the Society looked to release itself from the lease for 56 Queen Anne Street. The lease was bought back from the Society by Howard de Walden Estates for £430,000. This series contains correspondence regarding the sale of the lease for 56 Queen Anne Street. This correspondence includes that with the Howard de Walden Estates, solicitors, the building surveyors, Morton-Smith & Co., and Charity Commissioners.