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The most important is the Council Chamber, which, unusually, is 1½ stories high and seems to have been intended as the dining room for visiting Royalty. It was given over to the Board of Commissioners in 1686 but the Board never met there until 1946 an it was used by the Governor.

The heavily moulded ceiling, displaying James II’s cipher, is by John Grover, the wainscoting by William Cleere and the fine lime wood carving over the fireplace by William Emmett. The room was redecorated by Robert Adam in 1776 and the chimney-piece and gilt girandoles (mirrors to enhance candle light) date from this period. On the walls hang various paintings. A portrait group of Charles I and his family is by the school of Van Dyck. There are portraits by Lely of Charles II and Queen Catherine, James Duke of York, and the Earl of Ranelagh; by Kneller of William III, (possibly) by Mary Beale of Sir Stephen Fox, and by Jacomb-Hood (after Kneller) of Sir Christopher Wren. The Council Chamber may be hired for private functions.

Other rooms in this area are the Ante Room, also on the Ground Floor, which contains paintings of Queen Anne by George Murray and an early view of the Royal Hospital by Maas (c. 1719).The Governor’s Apartments, above the Council Chamber, contain the ‘Adam Suite’ - rooms remodelled by Robert Adam and the Surveyor’s Closet which provided Wren’s accommodation and office when the Royal Hospital was under construction.