David Rooney - The Big Hop - The First Non-stop Flight Across the Atlantic and Into the Future
On the evening of Monday 8 December 2025, join writer, historian and museum curator David Rooney for History at The Hall – The Big Hop: Adventures in the Workshop and the Air.
The Big Hop is the powerful true story of the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean - eight years before Charles Lindbergh's solo flight of 1927. The airmen who made the pioneering flight in 1919 - a Manchester mechanic and an engineer from Glasgow - had devoted their lives to turning a dream into practical reality, as had so many other pioneer aviators. Their work, begun as ambitious teenagers before the First World War, coupled technical precision and the mastery of materials with creativity, imagination and a relentless pursuit of excellence. In the sheds and aircraft hangars of 1919, as in the workshops of goldsmiths through history, craft skill and innovation combined to remarkable effect.
Following David’s talk there will be a book signing, where you will be able to purchase your own hardback edition of The Big Hop - The First Non-stop Flight Across the Atlantic and Into the Future.
Tickets for History at The Hall – The Big Hop: Adventures in the Workshop and the Air are priced at £15 per person and include light refreshments after the talk.
Members of the Company (Freemen, Liverymen, Members of The Court) should login to the Member’s Portal to book their tickets.
Doors will open at 17:45 for a prompt 18:00 start
About the speaker
David Rooney is a writer, historian and museum curator. Born in north-east England, he moved to London in 1995 to take a traineeship at the Science Museum, where he first encountered the aeroplane that completed the Big Hop in 1919. Over an almost thirty-year career, David has curated timekeeping, transport and engineering collections at institutions from the National Maritime Museum to the Science Museum, bringing historical stories vividly alive. He is the author of About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks (2021), which has been translated into eleven languages.
About The Big Hop, David says: ‘It is 30 years since I first walked beneath the canvas wings of an ungainly biplane and wondered what must have possessed two young men to fly it across the Atlantic. Writing this book is my way of paying tribute to the pioneers of aviation – men and women from all walks of life – who risked everything: for freedom, for progress, and for us.’
David Rooney. © Simon Camper, Lumen Photography
Terms & Conditions
Tickets for “The Hall – The Big Hop: Adventures in the Workshop and the Air” are priced at £15 per person and are non-refundable.
Tickets must be booked in the name of the person who is attending - photo ID that matches the name on the booking will be required to gain entry.
Security & bag policy
Goldsmiths’ Hall operates Airport style enhanced security procedures for all public events - these include a bag scanner and a security arch. Suitcases and items larger than a laptop bag are not permitted inside the building. Unmanned cloakroom facilities will be provide free of charge for coats, bags and umbrellas.
Disabled access to Goldsmiths’ Hall
The main entrance to Goldsmiths’ Hall is on Foster Lane and may not be suitable for visitors who require step-free access. Those who are require level access from street level should ring the bell on Carey Lane, for assistance and access by lift. If you have any concerns or questions about visiting the building, please email us.
The public rooms of Goldsmiths’ Hall are located on the first floor, and can be accessed by lift from within the ground floor lobby.