The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of central London and its suburbs, or the area formerly administered by the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an Arts-and-Crafts designer, architect and social reformer and was motivated by a desire to record and preserve London's ancient monuments. The first volume was published in 1900, but the completion of the series remains far in the future. The London Survey Committee was initially a volunteer effort, but from 1910 published the surveys jointly with the

(later the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

, GLC). From 1952, the voluntary committee was disbanded, and all survey work was wholly council-run. Following the abolition of the GLC in 1986, responsibility for the survey was taken over by the

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...

(RCHME). Since 2013, it has been administered by

The Bartlett The Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, also known as The Bartlett, is the academic centre for the study of the built environment at University College London (UCL), United Kingdom. It is home to thirteen departments, with specialisms incl ...

School of Architecture,

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. The series borrows its title from

John Stow John Stow (''also'' Stowe; 1524/25 – 5 April 1605) was an English historian and antiquarian. He wrote a series of chronicles of History of England, English history, published from 1565 onwards under such titles as ''The Summarie of Englyshe C ...

's ''A Survay of London'' (first edition 1598; revised edition 1603).

Scope

The Survey consists of a series of volumes based mainly on the historical parish system. Each volume gives an account of the area, with sufficient general history to put the architecture in context, and then proceeds to describe the notable streets and individual buildings one by one. The accounts are exhaustive, reviewing all available primary sources in detail. The Survey devotes thousands of words to some buildings that receive the briefest of mentions in the ''

Buildings of England The ''Pevsner Architectural Guides'' are four series of guide books to the architecture of the British Isles. ''The Buildings of England'' series was begun in 1945 by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, with its forty-six original volumes pub ...

'' series (itself a vast and detailed reference work by most standards). However, the earlier volumes largely ignored buildings built after 1800. Due to the scale of the existing endeavour, there are no current plans to extend the project to take in the whole of

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

. As of 2020, 53 volumes in the main series have been published. Separately, 18 monographs on individual buildings have been published. Most of the volumes have not been updated since publication, but those published online (up to Vol. 47) have received a limited amount of updating. Since 2008, the Survey of London has been published by

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...

. With the publication of the volumes on

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...

in 2008, colour photography was used for the first time, and the images incorporated in the text – previously they had been grouped separately as plates. A further volume on

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

was published in 2012, and two on

Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...

appeared in late 2013. Two volumes on the eastern part of

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, south of Marylebone Road, were issued in late 2017. Work has begun on

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

, the historically rich and complex area on the eastern fringe of the City of London. The

British History Online ''British History Online'' is a digital library of primary and secondary sources on medieval and modern history of Great Britain and Ireland. It was created and is managed as a cooperative venture by the Institute of Historical Research, Universit ...

digital library project of the

Institute of Historical Research The Institute of Historical Research (IHR) is a British educational organisation providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is part of the School of Advanced Study in the University of London and is located at Senate Hou ...

published all volumes up to 47 (''Northern Clerkenwell and Pentonville'') online, sponsored by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

. Later volumes are published on the website of The Bartlett School of Architecture at

Volumes

#
Bromley-by-Bow
' – C. R. Ashbee (editor) (1900) (LSC) #
Chelsea, pt I
' – Walter H. Godfrey (1909) (LSC) #
St Giles-in-the-Fields, pt I: Lincoln's Inn Fields
' – W. Edward Riley and Sir Laurence Gomme (editors) (1912) (LCC) #
Chelsea, pt II
' – Walter H. Godfrey (1913) (LSC) #
St Giles-in-the-Fields, pt II
' – W. Edward Riley and Sir Laurence Gomme (editors) (1914) (LSC) #
Hammersmith
' – James Bird and Philip Norman (general editors) (1915) (LSC) #
Chelsea, part III: The Old Church
' – Walter H. Godfrey (editor) (1921) (LSC) #
Shoreditch
' – Sir James Bird (editor) (1922) (LCC) #
The parish of St Helen, Bishopsgate, part I
' – Minnie Reddan and Alfred W. Clapham (1924) (LSC) #
St. Margaret, Westminster, part I: Queen Anne's Gate area
' – Montague H. Cox (editor) (1926) (LCC) #
Chelsea, part IV: The Royal Hospital
' – Walter H. Godfrey (editor) (1927) (LSC) #
The parish of All Hallows Barking, part I: The Church of All Hallows
' – Lilian J. Redstone (1929) (LSC) #
St Margaret, Westminster, part II: Whitehall I
' – Montagu H. Cox and Philip Norman (editors) (1930) (LCC) #
St Margaret, Westminster, part III: Whitehall II
' – Montague H. Cox and

G. Topham Forrest George Topham Forrest, F.R.I.B.A. FGS FRSE (1872 – 1945) was a Scottish architect who became chief architect for the London County Council and was responsible for the design of many public housing estates, and also co-designed two bridges over ...

(editors) (1931) (LCC) #
All Hallows, Barking-by-the-Tower, pt II
' – G. H. Gater and Walter H. Godfrey (general editors) (1934) (LSC) #
St Martin-in-the-Fields I: Charing Cross
' – G. H. Gater and E. P. Wheeler (editors) (1935) (LCC) #
The parish of St Pancras part 1: The village of Highgate
' – Percy Lovell and William McB. Marcham (editors) (1936) (LSC) #
St Martin-in-the-Fields II: The Strand
' – G. H. Gater and E. P. Wheeler (editors) (1937) (LCC) #
The parish of St Pancras part 2: Old St Pancras and Kentish Town
' – Percy Lovell and William McB. Marcham (editors) (1938) (LSC) #
St Martin-in-the-Fields, pt III: Trafalgar Square & Neighbourhood
' – G. H. Gater and F. R. Hiorns (editor) (1940) (LCC) #
The parish of St Pancras part 3: Tottenham Court Road & neighbourhood
' – J. R. Howard Roberts and Walter H. Godfrey (editors) (1949) (LSC) #
Bankside (the parishes of St. Saviour and Christchurch Southwark)
' – Sir Howard Roberts and Walter H. Godfrey (editors) (1950) (LCC) #
Lambeth: South Bank and Vauxhall
' – Sir Howard Roberts and Walter H. Godfrey (editors) (1951) (LCC) #
The parish of St Pancras part 4: King's Cross Neighbourhood
' – Walter H. Godfrey and W. McB. Marcham (editors) (1952) (LSC) #
St George's Fields (The parishes of St. George the Martyr Southwark and St. Mary Newington)
' – Ida Darlington (editor) (1955) (LCC) #
Lambeth: Southern area
' – F. H. W. Sheppard (General Editor) (1956) (Athlone Press for the LCC) #
Spitalfields and Mile End New Town
' – F. H. W. Sheppard (General Editor) (1957) (Athlone Press for the LCC) #
Brooke House, Hackney
' – W. A. Eden, Marie P. G. Draper, W. F. Grimes and Audrey Williams (1960) (Athlone Press for the LCC) #
St James Westminster, Part 1 (Vol I)
' – F. H. W. Sheppard (General Editor) (1960) (Athlone Press for the LCC) #
St James Westminster, Part 1 (Vol II)
' – F. H. W. Sheppard (General Editor) (1960) (Athlone Press for the LCC) #
St James Westminster, Part 2 (Vol I)
' – F. H. W. Sheppard (General Editor) (1963) (Athlone Press for the LCC) #
St James Westminster, Part 2 (Vol II)
' – F. H. W. Sheppard (General Editor) (1963) (Athlone Press for the LCC) #
St Anne Soho (Vol I)
' – F. H. W. Sheppard (General Editor) (1966) (Athlone Press for the GLC) #
St Anne Soho (Vol II)
' – F. H. W. Sheppard (General Editor) (1966) (Athlone Press for the GLC) #
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
' – F. H. W. Sheppard (General Editor) (1970) (Athlone Press for the GLC) #
The Parish of St. Paul Covent Garden
' – F. H. W. Sheppard (General Editor) (1970) (Athlone Press for the GLC) #
Northern Kensington
' – F. H. W. Sheppard (General Editor) (1973) (Athlone Press for the GLC) #
The Museums Area of South Kensington and Westminster
' – F. H. W. Sheppard (General Editor) (1975) (Athlone Press for the GLC) #
The Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 1 (General History)
' – F. H. W. Sheppard (General Editor) (1977) (Athlone Press for the GLC) #
The Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 2 (The Buildings)
' – F. H. W. Sheppard (General Editor) (1980) (Athlone Press for the GLC) #
Brompton
' – F. H. W. Sheppard (General Editor) (1983) (Athlone Press for the GLC) #
Kensington Square to Earl's Court
' –

Hermione Hobhouse Mary Hermione Hobhouse (2 February 1934 – 17 October 2014) was a British architectural historian and prominent preservation campaigner. Family and early life Hobhouse was born on 2 February 1934 to Sir Arthur Hobhouse and Konradin Huth Ja ...

(General Editor) (1986) (Athlone Press for the GLC) #
Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs (Vol I)
' – Hermione Hobhouse (General Editor) (1994) (Athlone Press for the RCHME) #
Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs (Vol II)
' – Hermione Hobhouse (General Editor) (1994) (Athlone Press for the RCHME)
(A supplement to Volumes 43 and 44 entitled ''Docklands in the Making: The Redevelopment of the Isle of Dogs, 1981–1995'' by Alan Cox () was issued in 1995 in an attempt to keep up with the pace of redevelopment in the area) #
Knightsbridge
' – John Greenacombe (General Editor) (2000) (Continuum Publishing for English Heritage) #
South and East Clerkenwell
' – Philip Temple (Editor) (2008) (Yale University Press) #
Northern Clerkenwell and Pentonville
' – Philip Temple (Editor) (2008) (Yale University Press) #
Woolwich
' – Peter Guillery (Editor) (2012) (Yale University Press) #
Battersea: Public, Commercial and Cultural
' –

Andrew Saint Andrew John Saint (born November 1946) is an English architectural historian. Saint worked as the architectural editor of the Survey of London (1974–86) and as a historian for Historic England (then known as English Heritage) 1986–95, before ...

(Editor) (2013) (Yale University Press) #
Battersea: Houses and Housing
' – Colin Thom (Editor) (2013) (Yale University Press) #
South-East Marylebone: Part 1
' – Andrew Saint (General Editor) (2017) (Yale University Press) #
South-East Marylebone: Part 2
' – Andrew Saint (General Editor) (2017) (Yale University Press) #
Oxford Street
' – Andrew Saint (General Editor) (2020) (Yale University Press)

Monographs

Monographs, focusing only on one structure, were published during the existence of the voluntary survey committee. The first monograph predated the first Survey volume, and work on the subsequent publications was always outside the auspices of the LCC. The original sequence ended with the disbanding of the voluntary committee; the sixteenth volume represented work which had started under the committee's governance. Almost thirty years later, a further monograph (No. 17) was published, focusing on County Hall and written by

(1991). It was intended as a tribute to the LCC/GLC which, until its abolition in 1986, had responsibility for the Survey. Nearly twenty years after that, an eighteenth volume was issued, describing the Charterhouse in Smithfield and written by Philip Temple (2010). #
Trinity Hospital, Mile End
' – C. R. Ashbee (1896) #
Saint Mary, Stratford Bow
' – Osborn C. Hills (1900) #
Old Palace, Bromley-by-Bow
' – Ernest Godman (1902) #
The Great House, Leyton
' – Edwin Gunn (1903) #
Brooke House, Hackney
' – Ernest A. Mann (1904) #
St Dunstan's Church, Stepney
' – W. Pepys and Ernest Godman (1905) #
East Acton Manor House
' – no author listed #
Sandford Manor, Fulham
' – W. Arthur Webb (1907) #
Crosby Place
' – Philip Norman (1908) #
Morden College, Blackheath
' – Frank T. Green (1916) #
Eastbury Manor House, Barking
' – Hubert Curtis (1917) #
Cromwell House, Highgate
' – Philip Norman (1926) #
Swakeleys, Ickenham
' – Walter H. Godfrey (1933) #
The Queen's House, Greenwich
' – George H. Chettle (1937) #
St. Bride's Church, Fleet Street
' – Walter H. Godfrey (1944) #
College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street
' – Walter H. Godfrey and Anthony Wagner (1963) #
County Hall
' – Hermione Hobhouse (1991) #
The Charterhouse
' – Philip Temple (2010)

Presidents of the Committee

The voluntary Committee that began the project had a series of Honorary Presidents: *

Lord Leighton Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, (3 December 1830 – 25 January 1896), known as Sir Frederic Leighton between 1878 and 1896, was a British Victorian painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. His works depicted historical, biblical, and classi ...

* Right Rev. Dr. Mandell Creighton, Bishop of London *

George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), known as Lord Curzon (), was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, explorer and writer who served as Viceroy of India ...

David Lindsay, 27th Earl of Crawford David Alexander Edward Lindsay, 27th Earl of Crawford and 10th Earl of Balcarres, (10 October 1871 – 8 March 1940), styled Lord Balcarres or Lord Balniel between 1880 and 1913, was a British Conservative politician and art connoisseur. Back ...

References

External links

Official websiteMap showing areas covered by the Survey of London (as of June 2019)The first 47 main sequence volumes and 17 monograph volumes online at British History Online
*{{usurped,

} Architecture of London Architecture books 1894 establishments in England History of the built environment of London