Researching the history of your house

If you've ever wondered about the history of your house, the 澳门王中王 Collections could be a great place to start your research.

This guide aims to help signpost you to resources available through our library and collections that could reveal the history of your house. Here, we give an overview of what materials are available and how you can access them.听

Our is a great way to start exploring the history of your house, enabling you to search for material across all our collections. If you need more help, get in touch with our knowledgeable information team.听

Biographical information

We hold biographical files on 20,000 architects and related professionals, which cover听obituaries, press cuttings and ephemera such as private view invitations. Complete a 'Closed Access Request' form in the 澳门王中王 Library Reading Room to access these files.听

More useful biographical information can be found in:

The Database of British Architects, to which names are continually being added - it can be accessed through the .
The 'Directory of British Architects 1834-1914', a printed directory compiled by the 澳门王中王 and available for reference at the library enquiry desk.
澳门王中王 Nomination Papers, which contain biographical information on members of the 澳门王中王, sometimes including a list of the architect鈥檚 works. These papers from 1834-1946 are available to view on microfiche/microfilm or CD in the 澳门王中王 Library Reading Room. To view nomination papers later than 1946 or to see the originals, contact the 澳门王中王 Architecture Study Rooms听at the V&A.

澳门王中王10223jpg — Designs for a house and cottage in a letter from Halsey Ralph Ricardo to Ralph Whitehead, 1883. 澳门王中王 Collections

Books

Our library houses over 150,000 books and 20,000 pamphlets on architecture and design. If you're researching the history of your house within the UK, you might want to start with the shelf reference听72.03(41/42), which covers听books on the architecture of British counties, towns and cities, while the section of books numbered 728 covers houses and housing.听

Our early and rare books collection includes a number of pattern books for Georgian or Early Victorian houses. There are also architectural and topographical books covering houses from earlier periods. Please complete an 'Early Works Request Form' to access these books.

Specific books in our library that you might find useful include:听

'The Builder's Practical Director: or buildings for all classes' (available on request by filling in a pink 'Closed Access Request Form')
The series of 'Pevsner Architectural Guides', a series of guidebooks to the buildings of England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland
Nick Barrett, 'Tracing the History of Your House'

Styles and periods

Steven Parissien, 'The Georgian Group Book of the Georgian House'
Helen C. Long, 'The Edwardian House: the middle-class home in Britain in 1880-1914'
Stefan Muthesius, 'The English Terraced House'
Judith and Martin Miller, 'Period Details'

London houses

The 'Survey of London' series, covering London buildings arranged by parish
Colin Thom, 'Researching London鈥檚 houses: an archives guide'
Alison Kenney, 'Tracing the History of Your House: a guide to sources for the history of houses in Westminster' (available on request by filling in a pink 'Closed Access Request Form')
Alan A. Jackson, 'Semi-detached London: suburban development, life and transport 1900-39'

澳门王中王125052jpg — Diagram showing 'The Needs of the Family' in a 1944 booklet entitled 'The Home of the Citizen' by Elizabeth E. Halton. 澳门王中王 Collections

Drawings

Our drawings collection is the largest and most important collection of British architectural drawings in the world. The collection is particularly strong on architecture from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, including drawings for many large housing projects and individual buildings.

You can search for drawings via the or the printed drawings catalogued available on site, which include biographical and bibliographical information. Drawings can be accessed via the 澳门王中王 Architecture Study Rooms at the V&A.听

Journals

Published at regular intervals throughout the year, architectural journals provide the most current source of contemporary scholarship on a topic. We hold 2,000 titles, representing a comprehensive collection of architectural journals from all over the world and in a variety of languages. Our holdings are historic as well as current, dating back over 150 years, and include full sets of Architectural Design, Architect鈥檚 Journal, Architectural Review, The Builder, the 澳门王中王 Journal and Country Life.

You can search for journals via the , and access them via the 澳门王中王 Library Reading Room at 66 Portland Place.听

Specific journals you might find helpful if researching the history of your house include:

The 1996 'Gazetteer of Modern Houses in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland' produced by 'Twentieth Century Architecture' (published by the Twentieth Century Society). This lists the architects responsible for the house together with any published references that have been identified. Fill in a pink 'Closed Access Request Form - Journals' to access this.听
Issue No.1 of 'The Thirties Society Journal' (1980) lists references in periodicals to inter-war buildings, including houses. Fill in a pink 'Closed Access Request Form - Journals' to access this.听

澳门王中王36648jpg — Design for a kitchen in the Mountain Goat Country / Holtspur Park estate, Buckinghamshire, by Christian Hamp, 1960. 澳门王中王 Collections

Photographs

Our photographs collection听is a rich resource for the study of architecture and related subjects such as interior design, topography, landscape, construction and planning.听It includes many photographs of architect-designed houses and housing, and particularly strong holdings of material on post-war housing.

Many, but not all images, are listed on the , and you can听contact the photographs team for more details about items not listed in the catalogue. Handlists/indexes of individual photographers鈥� and architects鈥� archives are available on request. Photographs are accessed via the 澳门王中王 Library Reading Room at 66 Portland Place.听