Help with undergraduate and postgraduate research

It may help you to know that we do not:

• cover Scotland or Northern Ireland
• deal with buildings built before c. 1837 or after c. 1914
• keep lists of buildings by type (e.g. all corn exchanges in Britain)
• keep files on any building that has not been the subject of a listed building consent application
• list buildings (although we sometimes recommend buildings for listing)
• keep files on conservation areas
• designate conservation areas (although we sometimes support proposals to designate them)
• have a library that can be consulted by the public
• advise on Victorian life and social history in general
• give grants for research, study or building conservation
• buy, develop, renovate or have control over any buildings apart from our own headquarters
• keep lists of recommended tradespeople
• recommend particular products or services
• keep lists of properties for sale
• complete questionnaires (we feel that in most cases to answer them would give a misleading impression of our work and policies).

On the other hand, if you can target your question precisely at us, we are much more likely to be able to help you. We do:

• keep files on current listed building consent applications that we are commenting on
• keep some files on past listed building consent applications that we have commented on
• produce reports on matters affecting conservation and architectural history
• produce regular newsletters and an annual report.

• produce various publications

To be able to help you, we need something precise to go on: the name of an architect, the address and the date of the building, or a request for a comment on a specific aspect of a particular case.

Can I study your case files?
Yes. To make an appointment, please write to or email us stating the name and address of the building in which you are interested, the grade at which it is listed, the name of the relevant local authority and if possible the date of the listed building consent application. We can then tell you what, if any information we have got. We cannot undertake to photocopy files. If you are using the post, please send a large SAE for our reply.

Charles Mynors, Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments, 4th edn., Sweet & Maxwell, 1999.

Roy Speer and Michael Dade, How to Stop and Influence Planning Permission, Stonepound Books, new edition 2002.

Roy Speer and Michael Dade, How to Stop and Influence Planning Permission, Stonepound Books, 1998.

Local libraries and local authority planning departments keep copies of the statutory List of Buildings of Architectural or Historic Interest, which you can consult to discover whether a building is listed.

Local planning authorities also keep maps showing the boundaries of local conservation areas. They may also have information for residents of conservation areas, or design guides to show how to repair and maintain houses in conservation areas.

Specialist art and architecture collections include:

• Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2 ORN. Tel: 44 (0)207 7848 2701. Fax: 44 (0)20 7848 2887. Email: booklib@courtauld.ac.uk.
• National Art Library, Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London SW7. Tel: 44 (0)20 7942 4400.
• National Monuments Record Centre, Great Western Village, Kemble Drive, Swindon SN2 2GZ. Tel: 44 (0)1793 41460. Fax: 01793 414606.

• Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Library, 66 Portland Place, London W1B 1AD. Tel: 44 (0)20 7580 5533. Public Information Line 0906 302 0400 (information line calls charged at £0.50 per minute and cost the same wherever you are calling from in the UK. These lines cannot be accessed from outside the UK.) Fax: 44 (0)20 7631 1802. Email: bal@inst.riba.org.