Topography Collection Guide

The Topography section of the Library is located on Level 1 of the Back Stacks.  Included in the collections are a great number of travellers’ impressions of different regions throughout the world, dating from the 16th century onwards, with a separate section on travellers’ impressions of England (T. Foreign Impressions of England).

While purely historical books are generally shelved in the History stacks (Levels 2, 3 and 4), books on local history are included in the Topography section.  Books on English local history, for example, are shelved in the T. England section, which is sub-divided in alphabetical order by place (eg T. England, Bath or T. England, Worcestershire); there are also more general sub-divisions, such as T. England, Roads.  T. England (Gen.), which comes at the beginning of the T. England sequence, covers the topography of England as a whole.  Books on London, however, have their own section: T. London (i.e. not included with T. England, but located independently in its alphabetical position under ‘L’). There is a set of Pevsner’s architectural guides shelved in the various county shelfmarks as well as another set for reference only in the Stoppard Room.

The Topography section includes books in all major European languages. 

Founded in 1841, the Library’s collection has grown each year and we hold titles from the late 18th century onwards on the open shelves.  As a result, our collection reflects the evolution and changes in thinking in a particular subject and does mean that you may come across titles which contain ideas and vocabulary that would be considered abhorrent today. The collection continues to grow with some 5,000 new titles being added each year. As we develop the collection, we seek to ensure that the controversial topics of today are represented from all sides of a debate.