UCL Press to publish the Survey of London series

Posted on 2nd December, 2025

UCL Press is pleased to announce that it will be publishing the Survey of London series in open access, beginning with University College London: The Bloomsbury Campus, which is due to publish in Spring 2026.

Previously published by Yale University Press, the Survey of London is a leading series of architectural and topographical studies of the UK’s capital. Renowned for its meticulous research and richly illustrated volumes, the series documents the ever-evolving built environment of London’s neighbourhoods.

The forthcoming volume focuses on UCL’s Bloomsbury campus, offering a detailed account of its architectural development, historical significance, and role in shaping the university’s identity. It will be the first volume in the series to be published by UCL Press and the first to be made freely available as an open access PDF.

This landmark publication forms part of UCL’s 200-year celebrations, marking two centuries of innovation, impact, and public engagement. Making the Survey of London openly accessible reflects UCL’s ongoing commitment to sharing knowledge and scholarship with the widest possible audience.

Commissioning editor, Dr Chris Penfold said: ‘We are very pleased to welcome the Survey of London series to UCL Press. The series has a long and distinguished history. The combination of new research, detailed building-by-building analysis and extensive illustrative material makes the series an indispensable tool for architectural historians. We look forward to working with the team on forthcoming volumes.’

Colin Thom, Director of the Survey of London, said: ‘The move to UCL Press opens up an exciting new chapter in the Survey of London’s long and distinguished history. The UCL Press open-access model – the first established by a UK university press – is very much in keeping with the Survey’s founding ethos and public-service traditions, and promises a full range of publishing formats that will achieve far wider outreach and impact for us, while maintaining the continuity and posterity of the series. We are also delighted that the first benefit of this new relationship should be a monograph volume shedding new light on 200 years of UCL’s Bloomsbury campus’. 

The book will be available to download for free from the UCL Press website, with print copies also available for purchase.