THE CONWAY LIBRARY

Introduction to Part 2 - Architecture (B)

The material in this microfiche is drawn from several sections of the Conway Library and is arranged in a variety of ways.

1. Non-British architecture is filed by period eg to 1800, 19th and 20th century, then by country, alphabetically by place and sometimes further divided into ecclesiastical and secular, if justified by quantity of material.

2. Islamic architecture is filed by country and place. Christian buildings from these areas are included in Byzantine monuments in Part 5.

3. British architecture

The Conway Library uses the pre-1974 County boundaries (pre-1965 for London), following Pevsner’s Buildings of England series (except recent London editions), Huntington and the Soke of Peterborough are filed as one county and Bristol, including St. Mary Redcliffe, is filed under Gloucestershire, Ecclesiastical buildings are filed according to their status in 1542 eg St. Albans, now a cathedral, is filed under abbeys and priories; St. Augustine’s, Bristol is filed as a cathedral.

1. Medieval Britain to 1530 is divided into England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and filed as follows:
    1. Cathedrals filed alphabetically
    2. Abbeys and priories filed alphabetically
    3. Medieval ecclesiastical miscellaneous filed alphabetically by county and then by place

2. Secular:
    1. Medieval secular miscellaneous is filed alphabetically. It should be noted that this section includes 

    palaces and hospitals which are often best known for their chapels eg. The hospital and chapel of St. 

    Cross, Winchester.
    2. Castles filed alphabetically

2. Britain 1530-1830 is divided into England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and then into ecclesiastical and secular, each of which is arranged in a single alphabetical sequence. As a general rule, a building in a village or town is filed under the name of the place, but a building in open country under its own name. As with earlier and later architecture, the London boundary is the County of London 1888-1965.

3. Britain 1830-1900 is divided into England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Within each area there are ecclesiastical and secular sections, arranged alphabetically by place. In larger locations, such as London and Oxford, a section of prominent named buildings precedes buildings only known by their address.

4. Britain 20th century is divided into England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland with ecclesiastical and secular sections for England and Wales only. Under London, all the material is arranged alphabetically, either by name of building or address, whichever seems more appropriate.

We have followed the arrangement of the photographs used by the Conway Library eg Photographs of exterior of building then details of exterior, interior followed by details of interior. However, this system has not always been used. Similarly, the order of interior photographs does vary especially if there is a published guide which has been followed.

In a few cases eg Morocco, no date or period information is listed on the mount. The 2 or 3 alphabetical sequences are the divisions for pre-1800, 19th and 20th century architecture.

<back