What we do

The London Topographical Society is a registered charity (no 271590) founded in 1880. It concentrates on publishing books and sheet material illustrating the history, growth and topography of London of all periods. For more than a century the Society has remained true to the vision of its founders by making available maps, plans and views, and by publishing research, to assist the study and appreciation of London.

Who we are

The Society has about 1,100 members spread throughout the world. As well as individuals, our membership includes over 100 universities, libraries and other institutions.  All who are interested in the history and topography of London are invited to join.

The website includes information about our events and other sources of information (museums, libraries, bookshops, etc) - see links.

Several of the Society’s publications are of particular interest to genealogists. These include the series of A-Z books, which allow researchers to identify streets, courts and alleys, and sometimes even individual houses. This is particularly useful where ancestors’ addresses have subsequently been swept away or re-named. Other key resources are the two parish boundary maps – one covering the City of London (now out of print but available in Guildhall and other libraries) and another for the much fuller extent of the County of London – and Booth’s poverty map.

The Council meets three times a year.  Council members can be found at Contact us.

History of the Society

Two interesting articles are to be found in our publication "The London Topographical Record":

• Stephen Marks's article "The London Topographical Society: a Brief Account" in the 1980 edition PDF link
• Simon Morris's symposium paper "The Role of a Topographical Society" in the 1995 edition PDF link

Our website

We hope you find it useful - feedback is always welcome.

Website tower images

We have based our ‘vertical pictorial theme’ on some of London’s towers: each section of this website has its own tower as its symbol.  Can you recognize them?  If you need help with some of them or want to have the overall key to this particular theme click here.