Special Collections
UCL Library Services, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT

020 7679 7827
E-mail: spec.coll@ucl.ac.uk
Web: www.ucl.ac.uk/library/special-collections
What are Special Collections?
Many of UCL Library’s printed holdings are too old, rare or fragile to be kept on the open shelves. Along with
manuscript material (some dating back to the 12th Century), archives, and personal papers, these holdings
make up the Special Collections, and require special management, study facilities, storage and handling if they
are to be available for future generations, as well as being accessible today. For general information see
www.ucl.ac.uk/library/special-collections
Where are they located?
The majority of Special Collections holdings are currently stored at The National Archives, Kew, awaiting the
completion of improved facilities on UCL’s Bloomsbury site some time in the next two to three years. The new
campus facilities will allow UCL staff, students and visitors much better access to our collections, with
increased possibilities for embedding them in taught course programmes and making greater use of them for
research and public outreach.
Readers can access UCL Special Collections materials at The National Archives in a dedicated reading room,
subject to a few important conditions.
Important information concerning access
1. Special Collections reader spaces at The National Archives are limited; therefore it is essential to
arrange your appointment at least two weeks prior to the date of your proposed visit to ensure that
both a space and the requested materials are available.
2. If you are not already registered as a Special Collections reader, you will be required to complete an
application form for access to manuscripts and archives. You will be given an accreditation letter
confirming your visit and item(s) reserved which you will need to take to The National Archives on the
date of your appointment.
3. As well as the accreditation letter, you will need to take with you photographic identification (your UCL
ID if you are a member, a current UK Driving Licence or, if you are an overseas visitor, a valid
passport).
Failure to keep your appointment will result in a cancellation of your order for the requested item(s) and you
will be required to make an alternative appointment. It is also important to ensure that all the correct items
have been requested prior to your visit as any additional requests cannot be dealt with on the day of your visit
– again, you will need to make an appointment for a later date.
The UCL Reading Room at The National Archives
You must abide by the general rules of admission at TNA, especially pertaining to conduct in the Reading
Room. You will be asked to sign a request slip for all items consulted. The National Archives staff will limit the
amount of material consulted at any one time. Special care and handling is needed when using the materials
– a guide is available in the Reading Room which all visitors are asked to read carefully.
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/visit/whattobring.htm
Permissions and reproduction services
Digital copies of UCL materials can be ordered through the Special Collections Team. Conservation and
copyright considerations will be taken into account before granting such requests. Digital cameras can be used
in the Reading Room on the available copy stand, provided that there are no restrictions in place.
www.ucl.ac.uk/library/special-collections/photo-repro-requests
Opening Hours
The Reading Room at The National Archives is open from Tuesday to Friday from 0900 to 1700. The Special
Collections Team based at the Science Library can be contacted Monday to Friday from 0930 to 1700, all year
round, except on public holidays and during UCL closures over the Christmas and Easter periods.
How to identify UCL Special Collections materials
Current information about the collections comes in a variety of formats - it is important to note that not
everything can be found in UCL’s Library Catalogue via Explore: www.ucl.ac.uk/library/explore
1. Generally, books dated before 1850 are housed in Special Collections. Particularly rare material is prefixed by the letter “R” e.g. R 150 A 6 GRE
2. Material not in the Catalogue can be found in two ways:


Named collections are listed in the alphabetical directory at
www.ucl.ac.uk/library/special-collections/a-z.
You can search for individual manuscript and archive collections in the Archives database at
http://archives.ucl.ac.uk.
3. Digital images of many items from the collections are available at
http://digitool-b.lib.ucl.ac.uk
How to view items from Special Collections
None of the material in Special Collections is borrowable so readers must make an appointment to view it.
Contact the Special Collections Team by phone, e-mail, or by post, quoting the collection name, reference
number or shelf-mark. Anyone who has a genuine need to consult the collections can do so.
Enquiries, orders, appointments, further advice and information
If you have any comments, queries or problems concerning Special Collections please contact a member of
the team -  020 7679 7827 (internal ext. 37827), fax them to - 020 7679 2935 or send them to
spec.coll@ucl.ac.uk
Head of Special Collections and Archivist: Gill Furlong
g.furlong@ucl.ac.uk
Tel.:
020 7679 2619
Reader Services Supervisor: Steven Wright
steven.wright@ucl.ac.uk
Tel.:
020 7679 2786
Rare-Books Librarian – Promotion and Outreach: Tabitha Tuckett
t.tuckett@ucl.ac.uk
Tel:
020 7679 2827
How to get to The National Archives
Special Collections is temporarily located at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU.
Transport links
Rail/ Underground:
The nearest Tube station is Kew Gardens (zone 3) on the District Line, Richmond branch. The journey
from central London takes around 40 minutes. The National Archives is 600 metres (a 10-minute walk)
from Kew Gardens station.
Kew Gardens station is also served by the London Overground from Stratford in East London, passing
through Highbury and Islington, Gospel Oak, West Hampstead and Willesden Junction. The station is a
short walk from The National Archives. See London Overground timetables.
Other convenient railway stations for The National Archives are Richmond and Kew Bridge, both on the
mainline into London Waterloo via Clapham Junction. Kew Bridge station is approximately a 20-minute
walk from The National Archives, while Richmond station is one Tube stop away (or a 10-minute bus ride
on bus R68).
Bus
The R68 bus route (from Hampton Court via Richmond)
terminates by the entrance to The National Archives.
Other routes stopping nearby include:
65 (Ealing to Kingston via Richmond), alight at Kew
Road near Victoria Gate (15 minute walk)
237 (Shepherd's Bush to Hounslow Heath via
Chiswick), alight at Kew Bridge (20 minute walk)
267 (Hammersmith to Fulwell via Brentford), alight at
Kew Bridge (20 minute walk)
391 (Fulham to Richmond via Hammersmith), alight at
Sandycombe Road near Kew Gardens station (10
minute walk)
Directions from UCL
Warren Street / Euston Underground Station to Victoria, then take the District Line towards Richmond and
alight at Kew Gardens Underground Station
London Euston Overgound station to Willesden Junction, then take the District Line towards Richmond and
alight at Kew Gardens.
For more on planning your journey visit the Transport for London website: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/
Select List of Manuscripts and Archives Collections
Bank of London & South America Archives
Barlow Papers
Bayliss Papers
Beesly Papers
Arnold Bennett Papers
Bentham Manuscripts
Bowring Albums
John Bright Letters
Brougham Papers
Burdon-Sanderson Papers
Carswell Drawings
Chadwick Papers
Chadwick Trust Archives
Chambers Collection
College Archives
Alex Comfort Papers
Creevey Papers
Darbishire Notebooks
de Beer Papers
De Morgan Papers
Donnan Papers
Sir Ambrose Fleming Papers
Folklore Society Archives
Hugh Gaitskell Papers
Sir Francis Galton Papers
Gaster Papers
Goldsmid Letterbooks
Greenough Papers
Grote Papers
Hacker Papers
Haldane Papers
Alex Helm Papers
Hone Letterbooks
Horsley Papers
Hospital Archives
Huguenot Society Archives
Frederick Huth & Company Archives
Daniel Jones Papers
W.P.Ker Papers
Latin American Archives
Lord Lester Collection
H.K.Lewis & Co. Archives
Lidderdale Papers
Sir Oliver Lodge Papers
Dame Kathleen Lonsdale Papers
Medieval Manuscripts
Montefiore Family Papers
Margaret Murray Collection
C.K. Ogden Papers
George Orwell Archive
Paget Papers
Parkes Papers
Egon Sharpe Pearson Papers
Karl Pearson Papers
L.S.Penrose Papers
Peruvian Corporation Archives
Phillipps Manuscripts
Max Plowman Papers
Sir William Ramsay Papers
River & Mercantile Trust Archives
Dante Gabriel Rossetti Letters
Routledge & Kegan Paul Archives
Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Archives
Lord Odo Russell Collection
Sainte-Palaye Manuscripts
Sharpe Family Papers
Sharpey Papers
Sir Arthur Smith Woodward Papers
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
Archives
Whitley Stokes Collection
Julia Strachey Papers
Tewkesbury Vicars Collection
Thane Papers
William Townsend Papers
Sir Francis Walshe Papers
Humphrey Ward Family Papers
D.M.S.Watson Papers
Harriet Weaver Papers
Mortimer Wheeler Papers
Lucien Wolf Papers
J.Z.Young Papers
Select List of Rare Books and Special Printed Collections
Alternative Presses
Art Glass Case Collection
Bentham Collection
Castiglione Collection
College Collection
Dante Collection
Euclid Collection
Flaxman Collection
Folklore Society Collection
Franciscan Society Collection
Galton Collection
Graves Library
History B Collection
History of Science Sources
Housman (Laurence) Collection
Huguenot Society Library
Hume Tracts
Incunabula
Jewish Collections
Johnston Lavis Collection
James Joyce Collection
Lansdowne Tracts
Little Magazines
London History Collection
Malacological Society Collection
CK Ogden Library
Orwell Collection
Piranesi Collection
Poetry Store X
Rare Arts Periodicals
Rare Science Periodicals
Sir John Rotton Library
Smith Woodward Collection
Whitley Stokes Collection
Strong Room Rare Books Collection
Underground Presses
Apr 2014