Material Available at the NMR

The following materials may be consulted in the NMR's Swindon offices: they are not available on-line.  Unless otherwise stated, it is advisable to order this material in advance of your visit.

Listed Building descriptions
A complete set of Listed Building descriptions ('greenbacks') for England may be consulted.  They are on open access.

Public access ('Red Box') collections
500,000 photographs of buildings, ranging in date from the 1870s to the 1980s and deriving from various sources.  This open access collection is especially strong on ecclesiastical buildings and country houses.

Aerial Photo Collection
680,000 oblique aerial photographs of locations throughout England are available on open access in Swindon.  2,000,000 vertical aerial photographs covering the whole of England, including near-complete coverage taken by the RAF in 1946-8, may be consulted.

Aerofilms Collection
English Heritage, in partnership with the Royal Commissions on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and Wales, has acquired the Aerofilms Collection of historical air photographs from Blom ASA.  The purchase was made possible by generous financial support from English Heritage's donors and supporters, the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Friends of National Libraries.

Buildings Files
Information on over 70,000 individual buildings, comprising a combination of photographs, drawings, notes and reports deriving principally from RCHME and EH fieldwork.

Measured Drawings Collection
56,000 architectural drawings, including plans, elevations, sketches and watercolours, deriving from the RCHME and other sources.

Estate Sales Particulars Collection
Brochures relating to the sales of land and property, usually by auction, documenting great changes in land ownership in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  1,500 brochures refer to 27,800 monuments across England

Jackson Stops
Over 3,200 sales particulars published by Jackson Stops and Staff and associated firms and other independent auctioneers and estate agents, covering the whole of England.

Survey notes
The original research material (notes, sketches and photographs) for RCHME inventory volumes and for the Survey of London.

For more information about any of these collections contact the NMR Enquiry & Research Services on 01793 414600.

The NMR Library
The Library at the NMRC comprises over 50,000 volumes, including extensive reference collections on archaeology and architecture, together with smaller sections on related topics such as maritime studies, industrial archaeology, archive preservation and management, aerial photography and place-names studies.  The NMR has 200 current subscriptions to journals and acquires round 1000 new monographs each year.  It is available to visitors as an open access reference collection.

For further information contact the NMR Enquiry & Research Services on 01793 414600.