Greater London Sites and Monuments Record
English Heritage, 1999.
Data copyright © English Heritage unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Primary contact
Stuart
Cakebread
Sites and Monuments Record Officer
English Heritage
1 Waterhouse Square
138-142 Holborn
London
EC1N 2ST
UK
Tel: 020 7973 3000
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 272
The Greater London Sites and Monuments Record (GLSMR) is a computerised record of information relating to historic buildings and archaeological sites in the Greater London area. The GLSMR was started in 1984 by the Greater London Council, and is now funded and managed by English Heritage. The compilation of the Record was carried out in co-operation with the Museum of London, the Passmore Edwards Museum and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. The initial phase of compilation was completed in March 1992 and the task of updating and adding listed buildings and archaeological discoveries continues.
The on-line version of the GLSMR presents a subset of the data held in the SMR. The following are referenced
- GLSMR resource identifier (also quote when making an enquiry)
- Name of the resource
- A very brief description
- A Period descriptor such as Roman
- A OS grid reference to 100 metres
- Place - usually a street name
- Unitary Authority - the borough within which the resource is located
- The subject of the resource
- Site Code (in some cases) which relates to archaeological activity
English Heritage have provided a description of the GLSMR, guidelines for use and disclaimer which should be read by those wishing to follow up queries resulting from searching the on-line version of the SMR.
Description of the GLSMR
The GLSMR is designed to contain records for all statutorily listed buildings, all known archaeological sites and stray finds, and parks and gardens of special historic interest in Greater London. Each item on the record contains a range of information including location (address and national grid reference), the date and original function of the building/object, any statutory protection that it may enjoy and references to other sources of information. It also includes further information such as building materials, architects, archaeological excavations and the location of finds, where relevant. Information may be retrieved from the SMR in a number of ways, searching on criteria including building type, architect, date, address, grid reference, materials, conservation area, or any combination of these either across London or by borough.
The GLSMR is an important tool for the management and presentation of the historic landscape. It is a primary source of information for a variety of planning functions. These include providing archaeological planning advice to local authorities, assessing the environmental impact of large-scale civil engineering projects, supporting casework and answering a range of enquiries relating to listed buildings, and providing developers with an early indication of potential archaeological/historic building constraints on development proposals. It is also a useful source of basic information for academic research.
The GLSMR does not simply contain a computerised version of the Statutory Lists of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, as the need was identified early on for each building to be recorded separately. For example, a terrace of eight houses would have nine GLSMR records - one for the terrace and eight for the individual houses - whereas there may be only one list entry covering the whole terrace. The information held on the GLSMR is based on the DoE Statutory Lists, but may sometimes contain additional information obtained from other sources. The information held for the English Heritage Buildings at Risk in Greater London survey is also held on the GLSMR.
Enquiries are generally answered free of charge but we do reserve the right to levy a fee to cover the costs of answering an enquiry if the information is required for commercial purposes. All queries and requests for information from the Greater London Sites and Monuments Record should be sent to:
The Greater London Sites and Monuments Record
English Heritage
1 Waterhouse Square
138 - 142 Holborn
London
EC1 2ST
Email: smr@english-heritage.org.uk
Tel: 020 7973 3779/3731
Fax: 020 7973 3792
Guidelines for users
The Greater London Sites and Monuments Record (GLSMR) is a record of elements of London's historic and archaeological environment. It consists of information about Greater London's listed buildings and archaeological sites recorded on both a computer database and a collection of maps. It is managed and funded by English Heritage. The compilation of the Record was carried out in co-operation with the Museum of London, the Passmore Edwards Museum and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.
The following guidelines and disclaimer govern the use of the SMR and all users must agree to abide by them.
- All enquiries to the GLSMR must be accompanied by certain information that enables us to monitor usage of the Record. This information may be given verbally, but certain requests may require users to fill in an SMR Enquiry form which will be sent to you once the initial enquiry has been made. The GLSMR reserves the right to withhold the requested information until the necessary form has been completed and returned to the SMR officer dealing with the enquiry.
- The GLSMR must be given full details of the reason for the enquiry and the end user of the information. We do, however, recognise the fact that some requests may be of a confidential nature and will treat them as such. However, a clear attempt to mislead the GLSMR will result in future enquiries being turned down.
- Users are required not to use or pass on GLSMR information in an irresponsible or unethical manner.
- The GLSMR also reserves the right to withhold information or refuse access to the SMR at our discretion, particularly if it is felt that access to the information may be damaging to the historic and archaeological environment.
- The GLSMR reserves the right to levy a charge, at our discretion, in respect of expenses incurred in answering an enquiry. Details of our current charging rates and policy can be supplied on request and may be changed without prior notice.
- It would be appreciated if users were to advise the SMR of any apparent inaccuracies in the Record and of any relevant information not yet on the GLSMR, either already known or discovered in the course of current work.
- The Greater London Sites and Monuments Record must be acknowledged as a source of information in any publication or report which is produced following this request.
- Any SMR maps which are supplied as part of this request are covered by Ordnance Survey copyright. This must be respected by all users. The maps must not be reproduced in any format whatsoever. To do so will result in a breach of Crown Copyright.
Disclaimer
The Greater London Sites and Monuments Record is happy to provide this information to be used only for the purpose as stated on the SMR enquiry form. Both archaeological research and the statutory listing of buildings are continual processes and, as such, this information should not be taken as a definitive statement of coverage for this area. This information should therefore not be retained or used for any other purpose or subsequent enquiries without the prior written consent of the Greater London Sites and Monuments Record. To do so may lead to future enquiries being turned down.
The absence of data in certain areas should not be taken as an absence of archaeological features, it may be that they have yet to be discovered. Although in general, the only buildings recorded by the GLSMR are those which are statutorily listed or scheduled, there are a number of locally listed or unlisted buildings which have been included where they relate specifically to a listed building or archaeological site. There may be other locally listed or unlisted buildings of historic or architectural interest in the area which are not included on the Record.
Whilst the GLSMR does include information from statutory documents as part of its record, the only authoritative sources for obtaining full information on the statutory protection enjoyed by a site or building are the Schedule of Ancient Monuments, the statutory Lists of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest and the Local Authority Conservation Area maps.
Every effort is taken to ensure the accuracy of the information on the Record. However, the SMR can only be as accurate as the sources used in its compilation. Therefore, the Greater London Sites and Monuments Record cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in the data.
