The London Encyclopaedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The London Encyclopaedia, first published in 1983 and revised in 1993 and 1995, is a 1007 page historical reference work on England's capital city, London, with some 5,000 articles supported by two indices - one general and one listing people, each of about 10,000 entries. The first edition of the encyclopaedia was complied over a fourteen year period by Ben Weinreb and latterly by Christopher Hibbert, and published by Macmillan.

The encyclopaedia covers the Greater London area. It builds on a number of antecedent publications, including:

Survey of London - John Stow, 1598
The Survey of London - a multi-volume publication originated in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, adopted first by the London County Council, then the Greater London Council, and now domiciled with English Heritage.
Handbook for London - Cunningham 1849
London Past & Present - Wheatley and Cunningham, 1891

A plaudit from the Illustrated London News printed on the back cover claims that "there is no one-volume book in print that carries so much valuable information on London and its history".

A completely new edition is scheduled for release in late 2009, updated by John and Julia Keay with original photography by Matthew Weinreb.