Architectural History, in 2015, ceased being a privately published periodical and entered into partnership with Cambridge University Press. The move offers considerable benefits. It enables the journal to be published both in hard copy and electronically (and to be compliant with the requirements of ‘Open Access’), and it also paves the way for a much wider distribution, and a much greater visibility in the scholarly world. At the same time, it is very much the logical continuation of other changes seen in the journal over recent years. These include such initiatives as the introduction of double-blind peer reviewing (2002), the making available of back issues via JSTOR (2006) and the establishment of an International Advisory Board (2012), as well as an increasing diversity not only of subjects and approaches but also of contributing authors, many of whom are based oversees.

Much of the journal's established and distinctive character has been retained. The layout and typeface, for example, are largely as before, as is the design of the cover, and we will continue to give prominence to the publication of substantial scholarly articles, in accordance with the journal's mission statement to promote ‘significant original and interpretive research on buildings, the built environment, the history of architectural theory, and architectural historiography, in all places and periods’.

We have decided, however, to begin making a number of changes to the contents, and in this respect we are rather returning to the vision for the journal envisaged at its inception in 1958, which was to offer a considerable diversity of published material, but with a certain flexibility as regards publication type and overall format. From this moment onwards, therefore, we are including book reviews, which are thus moved from their previous home in the Society's biennial magazine the Architectural Historian (formerly the Newsletter) and are returned to the journal, where they were first included in 1961. Our aim, too, in this regard is to place a greater emphasis on the reviewing of architectural publications at a time when, elsewhere, this has been increasingly eroded, and to highlight reviews as providing a crucial vehicle for academic discourse. Further changes are envisaged for future issues, such as including a number of articles of shorter length, as well as notices announcing important new discoveries or initiatives. By these means, therefore, we hope not only to build upon the Society's original intentions for the journal, which were ‘to advance the study of architectural history upon a wide front’ (as stated in the editorial of 1959), but also to cater more fully to our diverse readerships, and to widen its appeal and strengthen its scholarly contribution to ever-evolving discussions and debates.

Finally, whether you are a seasoned reader of the journal or a newcomer to it, we all hope very much that you enjoy what you find here!