capitals
"I am a poet: I distrust anything that starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop" (Antjie Krog)
Times have changed since the days of medieval manuscripts with elaborate hand-illuminated capital letters, or Victorian documents in which not just proper names, but virtually all nouns, were given initial caps (a Tradition valiantly maintained to this day by Estate Agents).
A look through newspaper archives would show greater use of capitals the further back you went. The tendency towards lowercase, which in part reflects a less formal, less deferential society, has been accelerated by the explosion of the internet: some web companies, and many email users, have dispensed with capitals altogether.
Our style reflects these developments. We aim for coherence and consistency, but not at the expense of clarity. As with any aspect of style, it is impossible to be wholly consistent – there are almost always exceptions, so if you are unsure check for an individual entry in this guide. But here are the main principles:
jobs all lc, eg prime minister, US secretary of state, chief rabbi, editor of the Guardian.
titles cap up titles, but not job description, eg President Barack Obama (but the US president, Barack Obama, and Obama on subsequent mention); the Duke of Westminster (the duke at second mention); Pope Benedict XVI but the pope.
British government departments of state initial caps, eg Home Office, Foreign Office, Ministry of Justice.
See departments of state for a full list
other countries' departments of state lc, eg US state department, Russian foreign ministry.
government agencies, public bodies, quangos initial caps, eg Crown Prosecution Service, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Heritage Lottery Fund, Revenue & Customs.
acts of parliament initial caps (but bills lc), eg Official Secrets Act, Child Poverty Act 2010, local government bill.
parliamentary committees, reports and inquiries all lc, eg trade and industry select committee, royal commission on long-term care for the elderly, Jenkins report.
artistic and cultural names of institutions, etc, get initial caps, eg British Museum, National Gallery, Royal Albert Hall, Tate Modern. Books, films, music, works of art, etc have initial caps except a, an, and, at, for, from, in, of, the, to (except in initial positions or after a colon), eg There is a Light That Never Goes Out.
churches, hospitals and schools cap up the proper or placename, lc the rest, eg St Peter's church, Pembury, Great Ormond Street children's hospital, Ripon grammar school, Vernon county primary school.
universities and colleges of further and higher education caps for institution, lc for departments, eg Sheffield University department of medieval and modern history, Oregon State University, Free University of Berlin, University of Queensland school of journalism, London College of Communication.
airports cap the name but lc the generic part (if necessary at all), eg Heathrow, Gatwick (no need for "airport"), Liverpool John Lennon airport.
geographical features lc, eg river Thames, Sydney harbour, Monterey peninsula, Bondi beach, Solsbury hill (but Mount Everest).
words and phrases based on proper names that have lost connection with their origins (alsatian dog, cardigan, cheddar cheese, french windows, swiss roll, wellington boots, yorkshire pudding and many others) are lc.
Those that retain a strong link, which may be legally recognised, include Cornish pasty, Melton Mowbray pork pies, Parma ham and Worcestershire sauce, and take initial cap.
Although champagne and scotch are legally required to come from Champagne and Scotland, they are almost universally regarded as lc
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