The earliest, Graham Greene's novel The Ministry of Fear (1943), inspired a 1944 film adaptation directed by Fritz Lang set in Bloomsbury.

After the First World War the University of London, then based at the Imperial Institute in Kensington was in urgent need of new office and teaching space to allow for its growth and expansion.

[1] Holden's original plan for the university building was for a single structure covering the whole site, stretching almost 1,200 feet (370 m) from Montague Place to Torrington Street.

[8] Due to a lack of funds, the full design was gradually cut back, and only the Senate House and Library were completed in 1937,[1] although the external flanking wings of the north-eastern courtyard were not constructed.

[1][9] The completion of the buildings for the Institute of Education and the School of Oriental Studies followed, but the onset of the Second World War prevented any further progress on the full scheme.

"[10] Evelyn Waugh, in Put Out More Flags (1942), describes it as "the vast bulk of London University insulting the autumnal sky.

"[12] Architectural historian Arnold Whittick described the building as a "static massive pyramid ... obviously designed to last for a thousand years", but thought "the interior is more pleasing than the exterior.

He described its style as "strangely semi-traditional, undecided modernism" and summarised the result: "The design certainly does not possess the vigour and directness of Charles Holden's smaller Underground stations.

[22] In May 2019 receptionists, porters as well post room and audio-visual (AV) equipment workers were made University of London staff, followed by security guards in May 2020.

[25] The library is open to staff and students of all colleges within the university (although levels of access differ between institutions) and contains material relevant chiefly to arts, humanities, and social science subjects.

[27] Along with a subscription to over 5,200 journals, other resources include the Goldsmiths' Library of Economic Literature,[28] and the Palaeography room's collection of western European manuscripts.

[39] Due to its imposing architecture, Senate House is popular with the film and television industries as a shooting location; often for official buildings.

[3] Films that have featured the building include the 1995 version of Richard III (interior of a government building), the 1984 film of Nineteen Eighty-Four (exterior of the apartment building where O'Brien lives), Blue Ice (a hotel), Spy Game (lobby of CIA Headquarters), Batman Begins (lobby of a court), The Dark Knight Rises (a costume ball), Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (a war office), Fast & Furious 6 (Moscow Interpol HQ), Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (Moscow restaurant), No Time to Die (MI6 Reception) and The 355 (a Shanghai casino).