A calendar of prisoners is a list of persons awaiting trial, often including a physical description, age and place of birth. The calendar may also provide information about the nature of the crime and the charges, list the names of the aggrieved persons, witnesses and the Justices who heard the case. Sometimes the outcome of the trial is also given. The Calendars were compiled by officers at the prison and submitted to the Clerk of the Peace.
The Reverend James Cowe, MA, was vicar and rural dean at Sunbury Parish. He attended King's College Aberdeen.
This journal is the 83rd copy of a limited run of 90 copies of the Reverend Cowe's meteorological journal which was published in 1889. The Revd Cowe's daily readings (taken at 8 am) are of the following: temperature, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, barometer, wind direction, rain gauge (from 1 Aug 1796 onwards), brief description of the weather.
A deed is any document affecting title, that is, proof of ownership, of the land in question. The land may or may not have buildings upon it. Common types of deed include conveyances, mortgages, bonds, grants of easements, wills and administrations.
Conveyances are transfers of land from one party to another, usually for money. Early forms of conveyance include feoffments, surrenders and admissions at manor courts (if the property was copyhold), final concords, common recoveries, bargains and sales and leases and releases.
An assignment of term, or assignment to attend the inheritance, was an assignment of the remaining term of years in a mortgage to a trustee after the mortgage itself has been redeemed. An assignment of a lease is the transfer of the rights laid out in the lease to another party, usually for a consideration (a sum of money).
Probate (also called proving a will) is the process of establishing the validity of a will, which was recorded in the grant of probate. If a person died intestate (without a valid will) their money, goods and possessions passed to their next of kin through an administration (or letters of administration) which had the same form in law as a will.
Abstract of title is a summary of prior ownership of a property, drawn up by solicitors. Such an abstract may go back several hundred years or just a few months, and was usually drawn up just prior to a sale.
A covenant or deed of covenant was an agreement entered into by one of the parties to a deed to another. A covenant for production of title deeds was an agreement to produce deeds not being handed over to a purchaser, while a covenant to surrender was an agreement to surrender copyhold land.
From the British Records Association "Guidelines 3 - Interpreting Deeds: How To Interpret Deeds - A Simple Guide And Glossary".
The London Labour Party was founded in 1915 and continued as the co-ordinating body of Labour activity in London until 1965 when the London County Council (LCC) and the Middlesex County Council (MCC) were replaced by the Greater London Council (GLC). The party was reconstituted as the Greater London Labour Party covering the whole of the GLC area.
The history of the London Labour Party is inextricably linked with the political activity of Herbert Morrison. He was secretary of the London Labour Party, 1915-1925, and he was chairman and leader of the LCC Labour Party from 1925 to 1940 when he was appointed home secretary and minister for home security in the wartime coalition government. Under his leadership, the LCC Labour Party held power on the LCC for 25 years from 1924-1950. During this period there was great activity in improving education, housing and other public services.
Many different groups were affiliated to the London Labour Party including local constituency parties, the LCC and MCC labour parties, trade unions, young socialists and the Cooperative Movement. Such a body of support allowed the party to undertake a publication programme, organise conferences and training courses, and direct campaigns on issues like housing and rents.
LEE CONSERVANCY BOARD: The Lee Conservancy Board was set up under the Lee Conservancy Act 1868 (31 and 32 Vic. c.154) to replace the Trustees of the Lea Navigation. Its powers came into effect from April 1869 and it was responsible for 50 miles of navigable waterways which included the Lea Navigation and, from 1911, the River Stort Navigation. Its duty was to control the whole of each river to ensure freedom from pollution, whilst sums were payable to the Board for the abstraction and protection of water. Under the Transport Act 1947 (c.49) the Lee Conservancy Board became the Lea District of the British Transport Commission. With the exception of water protection activities, functions formerly carried out by the Board were taken over by the Commission, but this body was then dissolved by the Transport Act 1962 (c.46) and its functions were divided between four boards, one of which was the British Waterways Board.
LEE CONSERVANCY CATCHMENT BOARD: The Lee Conservancy Catchment Board was established under the Land Drainage Act 1930 and was a body distinct and separate from the Lee Conservancy Board. The first members of the Lee Conservancy Catchment Board were the members of the Lee Conservancy Board, together with six additional members. It was responsible for functions of the Lee Conservancy Board relating to water supply, fisheries, pollution and drainage. The Lee Conservancy Catchment Board was abolished under the Water Act 1973 (c.37) and its functions were transferred to the Thames Water Authority.
A deed is any document affecting title, that is, proof of ownership, of the land in question. The land may or may not have buildings upon it. Common types of deed include conveyances, mortgages, bonds, grants of easements, wills and administrations.
Conveyances are transfers of land from one party to another, usually for money. Early forms of conveyance include feoffments, surrenders and admissions at manor courts (if the property was copyhold), final concords, common recoveries, bargains and sales and leases and releases.
From the British Records Association "Guidelines 3 - Interpreting Deeds: How To Interpret Deeds - A Simple Guide And Glossary".
Wheatsheaf Lane runs from Laleham Road to a cul-de-sac beside the River Thames.
A draper was originally someone who made woollen cloth. The word came to mean any dealer in cloth and textiles. A fancy draper dealt particularly in fine textiles.
According to the Kelly's Directory for Acton, an Albert Putnam, butcher, worked at 86A Church Street, Acton, W3.
Associated Metropolitan Water Companies was a forum for the chairman of the various water companies (and occasionally other members and officers) to meet together. Meetings held at New River Company Offices (1879) and 5 Victoria Street, Westminster (1880 - 1885).
The Kent Water Works Company was incorporated in 1809 to supply Deptford, Lee, Greenwich, Lewisham and Rotherhithe with water from the River Ravensbourne. In order to get the Kent Water Works Bill through Parliament, its promoters were compelled to purchase the Ravensbourne Water Works at Deptford (established in 1701) from the descendants of John Smeaton who had acquired this undertaking in 1772.
When the Kent company took over, the water works included a water wheel and pumps installed by Smeaton. The area supplied included the town of Woolwich, the Royal Ordnance and Artillery Barracks, the Royal Arsenal, H.M. Dockyards, and the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. The company erected a small rotative beam engine by Boulton and Watt on the west bank of the Ravensbourne, near the water wheel in 1810, and a second engine in 1826. Mains extended to the dock area at Woolwich, the company having acquired the water supply powers of the Woolwich Town Commissioners in 1812. Slow sand bed filtration was introduced at the Deptford works in 1845.
Increasing demand for water and the deterioration in its quality induced the directors of the company to seek a new source of supply in the 1850s. The company engineer advised the sinking of a well at the Deptford works which proved successful. In 1861 the company's area was for the first time entirely supplied from wells, then situated at Deptford and Charlton, and the supply from the River Ravensbourne was abandoned. The well water which was of a high degree of purity could be delivered to the consumers without filtration.
In 1864 the North Kent Water Company was amalgamated with the Kent Water Works Company by Act of Parliament. It had been incorporated in 1860 to serve a large area comprising Dartford, Crayford, Bexley, Erith, Eltham and Chislehurst, but had received insufficient financial support. Over the next twenty years acquired the water supply powers of the Dartford Local Board of Health, and the sanitary authorities of Bromley, Dartford and Sevenoaks, increasing the Kent company's statutory area of supply to some 170 square miles.
The company's most important well stations at the end of the century were situated at Shortlands (1866), Crayford (1867), Orpington (1880), Wilmington (1888), Southfleet (1899) and Deptford.
As a result of the Metropolis Water Act 1902, the Metropolitan Water Board took over the functions of the Kent Water Works Company in 1904.
The Staines Reservoir Bill of 1896 was promoted by the New River Company, the Grand Junction Water Company and the West Middlesex Water Company. The main object of the Bill was to construct large storage reservoirs at Staines with aqueducts to connect the reservoirs to the pipes of the companies. The water was to be drawn from the Thames. The Bill met considerable opposition, mostly from the London County Council, Middlesex County Council and local landowners; but was passed with amendments and construction began. The two reservoirs were completed in 1902, with a capacity of 3,338,000,000 gallons.
By the 1930s the Metropolitan Water Board (now the owner of the reservoirs) was concerned that improvements in the standard of housing and the further expansion of London would lead to water shortages. A third reservoir was begun in 1937 to the west of the original reservoirs. It was completed in 1947, with a capacity of 4,466,000,000 gallons. The reservoirs were used for equipment testing during the Second World War and are now important bird sanctuaries.
In 1974 the Thames Water Authority was given full control of the river's waters, with authority over three other bodies: the Metropolitan Water Board, the Thames Conservancy and the Port of London Authority. Responsiblities included land drainage, flood defence, regulation of water resources, care for river and groundwater quality, supervision of fisheries, navigation, conservation and recreation.
The London County Council (1888-1965) appointed a Chief Engineer and County Surveyor who was responsible for overseeing construction and maintenance of LCC buildings, bridges, roads and tunnels. He was also responsible for flood prevention measures, drainage and sewerage and other matters of public health.
The Greater London Council (1965-1986) had overall responsibility at a strategic level for local government in the Greater London area. The Council was responsible for a number of services which were considered best dealt with on a London-wide basis, rather than managed individually by each borough. These included refuse disposal, Thames flood prevention, land drainage, the fire service, supply service for local authorities, and research, intelligence and scientific services.
The Nation Life and General Assurance Company Ltd was registered on 22 April 1925 and commenced trading on 29 May 1925. The company's registered office was Nation House, Hampton Road, Teddington, Middlesex, but it opened branches in central London and the provinces, including Manchester and Liverpool. The company was set up to acquire the England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland business of the New Ireland Assurance Company Ltd. It provided fire, industrial and ordinary life and general branch insurance. It also owned a controlling interest in the Tabulating and Mechanical Accounting Service Ltd. The company's name was changed to the Fordham Life and General Assurance Company Ltd between August 1969 and October 1970, when it was again changed to the Nation Life Insurance Company Ltd. The Company was liquidated in 1974.
An Act of 1792 established seven 'Public Offices' (later Police offices and Police courts) in the central Metropolitan area. The aim was to establish fixed locations where 'fit and able magistrates' would attend at fixed times to deal with an increasing number of criminal offences. Each office was assigned three Justices of the Peace. They were to receive a salary of £400 per annum. These were the first stipendiary magistrates. Later they were expected to be highly qualified in the law, indeed, to be experienced barristers.
The courts dealt with a wide range of business coming under the general heading of 'summary jurisdiction', i.e. trial without a jury. The cases heard were largely criminal and of the less serious kind. Over the years statutes created many offences that the courts could deal with in addition to Common Law offences. Examples include: drunk and disorderly conduct, assault, theft, begging, possessing stolen goods, cruelty to animals, desertion from the armed forces, betting, soliciting, loitering with intent, obstructing highways, and motoring offences. Non-criminal matters included small debts concerning income tax and local rates, landlord and tenant matters, matrimonial problems and bastardy.
The parish of Saint Sepulchre, Holborn, was situated partly within the City of London (the church building is in Holborn) and partly within Middlesex (now Islington). Cowcross Street is near Farringdon Tube Station.
A deed is any document affecting title, that is, proof of ownership, of the land in question. The land may or may not have buildings upon it. Common types of deed include conveyances, mortgages, bonds, grants of easements, wills and administrations.
Conveyances are transfers of land from one party to another, usually for money. Early forms of conveyance include feoffments, surrenders and admissions at manor courts (if the property was copyhold), final concords, common recoveries, bargains and sales and leases and releases.
If a person died intestate (without a valid will) their money, goods and possessions passed to their next of kin through an administration (or letters of administration) which had the same form in law as a will.
From the British Records Association "Guidelines 3 - Interpreting Deeds: How To Interpret Deeds - A Simple Guide And Glossary".
Probate (also called proving a will) is the process of establishing the validity of a will, which was recorded in the grant of probate.
The Cowdray Club was established in 1922 and remained in existence until 1974 when it merged with the Naval and Military Club in Piccadilly. Its original name was The Nation's Nurses and Professional Women's Club Ltd, and its accounts and legal agreements used this name throughout. The First Viscountess Cowdray did much to promote the nursing profession. As Annie Pearson, the wife of Weetmar Dickinson Pearson, a successful engineering contractor (Pearson and Son), her life had taken her to Spain, Mexico, New York, Egypt and Malta. She left her mark in her humane care for her husband's employees and in the gift of Cowdray Hospital to Mexico City. She was a supporter of district nursing, being associated with the Queen's Institute of District Nursing, and active in establishing nursing services in many rural districts of England and Scotland. She provided seven Queen's Nurses at her own expense.
Following the creation of the College of Nursing in 1916, Viscountess Cowdray became involved with fundraising for The Nation's Fund for Nurses for the Creation of a Benevolent Fund for Nurses and the endowment of the College of Nursing. This involvement led to the idea of a gift of a social club for nurses and professional women which "should provide a centre for intercourse and recreation and which should also furnish some of those creature comforts which we associate with the word 'Home'". To this end the Cowdrays purchased 20 Cavendish Square from Mr and Mrs Asquith.
The house was originally built in 1703 and possessed a staircase decorated by Sir James Thornhill. It was converted into a club by Sir Edwin Cooper and later given a new facade after the purchase of neighbouring properties by the College of Nursing in 1928-1930. The building belonged to the College of Nursing and was leased to the club.
The membership of the club was on a basis of 55 per cent nurses, 35 per cent professional women and 10 per cent women without professional qualifications. The College of Nursing had a 50 per cent representation on the council of the club. For much of its existence, the club had over 4,000 members.
The Foundling Hospital was established by Royal Charter on 17 October 1739 by Thomas Coram as a refuge for abandoned children. Its creation in the eighteenth century was unique, and even 120 years later the Hospital was the only institution for the admission of illegitimate children listed in a 1863 charities directory for London.
Returning to Britain in 1719 after establishing a shipwright's business in America, Coram was appalled at the numbers of dead and dying babies he saw in the streets of London, and the failure of the establishment to care for these children. Foundling (i.e. illegitimate) children had been cared for at Christ's Hospital from its foundation in 1552, but a decision to admit only legitimate orphans was taken in 1676. From this date onwards, therefore, the only option for illegitimate children was to be placed in a parish poorhouse, where extremely high mortality rates prevailed and childcare facilities were non-existent. Coram campaigned for twenty years in order to gain support for his scheme. A major difficulty was overcoming widespread prejudice towards illegitimacy, but he managed to enlist the support of many leading members of the aristocracy, the city, the arts and the sciences by a series of petitions to which they signed their names.
The first temporary location of the Hospital was a house in Hatton Gardens, children being admitted there from March 1741 onwards. The following year the foundation stone of the new Hospital was laid on land acquired from the Earl of Salisbury in Lamb's Conduit Fields, Bloomsbury, an as yet undeveloped area beyond the city. The Hospital was designed by Theodore Jacobsen as a plain brick building with two wings and a chapel, built around an open courtyard. By 1747 work had begun on the Chapel. Although not completed until 1753, it was in use before that date, most notably on 1 May 1750 when George Frederick Handel, a patron of the Hospital, directed a performance of the Oratorio 'Messiah' to mark the presentation of the organ to the Chapel. The Hospital received a great deal of patronage from the arts. The painter William Hogarth, a governor of the Hospital, decided to set up an art exhibition in the court room of the new buildings, encouraging other artists to produce work for the Hospital. As a consequence, by the late eighteenth Century the Hospital had become a fashionable place to visit.
Admission to the Hospital was initially restricted because of the lack of funds. Infants were to be less than two months old and in good health to qualify for entry, and admissions were made on a first come first served basis. Once a child had been accepted he or she was baptised and thereby given a new name. The child was then boarded out to a dry or wet nurse in the country. These nurses were mostly in the Home Counties but could be as far away as West Yorkshire or Shropshire. The nurses were monitored by voluntary inspectors. On reaching 3 years of age, the child was returned to the Hospital to receive basic schooling and he or she would remain there until apprenticed out to trades or service, or enlisted in the armed forces.
In 1742 the numbers of mothers bringing children to the Hospital was so great and the admissions procedure so disorderly that it was decided to adopt a ballot system to decide which children were admitted. By 1756 the Hospital was forced to ask Parliament for funds. As a consquence for the next four years the Hospital functioned as a quasi-public body receiving government support. In return for that support, however, the Governors were obliged to accept every child presented to them. A number of branch hospitals were established to cope with the large number of children received during this period of 'indiscriminate admission' (1756-1760). These were in Aylesbury, Barnet, Westerham, Ackworth, Chester and Shrewsbury and records survive in the collections for these hospitals, particularly Ackworth Hospital.
In 1760 the period of indiscriminate admission was ended when Parliament withdrew its support and the Hospital was forced to temporarily stop admitting children. When admissions resumed a new system was adopted which involved mothers submitting written petitions to the Hospital which were then assessed by committee. This petition system formed the basis of all subsequent admissions to the Hospital and the survival of these petitions in the collection provides a valuable insight into the backgrounds and circumstances of the mothers. Although the Hospital had been set up primarily for the care of illegitimate children, the Governors also began to accept children of soldiers killed in war.
The administration of the Hospital remained largely unchanged until 1926 when the buildings and surrounding estate were sold for £1,650,000. Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the area around the Hospital had been transformed. In 1780s the Hospital had decided to lease out its land to developers who proceeded to build squares, streets, and town houses (the rent from which provided the Hospital with much needed regular income). By 1920s, and in keeping with the trend to move schools and institutions outside of central London to healthier environments, it was felt that the proceeds of selling the estate would secure financially the continued work of the Hospital. Accordingly the estate was sold, the Hospital buildings were pulled down and the children moved to temporary premises at Saint Anne's Schools, Redhill, Surrey, until a new site was found for them at Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. When the new school opened in 1935, the Governors decided that it should be named Thomas Coram School, and the title Foundling Hospital was dropped.
The Hospital did not lose its connection with the Bloomsbury site for long, however. The site had been bought by a property speculator, James White, who intended to transfer Covent Garden Market there. He was forced to abandoned this plan due to strong local opposition, and with the assistance of Lord Rothermere, three-quarters of the site was purchased from him to form a children's playground for the locality. This became known as Coram's Fields. The remaining quarter was re-purchased by the Foundling Hospital and became their headquarters at 40 Brunswick Square. Some of the internal fittings saved from the old Hospital buildings were transferred to the new offices, as were the Foundling art collections.
It soon became evident that the income from investing the proceeds of the sale was surplus to the requirements of the Hospital and decisions were made to broaden the work of the charity by assisting kindred voluntary organisations, most notably the Cross Road Club (a home for mothers and babies), the Foundling Site Nurseries (residential and day care centres) and Saint Leonards Nursery School. Records relating to these institutions can be found in the collection.
In 1954 the Governors, influenced by trends towards non-institutional forms of caring for children, disposed of the school at Berkhamsted (now known as Ashlyn's School), transferring it to Hertfordshire County Council, and returned children to their foster homes. It was felt that the children would benefit from a more conventional home life, attending local schools and mixing with other children. In 1953 the organisation changed its name to the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children, reflecting these developments. More recently the charity has been renamed Coram Family. It is still dedicated to working with deprived and disadvantaged children, providing adoption and foster care services, and promoting research into child welfare.
In 1627 John Marshall, a gentleman resident in Axe Yard (now Newcomen Street), Southwark, left property in trust for various charities, including the erection of a new church. This was to be called Christ Church, and was to be built in a part of Saint Saviour's Parish in which the population had increased significantly. Money was also left to pay for a minister, provide university scholarships for poor Southwark students, and hold a weekly lecture. Instructions were given that the remainder of the money should be used for "the Mayntenance and Continuance of the sincere preaching of God's most holie Word in this Land for ever". Under this section of the will the Charity made grants to poor clergy and now contributes grants towards the provision of housing for the clergy.
The 1855 Marshall's Charity Act allowed the Trustees greater freedoms, including the right to make grants towards the construction of new churches. A later Charity Commission Scheme gave them the power to make grants towards the restoration and repair of existing churches in Kent, Surrey or Lincolnshire.
For more information see the charity website at http://www.marshalls.org.uk/history.html (accessed July 2010).
The Congregational minister Edward Miall was a campaigner for the disestablishment of the Church of England, that is, the withdrawl of special state patronage and control from the church. In 1844 he organised a national dissenting convention for like-minded individuals, as a result of which the British Anti-State Church Association was founded. The Association urged the withdrawal of all state support for religion, believing that it was wrong for the church to be controlled by outside influences and for politics to influence spiritual worship. They also protested against church rates, discrimination against non-church members and the legal disabilities faced by non-conformists.
In 1853 the Association changed its name to the Society for the Liberation of Religion from State-Patronage and Control, which was usually shortened to the Liberation Society. The Society was politically active and tried to infuence the selection of Parliamentary candidates who shared their opinions. Miall himself was elected to Parliament and several times from 1871 onwards proposed English disestablishment, with no success. Although the Liberation Society did not achieve its goals, they contributed to the dismantling of some of the legal challenges facing non-conformists.
In 1888 the education sub-committee of the Liberation Society, which protested against church involvement in education, became the National Education Association.
The Lady Margaret Hall Settlement was founded in 1897 in Lambeth. It was a community of ladies, working in connection with the Church of England and Lady Margaret Hall College in Oxford, who aimed to carry out social work in the community near the Settlement. This included running clubs for local youth, visiting the elderly and sick, holding Bible and literacy classes and providing legal advice.
Archbishop Tait's Infants School was named for Archibald Campbell Tait (1811-1882), Archbishop of Canterbury from 1869. It was situated at no 220 Lambeth Road, SE1. The school seems also to have been called Saint Mary's Infants School, and was associated with Archbishop Tenison's School for Girls.
Three schools were managed by the parish of Saint Mary, Lambeth:
Archbishop Tait's Infants School was named for Archibald Campbell Tait (1811-1882), Archbishop of Canterbury from 1869. It was situated at no 220 Lambeth Road, SE1. The school seems also to have been called Saint Mary's Infants School, and was associated with Archbishop Tenison's School for Girls.
Archbishop Temple's School was founded using a bequest of £24 made by Alexander Jones in 1660. In 1661 Richard Lawrence, a trustee appointed by Mr. Jones, bequeathed a property known as "Dog House Fields" for the school. In 1723 the school merged with another charity school and moved into new premises. In 1848 the school was again moved, this time to Hercules Road. The school could now accommodate 300 pupils. In 1904 another move was necessary due to the expansion of the railway. A site next to Lambeth Palace was donated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Frederick Temple. On the death of the Archbishop the name of the school was changed to reflect his contribution. In 1961 the school was merged with the local Archibishop Tenison's Girls School. The school was merged with other local schools in 1964 and in 1972 moved to a new site in Camberwell to accommodate the increase in pupils.
In 1706 Archbishop Tenison founded a school in Back Lane, later Lambeth High Street, for 12 girls - subsequently more. In 1787 the inhabitants of Lambeth subscribed for a new Girls' School, but until premises were ready, 30 girls were maintained by the subscribers at Tenison's School. After 1792 the Lambeth Subscription Girls' School functioned separately, but were linked with Tenison's School again in 1817, when Tenison's Trustees rebuilt "for the joint purposes of each Institution". In 1824 Tenison's Trustees, with "improved funds" offered to support the "Subscription" girls as well; the offer was accepted and the assets of the Subscription Girls' School used for new schools in the Waterloo and Norwood districts.
Morden College was founded under the will of Sir John Morden, who died in 1708. It was originally a residential care home for 40 elderly merchants who had fallen on difficult times. The trustees of the College were members of the East India Company or the Company of Turkey Merchants. The College has subsequently expanded, and now allows the admission of women and married couples.
The Metropolitan Committee for War Savings was intended to be primarily an organisation for the promotion of the sale of War Loans and Savings Certificates, but it by no means confined itself to this activity. It dealt with economies in the use of food and in the cooking of food, nutrition, inequalities in the distribution of food, and even salvage or recycling of materials.
At one period the Committee was much concerned with racial tension caused by the fact (the truth of which was agreed by the Chief Rabbi) that foreign Jews in the East End (most of whom, it was said, could not understand English) could obtain from Jewish shops ample supplies of foodstuffs which the English populace could only obtain in small quantities after queuing for long periods at the ordinary English shops. The Committee proposed a system of rationing. It examined closely the quality of the war-time bread. It even considered a report on the possibilities of extracting grease from the London sewers.
In April 1850 Frances Mary Buss opened the North London Collegiate School for Ladies at 46 (later renumbered 12) Camden Street. Camden Town was then a professional neighbourhood near both Hampstead and the City, and 35 daughters of gentlemen and 'the most respectable' tradesmen assembled on the opening day. The girls received an education which from the first included Latin, French, natural science, and periods of recreation; German, Italian, and music were extras. The teaching encouraged thought and observation rather than learning by rote, and its success was immediate. By December 1850 there were 115 pupils and Miss Buss had founded 'the model for girls' Day Schools throughout the country'.
In 1870 Miss Buss decided to transform her flourishing private venture into a public grammar school for girls by transferring it to a trust which would carry on the work when she was no longer able to do so. New premises were acquired at 202 Camden Road; here there was a large schoolroom which could be partitioned by curtains, a similar room upstairs, two classrooms, and long passages for 'musical gymnastics'. The move allowed Miss Buss to found a second school, the Camden School, in the accommodation left vacant in Camden Street. The changed status of the school was confirmed in 1875, when a scheme for its administration was prepared by the Endowed Schools Commission. An appeal for an endowment fund for the two schools brought in gifts from several City companies, notably the Brewers' Company, which provided £20,000 for buildings and £600 annually from the Platt Charity, a Brewers' charity, while for scholarships there was an additional £2,000 from Dame Alice Owen's Charity. This enabled Miss Buss to proceed with her plans for a new school building in Sandall Road. The Clothworkers' Company granted £105 a year for scholarships and £2,500 for an assembly hall, which bore the company's name. The new school was opened in 1879 by the Prince and Princess of Wales. The latter had been the patroness of the schools since 1871. Meanwhile the Camden School had moved into new buildings in Prince of Wales Road in 1878.
Miss Buss was a pioneer in other directions, encouraging gymnastics, swimming, skating, hockey, and athletics. She incorporated in the new buildings the first gymnasium designed for a girls' school and obtained the use of the St. Pancras baths, but her proposal to make the girls 'really bold swimmers' by capsizing a boat in open water was not adopted. She started a school sports day, and in the interests of dress reform organized a tug-of-war between girls who wore stays and those who did not; the latter won. Miss Buss had little time for fainting girls, for whom she recommended the cold water treatment. She also encouraged the more usual accomplishments such as art, music, needlework, cookery, and handicrafts.
By present-day standards discipline appears to have been very strict; talking seemed to be the main evil, and 'every moment, almost every movement, was ordered'. There were many rules, breach of which involved signing the 'Appearance Book', but any form which went for half a term without a signature was allowed a 'gratification'-half an hour's free time-as a reward.
Miss Buss' successor at North London Collegiate, whom she had designated as early as 1878, was Mrs. Sophie Bryant, a mathematician and a brilliant teacher. In 1884 she had become the first woman D.Sc. and in 1894 she was one of the three women appointed to the Bryce Commission on secondary education. Miss I. M. Drummond, who was appointed to succeed Mrs. Bryant, was a former member of the staff of North London Collegiate and had been latterly headmistress of the Camden School. Miss Drummond relaxed some of the regulations and encouraged the free choice of creative activities in the arts and in school societies. In 1929, with the assistance of the Middlesex County Council, the school acquired 'Canons', a Georgian house standing in extensive grounds at Little Stanmore, and soon a section of the school was travelling there each morning of the week for lessons and games. Eventually it was decided to move the whole school to Canons, and the foundation-stone of a new building extending behind the house was laid in May 1939.
Source: 'Schools: The North London Collegiate School', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 1, pp. 308-310 (available online).
In 1674 Elizabeth Newcomen, a widow of the parish of St Saviour, Southwark, died leaving a large estate in trust for her godson during his lifetime, and after his death as an endowment for charitable uses in the parish. These included charity schools for boys and girls. The earliest records surviving date from 1706. The schools were run by the Wardens and a Committee who could nominate children for places at the school. From 1808-1840 the Newcomen Schools were united with the parochial schools, but in 1840 the Boys' school separated from the parochial school and by 1849 the Girls' school had followed.
From 1887 the schools were administered by the Governors of the Newcomen Foundation, after the charity was re-established by a scheme of the Charity Commissioners. The Girls' School became Elizabeth Newcomen Secondary Technical School, which closed in 1970.
The Royal Standard Benefit Society was a mutual sickness and burial society founded in 1828. According to Dickens's Dictionary of London, 1879, the object of the Society was to provide members with weekly payments in cases of sickness, monies towards their own or their wives' funerals, the expenses of their wives' lying-in, replacement of tools if lost in a fire, and superannuation. The Society was open to "respectable healthy men under 35 years of age" who earned over 28 shillings a week, and charged a joining fee and a quarterly subscription.
Dickens Dictionary of London consulted at: http://www.victorianlondon.org/dickens/dickens-f.htm.
Saint Mary, Newington Church of England School originated as a charity school for boys, founded in 1710. Girls were admitted from 1785. It became part of the United Parochial, National, Charity and Sunday Schools, Saint Mary, Newington, in 1816, with the addition of an infants' school in 1851. Branch schools were opened in the districts of Saint Peter in 1839 and Trinity in 1841, and managed by the general committee for Saint Mary's Schools until the creation of separate district managements in 1846.
The day schools' main income from endowments, subscriptions, donations and children's 'school-pence' was augmented by various grants from central government during the nineteenth century. When a fee grant was introduced under the Elementary Education Act 1891, the infants' school was made free. The school fees were abolished entirely in 1894.
In 1904, as a result of the Education Act of 1902 and the Education (London) Act of 1903, maintenance of the day schools was taken over by the London County Council (LCC), and management passed from the old committee of managers to a new body consisting of foundation managers and a representative of the metropolitan borough of Southwark. The schools continued as non-provided elementary day schools maintained by the Council.
In 1932, the boys', girls' and infants' schools were reorganised into infants' and senior mixed departments, juniors being accommodated in Newington Junior School, a temporary LCC elementary day school which was opened in that year in the adjacent Pastors' College. By 1947 Saint Mary's was both a primary and a secondary school. Aided status was awarded in 1951.
In 1953, the infants' department was closed and the school became purely a secondary modern. It was discontinued altogether in 1963 in the course of the reorganisation of voluntary schools in the area.
Time and Talents was established in London in 1888 as a branch of the Young Women's Christian Association. It was run by young women of independent means, who directed their time and talents towards working for those less fortunate than themselves. They established settlements, such as that in Bermondsey to provide a home-life for young factory girls, and clubs such as the Dockhead Club House which opened in 1931. Their activities eventually spread to areas outside London with community centres in Harold Hill, Avely and South Ockendon. Branches were also established in places such as Scotland, Ireland, Gibraltar, Constantinople and Australia.
In 1920 Time and Talents amalgamated with the Guild of Helpers, another YWCA branch, and became the Time and Talents Guild. During 1946, the Time and Talents Guild became the Time and Talents Association. By 1975, they were affiliated to the British Association of Settlements.
There appears to have been a fluctuating system of internal administration until about 1950. The same personnel were instrumental in guiding administrative affairs but committee systems seem to shift and change for reasons that are not always readily apparent. Copies of aim and constitution from circa 1950 can be found in A/TT/13. By the 1970's, the activities of the Time and Talents Association were in decline with the closure of out-county centres at Harold Hill and South Ockendon. This altered the structure of the organisation yet again.
Since 1980, Time and Talents have been based at the Old Mortuary, St. Marychurch Street, Rotherhithe, where they run an active community centre.
The manor of Isleworth or Isleworth Syon seems to have included land in Heston, Isleworth and Twickenham. In 1086 it belonged to Walter of Saint Valery, one of William the Conqueror's companions. The land subsequently passed into royal possession and was granted to Queen Isabel in 1327 and Queen Philippa in 1330. In 1421 the king granted Isleworth to the newly created abbey of Syon, in whose possession it remained until 1539. The Abbey was suppressed in 1539 and in 1547 the Duke of Somerset secured a grant of the estate to himself, which he held until his execution in 1552, although his widow continued to live at the manor until ordered to leave in 1554. The Crown leased the lands to various tenants until 1598 when Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, secured the tenancy rights. In 1604 he received a grant in fee of the house and manor with the park. The property descended to his heirs including Charles, Duke of Somerset (died 1748) and his son the Earl of Northumberland. Their descendants still owned Syon in 1958.
One notable event in the later history of the manor occurred in 1656. In that year articles of agreement were drawn up between Algernon, Earl of Northumberland, lord of the manor of Isleworth Syon, and Sir Thomas Ingram and other principal copyhold tenants. These articles established certain of the customs of the manor on a firm basis. Fines and heriots were to be certain and not arbitrary, at the will of the lord. The tenure of customary and was to be by Borough English, whereby the youngest son of a copy holder inherited on the death of his father. These articles were signed on 20 May 1656 and were confirmed by a decree in Chancery, 28 June 1656 (see ACC/1379/330 and partial transcript in History of Syon and Isleworth by G. Aungier, p.206). A printed tract called Isleworth Syon's Peace was to be published in 1657 and according to Aungier was to be placed in the Isleworth parish chest. London Metropolitan Archives possesses copies in ACC/0479 and ACC/1379.
There is no unifying factor to these papers (e.g. that they relate to property owned by one estate or family or the legal work of one office), they were simply collected or preserved for their antiquarian interest before being passed to the archive.
In 1086 Stanwell Manor was held by William fitz Other and in the time of King Edward it had belonged to Azor. The estate recorded in Domesday Book probably comprises most of the ancient parish except the manor of West Bedfont, which was already separate. In 1796 there were 539 acres copyhold of the manor, nearly all lying east of Stanwellmoor. By 1844 the lord of the manor owned Hammonds farm, Merricks farm (later known as Southern farm), and Park farm (later Stanhope farm), as well as about 84 acres around his house and a few other small areas. The manorial rights, house, and lands were separated in 1933.
William fitz Other, the Domesday tenant, was constable of Windsor castle and his descendants took the name of Windsor. They held Stanwell of Windsor castle for over four centuries, together with lands principally in Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. In 1485 Thomas Windsor left a widow, Elizabeth, who held Stanwell with her second husband Sir Robert Lytton. Thomas's son Andrew was summoned to parliament as Lord Windsor from 1529. The story of his loss of Stanwell has often been told: in spite of Windsor's previous favours from the Crown, Henry VIII compelled him in 1542 to surrender Stanwell in exchange for monastic lands in Gloucestershire and elsewhere. Sir Philip Hobby was made chief steward of the manor in 1545. Sir Thomas Paston was granted a 50-year lease during Edward VI's reign, and Edward Fitzgarret in 1588 secured a lease to run for 30 years from the end of Paston's term. In fact Fitzgarret was in possession when he died before 1590. His estate was much embarrassed and after litigation Stanwell passed to his son Garret subject to certain rent-charges to his daughter. In 1603 the freehold was granted to Sir Thomas Knyvett, who became Lord Knyvett in 1607. Knyvett and his wife both died in 1622, leaving their property to be shared between John Cary, the grandson of one of Knyvett's sisters, and Elizabeth Leigh, the granddaughter of another. Elizabeth married Sir Humphrey Tracy, and she and Cary held Stanwell jointly until her death. In 1678 the Knyvett estates were divided between Cary and Sir Francis Leigh, who was apparently Elizabeth's heir. Cary retained Stanwell, which he left to his great-niece Elizabeth Willoughby on condition that she married Lord Guildford; otherwise it was to pass to Lord Falkland. After Elizabeth's marriage to James Bertie she held the manor under a chancery decree until her death in 1715.
It then passed to Lucius Cary, Viscount Falkland (d. 1730), who sold it in 1720 to John, Earl of Dunmore (d. 1752). His trustees sold it in 1754 to Sir John Gibbons. It descended in the Gibbons family with the baronetcy until 1933, when the manorial rights were sold to H. Scott Freeman, clerk of Staines urban district council, who still held them in 1956.
Source: 'Stanwell: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington (1962), pp. 36-41 (available online).
Teddington common was part of Hounslow Heath. It was situated to the west of Park Road and Stanley Road. When enclosed in 1800 it comprised 450 acres.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington (1962), pp. 66-69.
The manor of Sutton in Chiswick was owned by the canons of Saint Paul's Cathedral from 1181 onwards. In 1502 the ownership was transferred to the dean of Saint Paul's. The manor was known as Sutton Court from 1537. The deans farmed the manor out to various tenants. In 1524 it was leased by Sir Thomas More. In 1800 all the land, but not the manorial rights, were sold to William Cavendish, the Duke of Devonshire. The lordship remained with the dean (except during the Interregnum when it was held by the City of London) until 1849 when it passed to the Ecclesiatical Commissioners. The manor house, known as Sutton Court, was situated near the centre of the parish. It was demolished in 1905.
'Chiswick: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 71-74 (available online).
The manor of Ealing or Ealingbury was presumably the 10 hides at Ealing granted in 693 by Ethelred, king of Mercia, to the bishop of London for the augmentation of monastic life in London. The manor passed through various owners until 1906 when most or all of the land was sold to the Prudential Assurance Company.
Northumberland Park, Tottenham, was a new avenue, lined by middle-class villas, running from the High Road towards the new railway line. It was laid out and developed in the 1850s.
Source of information: 'Ealing and Brentford: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 123-128 and 'Tottenham: Growth after 1850', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 317-324 (available online).
Common Recovery was a process by which land was transferred from one owner to another. It was a piece of legal fiction involving the party transferring the land, a notional tenant and the party acquiring the land; the tenant was ejected to effect the transfer. An exemplification was a formal copy of a court record issued with the court's seal.
A marriage settlement was a legal agreement drawn up before a marriage by the two parties, setting out terms with respect to rights of property and succession.
Source: British Records Association Guidelines 3: How to interpret deeds (available online).
An assignment of term, or assignment to attend the inheritance, was an assignment of the remaining term of years in a mortgage to a trustee after the mortgage itself has been redeemed.
Lease and release was the most common method of conveying freehold property from the later seventeenth century onwards, before the introduction of the modern conveyance in the late nineteenth century. The lease was granted for a year (sometimes six months), then on the following day the lessor released their right of ownership in return for the consideration (the thing for which land was transferred from one party to another, usually, of course, a sum of money).
A fine was a sum of money paid for the granting of a lease or for admission to a copyhold tenement.
Source: British Record Association Guidelines 3: How to Interpret Deeds - A simple guide and glossary (available online).
Ponders End was a hamlet near Enfield, noted for its fisheries.
The Court of King's Bench was founded circa 1200 to hear common pleas, although it came to specialise in pleas of special interest and concern to the king, such as those which involved his own property interests, or breach of his peace, or an error of judgment by another royal court. By 1675 the King's Bench was the highest court of common law in England and Wales, with jurisdiction over both civil and criminal actions. Civil business was conducted on the 'Plea Side' and criminal business on the 'Crown Side'. It was absorbed into the High Court in 1875 (source of information: The National Archives Research Guides "Legal Records Information 34" and "Legal Records Information 36").
A writ is a written order issued by a court in the name of the sovereign, state, or other competent legal authority, directing the person to whom it is addressed to do or refrain from doing a specified action. In this case the Sheriff of Middlesex is being ordered to investigate the damage caused to Richard Biggs by the loss of money owed to him.
The Manor of Sunbury was held by Westminster Abbey until 1222 when they transferred it to the Bishop of London to settle a dispute. It passed to the Crown in 1559 and was leased out until 1603 when it was granted to Robert Stratford. The manor subsequently passed through several hands and families until 1925 when it was considered virtually lapsed.
'Sunbury: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington (1962), pp. 53-57 (available online).
The manor of Charlton, situated near Sunbury, is first mentioned in the reign of Edward the Confessor. In 1267 it was granted to the Priory of Merton. It remained their property until 1538 when it was surrendered to the Crown. It was then rented out to various families. In 1620 the manor comprised a house and 125 acres; by 1803 this was 125 acres of inclosed land and 60 acres of allotments.
From: 'Sunbury: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington (1962), pp. 53-57 (available online).
The manor of Edgware Boys (or Edgware and Boys) was sold to William Lee of Totteridge Park in 1762. It passed to his son William, who changed his surname to Antonie in accordance with the will of Richard Antonie of Colworth. He left the manor to his nephew John Fiott, who assumed the name of Lee under the terms of the will of his uncle. John Fiott Lee died in 1866.
Information from: 'Edgware: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 155-157 (available online).
54 Hunter Street, in Bloomsbury, was owned by John James Ruskin, a sherry importer. It was here in 1819 that his son, the art critic and writer John Ruskin, was born. The family moved away in 1823, and the house was demolished in 1969.
George James Brown was a Victorian surveyor and land agent, based at 34 Great George Street, Westminster, to the north of Parliament Square.
A deed is any document affecting title, that is, proof of ownership, of the land in question. The land may or may not have buildings upon it. Common types of deed include conveyances, mortgages, bonds, grants of easements, wills and administrations.
Conveyances are transfers of land from one party to another, usually for money. Early forms of conveyance include feoffments, surrenders and admissions at manor courts (if the property was copyhold), final concords, common recoveries, bargains and sales and leases and releases.
Common Recovery was a process by which land was transferred from one owner to another. It was a piece of legal fiction involving the party transferring the land, a notional tenant and the party acquiring the land; the tenant was ejected to effect the transfer. An exemplification was a formal copy of a court record issued with the court's seal.
Source: British Records Association Guidelines 3: How to interpret deeds (available online).
Charles Frederick de Coetlogon (d 1836) was the son of clergyman Charles Edward de Coetlogon ([1746]-1820), who was a preacher and writer as well as the vicar of Godstone, Surrey. Early in his career Charles Frederick was His Majesty's naval store-keeper at St Domingo in the West Indies. He married Miss Emeline Edkins of Newbury at St George's Church, Hanover Square, on 5 March 1800. Their daughter, Elizabeth Charlotte, was born at West Green Cottage, Tottenham, on 19 December 1800 and baptised in the parish church on 17 January 1801, (ref. Gentleman's Magazine Vol. LXX parts 1 and 2; DRO.15/A1/9). The family occupied premises in the Wood Green ward of Tottenham in 1800 and 1801 (ref. MR/PLT/209-210).
In 1817 de Coetlogon was living apart from his family in a succession of lodgings in London. By 1822 he was residing, with one servant, in Ashford, and the same year he purchased three copyhold cottages and land in Ashford. The Land Tax Assessments for 1823 to 1826 list him as both owner and occupier of property, (ref. MR/PLT/6238-6240). He left Ashford in 1828, not without regrets; "Though I have passed here such dreary hours yet the prospect of leaving a place where I have lived so many years is depressing to my mind,"" (ref. Acc/0268/7; 31 March). From May 1828 he resided at No. 11 Wilton Street, Grosvenor Place, St. George Hanover Square.
An 'indenture' was a deed or agreement between two or more parties. Two or more copies were written out, usually on one piece of parchment or paper, and then cut in a jagged or curvy line, so that when brought together again at any time, the two edges exactly matched and showed that they were parts of one and the same original document. A 'right hand indenture' is therefore the copy of the document which was on the right hand side when the parchment was cut in two.
Sir George Stephen, lawyer and slavery abolitionist, was born on 17 January 1794 on St Kitts, West Indies. His parents returned to England with him when he was an infant. He was educated at private schools at Clapham Common and Cheam. He was placed in the office of J. W. Freshfield, afterwards solicitor to the Bank of England. On 17 March 1821 he married Henrietta (1797-1869), the daughter of Revd William Ravenscroft; they had seven children.
During five years' articles, Stephen managed his firm's extensive bankruptcy business and, when he began practice on his own, the firm handed much of that business to him. During the parliamentary inquiry in 1820 into the conduct of Queen Caroline he was employed by the government to collect evidence against her on the continent.
In 1826, declining remuneration, Stephen was retained by the House of Commons to investigate allegations that slaves were being traded at Mauritius. That had been made unlawful in 1807, but slavery itself was still prevalent in some British colonies, notably in the West Indies. Stephen, following his father, had become prominent in the Anti-Slavery Society and was its honorary solicitor. Hitherto, the committee had worked towards abolition by direct persuasion of parliamentarians; in 1831 Stephen proposed appealing to the people. His proposal was rejected by the committee but taken up by James Cropper and others, who provided funds. A small working group, including Stephen, employed agents to arrange and address public meetings and to inspire press publicity, the formation of local societies, and the promotion of petitions. The ensuing agitation persuaded the government: the act to abolish slavery in British colonies was passed in 1833. Stephen was knighted in 1838 for his services.
Stephen was solicitor in a scheme for the relief of paupers in contempt of court, without remuneration, and also acted for a society for the purchase of reversions; however, he quarrelled with the directors and was dismissed, losing a considerable sum. Disliking aspects of his profession, resenting its inferior social status, and struggling somewhat in his practice, he decided in 1847 to abandon it. He was called to the bar at Gray's Inn on 6 June 1849 and settled at Liverpool, where he acquired a fair practice in bankruptcy cases.
But Stephen's work fell away on a change in the system, and in 1855 he emigrated to Melbourne, Victoria, where he joined his two younger sons. He was admitted to practise as a barrister there on the same day (9 August 1855) as was his eldest son, James Wilberforce (1822-1881), who emigrated with him and afterwards became a judge of the supreme court of Victoria. Stephen died on 20 June 1879 and was buried in St Kilda cemetery, Melbourne, on 23 June.
Source: Leslie Stephen, 'Stephen, Sir George (1794-1879)', rev. Peter Balmford, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/26371, accessed 6 July 2009].