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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).

From the British Records Association "Guidelines 3 - Interpreting Deeds: How To Interpret Deeds - A Simple Guide And Glossary".

A History of the County of Middlesex notes that "in 1853 Henry Merceron leased out no. 21 Victoria Park Square as a store for the Queen's Own Light Infantry Regiment of the Tower Hamlets militia. The site stretched to Globe Street and by the 1860s included a barracks".

From: 'Bethnal Green: Building and Social Conditions from 1837 to 1875', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 120-126.

The Breakspears Estate was the foremost manor in Harefield, Middlesex. It took its name from William Breakspear who owned it in 1376. It belonged to the Ashby family from 1447. In 1769 the last male Ashby died without a male heir and the house passed to a daughter, Elizabeth, who was married to Joseph Partridge. Their son left the estate to a relative of his wife. By 1877 the property belonged to Alfred Henry Tarleton, whose widow sold the house to the county council in 1942. The estate land was used as a park while the house became an old people's home.

Source of information: 'Harefield: 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. 240-246.

Henry Jermyn, 3rd Baron Dover (1636-1708), was a prominent figure at the Restoration Court. He was a Roman Catholic in the household of James Duke of York and, on James' accession, began to take part in public affairs. In 1685 was raised to the peerage as Baron Dover of Dover and in 1636 became a member of the Privy Council. He followed James into exile in France and was given "Jacobite peerages". After the Battle of the Boyne, where he commanded a troop, Dover was eventually pardoned by William III and spent the rest of his life quietly at his home in Albermarle Buildings near St. James's Park or at his country seat at Cheveley near Newmarket. In 1703 he succeeded his brother as 3rd Baron Jermyn of St. Edmundsbury. He died at Cheveley on 6 April 1708 and his body was taken to Bruges to be buried in the church of the Carmelites. His wife, whom he married in 1675, was Judith daughter of Sir Edmund Poley of Badley, Suffolk.

Sir Thomas Saunders Sebright, 4th baronet, of Flamstead, Herts., was born 11 May 1692 and died 12 April 1736. He succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his father in 1702, and was M.P. for Hertfordshire from 1715 until his death.

The nunnery of Saint Helen was founded in the early part of the thirteenth century by William son of William the goldsmith, in the place where a church of Saint Helen had already existed in the reign of Henry II. Edward I gave to the priory in 1285 a piece of the True Cross which he had brought from Wales, and went on foot accompanied by earls, barons, and bishops to present the relic. The nuns about this time seem to have been in need of financial help. They petitioned the king to examine their charters and allow them to hold in frankalmoign henceforth, and it was no doubt in consequence of the inquiry he had ordered that he gave them the right to hold a market and fair at Brentford.

The manor of Boston had a common boundary with the township of New Brentford. The manor is recorded in 1157 as belonging to the abbot of Westminster. By 1179 the vill had been subinfeudated to Ralph Brito, whose son Robert had granted it by 1194 to Geoffrey Blund. After 1216 he granted a quitrent from it to his son-inlaw Henry, son of Rainier, who later held Boston. By 1294 it was held by the prioress of Saint Helen's, Bishopsgate, as tenant of Westminster, which claimed Boston as part of its liberty.

From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 123-128 and A History of the County of London: Volume 1: London within the Bars, Westminster and Southwark (1909), pp. 457-461 (both available online).

No historical information can be found for this document.

A Thomas Dewell is noted as a leader of non-established religions in Old Brentford; organising meetings of Independents and acting as trustee of a Baptist congregation in Old Brentford, founded in 1819.

Source: 'Ealing and Brentford: Protestant nonconformity', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 158-162.

A fine was a fee, separate from the rent, paid by the tenant or vassal to the landlord on some alteration of the tenancy, or a sum of money paid for the granting of a lease or for admission to a copyhold tenement.

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).

Terrier refers to a register of landed property, formerly including lists of vassals and tenants, with particulars of their holdings, services, and rents. It can also refer to a rent-roll; or, in later use, a book in which the lands of a private person or corporation, are described by their site, boundaries, acreage, and so on. It can also mean an inventory of property or goods.

From the British Records Association "Guidelines 3 - Interpreting Deeds: How To Interpret Deeds - A Simple Guide And Glossary".

Highgrove House in Eastcote, Ruislip, was constructed in 1881 for to designs Sir Hugh and Lady Juliana Hume-Campbell after the existing house was ruined by fire. The house was designed by E S Prior in an early Georgian style. It is now Grade II listed. Winston Churchill is believed to have honeymooned there. The house was later used by the Middlesex County Council to accommodate homeless families.

The origins of the Justices of the Peace lie in the temporary appointments of 'conservators' or 'keepers' of the peace made at various times of unrest between the late twelfth century and the fourteenth century. In 1361 the 'Custodis Pacis' were merged with the Justices of Labourers, and given the title Justices of the Peace and a commission (see MJP). The Commission (of the Peace) gave them the power to try offences in their courts of Quarter Sessions, appointed them to conserve the peace within a stated area, and to enquire on the oaths of "good and lawfull men" into "all manner of poisonings, enchantments, forestallings, disturbances, abuses of weights and measures" and many other things, and to "chastise and punish" anyone who had offended against laws made in order to keep the peace.

During the sixteenth century the work of the Quarter Sessions and the justices was extended to include administrative functions for the counties. These were wide ranging and included maintenance of structures such as bridges, gaols and asylums; regulating weights, measures, prices and wages, and, probably one of their biggest tasks, enforcing the Poor Law. The bulk of the administrative work was carried out on one specific day during the court's sitting known as the County Day (see MJ/O, MJ/SP and MA). By the beginning of the nineteenth century, it was clear that the Quarter Session's structure was unable to cope with the administrative demands on it, and it lost a lot of functions to bodies set up specifically to deal with particular areas - the most important of these was the Poor Law, reformed in 1834. By the end of the century, when the Local Government Act of 1889 established county councils, the sessions had lost all their administrative functions. The judicial role of the Quarter Sessions continued until 1971, when with the Assize courts they were replaced by the Crown Courts.

Fulham House (or Hall), otherwise known as Stourton House, was occupied by Thomas Winter. It was situated in Bear Street, on the west side, just north of the Swan Inn. A portion of the site is now occupied by Cambridge House, number 156 High Street, and the houses northward. The approach to Putney Bridge covers most of the site. The house was demolished by M Henry Scarth in 1842.

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.

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.

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 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).

Colham manor was in 1086 assessed at 8 hides, 6 of which were in demesne. Part of the manor lands was probably granted away in the mid-13th century to form the basis of the sub-manor later known as Cowley Hall. At some time before 1594, however, Hillingdon manor was incorporated in that of Colham. The location of the manor lands before the assimilation of Hillingdon manor is uncertain. Fourteenth-century surveys of Colham include land in Great Whatworth Field, Hanger Field, and Strode Field, a warren on Uxbridge Common, and woodland at Highseat in the north-west. By 1636, however, Colham and Hillingdon manors had been consolidated, so that the lands of Colham then covered approximately two-thirds of Hillingdon parish. At this date the outer boundaries of Colham appear to have substantially respected those of the parish, except in the north-east where the manor boundary followed the Pinn southward from Ickenham Bridge to Hercies Lane and then ran south-eastward to rejoin the parish boundary south of Pole Hill Farm. Insulated within the lands of Colham lay the 'three little manors' of Cowley Hall, Colham Garden, and Cowley Peachey, and freehold estates belonging to a number of manors in other parishes, including Swakeleys in Ickenham.

The manor passed through several owners before, in 1787, John Dodd sold the whole manor to Fysh de Burgh, lord of the manor of West Drayton. Fysh de Burgh died in 1800 leaving Colham, subject to the life interest of his widow Easter (d. 1823), in trust for his daughter Catherine (d. 1809), wife of James G. Lill who assumed the name of De Burgh, with remainder to their son Hubert. The manor passed to Hubert de Burgh in 1832 and he immediately mortgaged the estate. Hubert retained actual possession of the property, which was seldom if ever during this period unencumbered by mortgages, until his death in 1872.

In the 12th century the dean and chapter claimed that ten manse at West Drayton had been given by Athelstan to the cathedral church of Saint Paul, and the date 939 has been given for this grant. Though both the transcribed grant and the date are suspect, Saint Paul's appears to have been in possession by about 1000, when West Drayton supplied one of a number of 'shipmen' for a muster drawn from estates in Essex, Middlesex, and Surrey, most of which can be shown to have belonged, then or later, to the Bishop of London or to Saint Paul's. Various tenants farmed the estate on behalf of Saint Paul's until the lease was acquired in 1537 by William Paget (c. 1506-63), secretary to Jane Seymour. In 1546 Henry VIII, having 'by the diligence and industry' of Paget acquired the manor with all appurtenances, granted it to him in fee, and the interest of the chapter ceased.

From 1546 to 1786 the manor descended with the other Paget honors and estates, apart from a brief period at the end of the 16th century. In 1786 Henry Paget (1744-1812), 1st Earl of Uxbridge, sold the manor and estate to Fysh Coppinger, a London merchant, who assumed his wife's name de Burgh. His widow, Easter de Burgh, owned the manor in 1800. She died in 1823 and it passed to her grandson Hubert de Burgh, who died in 1872. The next heir, Francis (d. 1874), devised it jointly to his daughters, Minna Edith Elizabeth, and Eva Elizabeth, who was sole owner when she died unmarried in 1939.

From: "A History of the County of Middlesex", Volume 3 and Volume 4 (available online).

Saint Mary's Nunnery of Augustinian canonesses, founded in 1140, was dissolved in 1539 and the church converted to the parish church of Clerkenwell. In the 1780s the building was declared ruinous and demolished.

The present church was built 1788-92 by the architect James Carr, on the site of the choir of the mediaeval nunnery. It is regarded as one of the most respected Palladian architects of the period. It is built of stock brick and has a stone west tower. The steeple was rebuilt in 1849 by William Pettit Griffith and the Church was further restored 1883-84. In 1978 the church was redecorated and the organ restored to its 18th century design.

The church was described in 1906 as 'a very dingy-looking building of earth-brick with round-headed windows'. The former burial ground was opened as a public ground in 1897, while the crypt was converted into a hall in 1912.

Harrow Manor belonged to the archbishops of Canterbury from the early middle ages until 1545 when Henry VIII forced Cranmer to sell the manor to him. Henry sold the estate to Sir Edward North. The North family sold the manor to the Pitt family, whence it came to Alice Pitt and her husbands, Edward Palmer and then Sir James Rushout. The Rushouts acquired the barony of Northwick in 1797. Harrow stayed in the family until the death of the 3rd Baron, Sir George Rushout-Bowles, in 1887. His widow left the estate to her grandson Captain E G Spencer-Churchill. He sold the land in the 1920s.

Harrow Manor described both the manorial rights over the whole area and the chief demesne farm in the centre of the parish. This was known as Sudbury Manor or Sudbury Court. The ownership of Sudbury Manor followed that of Harrow, hence the name Harrow alias Sudbury.

From: 'Harrow, including Pinner : 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. 203-211 (available online).

The Manor of Harrow Rectory alias Harrow-on-the-Hill originated in land owned by priest Werhardt in the 9th century. From 1094-1845 Harrow Rectory was a peculiar of the archbishopric of Canterbury within the deanery of Croydon. The rector had sole manorial jurisdiction over Harrow-on-the-Hill and Roxborough, and collected tithes from a large area. This was a prized position which attracted ambitious and important men, and the rectory house was accordingly fine and spacious. In 1546 the rectory was impropriated to Christ Church, Oxford, but in 1547 the college alienated the rectory, the advowson of the vicarage, and (from 1550) the tithes to Sir Edward North, lord of Harrow alias Sudbury Manor. The grant was made in fee farm in perpetuity, North paying the College an annual fee. North sublet the rectory and tithes while retaining the manorial rights, and enjoyed the rights and profits of the rectory. In 1630 the rectory was conveyed to George Pitt and thereafter descended with Sudbury Court Manor until 1807, when the rectory house and 121 acres of land north of it were sold to James Edwards; the remaining land becoming part of Harrow Park.

'Harrow, including Pinner : Harrow church', 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. 249-255 (available online).

8 manse at Hanwell were granted to Westminster Abbey by Archbishop Dunstan in the 10th century. Hanwell was reckoned as an independent manor in Domesday Book, but after this, apparently before the 13th century, it became absorbed in the neighbouring manor of Greenford, which also belonged to Westminster. The first court rolls, which survive from the early 16th century, show that Hanwell was then a subsidiary hamlet of Greenford; from the middle of the century the manor was generally called 'Greenford and Hanwell', and lands in Hanwell were described indifferently as held of Greenford manor or Hanwell manor. By the late 18th century, though the courts were still held together, the two manors seem to have been regarded as separate entities. Most of the extensive copyhold land in Hanwell seems to have been enfranchised during the 19th century and the manorial courts were discontinued about 1900.

The leases of the demesnes of Greenford manor which were made from the late 15th century onwards included a certain amount of land in Hanwell, though it seems that Hanwell Park, which was copyhold, was never the residence of the lessees of the manor. The manor passed in the 16th century to the Bishop of London and in 1649 his lessee was estimated to hold 95 acres in the parish. When the manorial estates were divided into two unequal parts in the 18th century, the Hanwell lands all formed part of the larger share. At the inclosure of 1816, the bishop and his lessee were allotted 26 acres for open-field land and common rights, and also held about 75 acres of old inclosed land. Most of these lands, like the manorial estates in Greenford to which they were attached, were sold by the Church Commissioners after the Second World War.

Source: 'Hanwell: Manor', 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. 224-225 (available online).

These papers were collected for their general or antiquarian interest and relevance to the local history of Middlesex, rather than having a united provenance (that is, being produced by the same institution or business).

The Berkeley family's seat was at Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire built in 1153 by Lord Maurice Berkeley. Lord Berkeley of Stratton (died 1678) ran the Duke of York's household and built himself a magnificent London house in Piccadilly. His descendants laid out Berkeley Square in the grounds. In 1679 George Berkeley made first Earl of Berkeley by King Charles II.

The fifth Earl of Berkeley, Frederick Augustus (1745-1810) took Mary Cole, a butcher's daughter as his mistress. In 1796 they married, Mary having borne the earl five children and later that year their legitimate son Thomas Moreton was born. Mary was anxious about the legitimacy of her adored eldest son William Fitzharding (1786-1857). In 1799 she and the Earl forged the Berkeley parish register with a false entry for a secret marriage 1785 to make all their children legitimate. On the death of the earl in 1810, the Berkeley Peerage Case was heard in the House of Lords and in 1811 the earldom passed to Thomas Moreton. In 1841 William Fitzharding was given the title Earl Fitzhardinge.

The family held estates throughout England.

Each parish was obliged to elect Overseers of the Poor by the Poor Law Act of 1598 and the Poor Relief Act of 1601. The Overseers were responsible for collecting the poor rate from inhabitants of the parish, and using the rate to relieve local paupers, including running a workhouse if they so chose. The Clerk of the Peace was responsible for keeping the records of Quarter Sessions for each county.

Saint Mary the Virgin is an ancient parish within Hampton Deanery, which is within the Kensington Area of the Diocese of London. The following parishes were cleaved from the ancient parish: Holy Trinity, Twickenham Common (1842); Saint Stephen, East Twickenham (1875); Twickenham, All Saints (1914) and Twickenham, All Hallows (1939). The parish of Saint Philip and Saint Paul, Whitton, was also created from Saint Mary's in 1862. Saint Augustine of Canterbury, Whitton, was created as a London Diocesan Home Mission church in 1935, within the parish of Saint Philip and Saint Paul, and became a separate parish in 1958.

The church of Saint Mary the Virgin was rebuilt in 1714-15 by John James, who was one of the surveyors to Queen Anne's Fifty New Churches project. Its structure is of red brick with Tuscan pilasters surmounted by a pediments. There is an early 16th century bell, three from the 17th century and four from the 18th century. The church was enlarged again in 1754. There are many original fittings including the gallery fronts and reredos and also monuments: a mediaeval monument brass of 1443 to Richard Burton, the King's chief cook. There is a monument to Alexander Pope and his parent (Pope and his mother are buried here).

The Manor of West Drayton was owned by Saint Paul's Cathedral from around 1000. It was leased out or farmed for the common benefit of the canons. Henry VIII acquired the manor in 1546 and granted it to Sir William Paget (1506-1568). It remained in the Paget family until 1786 when Henry Paget, the first Earl of Uxbridge (1744-1812) sold it to Fysh Coppinger, a London merchant. Coppinger assumed his wife's surname of de Burgh and the manor stayed in the de Burgh family until 1939.

Information from: 'Hillingdon, including Uxbridge: Manors and other estates', 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. 69-75 (available online).

The manorial rights of Twickenham Manor were granted to Queen Henrietta Maria as part of her jointure in 1629, and, having been sold by Parliament in 1652, were returned to her at the Restoration. In 1665 she granted the manor to the Earl of Clarendon. His son Laurence Hyde, who was created Earl of Rochester in 1682, was in possession in 1689.

From: 'Twickenham: 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. 147-150 (available online).

Until 1841, the legal status of being a bankrupt was confined to traders owing more than £100 (this was reduced to £50 in 1842). Debtors who were not traders did not qualify to become bankrupt, but stayed as insolvent debtors, who were held responsible for their debts but unable to pay them, they remained subject to common law proceedings and indefinite imprisonment, if their creditors so wished. The legal definition of 'trader' came to include all those who made a living by buying and selling and included all those who bought materials, worked on them and then re-sold them. Those who wished to qualify as bankrupts, and thus avoid the awful fate of an insolvent debtor, sometimes gave a false or misleadingly general description of their occupations: "dealer and chapman" was very common.

The Bankruptcy Act of 1571 allowed commissioners of bankrupts to be appointed; so that a bankrupt could discharge his debts by sale of his assets, and then begin trading again with his debts cleared. The bankrupt's creditors would petition the Lord Chancellor to allow a commission of bankruptcy. These Commissioners were independent assessors who would decide whether the debtor was eligible for bankruptcy proceedings, and oversee the sale of his assets and repayment of his creditors. In 1832 the Court of Bankruptcy was established.

Source of information: The National Archives Research Guide "Legal Records Information 5: Bankrupts and Insolvent Debtors: 1710-1869" (available online).

James Milner left his estates in Tottenham to his grand-daughter Elizabeth who was married to Henry Sperling.

A manor in Tottenham known as the Rectory manor was held by Henry Piper Sperling from 1797.

In medieval times Saint Mary's was one of the most important churches in Middlesex. There is a twelfth-century tower with tall octagonal lead spires. The nave was re-built in the thirteenth-century when the rector was Elias de Dereham, the canon of Salisbury. Various additions and embellishments took place under John Byrkhead, rector from 1437 to 1468, then restored heavily in the nineteenth century. Many brasses including a small brass of John Lyons, founder of Harrow School.

The parish of Hillingdon lay in the north west of Middlesex, bordered by the river Colne, Harefield, Ickenham, Hayes, Harlington, West Drayton and Harmondsworth. Hillingdon, Uxbridge, and Cowley are very closely related; for example Uxbridge and, later, the manor of Hillingdon were included in Colham manor; while Uxbridge hamlet extended into Hillingdon parish and parts of Cowley village lay in Hillingdon. In 1841 Hillingdon parish, including the township of Uxbridge, contained 4,944 acres and Cowley parish 306 acres.

The Victoria County History of Middlesex notes that "by the time of the first parliamentary inclosure in 1795 approximately three-fifths of Hillingdon parish had already been inclosed. Inclosure of small parcels of waste probably proceeded steadily from the late medieval period onwards: some open-field land had been inclosed before 1636, and the process accelerated during the 17th and 18th centuries. Under the 1795 Act Cowley Field, comprising 331 acres in Hillingdon and Cowley parishes, was inclosed. A second Act, passed in 1812 and executed in 1825, inclosed a further 1,400 acres and completed the inclosure of open-field and waste land, save for 15 acres of Uxbridge Common which were reserved as an open space."

From: 'Hillingdon, including Uxbridge: Introduction', 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. 55-69 (available online).

The licences were for one year, and were issued by the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes in accordance with 50 Geo. III. c.41: the Hawkers Act 1810.

Licences for hawkers and pedlars were first introduced in 1697. They were managed by the Board of Commissioners of Hawkers, Pedlars and Petty Chapmen. In 1810 this Board was replaced by the Board of Hackney Coach Commissioners, and then in 1832 the licencing work was taken over by the Board of Stamps and Taxes.

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).

Joseph Corbetta and his brother Charles, jewellers, appear in the London 1851 census, at which time they were aged 43 and 40 respectively.

North Thames Gas Board (1949-1973): one of 12 Area Boards formed when the gas industry was nationalised in 1949, following the passing of the 1948 Gas Bill. Supplied area of 1,059 square miles stretching from Bracknell, Marlow and High Wycombe to the south east coast of Essex. When formed it was made up of a merger of 12 statutory gas undertakings: Ascot and District Gas and Electricity Company, Chertsey Gas Consumers Company; Commercial Gas Company; (Chartered) Gas Light and Coke Company; Hornsey Gas Company; Lea Bridge District Gas Company; North Middlesex Gas Company; Romford Gas Company; Slough Gas and Coke Company; Southend Corporation (Shoeburyness); Uxbridge Gas Consumers Company and Windsor Royal Gas Light Company. The North Thames Gas Board was dissolved in 1973 when it became a region of the British Gas Corporation. Note - Consumers Gas Companies were set up in consequence of dissatisfaction with the existing supplier.

Gas Light and Coke Company (1812-1949): founded in 1812, this was the first company to supply gas to London. The Company absorbed 27 smaller companies and several undertakings during its period of operation, including the Aldgate Gas Light and Coke Company (1819), the Brentford Gas Company (1926), the City of London Gas Light and Coke Company (1870), the Equitable Gas Light Company (1871), the Great Central Gas Consumer's Company (1870), Imperial Gas Light and Coke Company (1876), the Independent Gas Light and Coke Company (1876), the London Gas Light Company (1883), Pinner Gas Company (1930), Richmond Gas Company (1925), Southend-on-Sea and District Gas Company (1932), Victoria Docks Gas Company (1871) and Western Gas Light Company (1873). In May 1949, after the passing of the Gas Bill 1948, the Company handed over its assets to the North Thames Gas Board.

Brentford Gas Light Company (1821-1926): founded in 1821 at the instigation of Sir Felix Booth, the company had works at Brentford and retorts at Southall and covered a wide area including Hammersmith, Kensington, Southall, Twickenham and Richmond. Merged with the Gas Light and Coke Company in 1926.

Harrow and Stanmore Gas Company (1872-1924): Harrow Gas Works founded in 1855 by John Chapman and rebuilt in 1872 as the Harrow Gas Light and Coke Company Limited and became a statutory company as the Harrow District Gas Company in 1873. In 1894 it became the Harrow and Stanmore Gas Company. Merged with the Brentford Gas Company in 1924. Both merged with the Gas Light and Coke Company in 1926.

Pinner Gas Company (1868-1930): founded between 1868 and 1872, merged with Gas Light and Coke Company in 1926.

Hornsey Gas Company Limited (1857-1949): formed in 1857, became statutory in 1866, controlled by the South East Gas Corporation from 1939 and merged with the North Thames Gas Board in 1949.

Staines and Egham District Gas and Coke Company Limited (1833-1915): founded 1833, merged with Brentford Gas Company in 1915.

North Middlesex Gas Company (1862-1949): founded in 1862, with works at Mill Hill.

Uxbridge Gas Company (1841-1861): founded 1841 by T Stacey; faced competition from the new Uxbridge and Hillingdon Gas Consumers Company from 1854 onwards (the companies were known as the 'Old' Gas Company and the 'New' Gas Company). Amalgamated with The Uxbridge and Hillingdon Gas Consumers Company in 1861.

Uxbridge and Hillingdon Gas Consumers Company (1854-1949): formed in 1854 in competition with the Uxbridge Gas Company; became statutory in 1861; after 1918 expanded rapidly and purchased surrounding companies including the Beaconsfield Gas Company, Great Marlow Gas Company and Maidenhead Gas Company. Known as the Uxbridge, Wycombe and District Gas Company from 1921; the Uxbridge, Maidenhead, Wycombe and District Gas Company from 1925 and the South East Gas Corporation from 1936. It merged with the North Thames Gas Board in 1949.

A militia force was raised from the civilian population of a county, in order to supplement the regular army in cases of emergency. In Middlesex they were called out at times of unrest. There were around 300 militiamen in Middlesex in 1802. During the Napoleonic Wars this number rose to over 2000 by 1808 and 12,000 by 1812. In 1881 the Army was organised into territorial regiments formed of regular, militia and volunteer battalions. Middlesex militia battalions came under the Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own).

Lieutenant Colonel John Brettell was John Brettell, junior, Secretary of the Stamp Office. He lived in Muswell Hill. Muswell Hill, formerly Muswell Rise, was at one time known as Brettells' Hill.

The manor of Enfield is first recorded as held by Ansgar the staller in 1066. In 1086 it was owned by Geoffrey de Mandeville and stayed in his family until 1419 when it became the property of King Henry V. Subsequently it was assigned to various female members of the Royal family, including Margaret of Anjou; and was leased out by the Royals until the lease was acquired by the Duke of Chandos in 1742.

Source: "A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton, Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham", 1976, (available online).

A militia force was raised from the civilian population of a county, in order to supplement the regular army in cases of emergency. In Middlesex they were called out at times of unrest. They came to be supplemented by volunteer forces, such as those raised by the 1794 Bill for "encouraging and disciplining such corps and companies of men as shall voluntarily enrol for the defence of their counties, towns and coasts or for the general defence of the Kingdom during the Present War [with France]".

There were around 300 militiamen in Middlesex in 1802. During the Napoleonic Wars this number rose to over 2000 by 1808 and 12,000 by 1812. More volunteer corps were raised in 1859, again in response to threat of French invasion. In 1881 the Army was organised into territorial regiments formed of regular, militia and volunteer battalions. Middlesex militia and volunteer battalions came under the Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own).

The Convalescent Home for Children was founded in 1869 in Cromwell House, Highgate, once owned by Oliver Cromwell's eldest daughter. It was established by the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street, as a rest home outside the City where children could recuperate. There were 52 beds.

From: 'Highgate: Part 1 of 2', Old and New London: Volume 5 (1878), pp. 389-405.

The firm of Jessop and Gough was based at 29 High Bridge Street, Waltham Abbey, Essex. Frederick Charles Edenborough Jessop was a solicitor, commissioner for oaths, vestry clerk for the local church of Waltham Holy Cross, clerk to the Urban District Council, the burial board and the committee for education. Hubert Gough was a solicitor and clerk to the justices of Edmonton Petty Sessions division for over fifty years. They were joined by John Bolle Tyndale Gough, solicitor.

The Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, designed by Christopher Wren, opened on 26 March 1674. In 1747 the theatre and a patent renewal were purchased by renowned actor David Garrick and partner James Lacy. Garrick served as manager and lead actor of the theatre until roughly 1766, and continued on in the management role for another ten years after.

Garrick commissioned Robert Adam and his brother James to renovate the theatre's interior, which they did in 1775. Their additions included an ornate ceiling and a stucco facade facing Bridges Street.

Garrick left the stage in 1776 and sold his shares in the theatre to the Irish playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

Source: http://www.theatre-royal.com

The account book includes details of clients in Hornsey, Wood Green, Ponders End, Holloway, Stepney, Bethnal Green, Whitechapel, Shoreditch, Hoxton, Finsbury, Mile End, Peckham and Lambeth.

For a detailed history of the growth and development of Enfield and South Mimms, please see the Victoria County History for Middlesex ("A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham", 1976; available online).

The Mann family were market gardeners and most of the records relate to the land they cultivated.

Probate is defined as the official proving of a will and the legal process involving this. It also refers to the officially verified copy of the will delivered to the executors, together with a document issued under the seal of the court, certifying that it has been proved and granting them authority.

The manor of Great Stanmore was owned by St Alban's Abbey at the time of the Norman Conquest. The manor was initially known as Stanmore-the first recorded division of Stanmore into "Great" and "Little" is in the Domesday Book. The Manor of Little Stanmore was also known as Canons. In 1709 Little Stanmore, and in 1715 Great Stanmore, were sold to James Brydges, who became duke of Chandos in 1719. He rebuilt the mansion house of Canons in ostentatious style, including marbles, rare woods, ceiling paintings and tapestries. The grounds included canals, hothouses, an aviary and sculptures. His son Henry was forced by debts to break up the Canons estate, much of the furniture and collections of fine art were sold and the house was pulled down in 1753. The family retained the lordship of the manors.

The third and last Duke of Chandos was James Brydges. His daughter, Lady Anna Elizabeth (1780-1836), was married to Richard Temple Nugent Grenville, (1776-1839), known as Earl Temple, the son of the Marquess of Buckingham. Richard adopted the surname Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville and was made 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos in 1822. Their son Richard Plantagenet Temple-Nugent-BrydgesChandos-Grenville sold the manor in 1840.

Information from: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976) (available online).

The Court roll for the Manor of Enfield is a memorandum of the conditional surrender of a messuage with orchard, garden and appurtenances on East part of Windmill Field next the Highway from London to Ware, by Susanna Moodie to John Moore.

The Sessions Paper is a petition of John Harling, hosier, to the Lord Mayor of London, requesting payment of reward for his share in securing arrest and conviction of John Crofts who had burgled his house.

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 bargain and sale was an early form of conveyance often used by executors to convey land. The bargainee or person to whom the land was bargained and sold, became seised of the land.

From the British Records Association "Guidelines 3 - Interpreting Deeds: How To Interpret Deeds - A Simple Guide And Glossary".

The land was leased by John Pateman of 4 Weymouth Terrace, Hertford Road, Lower Edmonton, a nurseryman and florist, to be cultivated as nursery or market garden ground, with greenhouses, fixtures and fittings.

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).

From the British Records Association "Guidelines 3 - Interpreting Deeds: How To Interpret Deeds - A Simple Guide And Glossary".

The Willis family were involved in the legal profession: the documents mention Richard Willis of Tokenhouse Yard, solicitor; James Willis of Lincoln's Inn, barrister-at-law; and George Willis, 449 West Strand.

The manor of Great Stanmore was owned by St Alban's Abbey at the time of the Norman Conquest. The manor was initially known as Stanmore-the first recorded division of Stanmore into "Great" and "Little" is in the Domesday Book. The Manor of Little Stanmore was also known as Canons.

In 1709 Little Stanmore, and in 1715 Great Stanmore, were sold to James Brydges, who became duke of Chandos in 1719. He rebuilt the mansion house of Canons in ostentatious style, including marbles, rare woods, ceiling paintings and tapestries. The grounds included canals, hothouses, an aviary and sculptures. His son Henry was forced by debts to break up the Canons estate, much of the furniture and collections of fine art were sold and the house was pulled down in 1753. The family retained the lordship of the manors and kept a small amount of land in the area.

The third and last Duke of Chandos was James Brydges, son of Henry. His daughter, Lady Anna Elizabeth (1780-1836), was married to Richard Temple Nugent Grenville, (1776-1839), known as Earl Temple, the son of the Marquess of Buckingham. Richard adopted the surname Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville and was made 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos in 1822. Their son Richard Plantagenet Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville sold the manor of Great Stanmore in 1840.

Information from: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976) (available online).

Church End Finchley is a place in the London Borough of Barnet, popularly known as Finchley Central. Hendon Lane runs from Ballards Lane to Finchley Lane.

The Manor of Little Stanmore was also known as Canons. In 1086 the manor belonged to Roger de Rames and remained in his family, although gifts of land were made to St Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield, and to other churches; while parcels of land were sold, leased or transferred. By 1243 the Rames holding in Little Stanmore was divided between three tenants, leasing the land from St Bartholomew's. By 1353 the priory had increased its holdings to 957 and a half acres, the largest single estate of St Bartholomew's until the Dissolution. The priors leased out the manor house and gardens and portions of the estate, from 1501 referring to it as "Little Stanmore called Canons". St Bartholomew's surrendered to the Crown in 1539 and Little Stanmore was granted to Robert Fuller, the last prior. He died in 1540 and the manor reverted to the Crown, who granted it to Hugh Losse and his heirs.

In 1604 one of the Losse heirs sold the manor to Sir Thomas Lake. It remained in the Lake family until 1709 when it was sold to James Brydges, who became duke of Chandos in 1719. He rebuilt the mansion house of Canons in ostentatious style, including marbles, rare woods, ceiling paintings and tapestries. The grounds included canals, hothouses, an aviary and sculptures. His son Henry was forced by debts to break up the Canons estate, much of the furniture and collections of fine art were sold and the house was pulled down in 1753. However, the Brydges family did retain the lordship of Little Stanmore and Great Stanmore and still owned a small amount of land in the area. William Hallett bought the site and built a new, more modest villa. By 1838 Canons was added to the neighbouring estate owned by the Plumers. In 1929 when the mansion with 10 acres of land were bought by the North London Collegiate School, while part of the estate was purchased by Harrow Urban District Council to be used as a park.

Information from: 'Little Stanmore: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 113-117 (available online).

The manor of Worcesters was formed in 1298 by John of Enfield. The manor was named for the owner in 1470, John, earl of Worcester. In 1550 it was granted to Princess Elizabeth. As queen she granted it to Robert Cecil, although it was later sold and passed through various owners. The house and land were purchased by the Enfield Urban District Council in 1951.

Source of information: 'Enfield: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 224-229.

Worton House, Worton Cottage and freehold and copyhold lands in the parish of Isleworth and in the manors of Isleworth Syon, Twickenham and Hounslow were the inheritance of Elizabeth Anne Ramsay nee Robinson.

Richard Robinson bequeathed money to the parish of Isleworth in his will of 1763. The money was to be used for various purposes: to provide bread for the poor on the anniversary of his funeral; to pay the vicar to preach an annual sermon on charity, for a lecturer to read lessons at this sermon, and for the children at the Isleworth charity school to be present; and for the preservation and repair of his tomb.