Westminster Hospital Medical School was established in 1834 as a private school in Dean Street, London, by administrators and medical staff, notably G J Guthrie. By 1841, the hospital governors decided to purchase the buildings. Problems with the lease, along with difficulties in providing a specimen museum, led to falling numbers and revenue and the school halted in 1847. It was restablished in 1849, financed by the lecturers paying for their chairs. The establishment of a specimen museum meant students no longer needed to study anatomy at King's College. A histology laboratory was added in 1874, and the chemistry laboratories added in 1885. A new building in Caxton Street was opened in 1885, financed by the hospital, lecturers, the City of London and subscriptions.
In 1905, the teaching of pre-clinical subjects ended at Westminster, and moved to King's College. The school was taken over by the army in 1914 to train pathologists for the war effort. Student numbers and the school suffered as a result, and it was only after 1920 that numbers improved.
A new medical school was opened in 1938, adjacent to the new hospital in St John's Gardens. The school moved again to enlarged premises in Page Street, Westminster in 1966.
The school merged with Charing Cross Hospital Medical School in 1984 and became known as the Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School. In 1993, the school moved with the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital to newly built premises on the site of the old St Stephen's Hospital on Fulham Road. The school became part of Imperial College School of Medicine on its formation in 1997.
The Westminster Group of hospitals was created as an administrative group with the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948. Westminster Hospital was the principal hospital and others included Westminster Children's Hospital, All Saint's Hospital, the Gordon Hospital, Putney Hospital, Queen Mary's Hospital in Roehampton, Chartam Park Convalescent Home, Parkwood Convalescent Home and Yarrow Convalescent Home. The Group was dissolved and broken up in 1974 with NHS reorganisation.
The Westminster General Dispensary, Gerrard street, was instituted in 1774. It treated medical and surgical cases and also had a lying-in department. It closed in 1961.
Early Commissioners of Sewers were solely concerned with land drainage and the prevention of flooding, not with the removal of sewage in the modern sense. In 1531 an Act of Sewers was passed which set out in great detail the duties and powers of Commissioners and governed their work until the 19th century. Gradually a permanent pattern emerged in the London area of seven commissions, five north and two south of the Thames, with, after the Great Fire, a separate commission for the City of London. The London commissioners had more extensive powers than those in other parts of the country; they had control over all watercourses and ditches within two miles of the City of London as well as newly constructed drains and sewers. After 1800 the London commissioners also obtained powers to control the formation of new sewers and house drains.
The first Commission of Sewers for the Westminster area issued under the 1531 Act appears to be that for "certen lymitts in and aboute Westminster in the countie of Midd" issued on 22 May 1596 (National Archives Crown Office Docquet Book, Ind. 4208). For the next 50 years the formula varied but the bounds of the commission always extended beyond Westminster. The first extant Letters Patent appointing a commission defines the limits as "extending from the Parishes of Hampton, Teddington, Twitnam, Isleworth, Hanwell, Cranford, Acton, Eling, Hammersmith, Fulham, Kensington and Chelsey in the County of Middlesex and the City of Westminster and precincts of the same and so to Temple Bar. And from thence within the Parishes of St. Giles in the Fields, Pancras, Marylebone, Hampstead, Wilsden, Paddington and to the River of Thames" (W.C.S. 1). It was not until 1807 that the area was defined by statute (Act 47, Geo. III, Sess I.c.7 (L. & P.)). It then included all parishes within what is now the County of London west of the City and north of the Thames as far as Stamford Brook, with part of Willesden.
Rapid building development in Westminster in the second half of the 17th century added greatly to the difficulties and duties of the Commissioners. By an Act of 1690 (Act 2, W. and M. Sess II.c.8) new sewers, when built, were subject to their supervision but statutory power to control the construction of new sewers or to build new sewers themselves was not obtained until 1807 (Act 47, Geo. III, Sess I.c.7 (L. and P.)). In 1834 the Commissioners obtained a Special Act (Act 4 and 5, W. IV, c.96) to enable them to construct a new sewer in Bayswater. By the 1840s they were conscious of the need to overhaul the whole of their organisation but the amending Act of 1847 (Act 10 and 11, Vic., c.70 (L and P.)) came too late for any effective action.
Rates were local taxes levied upon the occupiers of property to defray expenses incurred by local government authorities in providing services, including maintenance of sewer systems and the relief of the poor.
Early Commissioners of Sewers were solely concerned with land drainage and the prevention of flooding, not with the removal of sewage in the modern sense. In 1531 an Act of Sewers was passed which set out in great detail the duties and powers of Commissioners and governed their work until the 19th century. Gradually a permanent pattern emerged in the London area of seven commissions, five north and two south of the Thames, with, after the Great Fire, a separate commission for the City of London. The London commissioners had more extensive powers than those in other parts of the country; they had control over all watercourses and ditches within two miles of the City of London as well as newly constructed drains and sewers. After 1800 the London commissioners also obtained powers to control the formation of new sewers and house drains.
The first reference to a commission of sewers for Westminster which has been found occurs in 1596. During the 17th century the areas named in the several commissions varied considerably, but they always extended beyond the bounds of Westminster. The first extant Letters Patent, that for 1691, includes within the jurisdiction of the commissioners Hampton, Teddington, Isleworth, Hanwell, Ealing, as well as Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. It was not until 1807 that the area was defined by statute; it then included all parishes within what is now the County of London west of the City and north of the Thames as far as Stamford Brook, with part of Willesden. The same statute gave the Commissioners power to control the construction of new sewers.
A Bill to enable a bridge to be constructed across the Thames from Westminster to Lambeth became law in May 1736. Commissioners to oversee the project were appointed with powers to acquire land and clear property to make way for the bridge. On the Westminster side, streets were very narrow and the land ownership pattern was very complex with many leases and subleases. Juries were thus necessary to decide on acquisition and compensation. Construction began in 1738 and the bridge was opened in 1750.
The first Westminster Bridge was built by Commissioners under the Act of 9 George II, c.29 (1736) and the amending Act, 10 George c.16, of the following year; it was designed by Charles Labelye. The first stone was laid on 29 January 1739 and the bridge completed in November 1750. After 1831, however, the structure became dangerous, and a new bridge, designed by Thomas Page, replaced it in 1862. The work was paid for partly out of the funds of the Westminster Bridge Commissioners, partly by a Parliamentary Grant. The bridge was transferred to the Metropolitan Board of Works in accordance with the London Parks and Works Act, 1887.
Early Commissioners of Sewers were solely concerned with land drainage and the prevention of flooding, not with the removal of sewage in the modern sense. In 1531 an Act of Sewers was passed which set out in great detail the duties and powers of Commissioners and governed their work until the 19th century. Gradually a permanent pattern emerged in the London area of seven commissions, five north and two south of the Thames, with, after the Great Fire, a separate commission for the City of London. The London commissioners had more extensive powers than those in other parts of the country; they had control over all watercourses and ditches within two miles of the City of London as well as newly constructed drains and sewers. After 1800 the London commissioners also obtained powers to control the formation of new sewers and house drains.
The first Commission of Sewers for the Westminster area issued under the 1531 Act appears to be that for "certen lymitts in and aboute Westminster in the countie of Midd" issued on 22 May 1596 (National Archives Crown Office Docquet Book, Ind. 4208). For the next 50 years the formula varied but the bounds of the commission always extended beyond Westminster. The first extant Letters Patent appointing a commission defines the limits as "extending from the Parishes of Hampton, Teddington, Twitnam, Isleworth, Hanwell, Cranford, Acton, Eling, Hammersmith, Fulham, Kensington and Chelsey in the County of Middlesex and the City of Westminster and precincts of the same and so to Temple Bar. And from thence within the Parishes of St. Giles in the Fields, Pancras, Marylebone, Hampstead, Wilsden, Paddington and to the River of Thames" (W.C.S. 1). It was not until 1807 that the area was defined by statute (Act 47, Geo. III, Sess I.c.7 (L. and P.)). It then included all parishes within what is now the County of London west of the City and north of the Thames as far as Stamford Brook, with part of Willesden.
Rapid building development in Westminster in the second half of the 17th century added greatly to the difficulties and duties of the Commissioners. By an Act of 1690 (Act 2, W. and M. Sess II.c.8) new sewers, when built, were subject to their supervision but statutory power to control the construction of new sewers or to build new sewers themselves was not obtained until 1807 (Act 47, Geo. III, Sess I.c.7 (L. and P.)). In 1834 the Commissioners obtained a Special Act (Act 4 and 5, W. IV, c.96) to enable them to construct a new sewer in Bayswater. By the 1840s they were conscious of the need to overhaul the whole of their organisation but the amending Act of 1847 (Act 10 and 11, Vic., c.70 (L and P.)) came too late for any effective action.
Westminster and Kensington Freeholds Limited, of Bush Lane House, was a private company which handled certain property developments of the North British and Mercantile Insurance Company, among whose records these volumes were found.
This company was established in 1836 for life assurance business in the United Kingdom at 27 King Street, Covent Garden. It was acquired by Guardian Assurance Company (CLC/B/107-01) in 1906.
The Westfield Trust was established on 1 Nov 1988 for charitable purposes connected with Westfield College and Queen Mary and Westfield College. The creation of the Trust resulted from an agreement made in Mar 1987 to fully merge Westfield College and Queen Mary College with the gradual transfer of all activities to the Mile End site. In order to preserve something of the original intentions of the founders of Westfield College, both Colleges agreed to form the Westfield Trust.
Prior to the establishment of the Westfield Trust, another charitable trust had existed; the Westfield College Development Trust. The Development Trust was established in 1979 to raise funds for the College and support projects. This included the Centenary Appeal which funded a new hall of residence. With the announcement of a merger between Westfield College and Queen Mary College, no further fund raising was undertaken. With the creation of the Westfield Trust in 1988, it was decided in Jul 1989 to dissolve the Development Trust, with all of its assets being transferred to the Westfield Trust.
The Westfield Trust had representation on the new College Council and provided financial support for capital and smaller projects within the College. Projects supported by the Trust include the College Nursery, academic visitor accommodation, restoration of the Octagon, refurbishment of the Great Hall in the People's Palace, and the Westfield Student Village, as well as the provision of research studentships and bursaries.
In 2008 the decision was taken that the Trust had met its objectives and should be wound down. On 31 Jul 2009 all Trust assets and liabilities were formally transferred to the College. The final meeting of the Trust took place on 30 Nov 2009.
Chairman of the Westfield Trust:
Lord Jenkin of Roding, 1989-1999; Francis Vernon McClure, 1999-2009
Secretary to the Westfield Trust:
Michael Sumner, 1989-1995; Brian Murphy, 1995-2009
The Westfield College Association was founded in 1900 to provide a means for Westfield College alumni to maintain contact with the College and each other as well as to raise the profile of and assist the College. The Association held regular meetings and also maintained a Benevolent Fund for its members. In 1952 the Association agreed to take the major part of the responsibility for the publication of Hermes, the College Newsletter for current and former students of Westfield College. The final meeting of the Association took place on 14 Sep 1991, after which the Association merged with Queen Mary College to form the Queen Mary and Westfield College Association.
Presidents of the Westfield College Association: 1900-1920 Lady Chapman 1921-1927 Anne Richardson 1928-1931 Frances Gray 1931-1933 Lady Chapman 1934-1936 Eleanor Lodge 1937-1941 Constance Parker 1942-1945 Dorothy Chapman 1946-1949 Lilian James (also Hon. Secretary 1900-1939) 1950-1955 Ellen Delf-Smith 1956-1958 Helen Ralph 1959-1964 Gertrude Stanley 1964-1970 Kathleen Walpole 1971-1974 Kathleen Chesney 1974-1977 Eleanor Carus Wilson 1977-1991 Rosalind Hill
King's College London Department of Computer Science was established in 1984 as part of the Faculty of Natural Science when it transferred from Westfield College. After the merger with Chelsea College and Queen Elizabeth College in 1985, it formed part of the Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, currently known as the School of Physical Sciences and Engineering.
Westfield College was established in Hampstead, North London, through the efforts of Ann Dudin Brown and Constance Louisa Maynard. Ann Dudin Brown provided a benefaction of £10,000 to establish the College. Following a meeting held on 11 Feb 1882 it was agreed that a residential women's college based on religious principals should be founded in London.
A pioneer of women's education, the college was the first specifically aimed at preparing women for University of London degrees and, taking the Oxbridge women's colleges as its example, it was also the first London women's college to make residence a requirement. The College opened on 2 Oct 1882 with just 5 students and 2 members of staff, including Constance Maynard as Mistress. It was situated in two houses at Maresfield Gardens in Hampstead. The name of the College was undecided and during the its early years it was referred to as the College for Ladies and the Ladies College at Westfield. Westfield probably derives from the name of the area or the houses in Maresfield Gardens. Several names for the College were proposed including St Hilda's but none were adopted. It was only following the move to permanent buildings that the name Westfield College was formally adopted, as the name had been informally used for a number of years.
The first graduands of Westfield College were presented for University degrees in 1887, one of whom was Anne Wakefield Richardson who joined the academic staff in April 1887 as Resident Lecturer in Classics. By 1889 the 'five original' staff members were in post who, in addition to Constance Maynard and Anne Richardson, included Frances Gray, Josephine Willoughby, and Mabel Beloe. Lilian Whitby was appointed to the Resident Staff in 1896 following the departure of Miss Willoughby and Miss Gray, and Caroline Skeel joined in 1899 along with Miss Sturdwick.
On Lady Day (25 March) 1891, the College moved to its permanent location on Kidderpore Avenue, Hampstead. The College buildings consisted of Kidderpore Hall, which later became known as Old House, and the New Wing, later renamed Maynard Wing. It gradually extended to include the Skeel Building (1903) housing the Library, and the Dudin Brown Wing (1905).
In 1902 Westfield College became a School of the University of London in the Faculty of Arts. Although science in the form of Mathematics and Biology was taught, the facilities were insufficient and therefore though attached to Westfield, students were External students and took the advanced part of the course at other colleges. However, in 1906, Ellen Delf was appointed to teach Botany and developed the College's facilities enough for the University of London to approve the Laboratory for work up to the final BSc examination in Botany in 1910. In Oct 1915 the University recognised the Botanical Laboratory for Honours work, which meant it was now possible for Westfield students to sit for Honours BSc as Internal students.
Constance Maynard continued to be Mistress of the College until 1913. She was succeeded by Agnes de Selincourt who adopted the title Principal. Miss de Selincourt died four years later from a tetanus injection following a bicycling accident. Anne Richardson became Acting Principal until the appointment of Bertha Phillpotts in 1919.
During the 1920s the policy of restricting the intake of students for the Bachelor of Arts to those who were prepared to read for Honours, was introduced, although the different structure for the Bachelor of Science meant that Pass students were still accepted. However, by this time General Students, those who did not intend to take any examination, were no longer accepted although exceptions were sometimes made for overseas students.
In 1933 Westfield was granted its Royal Charter of Incorporation, marking the College's Jubilee. By this time the College had extended considerably now occupying buildings along both sides of Kidderpore Avenue. During the war years, 1939-1945, the College was evacuated to St Peter's Hall, Oxford, where it had its very first male students; six Jesuit students who were evacuated to Oxford where Westfield was the only College at which they could continue their London arts degrees. The College buildings in Hampstead were let by Tavistock Clinic, the Young Women's Christian Association, and were also requisitioned by the Admiralty for training the Women's Royal Naval Service.
In 1947 Ellen Delf Smith retired and the College gradually ceased to admit students for a natural science degree. By 1950 the teaching of Botany ceased. However over the next decade the developing of a Science Faculty was at the fore-front. In 1959 demolition began for a new Science Building. In 1960 the University formally acknowledged Westfield College as a School in the Faculty of Science as well as a School in the Faculty of Arts. The new building was completed by Oct 1961 at which point Westfield began to offer degrees in Botany, Zoology, Physics, and Chemistry. Queen Elizabeth II formally opened the Science Building in May 1962, after which point it was renamed the Queen's Building.
The 1960s marked a decade of change and development. Not only had a comprehensive range of Science degrees been introduced, but it was decided to alter the Royal Charter in order to allow the admission of men undergraduate students. Men students were formally admitted to the College from 1964. In 1966 Westfield College appointed its first male Principal, Bryan Thwaites, who continued to be Principal until 1984. The College also embarked upon an expansionist policy to double its student numbers from 600 to 1200 and pursued a comprehensive development plan for which Sir Hugh Casson's firm of architects was commissioned. In 1963 the new Refectory building was completed. In 1965 Orchard II, a residential wing with further laboratories, was opened, and by 1967 the Queen's Building had been extended to include a Zoology wing. The 1960s also saw the purchase of several houses along Finchley Road.
A purpose built library was completed in 1971 and named the Caroline Skeel Library. During the same year students were admitted for the first time to study Computer Science. A further hall of residence was opened and named Kidderpore Hall, which comprised four houses for both male and female students. A Supplemental Charter was granted in 1976 which, among other provisions, removed the religious constraints of the original Charter.
However, by the 1980s the organisation, governance, and structure of the University of London began to be questioned. The Committee on Academic Organisation, better known as the Swinnerton-Dyer Committee, was established in 1980 to consider the situation of the University over the next 15 years and to make recommendations that would enable large financial savings. The Chairman of the Committee was Sir Peter Swinnerton-Dyer. As a result of the Committee and previous reports, including the Flowers Report and the Murray Report, the University Court concluded that teaching in the sciences should be concentrated in 5 institutional groups; Imperial College, University College, Kings College/Queen Elizabeth College, Queen Mary College, and Bedford College/Royal Holloway College. Smaller colleges, including Westfield, were encouraged to collaborate and/or merge with the larger institutions. Consequently, it became apparent that Westfield College would be unable to continue in its current form. Negotiations for collaboration and/or mergers took place with several institutions including King's College and Queen Mary College.
In 1982 the decision was made to transfer the Science Faculty to Queen Mary College. The transfer was completed by 1984. Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Biochemistry, and Zoology, and 68 members of staff were transferred to Queen Mary College in Mile End, some Physicists were transferred to Royal Holloway, and Computer Science was transferred to King's College. The financial situation of Westfield College did not improve and in 1987 the College Council agreed to a full merger with Queen Mary College. As part of the agreement it was decided that the name of Westfield would be retained and although the new college would be located in Mile End, new residences would be created in Mile End to maintain the Westfield ethos as a residential college. The Westfield Trust was established in 1988 to preserve something of the original intentions of the founders of Westfield College. On 1 Aug 1989 Queen Mary and Westfield College was inaugurated. All departments were transferred with the exception of the Department of the History of Art, which transferred to University College London. Part of the Hampstead campus was sold to King's College. The Hampstead campus continued to be used by Queen Mary and Westfield College, better known today as Queen Mary, University of London, until 1992, when all activities were relocated to Mile End.
Principals of Westfield College: Constance Louisa Maynard, 1882-1913 Agnes de Selincourt, 1913-1917
Anne Wakefield Richardson, Acting Principal, 1917-1919 Bertha Phillpotts, 1919-1921 Eleanor Lodge, 1921-1929 Dorothy Chapman, 1929-1939 Mary Stocks, 1939-1951 Kathleen Chesney, 1951-1962 Pamela Matthews, 1962-1965 Bryan Thwaites, 1965-1984 John E Varey, 1984-1989
The Print collection was acquired by Westfield College Library during the early 1970s, as teaching resources primarily for the History of Art Department. Part of the collection was catalogued by a group of postgraduates under the supervision of the Deputy Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum. A number of the Westfield Prints were compared with the same print in the British Museum to verify its authenticity and state or edition.
This company operated services over most of Latin America, including Brazil. It absorbed a number of smaller companies. In 1929 the Western Telegraph Company and the Eastern Telegraph Company amalgamated to form Cable and Wireless Ltd.
The Western Synagogue was founded in 1761. Its location has changed many times: in 1774 it moved to Bedford Road, Strand; from 1797 it met in Didben's Theatre "Sans Souci" in Denmark Court; in 1826 it moved to St. Alban's Place, Haymarket where it remained until 1914, moving to 40 Whitfield Street; in 1915 it moved to Alfred Place where it remained until 1943 when the Grotrian Hall, Wigmore Street was occupied; in 1947 it met in Carton Street and eventually a new synagogue was built in Crawford Place in 1957. It has remained an independent congregation.
The synagogue burial society has burial grounds in Edmonton, New Southgate and Cheshunt.
A portion of the congregation set up a separate synagogue in Brewer Street in 1810; this later moved to Maiden Lane. It reunited with the Western Synagogue in 1907.
The Synagogue was closely involved with the running of the Westminster Jews Free School, founded in 1820. Several friendly societies were associated with the synagogue.
The Western Synagogue was an independent congregation, established in 1761. From 1957 it was situated in Crawford Street, Marylebone. It amalgamated with the Marble Arch Synagogue (founded 1954) in 1991 to form the Western Marble Arch Synagogue which is now an Associate member of the United Synagogue.
The Western Gas Light Company was incorporated by Act of Parliament 1845 and the deed of settlement is dated 1846. It was amalgamated with the (Chartered) Gas, Light and Coke Company, 1872.
The Western Friendly Medical Club was formed in 1862 for the purpose of 'establishing and maintaining a sociable and convivial intercourse amongst its' members.' The Club first met on 20 Oct 1862 and drew up its constitution: it was to include twelve members, and would meet on the 1st and 3rd Monday evenings of the month from Oct to Apr. The 5th resolution states: 'That Whist be played from eight until eleven o'clock, after which no rubber is to be commenced under a penalty of five shillings'. The 9th resolution states: 'That tea and coffee be handed round at 8 o'clock, biscuits and wine at 9, and that the supper consist of Sandwiches, Oysters, Ham or Tongue, Salad - with or without a Lobster, Wine and Cup. For any other dishes a fine of 5s.' The club continued to meet for nearly a century, before winding up their activities and donating their possessions to the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1952.
The Western Dispensary was founded in Charles Street, Westminster, in 1789, 'for gratuitously administering advice, medicines and attendance to the poor inhabitants of the City of Westminster and places adjacent'. From 1822 it also undertook maternity cases 'for the delivery of needy lying-in married women at their homes'. It moved to Tothill Street, Westminster, in 1850, to Broadway, Westminster, in 1858, and to Rochester Row, Westminster, in 1878-1879. A subsidiary organisation, the 'Marie Celeste Convalescent Branch', was established in 1888 with the object of sending patients of the Dispensary to suitable convalescent homes for recovery. The Dispensary was closed in December 1949 and its funds were handed over to the United Westminster Almshouses in 1952.
The dispensary was established in 1829, by voluntary subscription, to supply the poor in the wards of Farringdon Within, Farringdon Without and Castle Baynard with free medicines and medical advice in sickness and childbirth. Medical services were provided free by doctors at their places of residence, or in patients' homes, and prescriptions dispensed at selected druggists whose expenses were reimbursed by the charity.
The Western (Cannel) Gas Light Company was founded in 1845. It was taken over by the Gas Light and Coke Company, 1872-73.
This company of tea growers and manufacturers, operating in Assam, India, was part of the Inchcape Group of companies.
The West Middlesex Waterworks Company was founded in 1806 to supply Hammersmith, Kensington, Marylebone, Paddington and the adjacent areas. Between 1807 and 1808 works were constructed at Hammersmith and a reservoir at Campden Hill. In 1829 filter beds and a reservoir were built at Barnes. In 1855 the Hammersmith works were closed in favour of a works at Hampton where the Thames water was fresher and less polluted. In 1866 the Company's area was extended to include Hendon, Willesden, Acton and Hampstead. The Company became part of the Metropolitan Water Board in 1902.
The West Middlesex Water Works were established in 1806 to supply the Western Suburbs. They were originally proposed by Robert Dodd, a civil engineer, to supply the area around Hammersmith and Kensington. The company was incorporated in 1806 with a capital of £80,000. After a disagreement over the location of the works, Dodd resigned and William Nicholson took over in 1807 to oversee the establishment of a works at Hammersmith. Under an act designed to increase the capital of the company by £160,000, the area covered by the West Middlesex Water Company was extended to include the parishes of St James Westminster, St Anne's Soho, St Mary-le-Strand, St Clement Danes, St Paul's Covent Garden, Paddington, Marylebone, St Pancras, St George Bloomsbury and St Giles in the Fields.
In 1825 a pump was built to channel water to a new resevoir at Barrow Hill, near Primrose Hill. New resevoirs were constructed at Barnes in 1838 and in 1866 the company entered into an agreement with the Thames Conservancy which allowed it to draw an extra 4 million gallons of water from the river per day.
The company was taken over by the Metropolitan Water Board under the Metropolitan Water Act, 1902 (2 Edward VII, c.41).
On the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948 the North West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board formed the South West Middlesex Hospital Management Committee to manage and administer the hospitals in this area. For detailed histories of the individual hospitals in this group please see their individual entries.
In 1837 the newly formed Brentford Board of Guardians built a large workhouse on the east side of the Twickenham Road in Isleworth on what is now the northern part of the site of the West Middlesex University Hospital. In the 1880's on land to the south of the workhouse they constructed a school for 280 children formerly accommodated in the workhouse. This was opened in 1883 by Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke. The School was enlarged in 1901 and renamed Percy House Schools. From 1915 to 1918 it was used as a military hospital. By this time Percy House was no longer needed by the Guardians as a school since a change in policy meant children were now boarded out with foster parents or housed in scattered homes. The building was leased to HM Office of Works and was for many years used as a store for army records.
In 1894 Brentford Board of Guardians purchased from Lord Warkworth a house and grounds situated to the south east of Percy House adjoining Mill Platt. Together with other acquisitions this enlarged the total site to about 40 acres fronting Twickenham Road and Mill Platt. Brentford Union Infirmary was built between 1894 and 1896 on the northern part of the site, incorporating some of the original workhouse buildings. The rest of the workhouse was demolished. A new workhouse, known as Warkworth House, was built on the southern part of the site between 1900 and 1902. The original house, now called Little Warkworth House, was later used to accommodate the School of Nursing.
Under the Local Government Act of 1929 Brentford Board of Guardians was abolished. All its responsibilities including the infirmary, known since 1920 as West Middlesex Hospital, Warkworth House and Percy House were transferred in 1930 to the Middlesex County Council. The annual report of the County Medical Officer of Health for 1930 described West Middlesex Hospital as a general hospital of about 400 beds dealing largely with acute medical and surgical cases, but also with some chronic patients and maternity cases "of special difficulty". Adjoining the hospital was Warkworth House, "a large well-planned mixed institution with accommodation for some 800 persons." On 31 December 1930 it housed a total of 559 sick persons compared with 254 healthy inmates. 147 beds were reserved for cases of mental illness and epilepsy. The maternity block containing 16 beds formed part of the institution. Brentford Board of Guardians has started to build a modern maternity unit as part of the hospital. The Queen Mary Maternity Wing was completed in 1932 with accommodation for 30 cases. In 1935 the upper floor was adapted to provide an additional 32 beds. The Guardians had also begun to build an electrotherapeutic department. In 1933 Middlesex County Council appointed a pathologist and equipped a pathology laboratory.
By 1935 Middlesex County Council had regained possession of Percy House from HM Office of Works. Aged and ablebodied inmates were transferred to Percy House from Warkworth House, which then became part of West Middlesex hospital. On 1 April 1936 the hospital removed from the Poor Law and was appropriated for the reception and treatment of the sick under the Public Health Acts.
In 1948 West Middlesex Hospital became part of the National Health Service under the control of the North West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board and South West Middlesex Hospital Management Committee. Percy House was retained by Middlesex County Council as "Part III" accommodation. It continued in use as an old people's home until 1975. Most of the buildings of Percy House were demolished in 1981.
With a total of 1,254 beds and buildings stretching a mile from one end of the site to the other, West Middlesex Hospital was one of the largest groups of hospital buildings in the country. It was much in need of modernisation and improvement. A new outpatients' and casualty department was built in 1952. In the early 1960's a scheme for the redevelopment of the hospital was prepared, but only the first phase, the construction of the Medical Department and a new boiler house, was completed.
In 1974 West Middlesex Hospital became part of Hounslow Health District of Ealing, Hammersmith and Hounslow Area Health Authority. In 1982 it was transferred to Hounslow and Spelthorne Health Authority. In about 1980 the hospital was renamed the West Middlesex University Hospital. In 1992 it became West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust.
The West London Tabernacle, Penzance Place, Holland Park, was originally erected in the 1860's by Mr. Varley, a Baptist businessman who began to preach in the neighbouring Potteries in about 1863. It was enlarged and 'beautified' in 1871-1872 to designs by Habershon and Pite. It is built of yellow stock bricks with stone dressings, the style being a free adaptation of Italian Renaissance. The south front is flanked by two towers, now partially demolished, which contained staircases to the galleries. The centre of this elevation was pierced by a largesemi-circular-headed window with a hood moulding in the form of a pointed arch. The building is now in commercial use.
From: 'The Norland estate', Survey of London: volume 37: Northern Kensington (1973), pp. 276-297.
The West London Synagogue of British Jews was organised in April 1840 to establish a "synagogue where a revised service may be performed at hours more suited to our habits and in a manner more calculated to inspire feelings of devotion, where religious instruction may be afforded by competent persons, and where, to effect these purposes Jews generally may form a united congregation under the denomination of British Jews". It is a constituent member of the Reform Synagogues of Great Britain and remains the oldest and best known Reform congregation in the UK. The synagogue is situated in Upper Berkeley Street, Marylebone, W1 and was constructed in 1870.
The 1834 Poor Law Act led to improvements in the arrangements made for the education of pauper children. Poor Law Unions, and parishes regulated by local acts, were persuaded to establish schools and to appoint schoolmasters. The policy of separating the children from their parents (who were generally considered to be a bad influence on their children) and sending them, if possible, to the country was continued and in 1866 several Middlesex metropolitan authorities were sending children to schools outside London. The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1844 made possible a further development in this field which was of significance for the metropolitan area. Unions and parishes were empowered to unite and to form a School District which then set up a large separate school for the education of all the indoor pauper children of the constituents of the district. These were usually industrial schools where both boys and girls were taught the basics of a useful trade which, it was hoped, would provide them with better prospects in future.
The West London School District was founded in 1868 and comprised the Fulham, Hammersmith and Paddington Poor Law Unions. The Saint George Hanover Square Union joined briefly between 1868 and 1870; while the City of Westminster Union joined in 1913. The District built a school at Ashford, near Staines. The school housed 800 children.
Source of information: Peter Higginbotham at The Workhouse website.
The West London Medico-Chirurgical Society was formed in 1882 on the proposal of Charles Robert Bell Keetley (FRCS). The Society was formed at the West London Hospital in 1882, attended by approximately 50 medical men. The first meeting of the society was on 6 Oct 1882, with the inaugural address given by Dr Hart Vinen, the first President. The purpose of the Society was the cultivation and promotion of the science and practice of medicine, for the use, advantage and association of medical men of the district of west London. The Society announced an annual lecture in 1884, to be called the Cavendish Lecture, after the natural philosopher, Henry Cavendish (1731-1810). Distinquished men of the day were invited to give the lecture, mostly on clinical subjects related to medicine and surgery, with occasional lectures on related subjects. Also in 1884 the Society resolved to publish their Proceedings. In 1896, this became the West London Medical Journal, edited by Mr Percy Dunn, and was published on a quarterly basis. The Society proposed the formation of a library in 1885, where the Proceedings of the Society could be accessed by all members. The Society contained Honorary members and Members. The affairs of the Society were carried out by a governing body of thirty three members, including a President, six honorary vice-Presidents, a Treasurer, two Secretaries, an editor of the Journal, an Editorial Secretary, a Librarian and twelve other Members.
West London Magistrates Court:
This court was originally opened in Kensington (1 Church Court) in approximately 1841. It was known as the Kensington Police Court and administered jointly with Wandsworth Police Court. It was moved to Brook Green Lane, Hammersmith in 1843 and became known as the Hammersmith Police Court. In 1859 it moved to the junction of Vernon Street and Southcombe Street, West Kensington. In 1889 it was administratively separated from Wandsworth and became known as the West London Police Court.
In 1996 both the old West London and Walton Street Magistrates' Courts closed and their resources amalgamated to form the West London Magistrates Court now residing in Talgarth Road.
History of magistrates courts:
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.
Offices were opened in St Margaret Westminster, St James Westminster, Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Shadwell and Southwark. An office in Bow Street, Covent Garden, originally the home of the local magistrate, had been operating for almost 50 years and was largely the model for the new offices.
In 1800 the Marine Police Office or Thames Police Office, opened by 'private enterprise' in 1798, was incorporated into the statutory system. In 1821 an office was opened in Marylebone, apparently replacing the one in Shadwell.
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. This distinguished them from the local lay justices who after the setting up of Police Offices were largely confined, in the Metropolitan area, to the licensing of innkeepers. In addition each office could appoint up to six constables to be attached to it.
The commonly used term of 'Police Court' was found to be misleading. The word 'police' gave the impression that the Metropolitan Police controlled and administered the courts. This was never the case, the word 'police' was being used in its original meaning of 'pertaining to civil administration', 'regulating', etc.
In April 1965 (following the Administration of Justice Act 1964) the London Police Courts with their stipendiary magistrates were integrated with the lay magistrates to form the modern Inner London Magistrates' Courts.
The police 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.
Offences beyond the powers of the Court would normally be passed to the Sessions of the Peace or Gaol Delivery Sessions in the Old Bailey (from 1835 called the Central Criminal Court). From the late 19th century such cases would be the subject of preliminary hearings or committal proceedings in the magistrates' courts.
Outside the London Police Court Area but within the administrative county of Middlesex lay justices continued to deal with both criminal offences and administrative matters such as the licensing of innkeepers.
The exact area covered by a Court at any particular time can be found in the Kelly's Post Office London Directories, available on microfilm at LMA. The entries are based on the original Orders-in-Council establishing police court districts. A map showing police court districts is kept in the Information Area of LMA with other reference maps. Please ask a member of staff for assistance.
The County Courts as they now exist have their origins in the County Courts Act 1846 with modifications etc under the County Courts Acts of 1888 and 1934. The area of jurisdiction of each court is set from time to time by the Lord Chancellor.
The original jurisdiction of the courts included claims of debt or for damages (except for libel, slander, seduction and breach of promise) not exceeding £400; claims for recovery of land (less than £100 rateable value); claims for the administration of estates, execution of trusts, foreclosure, redemption of mortgages; matters regarding the maintenance of infants, dissolution of partnerships, relief against fraud or mistake where the value of the estates or property etc was not more than £500; contentious business in probate and administration matters where the estate was less than £1000.
The courts have had varied and extensive jurisdictions under numerous Acts including questions between husband and wife under the Married Women's Property Act 1882 and compensation for injured workmen by employers under the Workmen's Compensation Acts 1897 and 1925.
More recent decisions and judgements of County Courts can be found at the Registrar for County Court Judgements, Cleveland Street, London W1.
Address of West London County Court: 43 North End Road, W14.
District of Court: Chiswick, Hammersmith, Kensington, Knightsbridge, Chelsea, Fulham, and parts of Westminster. Please see Post Office Directories (available in the LMA History Library) for lists of County Courts existing at any one time together with an account of the area covered by each court.
On the reorganisation of the National Health Service in April 1974 responsibility for St Thomas' Hospital and the other hospitals within St Thomas' Hospital Group (Grosvenor Hospital, Lambeth Hospital, Royal Eye Hospital, Royal Waterloo Hospital and South Western Hospital) passed to Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Area Health Authority (Teaching). This divided its area of responsibility into districts, of which St Thomas' Health District (Teaching) formed the north-western part. The new health authorities were responsible for community health services as well as for hospitals. In June 1975 St Thomas Health District also acquired responsibility for Tooting Bec Hospital.
A major development during the next few years was the opening of the new North Wing of St Thomas' Hospital in 1976 and the consequent closure of the Grosvenor, Lambeth and Royal Waterloo Hospitals. The Royal Eye Hospital closed in 1980. Its premises became the headquarters of Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Area Health Authority.
A further reorganisation of the National Health Service in April 1982 abolished the area health authorities. Their responsibilities were transferred to the health districts. St Thomas' Health District (Teaching) became West Lambeth Health Authority dealing with the same geographical area and the same hospitals with the addition of St John's Hospital for Diseases of the Skin.
The West Kent Main Sewerage Board managed a large network of sewers in the Kent area. The Board constructed the Dartford Sewerage Works at Long Reach and a sludge digestion works at Bromley.
This company was registered in 1910 in Batavia [now Jakarta], with its business at Buitenzorg in Java, Indonesia. It became a limited company in 1912. In December 1915 it was acquired by the Harrisons and Crosfield branch in Batavia (see CLC/B/112-013). In 1924 it went into voluntary liquidation.
West Ham Park was attached to a private residence, owned from 1812 by banker Samuel Gurney. In 1872 the house was demolished and the Gurney family sold the park for £25,000 on the condition that it become a public open space.
Information from The London Encyclopaedia, eds. Weinreb and Hibbert (LMA Library Reference 67.2 WEI).
West Ham Hebrew Congregation was founded in 1897. It became known as West Ham Associate Synagogue in 1907, when it was admitted as an Associate member of the United Synagogue. It became a District member in 1927, when it was renamed West Ham District Synagogue. In 1972 it merged with the Upton Park District Synagogue to become the West Ham and Upton Park Synagogue. It closed in 2004. The synagogue was situated on Earlham Road, Forest Gate, from 1911 onwards.
The Municipal Technical Institute was built by the Council of the Borough of West Ham and opened in October 1898 along with the West Ham Central Library - the Passmore Edwards Museum which formed part of the same block of buildings designed by J G S Gibson and S B Russell opened two years later.
Initially the College offered only senior evening and day classes for both sexes, priority given to those who lived or were employed in the Borough of West Ham. Classes were intended to give a thorough all round training for industrial life, and for those taking day classes it was promised they would learn more in two to three years than they would taking a normal seven year apprenticeship. Technology, Pure and Applied Science, Art, Commerce and Domestic Economy courses were offered to evening students, whilst day classes consisted of Art, Chemistry, Engineering, Physics and Domestic Economy. In 1902 the Institute became associated with the University of London and soon became an Institution with Recognised Teachers of the University offering degree courses as well as course leading to other qualifications.
In 1912-1913, Junior Technical Schools in Engineering and Trade Dressmaking were established. A Junior Commercial School followed in 1932, with a Junior Building School added in 1942.
In 1922 it became known as the West Ham Municipal College and in 1952 it underwent a further name change to West Ham College of Technology. After it was designated a Regional College of Technology in 1962, the institute was divided and a new College, the West Ham College of Further Education, took over the lower level work. The advanced work was retained by the West Ham College of Technology and by 1970, when it joined with two other institutions to form the North East London Polytechnic, all of its work was of degree standard.
The buildings now form part of the University of East London's Stratford Campus.
According to A History of the County of Middlesex: "The almshouses called Cooke's Rents, whose lease was shortly to revert to the lord, were conveyed in 1837 by W. G. Daniel-Tyssen to the select vestry of West Hackney, which vested the management in a committee of subscribers. Inmates were chosen in 1841, after the building had been repaired and renamed West Hackney almshouses. The site was compulsorily purchased for a school playground in 1885, whereupon new almshouses were opened in 1889 on the opposite side of what had become Northwold Road. Under a Scheme of 1890 the eight tenements might be occupied by single people or couples who had lived in West Hackney parish for five years or more, with preference for those reduced from better circumstances; they were to receive 3s. to 5s. a week but must already possess at least 3s. a week. Although no income was derived from the Eltham property, Anna Wilmot augmented the subscriptions by giving £500 stock in 1887. The charity had c. £1,003 stock and total receipts of £270 in 1893. The income was £336 in 1963, when a Scheme slightly altered the inmates' payments, and £2,849 in 1975, when £2,100 was contributed by West Hackney Parochial charities".
From: 'Hackney: Charities for the Poor', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 10: Hackney (1995), pp. 166-172. URL: [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22719&strquery=west hackney almshouse](http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22719&strquery=west hackney almshouse) Date accessed: 29 July 2010.
A large number of Grahams companies, registered in Glasgow, were trading individually in Glasgow and elsewhere, including Portugal and India, as early as the late 18th century. Grahams Trading Company Limited, however, was incorporated on 29 July 1924, as general merchants and manufacturers all over the world, with a registered office at 7 St Helen's Place, EC3. It was an amalgamation of several of the older Grahams companies and the newly acquired "Portuguese companies". The latter, Abelheira Paper Mills Limited, Boa Vista Spinning and Weaving Company Limited and Braco de Prata Printing Company Limited, had all begun in the late 19th century and were registered in Glasgow but traded in Portugal through William Graham and Company, William and John Graham and Company, and William Graham Junior and Company, who acted as their agents and held title to the real estate in Portugal.
An assets company was also formed in 1924, known as the Reserved Assets Company Limited. Its registered office also was 7 St Helen's Place. It was wound up in 1936 on the reduction and reorganisation of the capital of the trading company. West European Industries Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary, was incorporated on 26 March 1930. Its registered office was 7 St Helen's Place, moving to 5 St Helen's Place in 1947. The Portuguese business of Grahams Trading Company Limited was held through West European Industries Limited. In 1947, the "Portuguese companies" went into voluntary liquidation, and the various mills and factories were gradually closed down and sold off in the 1950s. Grahams Trading Company Limited was taken over by Camp Bird Limited in 1957 and went into voluntary liquidation in 1960.
The West City Rural Deanery comprised 26 parishes in the City of London. A deanery is the group of parishes, part of a diocese, over which a rural dean presides. The rural dean has administrative responsibilities in his deanery.
Globe Telegraph and Trust Company Limited was incorporated in 1873 by John Pender, a Liberal MP, who also founded the Eastern and Associated Telegraph Companies Group. Globe was formed in order to spread the short term risk of cable laying over a number of companies, and shares in Globe were offered in exchange for shares in submarine telegraph and associated companies. The Eastern and Associated Telegraph Companies Group, meanwhile, was built up by Pender over a number of years in the late 19th century.
The West African Telegraph Company Limited was formed in 1885. It was renamed in 1958 as Third Electra Finance Company.
The Hon Victoria Mary Sackville-West (known throughout her life as Vita) was born at Knole, Kent, and educated at home and in London. She wrote both prose and poetry extensively from an early age. Sackville-West kept her own surname on her marriage to Harold George Nicholson (later Sir Harold) in 1913; the marriage was successful and lasted until her death, in spite of her many female lovers (including Violet Trefusis and Virginia Woolf). She continued to write throughout her life, alongside her long-running project to restore the gardens at Sissinghurst Castle.
Born, 1919; 1 Rangers King's Royal Rifle Corps; served Crete 1941; Prisoner of War, Germany, escaped Apr 1945. Publications: Part 2 orders: WWII poems (Salamandar Imprint, London, 1999); The horses of Falaise: poems on the experiences of a fighting soldier in World War II (Salamandar Imprint, London, 1975).
West was a student at Magdalene College Cambridge.