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Poor relief was based on the Act for the Relief of the Poor of 1601 which obliged parishes to take care of the aged and needy in their area. Parish overseers were empowered to collect a local income tax known as the poor-rate which would be put towards the relief of the poor. This evolved into the rating system, where the amount of poor-rate charged was based on the value of a person's property. Early workhouses were constructed and managed by the parish. However, this process was expensive and various schemes were devised where groups of parishes could act together and pool their resources. As early as 1647 towns were setting up 'Corporations' of parishes. An Act of 1782, promoted by Thomas Gilbert, allowed adjacent parishes to combine into Unions and provide workhouses. These were known as 'Gilbert's Unions' and were managed by a board of Guardians.

Under the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, the Poor Law Commission was given the power to unite parishes in England and Wales into Poor Law Unions. Each Union was to be administered by a local Board of Guardians. Relief was to be provided through the provision of a workhouse. An amendment to the 1834 Act allowed already existing 'Gilbert's Unions' or Corporations of parishes to remain in existence, although they were encouraged to convert themselves into Poor Law Unions. Although there was some reorganisation of union boundaries, particularly in London, the majority of Unions created under the 1834 Act remained in operation until 1930. In March 1930 a new Local Government Bill abolished the Poor Law Unions and the Board of Guardians. Responsibility for their institutions passed to Public Assistance Committees managed by the county councils - in the metropolis either the London County Council or the Middlesex County Council.

The Bethnal Green Poor Law Union was formed in 1836 and consisted of only one parish, Saint Matthew. It did not merge with other parishes. The parish had built a workhouse which was operational by 1777, but in 1840 they constructed a new workhouse at Bonners Hall Fields near the Waterloo Road. A second workhouse on Well Street in Hackney was used from 1890, it housed the 'respectable poor' who had demonstrated good behaviour in the Waterloo Road institution. The Waterloo Road workhouse was extended and refurbished in 1908 and the Union stopped using the second institution.The Union also managed the Cambridge Heath Road Infirmary and the Bethnal Green School for the Juvenile Poor in Leytonstone.

Source of information: Peter Higginbotham at The Workhouse website.

Poor relief was based on the Act for the Relief of the Poor of 1601 which obliged parishes to take care of the aged and needy in their area. Parish overseers were empowered to collect a local income tax known as the poor-rate which would be put towards the relief of the poor. This evolved into the rating system, where the amount of poor-rate charged was based on the value of a person's property. Early workhouses were constructed and managed by the parish. However, this process was expensive and various schemes were devised where groups of parishes could act together and pool their resources. As early as 1647 towns were setting up 'Corporations' of parishes. An Act of 1782, promoted by Thomas Gilbert, allowed adjacent parishes to combine into Unions and provide workhouses. These were known as 'Gilbert's Unions' and were managed by a board of Guardians.

Under the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, the Poor Law Commission was given the power to unite parishes in England and Wales into Poor Law Unions. Each Union was to be administered by a local Board of Guardians. Relief was to be provided through the provision of a workhouse. An amendment to the 1834 Act allowed already existing 'Gilbert's Unions' or Corporations of parishes to remain in existence, although they were encouraged to convert themselves into Poor Law Unions. Although there was some reorganisation of union boundaries, particularly in London, the majority of Unions created under the 1834 Act remained in operation until 1930. In March 1930 a new Local Government Bill abolished the Poor Law Unions and the Board of Guardians. Responsibility for their institutions passed to Public Assistance Committees managed by the county councils - in the metropolis either the London County Council or the Middlesex County Council.

City of London Poor Law Union was constituted in 1837 and comprised 98 parishes. The Union at first refused to construct a workhouse, preferring to provide out-relief in the form of money and food, or to 'farm out' paupers to institutions outside of the City - for example, children were sent to a school in Norwood. However this system proved impractical and in 1848 a new workhouse was constructed at Bow Road. In 1869 when the City of London Union merged with the East London and West London Unions, the Bow Road Workhouse became an infirmary, although it was closed in 1909 as the larger infirmary at Homerton was preferred. In 1912 it was reopened as the Bow Institution, providing medical care for paupers from other Unions. It later became Saint Clement's Hospital. By 1871 the Union also managed the Thavies Inn Casual Ward at Holborn.

The East London Poor Law Union was formed in 1837 and comprised the parishes of Saint Botolph, Aldersgate, Saint Botolph, Aldgate, Saint Botolph, Bishopsgate and Saint Giles, Cripplegate. In 1852 the Union constructed a workhouse at Homerton.

The West London Poor Law Union was formed in 1837 and comprised the parishes of Bridewell precinct, Saint Andrew, Lower or City Liberty, Saint Bartholomew the Great, Saint Bartholomew the Less, Saint Bride's, otherwise St Bridget, Fleet Street, Saint Dunstan's West and Saint Sepulchre, Newgate. In 1864 the Union constructed a workhouse at Cornwallis Road in Upper Holloway. This workhouse was taken over by the parish of Saint Mary, Islington, when the West London Union merged with the City of London Union.

In 1869 the three City Unions were amalgamated under the name City of London Union, comprising 112 parishes.

Source of information: Peter Higginbotham at The Workhouse website.

The City Lands Committee is the oldest standing committee of the Corporation of London. The City Lands formed an extensive estate and provided a major source of income for the City government. A Charter of 1444 formally granted to the City the ownership of the streets, ways, common soil and enclosures of the common soil. Finally the City Lands also included property purchased by the City or administered by the City in trust such as the Philpot, Carpenter and Reynwell estates.

Until the reign of Elizabeth I the City Lands were administered under the authority of the Court of Aldermen, although from the early-16th century the day to day leasing of the City Lands property was carried out by the Chamberlain until on 2 May 1559 the Court of Aldermen voted to resume this function. Thenceforth decisions over leasing were made by a body of senior aldermen called the Surveyors, assisted by the Chamberlain. The Surveyors ceased to meet after 23 December 1590. The successor body, the City Lands and Bridge House Committee, only met for the first time in May 1592. The most striking difference between the new committee and the Surveyors who had preceded it was that the committee included for the first time permanent membership of six Common Councilmen as well as four Alderman.

The City Lands and Bridge House Estates Committee is still responsible for the management of the lands and buildings under the City of London's aegis.

The City of London was first granted the sole right of establishing markets in 1327 by Edward III, rights which were reaffirmed in 1663 by Charles II. Laws existed to ensure that markets were properly run and that traders were not able to sell products of inferior workmanship or bad food. Market tolls, lettings and regulation were handled by the Courts of Aldermen and Common Council. Supervision then passed to the City Lands Committee, before a Markets Committee was finally established. In 1875 the Committee was divided into sub-committees responsible for individual markets. The committees kept accounts and maintained buildings.

The City of London markets included Stocks Market, Honey Lane Market, Fleet Market, Newgate Market, Smithfield Market, Deptford Market, Farringdon Market, Billingsgate Market, London Central Meat and Poultry and Provision Markets and the Metropolitan Cattle Market at Islington. Several of these markets have been closed or amalgamated.

In 1869 the government introduced the Cattle Diseases Prevention Act which introduced the practice of slaughtering imported foreign animals at the dock where they landed and not allowing them to progress inland while living. This prevented diseases spreading to domestic livestock. The Dockyard at Deptford had become outdated and was no longer suitable for the launching of ships. The Corporation of London bought the old dockyard and converted it into a cattle market and slaughterhouse for the reception of foreign cattle entering London. The market covered twenty-three acres and included pens for 4000 cattle and 12000 sheep as well as three jetties for the unloading of the livestock. It was opened in 1871 and soon became the principal market for the sale of foreign cattle, taking over this role from the Metropolitan Cattle Market at Islington, which continued to handle domestic cattle sales.

Spitalfields Market dates to the thirteenth century, when the market was held in a field next to St Mary Spittel Church near Bishopsgate. In 1682, King Charles II granted John Balch a Royal Charter that gave him the right to hold a market on Thursdays and Saturdays in or near Spital Square. For the next 200 years, the market supplied fresh fruit and vegetables, becoming known for the sale of home-grown produce, which was being traded there six days a week.

By 1876, a former market porter called Robert Horner bought a short lease on the market and started work on a new market building, which was completed in 1893. In 1920, the Corporation of London acquired direct control of the market, extending the original buildings some eight years later.

For the next 60 years, Spitalfields' expanded and the traffic congestion in the surrounding narrow streets became difficult to manage. The market was forced to move and in May 1991 it reopened in Leyton.

In May 1811 a Bill was passed for the construction of a new bridge to cross the Thames about a quarter of a mile west of London Bridge, and the Southwark Bridge Company was formed. The Company pushed ahead with the construction of Southwark Bridge despite opposition from the City of London and the Thames Conservatory Board, who did not consider it necessary. The bridge was begun in 1813 and opened at midnight on 24 March 1819, designed by Sir John Rennie. The bridge was not popular and was underused, despite the congestion on nearby London and Blackfriars Bridges.

In 1864 Bridge House Estates began leasing the bridge, and they purchased it in 1866 with the support of a Parliamentary Bill 'to facilitate the traffic of the metropolis by improving the communication across the River Thames'. They removed the toll charges which increased traffic, but poor access roads and the steep, narrow shape meant that the bridge was still underused. Bridge House Estates decided to rebuild the bridge and provide better service roads. Work began in 1913 but was delayed by the First World War. The present bridge was completed in 1921.

In June 1883 the Coal, Corn and Finance Committee of the Corporation of London decided that the construction of some new means of communication across the Thames below London Bridge was essential, since the population of London east of London Bridge had expanded to 39% of the overall population of the metropolis, but they were served only by wharf-men and ferries. The Bridge House Estates Committee were asked to look into the matter and a Bill was presented to Parliament.

In March 1884 a Select Committee of House of Commons, convened to consider the matter, suggested that a low level bridge should be constructed at Little Tower Hill. The Bridge House Estates Committee began researching the best type of bridge, even visiting Europe to see different bridges in use. Eventually architect Horace Jones and engineer John Wolfe Barry were appointed to oversee construction and work began April 1886. The bridge was completed in August 1894.

The office of Sheriff predates the Norman Conquest and refers to a high officer and representative of royal authority in a shire, who was responsible for the administration of the law. London had two sheriffs who were elected in September of each year. Each Sheriff held a court at his compter. These courts were later transferred to the Guildhall and then united with the City of London Court in 1867, finally being amalgamated with the Mayor's Court in 1921. The Sheriffs' Courts handled cases of debt and personal actions arising within the City.

A compter was a city prison for debtors and other civil prisoners.

The office of Sheriff predates the Norman Conquest and refers to a high officer and representative of royal authority in a shire, who was responsible for the administration of the law. London had two sheriffs who were elected in September of each year. In the City of London each Sheriff was responsible for a Compter, a city prison for debtors and other civil prisoners. Wood Street Compter was a medieval foundation with room for 70 inmates. It was divided into three sections for the rich, the comfortable and the poor. The Wood Street Compter was amalgamated with the Giltspur Street Compter in 1791.

The office of Sheriff predates the Norman Conquest and refers to a high officer and representative of royal authority in a shire, who was responsible for the administration of the law. London had two sheriffs who were elected in September of each year. In the City of London each Sheriff was responsible for a Compter, a city prison for debtors and other civil prisoners. Giltspur Street Compter stood opposite St Sepulchre's Church and was designed by George Dance the Younger. The Wood Street Compter was amalgamated with the Giltspur Street Compter in 1791. It was demolished in 1855.

The office of Sheriff predates the Norman Conquest and refers to a high officer and representative of royal authority in a shire, who was responsible for the administration of the law. London had two sheriffs who were elected in September of each year. In the City of London each Sheriff was responsible for a Compter, a city prison for debtors and other civil prisoners.

The Southwark Compter was also known as the Borough Compter.

Newgate Prison was founded by King Henry II in 1188 and was originally part of the gatehouse at Newgate. It was enlarged in 1236, rebuilt in 1423 with money donated by Lord Mayor Dick Whittington and burned down and was rebuilt in 1666. In 1399 Henry IV granted custody of the gates of London, with their attached prisons, to the citizens of London. Newgate ceased to be used as a prison in 1877. The building was demolished and the land used for an extension to the Old Bailey, opened in 1902.

Newgate was the most notorious of London's prisons. It was reserved for the worst of criminals, most of whom were under the death sentence. It was renowned for overcrowding, lack of air and water, and epidemics of gaol fever in which many prisoners and officials died.

The Court of Requests was constituted by an Act of Common Council of 1518, under which Commissioners were appointed to hear cases for the recovery of small debts. Its jurisdiction was confirmed by Acts of Parliament until it was transferred to the Sheriffs' Courts in 1847.

The records of Courts of Law show the civic authorities dealing with criminal matters as agents of the Crown within the City, and, within their own courts, adjudicating upon civic and commercial matters brought before them.

In the medieval period, the office of Coroner for the City of London was executed by the King's Butler and Chamberlain, but by a charter of Edward IV dated 20 June 1478, the future appointment of the City Coroner was granted to the Corporation of London, which retains that right to this day.

The Corporation of London acquired the right to appoint the Coroner of the Borough of Southwark as well by a charter of Edward VI dated 23 April 1550, and for many years prior to 1932 the same person held the offices of Coroner of both London and Southwark. In 1932, the then Coroner for the City of London and Southwark, Dr. F.J. Waldo, resigned, and the provisions of the Coroners' (Amendment) Act, 1926 came into force. Under this Act, the right to appoint the Coroner for Southwark passed to the London County Council, but the Corporation of London retained the right to appoint the Coroner for the City of London.

The Lieutenancy of the City of London in its modern form was founded by an Act of Parliament in 1662. Its antecedents include a Commission of Lieutenancy of 1617 (which was issued to the Lord Mayor, eight Aldermen and the Recorder), and the Committee for Martial Causes which was a committee of the Common Council. Under the Act of 1662 the Lieutenants for the City of London were commissioned to levy the trained bands and to raise a Trophy Tax for defraying the necessary charges and incidental expenses of the Commission. The Lieutenancy had multifarious responsibilities in connection with the trained bands and the auxiliaries (later the London militia) including the appointment of officers, conduct and discipline, training and exercise, pay, equipment and recruitment. The militia was of consequence not only during periods when invasion was feared, but also had an important public order role. Since 1872 the Lieutenancy has ceased to commission officers in the auxiliary forces; instead commissions have been issued by the Sovereign. The Commissioners' responsibility for the militia ended in 1907 when the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act of that year converted the various battalions of the militia into units of the Army Reserve, and the Royal London Militia became thereafter the 7th Battalion Royal Fusiliers.

The second element of the 1662 Act, the raising and spending of the Trophy Tax was a major concern of the Lieutenants. The tax was levied about once every three years. The Lieutenancy assessed the Trophy Tax on the wards but 'the Common Council for each ward' apportioned it among the individuals. Having been collected, the Trophy Tax accounts were certified by the London Quarter Sessions of the Peace and printed in the City accounts for the year it was laid before the Justices. The tax was used to fund the auxiliaries and the militia. In particular it financed the accomodation for the staff and headquarters of the militia. For the period 1796 to 1801 the militia headquarters were housed in the building which formerly had been Surgeon's Hall. After the militia was disembodied in 1801 the Lieutenants decided that the building was 'a very heavy and unnecessary expense' so the building was sold back to the City in March 1803. Later a new Militia Headquarters was built in 1825 in Bunhill Row on land set aside in the Artillery Ground, but changing circumstances necessitated the move to smaller premises at 23 Euston Square around 1837. However a larger headquarters for the militia was deemed necessary again in the 1850s. The new building was built on a portion of the Artillery Ground and was completed in 1857. Known as Finsbury Barracks, it was occupied by the Quartermaster and staff of the Royal London Militia. In 1907 when the Royal London Militia became the 7th Battalion Royal Fusiliers the Lieutenancy ceased to have responsibility for this unit, but continued to pay for the upkeep of Finsbury barracks where the unit had its headquarters. Nowadays Finsbury Barracks houses units of the Territorial Army Volunteer Reserve, including elements of the Honourable Artillery Company.

The Trophy Tax was used also for making grants to further the aims of the auxiliary and volunteer forces of the City. For example in 1733 the Lieutenancy granted £500 for the building of Armoury House, the headquarters of the Honourable Artillery Company. The plans and specification submitted by the Artillery Company survive in the Lieutenancy's papers. In 1924 the Lieutenancy was empowered by the Auxiliary Air Force Act to apply the proceeds of the Trophy Tax to the Auxiliary Air Force of the City of London, thus widening the powers of the Commissioners. The present day Lieutenancy continues to use the Trophy Tax to make grants to the City of London Territorial Army Volunteer Reserve for example for recruiting campaigns, additional training facilities, competitions and charitable work associated with the Reserve.

Dorothea Crompton, fl 1901-1924, was a pupil at Guildhall School of Music and Drama and a concert singer. She died in 1965.

Two memorial prizes were established at the GSMD in memory of Dorothea Crompton. In November 1971 the Music Committee reported to Common Council that a Miss Louisa Band had offered the sum of £450 for a prize to be awarded in memory of Miss Dorothea Crompton, a former pupil of the School. The prize was to be awarded annually for the singing of music by J S Bach at the discretion of the Principal in consultation with the Director of Music, the Head of Singing and the Head of General Musicianship at the School. The offer was accepted by Common Council and a trust deed was ordered to be executed.

In February 1974 a further offer from Miss Band to establish a second memorial prize was received by Common Council. On this occasion Common Council accepted the sum of £495 to provide an annual prize to be awarded at the discretion of the Principal for Lieder or Chanson in alternate years or to be divided between the two subjects in any one year if the students performance warranted it.

The City of London Freemen's Houses were built in the 1830s as the Reform Almshouses. They came under the control of the Corporation of London in 1848 and have been known since then as the London Almshouses or Freemen's Houses.

Rogers' Almshouses were first built in Hart Street, Cripplegate, by the executors of Robert Rogers in 1616. In 1856 the Corporation rebuilt the almshouses in Brixton on land adjoining the London Almshouses.

The Royal Hospitals were obtained by the Corporation following the dissolution of the monasteries and seizure of monastic property. The hospitals included St Bartholomew's, Bethlem, the Greyfriars (Christ's Hospital), St Thomas's and Bridewell.

As the Port of London Health Authority, the Corporation of London built the Denton Isolation Hospital (the Port of London Sanitary Hospital) at Denton, Gravesend, Kent in 1883, to treat cases of infectious disease coming into the Thames on incoming ships. Diseases treated there included typhoid, smallpox, chicken pox, measles, scarlet fever, enteric fever, malaria, bubonic plague and dysentery. This hospital was handed over to the National Health Service in 1948.

Saint Bartholomew's Hospital was founded in 1123 but was closed during the dissolution of the monasteries. In 1544, following a petition from Londoners concerned that there was no longer any provision for the poor and sick, King Henry VIII re-established the hospital and placed it under the control of the City of London as one of the five 'Royal Hospitals'. The Common Council taxed the inhabitants of the City for the maintenance of the hospital. In addition, the City paid an annuity of 500 marks to the hospital, which was not discontinued until 1912. The hospital was legally called the 'House of the Poore in West Smithfield in the suburbs of the City of London of Henry VIII's Foundation' but has always been referred to as St Bartholomew's or 'Barts'. It officially became known as St. Bartholomew's Hospital on the foundation of the National Health Service in 1948. It is now part of the Barts and The London NHS Trust, having averted a Government attempt to close it in 1993-1994.

In 1878 Epping Forest became the first Open Space to be brought under the protection of the City of London Corporation. A large crescent of land, 19km in length and nearly 6000 acres in area, it is the largest publicly owned open space in the London area. Stretching from Epping in the north to Wanstead in the south, it is the remaining fragment of the Royal Forest of Waltham, the legal limits of which covered 60,000 acres of south-west Essex from the 14th Century until the disafforestation of Hainault Forest in 1851.

The City of London Corporation has held statutory responsibility for the care and management of Epping Forest since 1878, when they were officially invested as conservators of Epping Forest in accordance with the provisions of the Epping Forest Act 1878. This Act was the culmination of seven years continuous work in law and in parliament by the City of London (for details of this see the administrative history for the Statutory and Legal sub-fonds [CLA/077/A]) and, along with subsequent legislation, lays out the provisions by which the conservators' powers were defined. It states that the City are to act through a committee consisting of twelve persons nominated by the Court of Common Council and four Verderers (who are resident in forest parishes and are elected by the commoners of Epping Forest every seven years). This committee, formerly the Epping Forest Committee, and now called the Epping Forest and Open Spaces Committee, today also undertakes the management of some of the other open spaces outside the City owned and administered by the Corporation.

The policies and directives of the Committee are carried out by the Superintendent who directs the physical management of the forest from the conservators' administrative base at The Warren, Loughton. The first Superintendent, William D'Oyley, was a local surveyor appointed in 1876. He was succeeded in the role by three generations of the McKenzie family: Alexander McKenzie (1879-1893), Francis Fuller McKenzie (1893-1932), Colin McKenzie (1932-1949). Following Colin McKenzie's retirement the superintendents are as follows: Alfred Qvist (1949-1978), John Besent (1978 - 2001 - the last superintendent to occupy The Warren house), Jeremy Wisenfeld (2001 - 2005) and, from 2008, Paul Thomson.

Since 1876, the City of London has employed forest keepers to patrol the forest (for more information see the administrative history for CLA/077B/07). All forest keepers are special constables and their role is three-fold: to enforce bye-laws, the litter act and horse riding regulations; to assist the public in their enjoyment and understanding of the Forest; and to report to management in respect of works needing done. Today, over 80 full time and part time staff are employed to work in the Forest including information assistants, forest conservation workers, ecologists, litter pickers, forest keepers, playing fields staff, green keepers and administrative staff. Staff are based at the Warren administrative offices, interpretation centres at Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge (see administrative history CLA/077/E) and the Temple, Wanstead Park, as well as at Epping Forest Visitors Centre in High Beech.

Historic buildings within the Forest administered by the Corporation include Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, Chingford; the Temple, Wanstead Park; and the Shelter at Honey Lane. Included in the public facilities maintained by the Conservators are an 18-hole golf course at Chingford and playing fields at Wanstead Flats.

The collection was accessioned from the Warren (the former residence of the Superintendent and location of the Conservators' administrative offices) and the museum at Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, joining material already transferred to LMA from Guildhall.

The majority of items in CLA/077/A (statutory and legal) were transferred from Guildhall, exceptions to this are indicated in the relevant scope and content fields; the majority of items in CLA/077/E (museum and interpretation) and CLA/077/G (visual material) were transferred from Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, Chingford. Exceptions to this are indicated in the relevant scope and content fields. All other records have been accessioned from The Warren unless otherwise specified.

The statutory and legal foundation upon which the City of London Corporation was invested as Conservators of Epping Forest was based upon nearly a decade of work by the City of London, both at law and in parliament. During the 19th century large areas of the Forest were being enclosed for development as agricultural land thereby. The status of Epping Forest as a royal forest meant that the area was subject to forest law and had certain restrictions on land use. Common inhabitants of the forest possessed various rights on forest land, such as the rights of pasture and of lop-wood. Public interest was awakened because enclosure not only infringed upon commoners' rights, but denied Londoners access to a space which they were increasingly using for recreation.

As owners of land at Little Ilford, Essex (purchased in 1854 for the City of London Cemetery), the City of London itself held rights of common over Wanstead Flats and Epping Forest. Recognising the importance of Epping Forest as a place of recreation for working class Londoners, the City of London instigated a Chancery suit in 1871 (known as the Commissioners of Sewers v Glasse and others) in the public interest on behalf of themselves and all other owners and occupiers in Epping Forest against the lords of the Manors. The intention of this suit was to prevent further enclosures and to obtain a declaration that all owners and occupiers were entitled to rights of common over the waste lands.

In the same year the Epping Forest Commission was set up by Parliament (through the Epping Forest Act 1871) to ascertain the boundaries of Epping Forest and investigate manorial claims to and commoner's rights on forest land. Evidence was submitted to the commission by lords of the manors and those claiming commoner's rights (including the City of London Corporation).

After three years and vast expense, the City of London's lawsuit in Chancery was concluded and the Master of the Rolls decided in favour of the City, with the result that a large extent of land found to be lawfully enclosed was thrown open. The City of London Corporation then set about securing as much of the wastes as they could. In this way the Corporation purchased the wastelands in the manors of Chingford, Loughton, Waltham Holy Cross, Higham Hills, Sewardstone, Cann Hall, Chingford Earls and manorial rights in Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge. Subsequently they were able to acquire all the rights from the lords of the manors, and it is these wastes, along with some subsequent additions which constitute Epping Forest today.

In 1877 the Epping Forest Commission, after a number of delays and many objections, delivered its final report to Parliament. In 1878 the Corporation introduced a bill to Parliament to confirm the arrangements already made by them in acquiring additional land, and to authorise them to acquire the remainder of the forest by agreement. This bill became the Corporation of London (Open Spaces) Act 1878 which granted the City of London the right to acquire land within a 25 mile radius of the City boundaries to preserve as open space. A separate act dealing specifically with Epping Forest became law under the title of the Epping Forest Act 1878. Through its provisions, Epping Forest ceased to be a royal forest and the City of London Corporation were formally constituted the as Conservators of the Forest stipulating that the Conservators "shall at all times keep Epping Forest unenclosed and unbuilt on as an open space for the recreation and enjoyment of the people". The Crown's right to venison was ended, and pollarding was no longer allowed, however grazing rights continued. The Corporation were formally authorised to acquire the remainder of the Forest by agreement and purchase, and this enabled them to arrange compensation accordingly for forfeited commoner's rights (as decided by the Epping Forest Arbitration). Under the provisions of the Act Lord Hobhouse was appointed as arbitrator for the adjustment of matters still requiring settlement. He was responsible for determining which of the illegally included lands should remain enclosed (and the conditions, if any, to be imposed upon such lands) and which were to be open again. Commoners were paid compensation as pollarding was no longer allowed, although grazing rights continued. He made his final award in 1882 after 114 public sittings attended by the City Solicitor.

In 1879 Queen Victoria appointed HRH the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn as Ranger of the Forest and on 6th May 1882 visited the forest herself declaring it open to the people forever.

Since 1882 various additions have been made to the forest by way of gift, purchase or in consideration of grants of rights of way. Such lands include Wanstead Park (opened to the public in 1882); the Oak Hall enclosure at Theydon Bois (1889); Highams Park (1891); Yardley Hill (1899 and 1903); Bell Common (1902); Knighton Wood (1930); Pole Hill (1930); Hatch Grove and Bluehouse Grove (1941); land on the Copped Hall Estate (1992). Some of these lands are classed as buffer lands which are not officially part of Epping Forest but are areas purchased by the Corporation of London to protect the links between the Forest and the wider countryside.

The Corporation of the City of London has been responsible for the preservation of many open spaces in and around London since the mid-nineteenth century, largely stemming from its long and famous legal battles to prevent the enclosure of Epping Forest, which it finally acquired, and still maintains, under the authority of the Epping Forest Act 1878. By the Corporation of London (Open Spaces) Act 1878, the Corporation was authorised to acquire land within 25 miles of the City as open space for the recreation and enjoyment of the public.

The open spaces outside the City were not acquired and are not supported at the expense of the local or national taxpayer: they are currently maintained out of the Corporation's own private funds, known as the City's Cash, or money from charitable bequests. Because some of the open spaces were originally purchased with money out of the Corporation's corn duty funds, the Corporation's foremost finance committee, the Coal, Corn and Finance (later the Coal, Corn and Rates Finance) Committee, had an interest in such open spaces from the beginning until 1966. It was therefore this committee which originally managed most of the Corporation's open spaces outside the City, except for Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, which was administered by the City Lands Committee from the 17th century. West Ham Park always had, and still has, its own separate Committee of Managers. From 1 September 1966 responsibility for those open spaces was transferred to the Epping Forest Committee, which was thence renamed the Epping Forest and Open Spaces Committee. At the same time, responsibility for Bunhill Fields Burial Ground passed from the City Lands Committee to the Streets Committee, now the Planning and Transportation Committee, which administers Bunhill Fields and those open spaces which are within the City through its Trees, Gardens and Open Spaces Sub-Committee.

The open spaces outside the City of London which are owned and maintained by the Corporation of London include the following: Epping Forest (including Wanstead Park); Burnham Beeches; Kent and Surrey Commons (including Coulsdon Commons (i.e. Coulsdon and Kenley Commons, Riddlesdown and Farthingdown), Spring Park, West Wickham Common, and Ashtead Common); West Ham Park; Highgate Wood; Queen's Park, Kilburn; Hampstead Heath; Bunhill Fields Burial Ground.

Former open spaces and related areas outside the City, no longer owned or operated by the Corporation, include the following: Shiplake Island; Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey (not an open space); Richmond Park.

The City of London Insurance Company Limited was founded in 1955. It had offices at 47/49 Fenchurch Street. A subsidiary of Home and Overseas, it was acquired by Eagle Star in 1966.

Eagle Star was founded in 1904 by Edward Mortimer Mountain, a Lloyd's broker. It began as a marine business under the name British Dominions Marine Insurance Company. Its origins began in 1807 through its constituent companies. Within the first ten years, the company had expanded into general business, fire and motor insurance. In 1911 the name changed to British Dominions General. New departments were opened for accident and employers' liability in 1914. In 1916 the company further expanded into life business. In May 1917 the company became Eagle and British Dominions to reflect the acquisition of Eagle Insurance Company in December 1916. In December 1917, following the merger with the Star, the name changed to Eagle, Star and British Dominions. In 1937 the company name was shortened to Eagle Star.

Edward Mountain was knighted for his contribution to insurance in 1918, by which time the company had become the largest composite offices in the United Kingdom. Advertising was a key component in the success of the company, mainly through the work of A F Shepherd, Publicity Manager. All-In policy (1915) and Victory War Loan (1917) were launched with high-level publicity campaigns. Between the First and Second World Wars further schemes included free newspaper insurance, Pluvius weather underwriting business, and an department specialising in women's insurance needs. Expansion saw the development of a network of agencies and branches in United Kingdom and abroad, supported by local boards consisting of business and professional men from each region. After 1945 further extensions to the network were made alongside the establishment and acquisition of companies world-wide including specialist insurance companies such as Navigators and General, and Home and Overseas.

Sir Edward Mountain died in 1948 and business continued under the leadership of his son Sir Brian Mountain. Sir Brian's son Denis succeeded him as Chairman in 1974 until his retirement in 1985. Staff clubs included Eagle Dramatic and Operatic Society. This began with Norwood Club Dramatic and Musical Society in 1921 from staff at Eagle Star British Dominions and Cox's Bank. In 1927 the society was closed and EDOS was established. The last production was 1939.

Eagle Star's first head office was at 1 Threadneedle Street, City of London (1925). With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, administrative functions were evacuated to Cobham Park, Surrey, while other departments were housed in the Cobham area. After 1945, the head office at Threadneedle Street was rebuilt and re-opened in 1968. New administrative head office and computer centre was opened in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, as Eagle Star House. The name changed to Eagle Star Centre in 1994. The building became known as UK Life Tower in 1999 and was sold in 2003.

In 1984 Eagle Star became part of B.A.T Industries plc and saw diversification into financial services. In 1998 it became part of Zurich Financial Services Group.

The Home and Overseas Insurance Company Limited was founded in 1952. They had offices at 47/49 Fenchurch Street. The company was acquired by Eagle Star in 1966.

Launderers Mutual Insurance Company Limited was founded in 1909; and acquired by Eagle, Star and British Dominions in 1919.

London Mutual Life and Guarantee Society was founded in 1849, offering life assurance, fidelity guarantee, and annuities. It was originally promoted as the Christian Union Mutual Assurance Society and Aged Ministers Fund. The company had offices at 63 Moorgate Street. It was acquired by Eagle in 1857.

Security National Insurance Company of Toronto, Canada was acquired by Eagle, Star and British Dominions in 1934.

Star Life Assurance Society Limited was founded in 1843 to provide insurance for Wesleyan Methodists. The Society offices were on Moorgate. The directorship always contained at least seven Wesleyan Methodists. They conducted much overseas business in Canada, Europe and South Africa. The name was changed to Star Assurance Society in 1911 when they started offering general insurance. The company was acquired by Eagle and British Dominions in 1917.

Star Life Assurance Society Limited was founded in 1843 to provide insurance for Wesleyan Methodists. The Society offices were on Moorgate. The directorship always contained at least seven Wesleyan Methodists. They conducted much overseas business in Canada, Europe and South Africa. The name was changed to Star Assurance Society in 1911 when they started offering general insurance. The company was acquired by Eagle and British Dominions in 1917.

Star Assurance Society was reconstituted in 1934 as a subsidiary of Eagle Star.

The Women's Royal Naval Service (1916-1993) (WRNS), members known as Wrens, was formed in 1916 during the First World War. The Royal Navy was the first of the armed forces to recruit women and the Wrens took over the role of cooks, clerks, wireless telegraphists, code experts and electricians. In Nov 1917, Katharine Furse, the former Commander-in-Chief of the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD), was appointed director. The women were so successful that other organizations such as the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) and the Women's Royal Air Force were established. By the end of the war, in Nov 1918, the WRNS had 5,000 ratings and nearly 450 officers. The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) of the First World War was demobilized in 1919 and was not reformed until Apr 1939. The main objective was for women to replace certain personnel in order to release men for active service. At first the Wrens were recruited from navy families living near the ports. During the Second World War the Women's Royal Naval Service was expanded rapidly. Between Dec 1939 and Jun 1945 numbers increased from 3,400 to 72,000.

The duties were expanded and included flying transport planes. WRNS units were attached to most naval shore establishment in Britain. A large number of women served abroad in both the Middle East and the Far East. Some members of the service were employed in highly secret naval communications duties. The Wrens remained in existence until 1993, when women were fully integrated into the Royal Navy.

Katharine Furse [née Symonds] (1875-1952) was born in Bristol, on 23 Nov 1875. She married Charles Wellington Furse (1868-1904), the painter in 1900, but he died four years later. In 1909 she joined the first Red Cross Voluntary Aid Detachments (VAD) attached to the Territorial Army. In the First World War (1914-1918) she was involved in setting up VAD stations in France and London. In 1916 she was appointed the First Commander in Chief Women's VAD and in 1917 Director Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS, also known as the Wrens). She was created a Dame in 1917. She was a keen skier and was involved with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

The Colonial Intelligence League (1910-1919) was founded on the 23 Feb 1910 as the Committee of Colonial Intelligence for Educated Women, partly to deal with the perceived problem of 'surplus' women and partly to colonise South Africa with British citizens after the Boer War. Its aim was to investigate demand for services and personnel in diverse areas and provide relevant information for those women wishing to undertake careers abroad as domestic staff, teachers or clerical workers. The League was to work alongside other organisations such as the British Women's Emigration Association and the South African Colonisation Society that provided the machinery of emigration and its committee included members drawn from their ranks, as well as representatives of the Central Bureau of Employment for Women. However, in 1911 it became closely associated with the Headmistresses' Association. On the 2 Mar 1911 of that year, it was decided to dissolve, the League and re-establish the body under the name of the Colonial Intelligence League with an executive committee that was half constituted by members of the association. Branches were established in Edinburgh and Glasgow and local secretaries were also appointed in the provinces. In Dec 1915, finance, literature and county organisation subcommittees were established. The activities of the league were concentrated on emigration to Canada until 1914 and a farm settlement was established in the Okanagan Valley as a training centre - 'The Princess Patricia Ranch'. Prominent officers of Colonial Intelligence League included the Hon. Mrs Norman Grosvenor and Mrs John Buchan. Emigration dwindled during the First World War and in 1917 it was decided to form a federation with the British Women's Emigration Association and the South African Colonisation Society to be named the Joint Council of Women's Emigration Societies. This was to be a central body which co-ordinated women's emigration after the war and liase with the government. Full merger of the Colonial Intelligence League with the two other organisations did not occur until 1919, after government pressure was applied to centralise funding of the schemes and widen the scope of their activities. The amalgamation resulted in the creation of the Society for the Overseas Settlement of British Women.

The Female Middle Class Emigration Society (1862-1908) was founded in 1862. The population explosion in England during the first half of the nineteenth century led government policy to encourage large scale emigration, while simultaneous concerns over the number of 'superfluous', unmarried women led to projects to stimulate female emigration. At the Social Sciences conference of 1860, Bessie Parkes advocated emigration as a solution to the population. This was also the belief and advice of Miss Maria S Rye after her experiences in the Society for Promoting Employment of Women, when she was deluged with applicants for a limited number of posts. She herself helped twenty-two women emigrate before attending the 1861 Social Sciences conference, when she appealed for help in establishing a new society to these ends. The Female Middle Class Emigration Society (FMCES) was therefore founded in May 1862 at 12 Portugal Street by a group which included Maria Rye, Jane E. Lewin, Emily Faithfull and Elizabeth (Bessie) Rayner Parkes, with the fund-raising assistance of Barbara Bodichon and with Lord Shaftsbury as its first president. Its stated aims were to assist middle class women who did not benefit from the government sponsorship for which working class women were eligible. Financed by public subscription and private donation, the society aimed to provide interest-free loans to enable educated women to emigrate. In addition, it established contacts at both departure and arrival points (mainly colonial ports). The first party, which included Maria Rye, was sent out to New Zealand in the autumn of 1862. At this point, Jane Lewin took over as Secretary, running the organisation from Sep 1862. Difficulties arose when it became clear that employers wanted working class domestics rather than middle-class governess and Rye, on her return in 1865, left to work with the emigrating working class with a particular interest in children's emigration. Lewin continued to concentrate on recruiting educators. In 1872, a further appeal for financial help was issued as the restricted funds which the society had at its disposal were limiting the number of emigrants being sent abroad. Lewin retired as secretary in 1881 to be replaced by Miss Strongitharm. The Female Middle Class Emigration Society was never a wealthy organisation and from 1884 to 1886 the funds were administered by the Colonial Emigration Society (CES) under Miss Julia Blake, its Secretary. The FMES was officially absorbed into the CES in 1886. In 1892 arrangements were made for the United British Women's Emigration Association to administer the loan fund. In 1908 Miss Lewin retired, and the Female Middle Class Emigration Society's later history is bound up with the British Women's Emigration Association.

South African Colonisation Society (1902-1919) was established in a period when British society perceived to have a problem of 'surplus' single women in Britain and several emigration schemes to lessen this number came into existence. The South African Colonisation Society was the inheritor of the South African Expansion Scheme Committee established in 1899. Its purpose had been to act as a provisional subcommittee of the United British Women's Emigration Association, its task, to expand British colonising emigration to South Africa after the Boer War. This administrative framework continued until 1901 when it became a separate committee and by 1902 it had set up it own committees on education, work in counties, drawing room meetings and a shipping sub-committee. In 1903 it became an independent body functioning under the name of the South African Colonisation Society and continued as such until after the First World War. In the immediate post-war period, it helped co-ordinate female emigration as part of the Joint Council of Women's Emigration Societies. This was to be a central body which co-ordinated women's emigration after the war and liased with the government. Full merger of the South African Colonisation Society with the two other organisations did not occur until 1919, after government pressure was applied to centralise funding of the schemes and widen the scope of their activities. The amalgamation resulted in the creation of the Society for the Overseas Settlement of British Women.

The South African Colonisation Society (1902-1919), an offshoot of the United British Women's Emigration Association, was originally founded in 1899 as a South African Subcommittee when the United British Women's Emigration Association became very occupied with furthering emigration to the colonies there. From 1901 the committee was known as the South African Expansion Scheme Committee (SAX). By the end of 1902 the South African Colonisation Society had set up committees for education, work in counties, drawing-room meetings and a Shipping Subcommittee. During World War I there was very little emigration, and the South African Colonisation Society, Colonial Intelligence League and British Women's Emigration Association participated in a Joint Council of Women's Emigration Societies, all dissolving and amalgamating in 1919 as the Society for the Overseas Settlement of British Women.

The period between 1903 and 1914 was one of resurgence in the women's suffrage movement. At this time, the methods by all those involved began to change: although the suffragists' efforts were mainly aimed at forming parliamentary opinion, they also began to engage in public demonstrations and other propaganda activities. The ASL was established in January 1907 in order to assist with the preparations for the 'Mud March' organised by the NUWSS in February of that year. However, it continued with the creation of suffrage propaganda for the NUWSS after this date. Other than the central committee of chairperson, vice-chair and treasurer, the organisation had no traditional formal structure or statement of aims. The body was responsible for the creation of a large number of posters, Christmas cards, postcards and banners designed by artists who included the chairperson Mary Lowndes, Emily Ford, Barbara Forbes, May H Barker, Clara Billing, Dora Meeson Coates, Violet Garrard, Bertha Newcombe, C Hedly Charlton and Emily J Harding. The ASL was responsible for the decoration of the Queens Hall for the celebrations in 1918 that had been organised by the NUWSS.

National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship (NUSEC) (1918-1945) was formed out of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies. After the 1918 Representation of the People Act which granted women limited suffrage, the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) decided to revise its previous aims and become the National Union of Societies for Equal Citizenship (NUSEC), remaining a high-level organisation designed to allow the affiliation of autonomous local societies with this object. However, the body now not only promoted equality of franchise between men and women but also extended this to the social and economic fields, working family allowances and the political education of women. During the 1920s they concerned themselves with issues such as restrictive legislation, limiting working hours which applied only to women and with the aim of 'protecting' them against industrial exploitation. However, there was no consensus within the group regarding the appropriate response to, 'protective' legislation and an ideological split occurred at this time between those who supported ideas such as an 'Endowment of Motherhood' to women to allow their financial independence and those who adopted a more strictly equalist position. In the mid-1920s, the Labour government proposed a series of bills that would extend this protective legislation and NUSEC was pressurised to change its equalist policies on this issue. In response to this situation, a number of members left the group to form the Open Door Council in May 1926. The group also encountered consistent opposition from the Liberal government and it was only in 1927 that a deputation was permitted to meet with Prime Minister Baldwin. However, the passing of the People (Equal Franchise) Bill in Mar 1928 rewarded their efforts. The result of liberal hostility was that close co-operation developed with the Labour Party throughout the NUSEC's history. In 1932, it was decided that the organisation's campaigning and educational functions should be separated, the first being delegated to the National Council for Equal Citizenship, while education was passed on to the Townswomen's Guild. The National Council for Equal Citizenship continued its work until the end of the Second World War.

The sisters Anna Maria (1828-1914), Mary (1830-1914) and Margaret (1817-1905) Priestman were daughters of Rachel Bragg, religious worker and anti-slavery campaigner, and Jonathan Priestman. They were born into Liberal and Quaker family networks, being sisters-in-law of John Bright (1811-1889) and friends of his sisters, including Priscilla Bright McLaren (1815-1906). All three Priestman sisters were born in Newcastle. In 1846 Margaret married Daniel Wheeler and moved away. Daniel died within a few years and she then married Arthur Tanner. Meanwhile, her sisters had moved to Bristol and Margaret also went to live there after the death of her second husband in 1869. All three were active in the suffrage campaigns and signed the 1866 suffrage petition and Anna Maria and Margaret were also involved in the Enfranchisement of Women Committee, 1866-1867. The sisters went on to be members of the Bristol and West of England Women's Suffrage Society, and the Central National Society for Women's Suffrage. They were also instrumental in founding the Women's Liberal Association in Bristol in 1881, the first in the country, and were involved in temperance and social work and in anti-Contagious Diseases legislation agitation. The Union of Practical Suffragists was formed within the Women's Liberal Federation in c.1896. Three years previously, Anna Maria Priestman had moved an amendment at a Women's Liberal Federation meeting to the effect that potential Liberal parliamentary candidates should be questioned about their support for women's suffrage before selection. The amendment was defeated but the 'test question' issue remained a live one for the Federation in subsequent years. In 1894 Anna Maria Priestman became president of a small organisation of those in sympathy with her position and by 1895 this group called themselves 'practical suffragists'. In 1896 they merged with a pre-existing Union of Practical Suffragists within the Women's Liberal Federation with the objective: 'to induce the Women's Liberal Associations to work for no Liberal candidate who would vote against Women's Suffrage in the House of Commons.' Mary Priestman was a member of the organisation's executive committee and Anna Maria Priestman was President from 1898-1899. Other members included Ursula Bright, Annie Leigh Browne, Louisa Martindale and Mary Kilgour. The Union was wound up in 1903 after it seemed that it had won its objective, although two years later the debate within the Women's Liberal Federation was re-opened. Margaret Priestman died in 1905, but both Anna Maria and Mary Priestman joined the Women's Social and Political Union in 1907 and carried on active support for suffrage activities in the Bristol area. They died, within a few days of each other, in October 1914.

The James Stansfeld Memorial Trust was established in 1896. Its creation was the result of a 'women's testimonial' raised on his retirement from parliament the previous year. The amount raised was used to promote his aim of equality of the sexes through a number of methods. Firstly, there was the appointment of a scrutineer to observe Parliament's actions on the question of women's suffrage and report to the trustees. Secondly, they held conferences, notably on the subject of solicitation and the law in 1917. Finally, after the First World War, a series of three memorial lectures on the position of women were held at University College, London. A book on Stansfeld was commissioned by the trust in 1928 and published in 1932 with the title James Stansfeld, A Victorian Champion of Sex Equality (by JL and Barbara Hammond). Two years later, the Trust was wound up and the remaining funds distributed between the Association for Moral and Social Hygiene and the Josephine Butler Memorial Home.

Sir James Stansfeld (1820-1898), was born in Halifax, on 5 Mar 1820, the only son of James Stansfeld (1792-1872) and his wife, Emma (bap. 1793, d. 1851). His father was a solicitor who was also involved with with radical protestant dissent. James followed in his father's footsteps, he was involved with the Chartists in 1839. He then studied at University College, London and graduated in law in 1844. Whilst in London he became friends with William Ashurst, a radical solicitor, as well as other Unitarians. In 1844 he married Caroline Ashurst, daughter of feminist and reformer William Ashurst. Their only son was born in 1852. Stansfeld was called to the Bar at Inner Temple, 1849, but for financial reasons became a brewer in 1850. In 1852 together with his brother-in-law Sidney Hawkes he established the Swan Brewery, Fulham. Stansfeld became Liberal MP for Halifax 1859-1895, despite his brewing background causing trouble with Temperance voters. In 1863 he was appointed Junior Lord of the Admiralty and was Cabinet Minister 1871-1874. He was later appointed President of the Poor Law Board Mar 1871-Aug 1871; and when it merged with Local Government Board, he became President of that, until 1874. In 1872 he made the first appointment of a woman to public post; Mrs Nassau Senior as Inspector of Workhouses despite strong opposition. After Gladstone's government's defeat in 1874 Stansfeld became a key supporter of Josephine Butlers work for the Repeal of the Contagious diseases act. He became Vice-President of the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts from 1874. He first spoke on Repeal in the House of Commons, 23 Jun 1875 (2nd reading of Harcourt Johnstone's Repeal Bill). Stansfeld died on 17 February 1898 at his home at Castle Hill, Rotherfield, Sussex.

The National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts (1869-1886) was established in 1869. In the 1840s there was an upsurge in concern with prostitution in the United Kingdom. Evangelical Christians, socialists and chartists all condemned the industry and moral campaigns were established to suppress vice. However, only after 1857's Royal Commission report on the health of the army and a follow-up report on the level of venereal disease in the military five years later did official tolerance of prostitution came to an end as the question became fused with contemporary concerns over public health. The result was three successive decrees in 1864, 1866 and 1869 known as the Contagious Diseases (referred to as the CD) Acts. By these, in certain towns containing military bases, any woman suspected of being a prostitute could be stopped and forced to undergo a genital inspection to discover if she had a venereal disease. If she did not submit willingly, she could be arrested and brought before a magistrate. If she was found to be infected, she could be effectively imprisoned in a 'lock' hospital. After the 1869 Social Sciences congress where the CD Acts were raised and condemned, a number of individuals established the National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act, originally under the title of the National Anti-Contagious Diseases Act Extension Association. An Executive Committee was elected which included Mr Robert Charlton as Treasurer and Frederick Banks as secretary with the Rev. Dr. Hoopell and Dr Worth as honorary secretaries. No women were originally included in the organisation, and though many later joined, this initial omission led to the formation of the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act under Josephine Butler. Local branches were rapidly set up, particularly in the north of England and the Midlands. The following year, the NARCDA set up the journal 'The Shield' to promote their work. In the summer of 1870, the organisation merged with the Metropolitan Anti-Contagious Diseases Acts Association after a joint conference to form a London-based group better placed to influence parliamentary opinion. The new body continued under the name of the National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act and by 1886 had around five hundred branches. In 1887 the decision was taken to dissolve the group, a year after the 1886 repeal of the acts, though it was not finally wound up until 1890.

The International Bureau for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons (1899-1971) was established at a time when the widespread campaign against the Contagious Diseases Acts had had the effect of focussing attention on the issue of prostitution. This had the result of encouraging the growth of groups like the National Vigilance Association whose aim was to work against the trade and its causes. In 1898, following the precedent of the International Abolitionist Federation, the National Vigilance Association agreed to address concerns about the international aspect of prostitution and began laying the foundations of an international federation of bodies working towards the abolition of the trade which would be known as the International Bureau for Suppression of Traffic in Persons. An international congress was held in London in Jun 1899 attended by ten delegations from European countries and one from the United States of America, as well as representatives of forty-eight local and national societies for the UK. The first meeting of the International Bureau was held in 1900, and throughout its existence the National Vigilance Association provided the premises, secretariat and the major part of the funding for international work, although the International Bureau for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons was always a separate organisation. Its constitution guaranteed that there should be a national committee in each of the partner countries. Each of these would send two representatives to sit on the international committee. The assembled representatives would, along with three other members elected by the National Vigilance Association, form the Bureau of the Congress or the central governing body. The NVA evidently saw the Bureau as the machinery for its international work, which would later lead to some tension with the partners. International work ceased during World War I after 1915 when it was decided that each national committee should continue working in its own way. The first official post-war meeting was held in 1920, but it was not until 1923 that national committees of former enemy countries felt able to re-establish international links. The first post-war Congress was held in Graz, Austria in 1924. The International Bureau for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons became closely involved with the agencies of the newly formed League of Nations which had responsibility for the work towards the suppression of traffic in persons. On the outbreak of World War II in 1939, work was again halted, only fully to resume in 1949 when constituent national committees became particularly active in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Indonesia and the United States of America. Unfortunately, this resumption coincided with a financial crisis within the National Vigilance Association, which was obliged to close down its Travellers' aid work in 1951 and re-assess its role.

After the revision of that organisation's Constitution in 1952-1953 and reappearance as the British Vigilance Association, the International Bureau's work changed. It concentrated on encouraging nation states to ratify the United Nations convention for the suppression of the traffic in persons and of the exploitation of the prostitution of others (2 Dec 1949).

The International Bureau also reported on international travellers' aid work in association with the International Catholic Association of Young Women's Services (ACISJF) and the World Young Women's Christian Association /Amies de la Jeune Fille. In addition, there was particular emphasis on the status of young women working as au pairs. Constituent national committees were particularly active in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Indonesia and the United States of America.

During the latter years of the IBS the organisation was struggling to survive under severe financial restraints and a main preoccupation was retaining its status as a non-governmental organisation with consultative status at the United Nations. The aims of the IBS seemed no longer in tune with the times, and the organisation did not long survive Richard Russell's retirement from ill-health in 1971.

Central Berkshire Equal Opportunities Committee (1976-1978) was founded in 1976. The first meeting of the Central Berkshire Equal Opportunities Committee took place in Wokingham on the 8 Jan 1976. It was a non-party organisation with the following aims: to spread knowledge of recent legislation in the field, to foster awareness of the issues involved in public and private life, to monitor locally the implementation of the new legislation and to help individuals who wished to take advantage of the provisions of the new law. It soon changed its name to the Central Berkshire Equal Opportunities Group on the advice of the Equal Opportunities Commission. The group undertook a series of activities, including providing a panel of speakers to local groups such as the Round Table, the Women's Register and the local branch of the Labour Party. Additionally, it undertook publicity for itself and its aims through radio and newspaper interviews and leaflets and organised an exhibition of photographs on the working lives of women. The main part of its work, however, was responding to government consultative documents, liaising with local authority schools and careers officers to assess the impact of the legislation, and assisting with the establishment of a local branch of the Citizen's Advice Bureau. They were only able to assist in one individual case before ending their activities some time in late 1978 due to declining attendance.

Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp (1982-2000) was formed in response to NATO's decision in 1979 to base ground cruise missiles at Greenham Common. RAF Greenham Common had first became home to the US Army Air Force in Nov 1943, when the 354th Fighter Group moved in as part of the Allies efforts to meet the Nazi Government's aerial operations. Greenham Common, near Newbury in Berkshire, became a bomber operational training unit. Following the invasion of France, the Americans transferred their resources to France and Greenham Common reverted to RAF control until it was closed in 1946. However, as the Cold War began, it was reopened in 1951 as a US Strategic Air Command, coming into American Air Force operational control in Jun 1953. It was closed once more in 1961 only to be reopened in 1964, when it also became a NATO standby base. NATO's decision in 1979 to base ground cruise missiles at Greenham Common was a response to the proliferation of nuclear forces, which occurred throughout that decade. It was in the wake of this announcement that the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp opened at this site. In Sep 1981 a Welsh group of 36 individuals opposed to nuclear power, called Women for Life on Earth, walked 120 miles from their headquarters to raise awareness of this issue and to protest against NATO's decision to site cruise missiles at Greenham Common. On reaching their destination they chained themselves to the perimeter fence and subsequently established a 'peace camp' there which was to remain for another two decades. The 'camp' itself consisted of nine smaller camps: the first was Yellow Gate, established the month after Women for Peace on Earth reached the airbase; others established in 1983 were Green Gate, the nearest to the silos, and the only entirely exclusive women-only camp at all times, the others accepting male visitors during the day; Turquoise Gate; Blue Gate with its new age focus; Pedestrian Gate; Indigo Gate; Violet Gate identified as being religiously focussed; Red Gate known as the artists gate; and Orange Gate. A central core of women lived either full-time or for stretches of time at any one of the gate camps with others staying for various lengths of time. From the beginning, links were formed with local feminist and anti-nuclear groups across the country while early support was received from the Women's Peace Alliance in order to facilitate these links and give publicity through its newsletter. In Mar 1982 the first blockade of the base occurred, staged by 250 women and during which 34 arrests were made. In May the first attempt to evict the peace camp was made as bailiffs and police attempted to clear the women and their possessions from the site. However, the camp was simply re-located to a nearby site. That same year, in Feb 1982 the camp went onto a women only footing and in Dec 1982, in response to chain letter sent out by organisers 30,000 women assembled to surround the site and 'embrace the base'. In Jan 1983 Newbury District Council revoked the common land bylaws for Greenham Common, becoming the private landlord for the site and instituting Court proceedings to reclaim eviction costs, actions that were ruled as illegal by the House of Lords in 1990. In Apr 1991, CND supporters staged action which involved 70,000 people forming a 14-mile human chain linking Burghfield, Aldermaston and Greenham. However, the first transfer of cruise missiles to the airbase occurred in Nov 1983. Another major event occurred in Dec 1983 when 50,000 women encircled the base, holding up mirrors and taking down sections of the fence, resulting in hundreds of arrests. In 1987, the Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty was signed by the USA and the Soviet Union, and two years later in Aug 1989 the first step in the removal of cruise missiles from the Greenham Common airbase occurred, a process that was completed in Mar 1991. The American Air Force handed control of the base to the Royal Air Force in Sep 1992, who handed the base over to the Defence Land Agent three weeks later. On 1 Jan 2000 the last of the Greenham Common Women protestors left the camp. A memorial garden was erected after this - the only individual name included in the memorial was that of Helen Wynn Thomas who had died in an accident at Greenham on 5 Aug 1989.

Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp (1982-2000) was formed in response to NATO's decision in 1979 to base ground cruise missiles at Greenham Common. RAF Greenham Common had first became home to the US Army Air Force in Nov 1943, when the 354th Fighter Group moved in as part of the Allies efforts to meet the Nazi Government's aerial operations. Greenham Common, near Newbury in Berkshire, became a bomber operational training unit. Following the invasion of France, the Americans transferred their resources to France and Greenham Common reverted to RAF control until it was closed in 1946. However, as the Cold War began, it was reopened in 1951 as a US Strategic Air Command, coming into American Air Force operational control in Jun 1953. It was closed once more in 1961 only to be reopened in 1964, when it also became a NATO standby base. NATO's decision in 1979 to base ground cruise missiles at Greenham Common was a response to the proliferation of nuclear forces, which occurred throughout that decade. It was in the wake of this announcement that the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp opened at this site. In Sep 1981 a Welsh group of 36 individuals opposed to nuclear power, called Women for Life on Earth, walked 120 miles from their headquarters to raise awareness of this issue and to protest against NATO's decision to site cruise missiles at Greenham Common. On reaching their destination they chained themselves to the perimeter fence and subsequently established a 'peace camp' there which was to remain for another two decades. The 'camp' itself consisted of nine smaller camps: the first was Yellow Gate, established the month after Women for Peace on Earth reached the airbase; others established in 1983 were Green Gate, the nearest to the silos, and the only entirely exclusive women-only camp at all times, the others accepting male visitors during the day; Turquoise Gate; Blue Gate with its new age focus; Pedestrian Gate; Indigo Gate; Violet Gate identified as being religiously focussed; Red Gate known as the artists gate; and Orange Gate. A central core of women lived either full-time or for stretches of time at any one of the gate camps with others staying for various lengths of time. From the beginning, links were formed with local feminist and anti-nuclear groups across the country while early support was received from the Women's Peace Alliance in order to facilitate these links and give publicity through its newsletter. In Mar 1982 the first blockade of the base occurred, staged by 250 women and during which 34 arrests were made. In May the first attempt to evict the peace camp was made as bailiffs and police attempted to clear the women and their possessions from the site. However, the camp was simply re-located to a nearby site. That same year, in Feb 1982 the camp went onto a women only footing and in Dec 1982, in response to chain letter sent out by organisers 30,000 women assembled to surround the site and 'embrace the base'. In Jan 1983 Newbury District Council revoked the common land bylaws for Greenham Common, becoming the private landlord for the site and instituting Court proceedings to reclaim eviction costs, actions that were ruled as illegal by the House of Lords in 1990. In Apr 1991, CND supporters staged action which involved 70,000 people forming a 14-mile human chain linking Burghfield, Aldermaston and Greenham. However, the first transfer of cruise missiles to the airbase occurred in Nov 1983. Another major event occurred in Dec 1983 when 50,000 women encircled the base, holding up mirrors and taking down sections of the fence, resulting in hundreds of arrests. In 1987, the Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty was signed by the USA and the Soviet Union, and two years later in Aug 1989 the first step in the removal of cruise missiles from the Greenham Common airbase occurred, a process that was completed in Mar 1991. The American Air Force handed control of the base to the Royal Air Force in Sep 1992, who handed the base over to the Defence Land Agent three weeks later. On 1 Jan 2000 the last of the Greenham Common Women protestors left the camp. A memorial garden was erected after this - the only individual name included in the memorial was that of Helen Wynn Thomas who had died in an accident at Greenham on 5 Aug 1989.

The Girls' Friendly Society (GFS) (1875-fl 2008) was founded in 1875 by Mrs Mary Townsend (1841-1918). Mrs Townsend lived in the countryside and was a committed Christian, two aspects that influenced her work as a reformer. Townsend was concerned about unmarried girls who went from the countryside to work in large towns, often as servants or as factory workers. These girls were cut off from their families and friends and Townsend thought there should be a way to help these girls experience friendship and recreation in a fellowship of Christian love and service. Mrs Townsend initially worked with a rescue organisation in the Anglican Diocese of Winchester. She then put forward her ideas to other Anglicans who were interested in girls' welfare and in May 1874 a meeting was held at Lambeth Palace to discuss her ideas. This meeting was attended by five figures who helped to establish the Society: Mrs Tait, Mrs Harold Browne, Mrs Nassau Senior, the Reverend TV Fosbery and Mrs Townsend. During 1874 some small groups of girls with an 'Associate' leader began to meet and the Society was officially established on 1 Jan 1875. During 1874 the first lodge opened, St. Jude's Servant Home Brixton, and a list of seventy-one Associate members had been compiled. By 1 Jan 1875 work had started in four dioceses. One of the four dioceses was Winchester where Mrs Harold Browne, the wife of the Bishop, was a key supporter and three branches were speedily formed. Two associate members from Winchester Diocese were to become very important to the GFS: Mrs Joyce, who became a pioneer of protected Emigration for girls and women; and Charlotte Yonge, Winchester Diocesan Head of Literature, and a member of Winchester Diocesan Council. From 1875 the Mothers' Union of the Anglican Church became an Associate of the GFS - this began a long-term relationship between the two organisations. By the end of 1875 twenty-five branches had started work in fifteen Dioceses; the Associates numbered one thousand, while there were between two and three thousand Members. By 1878 the Society had branches throughout Britain. Branches were formed in manufacturing cities like Leeds and Manchester, whilst the Archbishop of York consented to become a Patron of the 'Northern Province'. There were also branches in Scotland and Ireland. The Society also spread to America, where it was first started in Nov 1877, by Elizabeth Mason, a rector's daughter in Lowell Massachusetts.

AIMS: The name of the Society was chosen to reflect ideals of Christian fellowship. 'Friendship' was seen as a gift and should be open to every girl or young woman willing to join, whilst as a 'Society', they could resolve that 'the world' should be 'bettered by banded womanhood', through the strong force of united prayer and activity. The objective of the Society was " … to bind together in one society Ladies as Associates and working girls and young men as members for mutual help (religious and secular) for sympathy and for prayer…to encourage purity of life, dutifullness to parents, faithfulness to employers and thrift'". In reality the society solely consisted of women, most of whom were unmarried and relatively young. The 'virtuousness' of character of the members was stressed as of key importance.

STRUCTURE: The structure of the Society began with the 'Branch' the informal groups of members that were led by an 'Associate'. From 1897 younger girls from ages seven to fourteen joined as 'Candidates'. Branches spread rapidly with membership being strongest in the countryside. As membership grew and the functions of the Society became more varied the initial simple, centralised organisation also needed to develop. Initially there were four Departments established at the first Central Meeting in 1877. By 1879 there were six Departments, and a Finance Committee had been appointed. Also in 1879 a conference of branch secretaries considered the necessity of appointing a Secretary of Council to relieve Townsend's workload. The titles of the early 'Departments', reflect the scope of the work: Girls in Factories, Girls in Business, Workhouse Girls, Registries, Industrial Training, Sick Members, Needlework, Literature (including libraries), Lodges and Homes of Rest. These 'Departments' did much work in improving the conditions in which girls worked, in finding jobs, in providing training, living accommodation, books, magazines, in catering for holidays and for girls whose health had broken down. The regional structure of the society reflected that of the Church of England: i.e. the parish and the diocese. A Central Council with London Headquarters led the Society, the offices were originally at Brixton, then Vauxhall Bridge Road, and after two more moves spent forty-eight years in Victoria. As more overseas groups were established, 'Treaties' were made with the various Societies so that in each country the GFS was independent. Also, in England and Wales, though Central Council decided matters of policy and constitution each Diocese had an amount of freedom (and by meeting local needs retained local characteristics).

DEVELOPMENT: As the Society became established resources the Departments and their resources were developed. Equally, as social conditions improved some services ceased to be required. Hence, the Barbazon Home for incurably sick members and the Meath Home for epileptics ceased to be needed when the hospital services improved. The need for books, training courses and employment bureaux came to be provided by the local authority. However, residential hostels and holiday houses continued to be needed, and girls continued to want the opportunity offered by the branch meeting of worshipping, relaxing and giving service together.

CONSTITUTION: The approval of the Constitution followed a lengthy consultation period. The draft constitution was prepared for the Meeting of the Central Council on 4 Jun 1878. It was further considered at meetings and was trialled throughout 1879 with practical feedback from all levels of the Society. The Constitution was then discussed by the Anglican Church, on 1 Feb 1880 it was discussed at a Bishops' meeting held at Lambeth, with special attention to the sections dealing with the relation of the Society to the Church, and the standard of Purity, as essential to membership. During May 1880, the final meetings with regards to the Constitution and amendments were held in the National Society's room in Westminster, the President met with representatives from the twenty-six Dioceses in which the GFS was working at this time. The close link between the Church and the Society was testified to in the opening clauses, which stated that the Archbishops of Canterbury and York should be ex-officio Presidents, and the Bishops of the two Provinces ex-officio Vice-Presidents of the Society. The importance of the Central Rules was indicated and their permanence guaranteed by the last chapter, which contained the clause that they should not be altered without the consent of a majority of Associates and Members of the Society. Over the passing of time this clause was put into operation for various reasons and the Rules, though not altered, were re-affirmed and re-worded. 1880, the year which witnessed the completion of the Constitution was marked also by the consent of Queen Victoria becoming its Patron.

CENTRAL OFFICE: Although the branches were decentralised (in a similar way to the Women's Institute structure) the Central Office carried out key responsibilities. The Central Office started under the charge of Miss Hawkesley in St Jude's Home, Brixton, it was moved in 1877 to 245, Vauxhall Bridge Road, at the close of 1881 it was transferred to 5 Victoria Mansions and again in 1892 to 39 Victoria Street, in 1925 the GFS established in its final home in Townsend House. The increasing amount and variety of the work done within its walls marked each move. In 1911 the Central Council took the step that the Society be registered as a company under the Companies Act. A separate committee was appointed to deal with the subject, and the constitution was revised appropriately. The first meeting of the 'Incorporated Central Council' as its full title became, was held on Nov 1913. The Central Council then met three times a year. The President, Vice-Presidents, Heads of Departments, Correspondents and Elected Members were elected annually by the whole Council. Among the functions of the Central Council was that of key appointments, such as the Society Solicitors, Secretary, the Executive members, and members of the GFS committees.

WARTIME AND INTERWAR: During both World Wars, the GFS hostels housed many girls on war work and in 1914 the hostels in the South took in many women who had returned destitute from jobs on the Continent. There was the 'White Horse' project when an East End London pub was taken over as a social centre. Notices were also posted in railway station ladies-waiting- rooms, giving an address where girls temporarily stranded could apply for help. From the 1920s GFS Summer Camps were the only holiday possible for many girls. In 1922, the Reading Union held a week at Winchester House, Shanklin that foreshadowed the Summer schools held much later in the 1990s - proving the popularity and need for this service. The Princess Mary Caravan, was the first mobile training and publicity unit, established in 1922. A second caravan was bought in 1964 when money became available through the King George V Jubilee Trust. In some areas close links with the Guide movement were made and branches were of GFS Guides and Brownies. The first mixed branch, locally known as the 'G and B', was started during the war of 1939-1945. Yet, apart from that 'White Crusade' the driving sense of purpose seemed lacking during these years and membership numbers reduced.

THE TOWNSEND MEMBER'S FELLOWSHIP: One important decision was made during the period: the creation of the Townsend Member's Fellowship. In England and Wales, members had continued to belong to the Society long after they had ceased to be 'Girls'. In the USA it was agreed that except for leaders and officials there should be no adult members of the Society, but in England and Wales the Townsend Member's Fellowship, later to become the The Townsend Fellowship, was started in 1947. The Townsend Fellowship came to have its own officers, meetings and programme material, but maintained its close link with the GFS.

ACTIVITIES: Holidays for deprived children, story time, hospital visiting - these three services reflect the pattern that developed in the GFS. In the early days of the organisation, members operated for being 'Good', this changed over the years to 'Useful'. An emphasis on leadership training developed: both the training for working as a leader which was needed in a professional society, but also a perceived need for Christian leaders in an increasingly secular world. This was one of the reasons for the development of training course for girls in industry, which was tried experimentally in 1996, and became an important part of the Society's work.

HOSTELS: Winchester House, Shanklin, on the Isle of Wight, was given to the Society in 1893 was particularly important to the Society. For a period it was used as a war convalescent home. Later in the 20th century it was used for Summer schools, as a parish holiday centre and for conferences. In 1955, an International Conference was held there, which led, the following year, to the formation of the Girls' Friendly Society World Council.

WORLD COUNCIL: The first World Council, in 1956, was held in Switzerland: with subsequent meetings in Australia, Ireland, Japan and the USA. These meetings made it possible for officials and members to meet their counterparts from across the world. The Council discussed matters of common interest such as programme material and leadership training, as well as sponsorship of particular projects such as those in Korea, Guyana and the Philippines. The launch of World Day of Prayer, taking place on the 29 September, indicated the importance to members of the GFS as a global Society.

As at 2008 the work done by the GFS was still in great demand. The Society continued to exist under the name 'GFS Platform'. As one of the first charities set up to work with young women in England and Wales, GFS had a valuable history and extensive experience of providing care and support for girls and young women.

Mary Elizabeth Townsend (1841-1918) was the founder of The Girls Friendly Society (GFS). This was the first organised society for women and girls in connection with the Church of England. Mrs Townsend began to think of the Girls Friendly Society during the winter of 1871-1872 but did not approach the leaders of the Church of England until 1874 that definite steps were taken to shape the organisation. The meeting 'of five' took place in May 1874 at Lambeth Palace and included: Mrs Tair, Mrs Harold Browne, Mars Nassau Senior, Mrs Townsend and the Rev TV Fosbery Vicar of St Giles, Reading. They decided that the society should be called the 'The Girl's Friendly Society'. The Girls Friendly Society officially started on 1 Jan 1875, with Mrs Townsend elected President. Mary Townsend edited the journal, Friendly Leaves, first issued quarterly in 1876, but increased to monthly in 1877. Due to overwork Mrs Townsend had a breakdown in health; in Jun 1879 it was proposed that all branch secretaries and council members would subscribe towards the cost of a Travelling Secretary to assist Mrs Townsend. Mrs Townsend was President of the Central Council until 1882 when she gave up the office and the Hon Lady Grey was elected in her place. Mrs Townsend undertook the Department for Members and also the editorship of the Society's magazines for the next five years. Then in 1890, on Lady Grey's resignation she again took up the post of President until 1901 when Mrs Chaloner Chute took over. After her husband, Frederick Townsend, died on 16 Dec 1905 Mrs Townsend excused herself from GFS work for a year, but thereafter returned to assist the organisation. In particular she developed links with Mrs Temple, wife of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Missionary Society . Mrs Townsend also formed a Church Needlework Guild, which was subsequently named "The Guild of Church Needlecrafts". In 1914 Mrs Townsend had an operation which, although successful, took her a long time to recover from. Her health deteriorated (influenza and neuralgia). Mary Elizabeth Townsend died on 14 Jun 1918.

The London Feminist History Group (1973-1989) was established in 1973 as an informal discussion group that met in the homes of participating members and was the first organisation of its kind in the UK. Its main function was to provide a supportive and productive atmosphere in which to create works of feminist history and to support new women's studies course students. The general emphasis was to share information and problems and provide support and stimulus to those women doing research. Members were defined as those who took part in each meeting; these meetings were led by one or two women who acted as convenors and undertook the administration of the organisation for a year before passing the role to another. The group invited speakers to address meetings on a regular basis as well as holding 'work in progress'; meetings were members discussed their own projects. From its beginning, the group had close links with the Women's Research and Resources Centre through a number of mutual members and the two organisations shared homes over a period of several years until the early 1980s. The group was wound-up in 1989.

The Women's Forum grew out of organisations that came into existence during the Second World War. In 1939, the refugee situation prompted the National Council of Social Service to call a conference of concerned organisations. The group which emerged from this event was the Women's Group on Problems Arising from Evacuation, with Margaret Bondfield as Chairperson. The National Council of Social Service would continue to provide the new organisation with secretariat and accommodation throughout its existence. The following year the group changed its name to the Women's Group on Public Welfare in order to reflect its widened scope of interest into all aspects of the welfare of women and children. It was constituted solely by representatives all the major women's and female-voluntary organisations including the National Union of Townswomen's Guilds and the National Federation of Women's Institutes and action could only be undertaken by the constituent groups themselves. Strong links were formed with foreign, especially Eastern-European, organisations while the main work of the group was undertaken by subcommittees. During the war, these included those on education and leisure, the under-fives, hygiene, working class credit, the organisation of women's clubs, women's work in the regions, conditions on air-raid shelters, planning, welfare in the Women's services, fuel economy (later superseded by the Women's advisory Council on Solid Fuel), food education, and a sub-committee to examine the Beveridge Report. After the war, the focus of the work changed as other sub-committees were formed: one related to social insurance, another on the shortage of craft and cookery teachers, a committee on home making, clean food, and in the Sixties, a committee on public questions. Working groups were also set up to deal with the social aspects of loneliness, advertisements, education for girls as well as the situation of homeless families.

During the war, this work at the national level was complimented by the activities of purely local groups and the local branches of organisations. At the time, these were co-ordinated by regional Group Action Councils established by the Federation of Soroptimist Clubs in 1942. These local forums had to be linked to the national efforts, however, and the Women's Group on Public Welfare provided the gateway between individual Group Action Councils as well as between local groups and national organisations. When the Group Action Councils became Standing Conferences of Women's Organisations, the WGPW both held joint biannual conferences with them and sent representatives to sit with them on the SCWO advisory committee.

In the post-war period, the home making committee set up a sub-committee of scientific home management; in 1951 the committee and sub-committee merged to become the Council of Scientific Management in the Home (COSMITH). However, the major achievement of the group in the post-war period, however, was the publication of the report 'The Neglected Child and His Family' in 1946, which led to the establishment of a new child welfare service through the Children Act of 1948. By 1960, 850 clubs totalling 27,500 members had been set up through its efforts. These activities continued until 1975 when the National Council of Social Service was restructured in the wake of 1970's Social Services Act which had resulted in increasing confusion between the welfare activities of statutory and voluntary bodies. At this point the Women's Group on Public Welfare changed its name to The Women's Forum. When the NCSS became the National Council of Voluntary Organisations in 1980, it decided to end its secretarial and financial support of the Women's Forum. It was decided that the organisation could not continue to function and the group was wound up at the Annual General Meeting that took place in December of that year.

The Women's Publicity Planning Association (WPPA) (1939-1946) was formed after a meeting of representatives from existing women's organisations in Dec 1939 led by Margery Corbett-Ashby and Rebecca Sieff. Its aim was to increase the flow of information and views between women's groups both nationally and internationally. A planning committee chaired by Corbett-Ashby commissioned articles by and about women which were sent to the Ministry of Information for publication in government news sheets. However, when, in 1940, this proved unsatisfactory, the group took over the newspaper of the International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship, the International Women's News (which had ceased running due to war conditions).

The aim was to 'enable women to make their work known to others as an encouragement and rouse all women to a sense of individual and collective responsibility in the planning of a new world.' For the purposes of publication, the WPPA was incorporated as a company in Jul 1940 and Seiff was appointed both Chair of the company and of the Executive Committee at this time. Throughout the war, the WPPA acted as an umbrella group and mouthpiece for the whole range of wartime women's issues. In the early years the group supported new types of work which women were undertaking or could aspire to, but at the same time they raised issues concerned with evacuation problems, and from 1941 the newspaper's 'After the war' column raised reconstruction topics such as education and childcare. Other activities included involvement in the campaign for Equal Compensation for War Injuries in 1941 and in the Equal Citizenship Campaign Committee. In Jan 1942 a sub-committee was established after a meeting with Dr Edith Summerskill which would later become the independent Women for Westminster group Jun 1943. The group also commissioned and published Vera Douie's survey 'The Lesser Half'. On 31 Dec 1945 the assets and running of the International Women's News was handed back to the International Alliance of Women. After the war ended the WPPA was not actively involved in any further campaigns but was never formally wound up.

The first meeting of the Women's Provisional Club (1924-1984) took place at the Samson Clark Building, Mortimer Street, London, on 8 Feb 1924. Many of the founding members were business and professional women. The founder, Mrs Ethel Wood CBE (d 1970), was the Director of Samson Clark Co. from 1921-1928 and then Director and Chair of Super Garages Ltd. The firs Chair of the Club was Margaret Haig Thomas, Viscountess Rhondda (1883-1958), who was the owner-editor of the political magazine Time and Tide. Mrs Helen Archdale (1876-1949) was a journalist and militant suffragette. Dr Winifred Cullis (1875-1956) became Professor Emeritus of Physiology at the Royal Free Hospital, University of London from 1903. She was the founder of the British Federation of University Women in 1907.

Although, individually, these women wanted to achieve equal status with their professional male counterparts, the WPC was not overtly a political group. The objectives of the Club were to:

a) encourage and foster high ethical standards in business and professions.

b) encourage and foster the 'ideal of service' as the basis for enterprise.

c) quicken an interest in public welfare and to co-operate with others in civic, social and industrial developments.

Any business or professional women of British nationality could be members. There was also honorary membership status. The Club arranged fortnightly meetings, with a speaker, at various restaurants in London. These were initially luncheon gatherings and then became dinner functions. An Annual General Meeting was held in the early spring. The Executive Committee met at least four or five times a year. Summer outings and Christmas parties were also arranged.

The Constitution was heavily based on the by-laws of the Rotary International, a civilian service club founded in 1905. The original plan was that the WPC would amalgamate with the Rotary International and so the reason for the word 'Provisional' in the title. However, such an aim would mean changing the Rotarian's constitution because they were a male-only group. This plan was abandoned in 1930 after five years of negotiations, and the Club decided to continue as they were.

Some members of the WPC were involved with other groups which promoted women's interests. For example, Miss Kathleen Mary Halpin (1903-1999) (7KAH) was one of the founders of the Soroptimist Housing Trust, involved with the Business & Professional Women's Club Ltd., and a member of the Sub-Committee of the Fawcett Society (2LSW/JC), which was concerned with women's suffrage, amongst other matters. In 1935, Caroline Harriet Haslett (1895-1957), an electrical engineer and founder of the Women's Engineering Society in 1919, became the first President of the British Federation of Business & Professional Women, an organisation which campaigned for women's equality. In the following year, she advocated that the WPC should merge with this Federation and, hopefully, its international equivalent. The members of the WPC voted against this move at the AGM of 1937.

After this, the WPC continued as a social club until the 1980s, attracting many eminent women. Amongst their members was the architect, Gertrude Leverkus (1899-1976) (7GLE); Miss Sybil Campbell, magistrate and fundraiser in 1922 for converting Crosby Hall in Chelsea into an international centre for postgraduate students; and Dame Adeline Genée (d. 1970), one of the founders of modern British ballet.

At the AGM of Apr 1980 a special resolution was passed stating that the Club would be ceasing to operate through its normal constitutional procedures. The Club met occasionally until its last meeting in Mar 1984.

Edith Watson was a member of the Women's Freedom League (WFL) and was involved in the protest which took place on the river Thames in 1913. She became involved with the newspaper 'The Vote' which was published by the WFL and became one of its regular journalists and its court correspondent as well as sending copy covering suffrage events to other newspapers such as the Daily Herald . She became involved at this time in calling for women journalists to be allowed to remain in court when assault charges were being discussed. During the First World War she joined Nina Boyle in establishing the first Women's Volunteer Police Service as well as becoming involved in other areas of civil defence. She moved to Watford in 1945 where she remained politically active. That same year she also became the secretary of the Divorce Law Reform Union.

Fanny Adams (1992-1993) was an anonymous pressure group that was active from around Feb 1992 to Jun 1993. Based on the American 'Guerilla Girls', the group of women art practitioners from diverse backgrounds campaigned to publicly expose inequality and discrimination within the art world and to give women a stronger and more prominent role. Their key protest concerned the low representation of women artists in major London commercial galleries and in magazine reviews. Using the slogan 'Fanny Adams puts you in the picture' they ran a media campaign in the form of flyering, stickering and placing adverts or 'information pieces' in magazines including Art Monthly, Women's Art, Frieze and The Artist's Newsletter. They used statistical evidence to point out women's under-representation in art galleries, as well as 'naming and shaming' key figures in the art world responsible for showing and purchasing artists' work, including Nicholas Serota and Norman Rosenthal. The anonymity of the group allowed them to target individuals and galleries alike, for example: the posters for the 'Gravity and Grace' exhibition of sculpture at the Hayward Gallery was targeted with the text '95% female-free', and in Jan 1992 a thousand greeting cards with the proclamation 'Fanny Adams invites you to reconsider' was sent to key representatives in the visual arts. The Barbican Art Gallery reproduced the Fanny Adams advertisement 'Anthony D'Offay showed less than 15% women artists, or none at all, in 1991', in the exhibition Cutting Edge (Aug to Oct 1992).