Trinity Presbyterian Church was founded in 1875. The church was built in 1877 situated on Pendennis Road, Streatham. In 1972, when the Presbyterian and Congregational churches merged, it became the Trinity United Reformed Church.
Guildford Presbyterian Church was closed on 7 October 1956. It is possible that it is now part of the Guildford United Reformed Church.
Richmond Presbyterian Church was founded in 1876 as a preaching station. The church was built in 1885, situated on Little Green, Richmond. In 1972, when the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches merged, it became Richmond Green United Reformed Church, now situated on Quadrant Road.
Christ Church Presbyterian Church, Wallington, was founded in 1880. The church was constructed in 1887 on Woodcote Road. Following the merger of the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches in 1972 it became Christ Church United Reformed Church and is now situated on Stanley Park Road.
Saint George's Presbyterian Church, Croydon, began as a temporary iron church situated on Oakfield Road. By 1865 a permanent church had been constructed. However, membership numbers dropped and the church was closed by 1940. It was used as a food store by the Oxo company during the war and was subsequently converted into a Masonic Lodge.
In 1805 part of Ranelagh House, Chelsea, was hired out by a group of Christians concerned about the 'godlessness' of the local area. They began teaching a Sunday School and, after this proved a success, began adult services with visiting preachers of various denominations. In 1814 the congregation gained a permanent minister who was a Calvinistic Methodist.
In 1818 expanding membership made it necessary to move and a chapel was built on Lower George Street, called the Ranelagh Chapel. In 1845, on the death of the Methodist minister, the church joined the English Presbyterian Church and was renamed Ranelagh Presbyterian Church. The lease on the Lower George Street chapel expired in 1866 and the church merged with a Presbyterian Mission in West Halkin Street, Belgrave Square. The name Belgrave Presbyterian Church was adopted. The church was rebuilt in 1881. In 1923 the church moved to premises in Emperor's Gate, Kensington.
Saint Mary's Presbyterian Church, Woolston, Southampton, was founded in 1874. The church was built in 1876 on Portsmouth Road. It belonged to the Presbytery of the South Coast. In 1971 the church was sharing worship with the local Congregational church although it does not seem to have joined the United Reformed Church.
Hamilton Presbyterian Church, Lewes, Sussex, began as a preaching station in around 1860. A permanent minister was found in 1864 and the church was formally constituted. It was situated on Prince Edward Road.
Between 1897 and 1898, Samuel Benett Burt Thresher, founded Thresher and Company, a firm of wine merchants with eight shops (four in Fulham, one each in Lewisham, Ladywell, Streatham and Putney). In 1917 Thresher's became registered as a limited company. S B B Thresher retired in 1938. He was succeeded by Sydney Follett as managing director and H A Bonner as chairman.
The firm was bought by Flowers Breweries of Luton, Bedfordshire in 1957, and in turn part of the Whitbread empire in 1962 when Flowers Breweries was acquired by Whitbread and Company Limited. Flowers Breweries had begun as Flower and Sons in 1831 based at Brewery Street in Stratford-upon-Avon. In 1954 it merged with J W Green Limited of Luton who owned the Phoenix Brewery located on Park West Street. One condition of the merger was that the Flowers name be retained and so the new company became known as Flowers Breweries. After becoming part of Whitbread, brewing continued at the Luton site until the late 1960s before production was moved to Whitbread's Cheltenham site on Monson Avenue. Production of the Flowers brands was later transfered to the Boddingtons plant before coming under Interbrew when Whitbread's assets were sold in 2000.
The Thresher's shops were amalgamated in 1965 with wine shops of F S Stowell Limited, the managed off-licence group acquired by Whitbread in 1920. Combined head offices were established at Britten Street, Chelsea. Thresher's became part of Whitbread's growing wine and spirits business becoming its main off-license chain with over 1,600 off-licence stores. In 1998 the firm became owned by Allied Domecq, before being bought by Nomura Principal Finance in 2003. The firm fell into administration with Wine Cellar and First Quench Retailing in 2009.
Head office: 4 Thames House, Queen Street Place, City of London (until 1938); Burlington Lodge, Rigault Road, Fulham (from 1938); Britten Street, Chelsea (after 1965-1977); Great North Road, Hatfield, Hertfordshire (1977-1982); Sefton House, Church Road, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire (1982-).
Since the 17th century, the parish of Saint Giles in the Fields, together with the later parish of Saint George Bloomsbury, has benefitted from the endowment of a number of charitable bequests and donations. These have been regulated differently at various times, and have on occasion been brought together better to fund their charitable purposes. In 2005 a new Charity Commissioners scheme consolidated four of the major surviving parish charities, bringing together for the first time the operations of the almshouses, Bloomsbury Dispensary, Thomas Leverton's Charity, and the Dibdin Brand Charity (formed on the consolidation of two former charities William Shelton's Education Foundation and the Saint Giles and Bloomsbury Education Foundation).
Alexandra Rose Charities works for small charities, helping them to raise money. "The Charity was launched in 1912 with the Alexandra Rose Day, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the arrival of Queen Alexandra to the United Kingdom. The Queen's admirers insisted that the day should be celebrated in a special way, and a processional drive through the streets of London seemed an obvious choice, but Alexandra wanted an occasion that would help the sick and needy. She had heard of a priest in Copenhagen who had provided much needed funds for the orphans he looked after by selling the beautiful roses he had grown in his garden and following a visit to him, she developed the idea of selling artificial wild roses which would benefit the funds of London Hospitals and which were to be made by the disabled from the John Grooms Society in Clerkenwell. The day was to be called 'Alexandra Rose Day', and the initial drive swept Londoners off their feet."
"The first event raised £32,000 (the equivalent of over £2 million in today's money). The funds raised were a great benefit to hospitals, and the annual drive became an institution, one of the chief attractions of London's summer."
After Queen Alexandra's death in 1925 HRH Princess Victoria became the Alexandra Rose Day president (1926-1935) and then HRH Princess Marina (1936-1968). The current President is HRH Princess Alexandra, the Hon Lady Ogilvy.
The original organiser of Alexandra Rose Day was Miss C May Beeman (1869-1935) who worked tirelessly to raise funds not only for Alexandra Rose Day, but also for the British Red Cross's 'Our Day', The Anzac Buffet, London and the Nations Fund for Nurses among others.
Two related charities are 'Our Day' and 'Their Day', these were charity days where the flag day collections were organised by Alexandra Rose Committees. 'Our Day' was organised by Miss Beeman on behalf of The British Red Cross Society and 'Their Day' flag days were run on behalf of 'Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen's Help Society' and 'Soldiers and Sailors and Airmen's Families Association'. The Chairman of 'Their Day' was the Admiral of the Fleet Lord Chatfield and again the organising secretary was Miss Beeman. The fund itself provided financial help to serving men and women in unforseen eventualities such as further assistance when on extended compassioante leave or on discharge and in domestic difficulties such as arrears of rent, rates and hire purchase, house repairs, sickness, confimements and the care of children.
Alexandra Rose Day was originally run from the home of Miss Beeman in Bolton Gardens, Kensington. Later premises in Barnes were sold in 1996 and Alexandra Rose Charities are now based in Farnham, Surrey.
Alexandra Rose Charities has helped thousands of charities in the United Kingdom to raise funds for themselves, providing them with assistance in making a collection, obtaining licences, supplying equipment and giving advice on everything from the legal aspects to planning the day and engaging volunteers. Alexandra Rose Charities have also run their own fund raising events such as the long running Rose Ball and the annual Rose Raffle.
Source for background history taken from the website www.alexandrarosecharities.org.uk
Born in 1952, Gillian Spraggs was brought up in Greater London before attending Girton College, Cambridge to read English. She completed a PhD in 1980 on rogues and vagabonds in Tudor and early Stuart literature and is an eminent scholar currently working at Loughborough University.
Gillian Spraggs also gained distinction as a campaigner for the right and equality of lesbians and gays, particularly within the education system. A teacher for many years, Ms. Spraggs began to take part in campaigns and discussions of gay and lesbian rights in 1986 when she became an active member of the Leicester Working Party and the National Union of Teachers. Through the Leicester Working Party she sought "to see a resolution in support of gay rights passed by the Union's [National Teaching Union] National Conference, and to press for such a policy, once adopted, to be translated into effective action". It was through this forum that the group worked to publish the book Outlaws in the Classroom, which was launched in 1987 at the National Conference and which grabbed the attention - both good and bad - of not only the unions, but also the national press and brought to their attention the plight of gay and lesbian teachers within the education system.
The Leicester Working Party, like many lesbian and gay action groups in the country, also involved themselves heavily in the campaign against the introduction of Clause 27 into the Local Government Bill 1988. The work of the Leicester Working Party can be seen as contributing to the condemnation of Clause 27 by the National Teaching Union and with it their support for the employment rights of lesbian and gay teachers.
Now an academic, Gillian Spraggs is the author of Outlaws and Highwaymen, The Cult of the Robber in England from the Middle Ages to the Nineteenth Century as well having published numerous essays, poems and translations. She is also the editor of Love Shook My Senses: Lesbian Love Poems, an anthology of poetry which journalist Siân Hughes called "a book about women by those who know what they are talking about".
Sources: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2001/mar/07/bestbooks.fiction http://www.gillianspraggs.com/
Incisive Media Limited is a business media publisher, established in 1995 and based in London, with offices in Haymarket and Broadwick Street, Soho. It publishes a range of business publications and also offers conference, events and training services.
Incisive publish Professional Pensions, a weekly magazine for the occupational pensions industry with information relating to the institutional pensions market and UK pension fund management. Since 1998 Professional Pensions has also organised the UK Pension Awards, which recognises the UK's best pension funds, trustees and scheme professionals.
Source of information: http://www.professionalpensions.com and http://www.pensionschemeawards.com/
London Regional Passengers' Committee (LRPC), official watchdog for transport in the capital, was established by the London Regional Transport Act 1984 and derived duties in relation to national railways under the Railways Act 1993 as amended by the Transport Act 2000. Funded by central government, its role was to investigate complaints, conduct independent research and publish reports on transport issues, maintain a dialogue with transport operators and assess the impact of a proposed station or line closure.
Prior to 1984 it was known as London Transport Passengers Committee (LTPC), a body sponsored by the Greater London Council (GLC). This originated from the Transport Users Consultative Committee for London formed in circa 1950. This initial Committee formed part of a system of national and regional advisory committees set up to represent the public interest upon the creation of the British Transport Commission in 1947.
The LRPC was succeeded by the London Transport Users' Committee (LTUC) (known as London Travelwatch), in 2000 under the Greater London Authority Act 1999. It continued to have a statutory basis in previous Acts of Parliament and therefore while funded by the London Assembly remained separate from the Greater London Authority.
In 2010 the LTUC consisted of 21 members, plus a Chair appointed by the London Assembly (part of the Greater London Authority) usually for either two or four years, with around 25 part and full-time staff.
LTUC powers in representing the interests of transport users in and around London included:
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the duty to consider matters raised with it by or on behalf of the users of transport services in its remit;
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the right to be consulted on a wide range of issues related to transport provision in London;
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the power to refer matters to the Strategic Rail Authority when it is not satisfied with the actions of a train operator;
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the power to determine its own procedures.
The Greater London Council (GLC) ran a Policy and Intelligence Programme with the aim of working to overcome the disadvantages faced by large numbers of Londoners. Policy Study Groups were created to identify the implications and possibilities of outline policies, and to propose ways in which policy objectives could be achieved. The Policy Unit was also responsible for identifying and acquiring statistical information relevant to local government functions. The collection of statistics and research set the overall context for the development and implementation of Council policies.
The London Strategic Policy Unit was set up by nine London Boroughs in April 1986 to carry through some of the policy initiatives of the GLC following its abolition. For example, the Police Monitoring and Research Group continued the work of the GLC Police Committee Support Unit.
The Metropolitan Buildings Office (MBO) was established in 1844 under the Metropolitan Buildings Act and was the first statutory body with responsibility for building regulation for the whole of the Metropolitan area. Revision of building regulation was long overdue. Between 1801 and 1841 the population of London had increased from under a million to over two million. The built up area had spread well beyond the boundaries set by the London Building Act of 1774.
Building methods and uses had also changed in the period, and there was a pressing need to prevent building developments which were undesirable for social or sanitary reasons - even the most conservative were beginning to realise that accumulations of untreated sewage under and around dwellings in crowded streets and alleys were a menace to health.
The 1844 Metropolitan Buildings Act was concerned with the security and thickness of party walls and the use of fire-resistant materials. Buildings were classified into three types - dwelling houses, warehouses and public buildings, which included churches, schools and theatres, and detailed provisions were set out for each.
In addition it established that:
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No new streets should be formed less than 40 feet wide and buildings adjacent to them should be no higher than the width of the street.
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New dwelling houses were to have an area of at least 10 square feet at the rear unless the windows on the other three sides gave light and air to all the rooms.
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No cellar or underground room was to be used for human habitation unless it had a window, a fireplace and drainage.
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Privies and closets were to be properly enclosed and screened from public view and drains were to be provided in all new houses.
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Noxious and dangerous businesses were not to be set up within 50 feet of other buildings.
As an organisation the MBO was administratively very complicated - The Lord Mayor, the Justices, the Secretary of State and the Commissioners of Works all had a say in the appointment of officers. There was apparently much friction between the Registrar and the Official Referees, and officers were expected to accomplish far more than their powers permitted. Almost from the beginning private builders, surveyors and others were clamouring for revision of the Act. In 1855 the MBO was abolished and a new body, the Metropolitan Board of Works, was set up in its place.
The Civil Defence Department existed from 1938-1946 and from 1948-1965. It reported to the Air Raids Precautions Committee (1938-1939) and the Civil Defence Committee (1948-1965).
The development of aircraft and related weaponry in the early twentieth century brought with it the threat of attacks on civilian populations and property at times of war. London in particular had suffered a degree of enemy action from the air during the First World War. In the 1930s the political situation in Europe compelled the government to implement legislation for the protection of the civilian population in the event of a war. In July 1935 the Home Office issued a circular on Air Raid Precautions (ARP) to all local authorities which encouraged them to create ARP machinery and to recruit and train the public in ARP duties. The decision to work through the local authorities was a significant one. In Middlesex some of the lower tier authorities developed high calibre plans (Hornsey for example) while others did very little work. This was a pattern reflected by the whole country. The county of Middlesex was considered by the Home Office to be an area of "especial danger" where civil defence was very important.
Under the 1937 Air Raid Precautions Act local authorities were obliged to draw up ARP schemes in order to protect civilians and their property from air attack. In Middlesex the Air Raid Precautions Committee consisting of County Councillors was formed in 1938. The Committee decided that the lower tier authorities had a major part to play in civil defence and urged them to appoint their own ARP officers and formulate proposals which could be co-ordinated by the County Council. A small Civil Defence Department was set up by the County Council to deal with this work under the leadership of a Civil Defence Officer. The Munich Agreement of September 1938 gave fresh impetus to the development of Civil Defence activities. A recruitment drive for part time volunteers was initiated together with the construction of air raid shelters and the establishment of rest centres. It was anticipated, given what had happened in the First World War, that poison gas would be used so gas masks were issued. First Aid Posts were set up and trenches built in open spaces. The Middlesex County Council area was incorporated into the London Civil Defence Region to form Group 6. The Civil Defence Act 1939 gave further responsibilities to the local authorities. On the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939 a civil defence organisation was in being, although not equipped or ready for active service.
Evacuation plans for children and mothers were first drawn up in the late 1930s. The prime movers in this were the London County Council and the government, as Middlesex County Council was not responsible for all education provision at that date. The boroughs of Action, Edmonton, Hornsey, Tottenham and Willesden were included in the plans, and later also Enfield, Ealing, Brentford and Chiswick. Evacuation took place from 1-4 September 1939 and by this date many people had already left London privately. As no enemy bombing started in 1939 many evacuees returned to the capital before the end of the year and did not leave again until the start of the Blitz in September 1940.
Bombing in Middlesex began on 12 July 1940 and the whole of the county was badly affected by the Blitz (September 1940 - May 1941). There was a lull in bombing between May 1941 and 1944 with only sporadic attacks. During this period a degree of reorganisation took place within the Civil Defence services. The stretcher party service was amalgamated with the rescue service, wardens were given First Aid training. Emergency feeding was established by the Home Office and its use pioneered in Middlesex with the Red Cross who equipped and staffed empty houses and then housed homeless people and those suffering from shock. In the summer of 1944 attacks from flying bombs and long range rockets began (V1s and V2s) and Middlesex suffered early on and badly from these. 16,000 casualties were recorded. Notable incidents included 29 September 1940 daylight attack (target presumed to be Northolt Airport), when 200 high explosive bombs were dropped on area around Ruislip Road, Ealing; 30 November 1940 133 high explosive bombs dropped in a night raid on Twickenham and 13 February 1941 housing estate bombed near the Welsh Harp, Hendon.
The Civil Defence (Suspension of Powers) Act, 1945, suspended some provisions of the Civil Defence Acts 1937 and 1939, notably the obligations the local authorities had to prepare air raid precaution schemes, build shelters, train civil defence volunteers and organise the blackout. Full time civil defence staff were no longer required. The Middlesex County Council Air Raid Precautions Officer's Department was dissolved and its remaining duties undertaken by the Clerk's Department and County Treasurer's Department. The Home Office continued to encourage the activities of local Civil Defence branches of volunteers. These branches were strong in the Middlesex local districts so the County Council appointed honorary liaison officers to work with the branches. This work continued until the passing of the Civil Defence Act 1947.
The Civil Defence organisation stood down after the Second World War ended in 1945. In December 1948 the Civil Defence Act 1947 came into force and the County Council again received civil defence responsibilities. The new Act had been passed as an attempt to offer a measure of protection to the civilian population in the event of another war and in particular to tackle the new atomic warfare. The functions of the County Council fell into two areas: the organisation of the Middlesex Division of the Civil Defence Corps and the preparation of plans for the operation of certain war-time services The Civil Defence Committee sat again and a small Civil Defence Department was established under the County Civil Defence Officer. The County Council was again made responsible for the five areas of Hertfordshire within the Metropolitan Police District.
The County Council was responsible for the enrolment and training of volunteers to make up the Middlesex Defence Corps. The Civil Defence Committee decided at a very early stage that the lower tier authorities should play a large role in civil defence and be responsible for enrolling and training volunteers under the County Council's supervision. It was felt that a better response would be received from the general public if volunteers were organised locally. The local authorities were arranged into three sub-groups - Group A: Barnet, Cheshunt, East Barnet, Edmonton, Enfield, Finchley, Friern Barnet, Hornsey, Potters Bar, Southgate, Tottenham, Wood Green; Group B: Bushey, Elstree, Harrow, Hendon, Rusilip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Wembley, Willesden and Group C: Acton, Brentford and Chiswick, Ealing, Feltham, Hayes and Harlington, Heston and Isleworth, Southall, Staines, Sunbury-on-Thames, Twickenham, Yiewsley and West Drayton. The Corps was divided by the Civil Defence Act into five sections; headquarters; warden; ambulance and casualty collecting; rescue; welfare. Recruitment began in November 1949 and by the end of the year 8,579 members had been enrolled. The County Council retained the responsibility for ensuring that the instructors were trained. Qualifications could be obtained at Home Office Technical Training Schools.
Volunteers received basic training and then proceeded to work within the section of the Corps in which they had enrolled. The County Council provided courses for instructors to use for the headquarters, warden and ambulance sections and guided the local authorities in selecting the instructors for the welfare section. To ensure that volunteers were properly trained the County Council encouraged the districts to establish civil defence training centres and authorised expenditure with this in mind. Likewise the purchase of equipment was encouraged. By the end of 1952 25 districts had incendiary bomb huts; 24 districts had gas chambers and 13 districts had gas compounds. The Civil Defence Corps was often called in to assist other emergency services, for example in transport accidents and searches for missing children.
The County Civil Defence Officer was the chief officer of the department. Under him were four assistant Civil Defence Officers, an Assistant Rescue Officer, six full time instructors with clerical and manual support staff. There were personnel within other County Council departments who were charges within the planning of the emergency services and were so involved in civil defence work. There was a sub-divisional Civil Defence Officer in each local authority for whose salary expenses the local authority was reimbursed by the County Council.
In 1962 central government initiated an overhaul of the running of Civil Defence Corps. The aim of this reorganisation was to enhance the status of the Corps, to improve efficiency, and to develop a nucleus of highly trained volunteers. These changes took effect from 1 October 1962 and the most significant effect was to improve the standards of training. The civil defence functions of the County Council passed to the new London Boroughs and the county councils of Hertfordshire and Surrey.
The Civil Defence Department existed from 1938-1946 and from 1948-1965. It reported to the Air Raids Precautions Committee (1938-1939) and the Civil Defence Committee (1948-1965).
The development of aircraft and related weaponry in the early twentieth century brought with it the threat of attacks on civilian populations and property at times of war. London in particular had suffered a degree of enemy action from the air during the First World War. In the 1930s the political situation in Europe compelled the government to implement legislation for the protection of the civilian population in the event of a war. In July 1935 the Home Office issued a circular on Air Raid Precautions (ARP) to all local authorities which encouraged them to create ARP machinery and to recruit and train the public in ARP duties. The decision to work through the local authorities was a significant one. In Middlesex some of the lower tier authorities developed high calibre plans (Hornsey for example) while others did very little work. This was a pattern reflected by the whole country. The county of Middlesex was considered by the Home Office to be an area of "especial danger" where civil defence was very important.
Under the 1937 Air Raid Precautions Act local authorities were obliged to draw up ARP schemes in order to protect civilians and their property from air attack. In Middlesex the Air Raid Precautions Committee consisting of County Councillors was formed in 1938. The Committee decided that the lower tier authorities had a major part to play in civil defence and urged them to appoint their own ARP officers and formulate proposals which could be co-ordinated by the County Council. A small Civil Defence Department was set up by the County Council to deal with this work under the leadership of a Civil Defence Officer. The Munich Agreement of September 1938 gave fresh impetus to the development of Civil Defence activities. A recruitment drive for part time volunteers was initiated together with the construction of air raid shelters and the establishment of rest centres. It was anticipated, given what had happened in the First World War, that poison gas would be used so gas masks were issued. First Aid Posts were set up and trenches built in open spaces. The Middlesex County Council area was incorporated into the London Civil Defence Region to form Group 6. The Civil Defence Act 1939 gave further responsibilities to the local authorities. On the outbreak of war on 3 September 1939 a civil defence organisation was in being, although not equipped or ready for active service.
Evacuation plans for children and mothers were first drawn up in the late 1930s. The prime movers in this were the London County Council and the government, as Middlesex County Council was not responsible for all education provision at that date. The boroughs of Action, Edmonton, Hornsey, Tottenham and Willesden were included in the plans, and later also Enfield, Ealing, Brentford and Chiswick. Evacuation took place from 1-4 September 1939 and by this date many people had already left London privately. As no enemy bombing started in 1939 many evacuees returned to the capital before the end of the year and did not leave again until the start of the Blitz in September 1940.
Bombing in Middlesex began on 12 July 1940 and the whole of the county was badly affected by the Blitz (September 1940 - May 1941). There was a lull in bombing between May 1941 and 1944 with only sporadic attacks. During this period a degree of reorganisation took place within the Civil Defence services. The stretcher party service was amalgamated with the rescue service, wardens were given First Aid training. Emergency feeding was established by the Home Office and its use pioneered in Middlesex with the Red Cross who equipped and staffed empty houses and then housed homeless people and those suffering from shock. In the summer of 1944 attacks from flying bombs and long range rockets began (V1s and V2s) and Middlesex suffered early on and badly from these. 16,000 casualties were recorded. Notable incidents included 29 September 1940 daylight attack (target presumed to be Northolt Airport), when 200 high explosive bombs were dropped on area around Ruislip Road, Ealing; 30 November 1940 133 high explosive bombs dropped in a night raid on Twickenham and 13 February 1941 housing estate bombed near the Welsh Harp, Hendon.
The Civil Defence (Suspension of Powers) Act, 1945, suspended some provisions of the Civil Defence Acts 1937 and 1939, notably the obligations the local authorities had to prepare air raid precaution schemes, build shelters, train civil defence volunteers and organise the blackout. Full time civil defence staff were no longer required. The Middlesex County Council Air Raid Precautions Officer's Department was dissolved and its remaining duties undertaken by the Clerk's Department and County Treasurer's Department. The Home Office continued to encourage the activities of local Civil Defence branches of volunteers. These branches were strong in the Middlesex local districts so the County Council appointed honorary liaison officers to work with the branches. This work continued until the passing of the Civil Defence Act 1947.
The Civil Defence organisation stood down after the Second World War ended in 1945. In December 1948 the Civil Defence Act 1947 came into force and the County Council again received civil defence responsibilities. The new Act had been passed as an attempt to offer a measure of protection to the civilian population in the event of another war and in particular to tackle the new atomic warfare. The functions of the County Council fell into two areas: the organisation of the Middlesex Division of the Civil Defence Corps and the preparation of plans for the operation of certain war-time services The Civil Defence Committee sat again and a small Civil Defence Department was established under the County Civil Defence Officer. The County Council was again made responsible for the five areas of Hertfordshire within the Metropolitan Police District.
The County Council was responsible for the enrolment and training of volunteers to make up the Middlesex Defence Corps. The Civil Defence Committee decided at a very early stage that the lower tier authorities should play a large role in civil defence and be responsible for enrolling and training volunteers under the County Council's supervision. It was felt that a better response would be received from the general public if volunteers were organised locally. The local authorities were arranged into three sub-groups - Group A: Barnet, Cheshunt, East Barnet, Edmonton, Enfield, Finchley, Friern Barnet, Hornsey, Potters Bar, Southgate, Tottenham, Wood Green; Group B: Bushey, Elstree, Harrow, Hendon, Rusilip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Wembley, Willesden and Group C: Acton, Brentford and Chiswick, Ealing, Feltham, Hayes and Harlington, Heston and Isleworth, Southall, Staines, Sunbury-on-Thames, Twickenham, Yiewsley and West Drayton. The Corps was divided by the Civil Defence Act into five sections: headquarters; warden; ambulance and casualty collecting; rescue; welfare. Recruitment began in November 1949 and by the end of the year 8,579 members had been enrolled. The County Council retained the responsibility for ensuring that the instructors were trained. Qualifications could be obtained at Home Office Technical Training Schools.
Volunteers received basic training and then proceeded to work within the section of the Corps in which they had enrolled. The County Council provided courses for instructors to use for the headquarters, warden and ambulance sections and guided the local authorities in selecting the instructors for the welfare section. To ensure that volunteers were properly trained the County Council encouraged the districts to establish civil defence training centres and authorised expenditure with this in mind. Likewise the purchase of equipment was encouraged. By the end of 1952 25 districts had incendiary bomb huts; 24 districts had gas chambers and 13 districts had gas compounds. The Civil Defence Corps was often called in to assist other emergency services, for example in transport accidents and searches for missing children.
The County Civil Defence Officer was the chief officer of the department. Under him were four assistant Civil Defence Officers, an Assistant Rescue Officer, six full time instructors with clerical and manual support staff. There were personnel within other County Council departments who were charges within the planning of the emergency services and were so involved in civil defence work. There was a sub-divisional Civil Defence Officer in each local authority for whose salary expenses the local authority was reimbursed by the County Council.
In 1962 central government initiated an overhaul of the running of Civil Defence Corps. The aim of this reorganisation was to enhance the status of the Corps, to improve efficiency, and to develop a nucleus of highly trained volunteers. These changes took effect from 1 October 1962 and the most significant effect was to improve the standards of training. The civil defence functions of the County Council passed to the new London Boroughs and the county councils of Hertfordshire and Surrey.
The Children's Department of the Middlesex County Council was set up under the Children Act 1948 which embodied the findings of the Curtis Report of 1945-1946. The Act took effect on 5 July 1948; the first meeting of the newly formed Children's Committee took place on the next day, taking over from the Interim Children's Committee, formed of the members of the thereafter defunct Children's Care Sub-Committee of the Education Committee. The first Children's Officer, Mr Ainscow, had in fact been appointed in anticipation, with effect from 1 May 1948. The duties of the Department had previously been distributed across several County Council departments (the Public Assistance, Public Health and Education Departments), as well as bodies (education authorities outside the MCC and the County Maternity and Child Welfare authorities) not part of the County Council at all.
The activities of the Children's Department may be summarised as follows:
i) Care and welfare: this comprised of the provision of care for a) children under the age of 17 if they had no parents or guardians; if they were abandoned or lost; of if their parents were unable to provide for their proper upbringing, provided that such care was in the child's best interests: and b) children committed by a court to the care of the County Council under a Fit Person order. This involved inter alia the running of homes and nurseries, the maintenance of the boarding out system for foster homes, and in some cases the assumption of full parental rights until the child should attain majority. The Department also undertook the care of children as delegated by the Welfare Department when dealing with problem or evicted families.
ii) Child Life Protection: this was a long standing local authority responsibility. After the passing of the Children Act 1948 its effect was to render it an offence for any person other than the parent, legal guardian or a relative to undertake for reward (whether or not for profit) the care of a child below school leaving age (15 in 1948) without notifying the County Council as a welfare authority. The Children's Department publicised the legal obligations upon such persons, supervised placements, inspected and regulated foster homes and so on. After the Adoption Act 1950, a similar duty to notify the Council rested upon anyone placing a child in another's care (with the same exceptions as above).
iii) Approved schools and remand homes: a child could be committed by the courts into the care of the Council either by a Fit Person Order, the effect of which was to put the child into the care of the Children's Department or by an Approved School Order, which placed the child under the care of managers at an Approved School. It should be noted that placements were made under the aegis of the Home Office nationwide, and that although the Council, through sub-committees of the Children's Committees, ran two approved schools, by no means all Middlesex children would be allocated places there. The Committee also ran two remand homes. The Children's Department were involved in briefing judges on cases: sometimes in bringing themselves in order to gain the powers by which to afford children under threat the care and protection they needed; and as the executive arm of the County Council on receipt of Fit Person Orders. Staff were also responsible for the supervision and after-care of "licensed" Middlesex children.
iv) Under the Adoption Act 1926, the County Council had since 1943 to oversee the compulsory registration of adoption societies in the county (not an onerous duty: two were registered in of which only one, the Homeless Children's Aid and Adoption Society, continued for any length of time). Compulsory notification to the County Council of all adoptions in the county was not introduced until the Adoption Act 1950. Also, from that point of view the Council had to supervise every prospective third party adoption in its area, whether or not involved in any other capacity. After the 1958 Act the Council had the power to place children for adoption even if those children were not in its care. Its powers of supervision were widened to include all adoptions in the county.
Health areas of the County of Middlesex, also used as administrative areas by the MCC Children's Department: Area 1 Enfield and Edmonton; Area 2 Southgate, Potters Bar, Wood Green and Friern Barnet; Area 3 Hornsey and Tottenham; Area 4 Finchley and Hendon; Area 5 Harrow; Area 6 Wembley and Willesden; Area 7 Ealing and Acton; Area 8 Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington, Yiewsley and West Drayton; Area 9 Heston and Isleworth, Southall and Area 10 Feltham, Staines, Twickenham, Sunbury
Approved schools and remand homes:
In the first half of the nineteenth century, child offenders were sent to gaols along with adults; no differentiation was made. In the late 1840s and 1850s however, largely as a result of the Ragged School movement, various philanthropic groups and individuals began to experiment with schools for the reformation of delinquent children: also advocated were industrial schools where the children of the poorest classes whose mode of life was such that there was the probability of their becoming offenders might be fed and gainfully occupied in the acquisition and exercise of some means of making an honest livelihood. The movement bore fruit in the form of the Reformatory Schools (Youthful Offenders) Act 1854 and the Industrial Schools and Reformatory Schools Act 1857 reinforced by two further statutes of 1866. Under these acts, county justices were obliged to commit young offenders to such institutions, and local authorities to maintain them there, as well as being empowered themselves to maintain or contribute to the maintenance of such institutions (most were run by philanthropic or religious bodies).
On the creation of the Middlesex County Council in 1889 it was allotted the justices' functions regarding the maintenance of juveniles in reformatory and industrial schools. These functions were made the responsibility of the Industrial and Reformatory Schools Committee (after 1908 the Reformatory Schools Committee) until 1933.
The 1908 Children Act in effect abolished the difference between industrial and reformatory schools, which had more or less ceased to exist in 1899, when the Reformatory Schools Amendment Act did away with the requirement that juveniles committed to a reformatory school should spend a preliminary period in prison. More importantly the 1908 Act set up juvenile courts as an integral part of the legal system and redefined the reasons for which children might be brought before the Courts to include a much wider range of welfare (as opposed to punitive) committals. For example children being non-offenders might be brought before the juvenile courts as needing protection, if found begging in the streets; wandering and having no proper guardian; destitute, with parent(s) in prison; in the care of drunken or criminal parents; the daughter of a father convicted of the carnal knowledge of any daughter under 16; frequenting the company of a reported thief or prostitute; living in a house frequented by prostitutes or living in circumstances likely to lead to the seduction or prostitution of the child. Such children would then be committed if necessary to an industrial or reformatory school and maintained by the County Council. Further, whereas juveniles awaiting trial had previously been kept in prisons, it was now incumbent upon the police authorities to provide separate places of detention.
In the case of Middlesex the police authority was the Standing Joint Committee, who provided the Place of Detention, Willesden, located at 49 Church Road, Willesden. It opened in 1911 for the accommodation of remanded boys and girls. In 1913 the London County Council agreed to place the girls and the establishment thereafter was for the boys only. It closed in January 1921, when the LCC agreed to accommodate remanded boys for Middlesex County Council.
Major reforms were brought about by the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 which remained in force with amendments for the rest of the Council's existence. This Act replaced places of detention by remand homes, and reformatory and industrial schools by approved schools (i.e. approved by the Home Office). Juvenile offenders were committed by the juvenile courts by an approved school order to the care of the managers of an approved school. The placements were ultimately under the aegis of the Home Office, and could in theory be made anywhere in the country. The County Council was responsible for children and young people in its area. It was also responsible for making good any shortage in approved school accommodation, at the direction of the Home Office. Middlesex children might thus be committed to an approved school anywhere in the country, including those maintained by the MCC; the approved schools maintained by the MCC might receive children from and maintained by any authority in England and Wales. These new duties were given to the Education Committee, and the Reformatory Schools Committee was wound up.
On the eve of the Act the MCC were using the LCC Remand Home at Ponton Road, Nine Elms. They paid for the upkeep of Middlesex juveniles but as far as running a reformatory themselves their only involvement was an eighth part in Northcotts (North London) School, Walthamstow, the other seven eighths being divided between the Boroughs of Edmonton, Haringey, Tottenham and Wood Green. After some gentle prompting from the Home Office, the MCC agreed in 1935 to take over Northcotts entirely and provide new accommodation for it, and to provide another boys' approved school and an approved school for senior girls. In 1936 therefore the Council decided to rent the premises of the School for Jewish Boys in Hayes as an approved school for boys. The initial lease was for 8 years, on the expiry of which in 1944 the Council bought the freehold. The establishment was known from 1937 as Saint Christopher's Approved School.
Meanwhile the LCC had had to transfer their Ponton Road establishment to the Goldhawk Road, and had asked the MCC to find their own remand accommodation for boys, although the LCC still took MCC girls. The Council therefore decided as a temporary measure, to use the Manor House at Hayes (acquired in 1934) as a boys remand home. It began operations in November 1936 as the Manor House Remand Home and was renamed Saint Nicholas Remand Home in November 1938. It was decided in the same year that the establishment should be made permanent.
The question of the transfer of Northcotts was becoming urgent by reason of the inadequate accommodation in Walthamstow, but the Council were experiencing considerable difficulty in finding suitable premises. In 1938 Popes Farm in South Mimms was proposed but discarded in favour of Pishiobury Park, Sawbridgeworth, which was purchased in May 1939. Hardly had the work of adaptation begun however when the Saint Nicholas' premises at the Manor House, Hayes was severely damaged by a fire in July 1939. Pishiobury had therefore to be pressed into service as an emergency shelter for the remand home, and the date of the removal of Northcotts set back indefinitely: it was however agreed that the MCC should become responsible for the entire management of Northcotts as from 1 January 1940. Remand accommodation for girls was now becoming a problem. The number of remanded girls was increasing, and besides the limited LCC places available, the MCC had to use several privately run establishments and pay accordingly. No solution was found until April 1940 when agreement was reached with the Anglican Sisters of the Community of Saint Mary the Virgin that remand cases could be received at their premises at Saint Helena's, West Ealing. The MCC took the premises on a long lease in December 1941. The original date for the transfer of Northcotts to the MCC had been 1 January 1940. Because of the war, the transfer was put back to 1 April 1941, and duly took place on that date. As stated above Northcotts had in fact been moved to their new premises at Pishiobury earlier than planned and were already established there by the date of the transfer of management. From January 1942 the school was known as Pishiobury School.
The MCC had also agreed in 1935 to provide an approved school for senior girls. At length it was decided that the mansion of Denham Court might be suitable and approval for the conversion was given in the autumn of 1937. Work continued through 1939, up until the outbreak of war. In the first wave of evacuations in the autumn of 1939, Saint Nicholas' boys were transferred from Pishiobury to Denham Court, and Northcotts were moved from Walthamstow to Pishiobury; the girls approved school was temporarily shelved, although staff had already been appointed. In April 1940 the Home Office objected to the use of Denham Court for boys and required their removal. The original premises of Northcotts in Walthamstow were at first suggested but the onset of the Blitz put them out of consideration. Alternative accommodation was eventually found in 1941 at North Lodge, Enfield, formerly occupied by Kilvinton Hall School. Adaptation was authorised in July 1941, the new establishment to be known as Saint Nicholas Home, North Lodge, Enfield; it was in operation by January 1941.
Denham Court had become vacant in 1941 on the removal of Saint Nicholas' to Enfield, and the long delayed girls approved school commenced operations. Unfortunately it was not a success - mainly it appears because of the isolated location away from all urban amenities, and in January 1948 it was proposed that the school be discontinued, and the premises used instead as a hostel for children in care awaiting foster homes: this happened later in 1948.
On 5th July 1948 when the Children's Department came into being it took over two remand homes from the Education Department (Saint Helena's Ealing (girls); Saint Nicholas Enfield (boys)); and two approved schools (Saint Christopher's Hayes (junior boys) and Pishiobury, Sawbridgeworth (senior boys)). All these homes remained in use until the MCC was abolished in 1965.
The Children's Department of the Middlesex County Council was set up under the Children Act 1948 which embodied the findings of the Curtis Report of 1945-1946. The Act took effect on 5 July 1948; the first meeting of the newly formed Children's Committee took place on the next day, taking over from the Interim Children's Committee, formed of the members of the thereafter defunct Children's Care Sub-Committee of the Education Committee. The first Children's Officer, Mr Ainscow, had in fact been appointed in anticipation, with effect from 1 May 1948. The duties of the Department had previously been distributed across several County Council departments (the Public Assistance, Public Health and Education Departments), as well as bodies (education authorities outside the MCC and the County Maternity and Child Welfare authorities) not part of the County Council at all.
The activities of the Children's Department may be summarised as follows:
i) Care and welfare: this comprised of the provision of care for a) children under the age of 17 if they had no parents or guardians; if they were abandoned or lost; of if their parents were unable to provide for their proper upbringing, provided that such care was in the child's best interests: and b) children committed by a court to the care of the County Council under a Fit Person order. This involved inter alia the running of homes and nurseries, the maintenance of the boarding out system for foster homes, and in some cases the assumption of full parental rights until the child should attain majority. The Department also undertook the care of children as delegated by the Welfare Department when dealing with problem or evicted families.
ii) Child Life Protection: this was a long standing local authority responsibility. After the passing of the Children Act 1948 its effect was to render it an offence for any person other than the parent, legal guardian or a relative to undertake for reward (whether or not for profit) the care of a child below school leaving age (15 in 1948) without notifying the County Council as a welfare authority. The Children's Department publicised the legal obligations upon such persons, supervised placements, inspected and regulated foster homes and so on. After the Adoption Act 1950, a similar duty to notify the Council rested upon anyone placing a child in another's care (with the same exceptions as above).
iii) Approved schools and remand homes: a child could be committed by the courts into the care of the Council either by a Fit Person Order, the effect of which was to put the child into the care of the Children's Department or by an Approved School Order, which placed the child under the care of managers at an Approved School. It should be noted that placements were made under the aegis of the Home Office nationwide, and that although the Council, through sub-committees of the Children's Committees, ran two approved schools, by no means all Middlesex children would be allocated places there. The Committee also ran two remand homes. The Children's Department were involved in briefing judges on cases: sometimes in bringing themselves in order to gain the powers by which to afford children under threat the care and protection they needed; and as the executive arm of the County Council on receipt of Fit Person Orders. Staff were also responsible for the supervision and after-care of "licensed" Middlesex children.
iv) Under the Adoption Act 1926, the County Council had since 1943 to oversee the compulsory registration of adoption societies in the county (not an onerous duty: two were registered in of which only one, the Homeless Children's Aid and Adoption Society, continued for any length of time). Compulsory notification to the County Council of all adoptions in the county was not introduced until the Adoption Act 1950. Also, from that point of view the Council had to supervise every prospective third party adoption in its area, whether or not involved in any other capacity. After the 1958 Act the Council had the power to place children for adoption even if those children were not in its care. Its powers of supervision were widened to include all adoptions in the county.
Health areas of the County of Middlesex, also used as administrative areas by the MCC Children's Department: Area 1 Enfield and Edmonton; Area 2 Southgate, Potters Bar, Wood Green and Friern Barnet; Area 3 Hornsey and Tottenham; Area 4 Finchley and Hendon; Area 5 Harrow; Area 6 Wembley and Willesden; Area 7 Ealing and Acton; Area 8 Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington, Yiewsley and West Drayton; Area 9 Heston and Isleworth, Southall and Area 10 Feltham, Staines, Twickenham, Sunbury.
Approved schools and remand homes:
In the first half of the nineteenth century, child offenders were sent to gaols along with adults; no differentiation was made. In the late 1840s and 1850s however, largely as a result of the Ragged School movement, various philanthropic groups and individuals began to experiment with schools for the reformation of delinquent children: also advocated were industrial schools where the children of the poorest classes whose mode of life was such that there was the probability of their becoming offenders might be fed and gainfully occupied in the acquisition and exercise of some means of making an honest livelihood. The movement bore fruit in the form of the Reformatory Schools (Youthful Offenders) Act 1854 and the Industrial Schools and Reformatory Schools Act 1857 reinforced by two further statutes of 1866. Under these acts, county justices were obliged to commit young offenders to such institutions, and local authorities to maintain them there, as well as being empowered themselves to maintain or contribute to the maintenance of such institutions (most were run by philanthropic or religious bodies).
On the creation of the Middlesex County Council in 1889 it was allotted the justices' functions regarding the maintenance of juveniles in reformatory and industrial schools. These functions were made the responsibility of the Industrial and Reformatory Schools Committee (after 1908 the Reformatory Schools Committee) until 1933.
The 1908 Children Act in effect abolished the difference between industrial and reformatory schools, which had more or less ceased to exist in 1899, when the Reformatory Schools Amendment Act did away with the requirement that juveniles committed to a reformatory school should spend a preliminary period in prison. More importantly the 1908 Act set up juvenile courts as an integral part of the legal system and redefined the reasons for which children might be brought before the Courts to include a much wider range of welfare (as opposed to punitive) committals. For example children being non-offenders might be brought before the juvenile courts as needing protection, if found begging in the streets; wandering and having no proper guardian; destitute, with parent(s) in prison; in the care of drunken or criminal parents; the daughter of a father convicted of the carnal knowledge of any daughter under 16; frequenting the company of a reported thief or prostitute; living in a house frequented by prostitutes or living in circumstances likely to lead to the seduction or prostitution of the child. Such children would then be committed if necessary to an industrial or reformatory school and maintained by the County Council. Further, whereas juveniles awaiting trial had previously been kept in prisons, it was now incumbent upon the police authorities to provide separate places of detention.
In the case of Middlesex the police authority was the Standing Joint Committee, who provided the Place of Detention, Willesden, located at 49 Church Road, Willesden. It opened in 1911 for the accommodation of remanded boys and girls. In 1913 the London County Council agreed to place the girls and the establishment thereafter was for the boys only. It closed in January 1921, when the LCC agreed to accommodate remanded boys for Middlesex County Council.
Major reforms were brought about by the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 which remained in force with amendments for the rest of the Council's existence. This Act replaced places of detention by remand homes, and reformatory and industrial schools by approved schools (i.e. approved by the Home Office). Juvenile offenders were committed by the juvenile courts by an approved school order to the care of the managers of an approved school. The placements were ultimately under the aegis of the Home Office, and could in theory be made anywhere in the country. The County Council was responsible for children and young people in its area. It was also responsible for making good any shortage in approved school accommodation, at the direction of the Home Office. Middlesex children might thus be committed to an approved school anywhere in the country, including those maintained by the MCC; the approved schools maintained by the MCC might receive children from and maintained by any authority in England and Wales. These new duties were given to the Education Committee, and the Reformatory Schools Committee was wound up.
On the eve of the Act the MCC were using the LCC Remand Home at Ponton Road, Nine Elms. They paid for the upkeep of Middlesex juveniles but as far as running a reformatory themselves their only involvement was an eighth part in Northcotts (North London) School, Walthamstow, the other seven eighths being divided between the Boroughs of Edmonton, Haringey, Tottenham and Wood Green. After some gentle prompting from the Home Office, the MCC agreed in 1935 to take over Northcotts entirely and provide new accommodation for it, and to provide another boys' approved school and an approved school for senior girls. In 1936 therefore the Council decided to rent the premises of the School for Jewish Boys in Hayes as an approved school for boys. The initial lease was for 8 years, on the expiry of which in 1944 the Council bought the freehold. The establishment was known from 1937 as Saint Christopher's Approved School.
Meanwhile the LCC had had to transfer their Ponton Road establishment to the Goldhawk Road, and had asked the MCC to find their own remand accommodation for boys, although the LCC still took MCC girls. The Council therefore decided as a temporary measure, to use the Manor House at Hayes (acquired in 1934) as a boys remand home. It began operations in November 1936 as the Manor House Remand Home and was renamed Saint Nicholas Remand Home in November 1938. It was decided in the same year that the establishment should be made permanent.
The question of the transfer of Northcotts was becoming urgent by reason of the inadequate accommodation in Walthamstow, but the Council were experiencing considerable difficulty in finding suitable premises. In 1938 Popes Farm in South Mimms was proposed but discarded in favour of Pishiobury Park, Sawbridgeworth, which was purchased in May 1939. Hardly had the work of adaptation begun however when the Saint Nicholas' premises at the Manor House, Hayes was severely damaged by a fire in July 1939. Pishiobury had therefore to be pressed into service as an emergency shelter for the remand home, and the date of the removal of Northcotts set back indefinitely: it was however agreed that the MCC should become responsible for the entire management of Northcotts as from 1 January 1940. Remand accommodation for girls was now becoming a problem. The number of remanded girls was increasing, and besides the limited LCC places available, the MCC had to use several privately run establishments and pay accordingly. No solution was found until April 1940 when agreement was reached with the Anglican Sisters of the Community of Saint Mary the Virgin that remand cases could be received at their premises at Saint Helena's, West Ealing. The MCC took the premises on a long lease in December 1941. The original date for the transfer of Northcotts to the MCC had been 1 January 1940. Because of the war, the transfer was put back to 1 April 1941, and duly took place on that date. As stated above Northcotts had in fact been moved to their new premises at Pishiobury earlier than planned and were already established there by the date of the transfer of management. From January 1942 the school was known as Pishiobury School.
The MCC had also agreed in 1935 to provide an approved school for senior girls. At length it was decided that the mansion of Denham Court might be suitable and approval for the conversion was given in the autumn of 1937. Work continued through 1939, up until the outbreak of war. In the first wave of evacuations in the autumn of 1939, Saint Nicholas' boys were transferred from Pishiobury to Denham Court, and Northcotts were moved from Walthamstow to Pishiobury; the girls approved school was temporarily shelved, although staff had already been appointed. In April 1940 the Home Office objected to the use of Denham Court for boys and required their removal. The original premises of Northcotts in Walthamstow were at first suggested but the onset of the Blitz put them out of consideration. Alternative accommodation was eventually found in 1941 at North Lodge, Enfield, formerly occupied by Kilvinton Hall School. Adaptation was authorised in July 1941, the new establishment to be known as Saint Nicholas Home, North Lodge, Enfield; it was in operation by January 1941.
Denham Court had become vacant in 1941 on the removal of Saint Nicholas' to Enfield, and the long delayed girls approved school commenced operations. Unfortunately it was not a success - mainly it appears because of the isolated location away from all urban amenities, and in January 1948 it was proposed that the school be discontinued, and the premises used instead as a hostel for children in care awaiting foster homes: this happened later in 1948.
On 5th July 1948 when the Children's Department came into being it took over two remand homes from the Education Department (Saint Helena's Ealing (girls); Saint Nicholas Enfield (boys)); and two approved schools (Saint Christopher's Hayes (junior boys) and Pishiobury, Sawbridgeworth (senior boys)). All these homes remained in use until the MCC was abolished in 1965.
The Children's Department of the Middlesex County Council was set up under the Children Act 1948 which embodied the findings of the Curtis Report of 1945-1946. The Act took effect on 5 July 1948; the first meeting of the newly formed Children's Committee took place on the next day, taking over from the Interim Children's Committee, formed of the members of the thereafter defunct Children's Care Sub-Committee of the Education Committee. The first Children's Officer, Mr Ainscow, had in fact been appointed in anticipation, with effect from 1 May 1948. The duties of the Department had previously been distributed across several County Council departments (the Public Assistance, Public Health and Education Departments), as well as bodies (education authorities outside the MCC and the County Maternity and Child Welfare authorities) not part of the County Council at all.
The activities of the Children's Department may be summarised as follows:
i) Care and welfare: this comprised of the provision of care for a) children under the age of 17 if they had no parents or guardians; if they were abandoned or lost; of if their parents were unable to provide for their proper upbringing, provided that such care was in the child's best interests: and b) children committed by a court to the care of the County Council under a Fit Person order. This involved inter alia the running of homes and nurseries, the maintenance of the boarding out system for foster homes, and in some cases the assumption of full parental rights until the child should attain majority. The Department also undertook the care of children as delegated by the Welfare Department when dealing with problem or evicted families.
ii) Child Life Protection: this was a long standing local authority responsibility. After the passing of the Children Act 1948 its effect was to render it an offence for any person other than the parent, legal guardian or a relative to undertake for reward (whether or not for profit) the care of a child below school leaving age (15 in 1948) without notifying the County Council as a welfare authority. The Children's Department publicised the legal obligations upon such persons, supervised placements, inspected and regulated foster homes and so on. After the Adoption Act 1950, a similar duty to notify the Council rested upon anyone placing a child in another's care (with the same exceptions as above).
iii) Approved schools and remand homes: a child could be committed by the courts into the care of the Council either by a Fit Person Order, the effect of which was to put the child into the care of the Children's Department or by an Approved School Order, which placed the child under the care of managers at an Approved School. It should be noted that placements were made under the aegis of the Home Office nationwide, and that although the Council, through sub-committees of the Children's Committees, ran two approved schools, by no means all Middlesex children would be allocated places there. The Committee also ran two remand homes. The Children's Department were involved in briefing judges on cases: sometimes in bringing themselves in order to gain the powers by which to afford children under threat the care and protection they needed; and as the executive arm of the County Council on receipt of Fit Person Orders. Staff were also responsible for the supervision and after-care of "licensed" Middlesex children.
iv) Under the Adoption Act 1926, the County Council had since 1943 to oversee the compulsory registration of adoption societies in the county (not an onerous duty: two were registered in of which only one, the Homeless Children's Aid and Adoption Society, continued for any length of time). Compulsory notification to the County Council of all adoptions in the county was not introduced until the Adoption Act 1950. Also, from that point of view the Council had to supervise every prospective third party adoption in its area, whether or not involved in any other capacity. After the 1958 Act the Council had the power to place children for adoption even if those children were not in its care. Its powers of supervision were widened to include all adoptions in the county.
Health areas of the County of Middlesex, also used as administrative areas by the MCC Children's Department: Area 1 Enfield and Edmonton; Area 2 Southgate, Potters Bar, Wood Green and Friern Barnet; Area 3 Hornsey and Tottenham; Area 4 Finchley and Hendon; Area 5 Harrow; Area 6 Wembley and Willesden; Area 7 Ealing and Acton; Area 8 Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington, Yiewsley and West Drayton; Area 9 Heston and Isleworth, Southall and Area 10 Feltham, Staines, Twickenham, Sunbury.
Children in care:
The care of destitute children, one of the functions of the Elizabethan poor law, was made a duty of the Boards of Guardians under the reformed Poor Law of the 1834 Act. They provided relief and education, and later arranged employment, apprenticeship or emigration. From 1889, the guardians could adopt children - that is to say assume the rights and duties of parents towards them. The Guardians were also empowered to board out children, either in private families or in voluntary homes. The Children Act 1908 among other important provisions described elsewhere transferred to the Guardians the duties of inspection and supervision previously given to the justices and the police under the child life protection legislation being passed from 1872.
The Local Government Act 1929 and the Poor Law Act 1930 abolished the Guardians and transferred their powers to local authorities. Those specifically relating to the poor and destitute became the responsibility of the newly formed Public Assistance Department of the Middlesex County Council, who took over the children and institutions formerly under the Guardians. Those large institutions still in use for children, such as the Chase Farm Schools in Enfield (formerly Edmonton Union) were re-employed, and the children placed in smaller and more personal homes favoured by the MCC.
The duties of the Guardians relating to child life protection were passed to the Maternity and Child Welfare authorities under the Maternity and Child Welfare Act 1918, of which the MCC was one, although the larger boroughs and urban districts provided their own services. The MCC Maternity and Child Welfare Service was part of the Public Health Department. Children with physical and mental disabilities were the responsibility of the local education authorities under the Education Act 1902, of which the MCC's Education Department was one, although as with the Maternity and Child Welfare services, there were others in the county.
All of these functions were taken over in 1948 by the Children's Department subsequent to the Children's Act. The Department also took over certain other functions of the Education Department. As stated above, the Acts of 1929 and 1930 transferred to the MCC Education Department the care of children with disabilities. The Department's role in child care was however greatly increased by the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (under this Act a child was defined as one up to the age of 14, and a young person as being aged 14-16). Besides re-stating the procedures by which a child being the victim of wilful neglect or cruelty might be brought before the courts for its own safety, this Act gave a new importance to local education authorities by transferring to them the duty of bringing before the courts children and young persons in need of care and protection; the administration of remand homes and newly established approved schools; and of being a "fit person" to whom the courts could commit the children brought before them.
The 1948 Act had the effect of transferring these functions of the Education Department to the Children's Department. Children taken into care were now defined by the relevant sections of the Act. Section One permitted the local authority to assume the care of orphaned or deserted children and children whose parents or guardians were unable or unfit to take care of them: this section also contained the unprecedented proviso that the children should be returned to their parents or guardians if at all possible. Section Two permitted the local authority to assume all parental rights and responsibilities over a Section One child if it seemed that the circumstances which caused the child to be taken into care would be permanent. Section Five made it obligatory for the local authority to accept the care of a child committed to it as a "fit person" by a court under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
The Children's Department of the Middlesex County Council was set up under the Children Act 1948 which embodied the findings of the Curtis Report of 1945-1946. The Act took effect on 5 July 1948; the first meeting of the newly formed Children's Committee took place on the next day, taking over from the Interim Children's Committee, formed of the members of the thereafter defunct Children's Care Sub-Committee of the Education Committee. The first Children's Officer, Mr Ainscow, had in fact been appointed in anticipation, with effect from 1 May 1948. The duties of the Department had previously been distributed across several County Council departments (the Public Assistance, Public Health and Education Departments), as well as bodies (education authorities outside the MCC and the County Maternity and Child Welfare authorities) not part of the County Council at all.
The activities of the Children's Department may be summarised as follows:
i) Care and welfare: this comprised of the provision of care for a) children under the age of 17 if they had no parents or guardians; if they were abandoned or lost; of if their parents were unable to provide for their proper upbringing, provided that such care was in the child's best interests: and b) children committed by a court to the care of the County Council under a Fit Person order. This involved inter alia the running of homes and nurseries, the maintenance of the boarding out system for foster homes, and in some cases the assumption of full parental rights until the child should attain majority. The Department also undertook the care of children as delegated by the Welfare Department when dealing with problem or evicted families.
ii) Child Life Protection: this was a long standing local authority responsibility. After the passing of the Children Act 1948 its effect was to render it an offence for any person other than the parent, legal guardian or a relative to undertake for reward (whether or not for profit) the care of a child below school leaving age (15 in 1948) without notifying the County Council as a welfare authority. The Children's Department publicised the legal obligations upon such persons, supervised placements, inspected and regulated foster homes and so on. After the Adoption Act 1950, a similar duty to notify the Council rested upon anyone placing a child in another's care (with the same exceptions as above).
iii) Approved schools and remand homes: a child could be committed by the courts into the care of the Council either by a Fit Person Order, the effect of which was to put the child into the care of the Children's Department or by an Approved School Order, which placed the child under the care of managers at an Approved School. It should be noted that placements were made under the aegis of the Home Office nationwide, and that although the Council, through sub-committees of the Children's Committees, ran two approved schools, by no means all Middlesex children would be allocated places there. The Committee also ran two remand homes. The Children's Department were involved in briefing judges on cases: sometimes in bringing themselves in order to gain the powers by which to afford children under threat the care and protection they needed; and as the executive arm of the County Council on receipt of Fit Person Orders. Staff were also responsible for the supervision and after-care of "licensed" Middlesex children.
iv) Under the Adoption Act 1926, the County Council had since 1943 to oversee the compulsory registration of adoption societies in the county (not an onerous duty: two were registered in of which only one, the Homeless Children's Aid and Adoption Society, continued for any length of time). Compulsory notification to the County Council of all adoptions in the county was not introduced until the Adoption Act 1950. Also, from that point of view the Council had to supervise every prospective third party adoption in its area, whether or not involved in any other capacity. After the 1958 Act the Council had the power to place children for adoption even if those children were not in its care. Its powers of supervision were widened to include all adoptions in the county.
Health areas of the County of Middlesex, also used as administrative areas by the MCC Children's Department: Area 1 Enfield and Edmonton; Area 2 Southgate, Potters Bar, Wood Green and Friern Barnet; Area 3 Hornsey and Tottenham; Area 4 Finchley and Hendon; Area 5 Harrow; Area 6 Wembley and Willesden; Area 7 Ealing and Acton; Area 8 Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington, Yiewsley and West Drayton; Area 9 Heston and Isleworth, Southall and Area 10 Feltham, Staines, Twickenham, Sunbury.
Children's Homes:
Middlesex County Council adopted the policy of closing large institutional homes and opening small residential homes on ordinary streets. These homes were scattered throughout the County so that children in care could be distributed among different schools. The homes were mixed in order to approximate family life and to keep brothers and sisters together. There were over 40 small children's homes, three intermediate homes and a reception centre in Middlesex. There were also residential nurseries.
The Children's Department of the Middlesex County Council was set up under the Children Act 1948 which embodied the findings of the Curtis Report of 1945-1946. The Act took effect on 5 July 1948; the first meeting of the newly formed Children's Committee took place on the next day, taking over from the Interim Children's Committee, formed of the members of the thereafter defunct Children's Care Sub-Committee of the Education Committee. The first Children's Officer, Mr Ainscow, had in fact been appointed in anticipation, with effect from 1 May 1948. The duties of the Department had previously been distributed across several County Council departments (the Public Assistance, Public Health and Education Departments), as well as bodies (education authorities outside the MCC and the County Maternity and Child Welfare authorities) not part of the County Council at all.
The activities of the Children's Department may be summarised as follows:
i) Care and welfare: this comprised of the provision of care for a) children under the age of 17 if they had no parents or guardians; if they were abandoned or lost; of if their parents were unable to provide for their proper upbringing, provided that such care was in the child's best interests: and b) children committed by a court to the care of the County Council under a Fit Person order. This involved inter alia the running of homes and nurseries, the maintenance of the boarding out system for foster homes, and in some cases the assumption of full parental rights until the child should attain majority. The Department also undertook the care of children as delegated by the Welfare Department when dealing with problem or evicted families.
ii) Child Life Protection: this was a long standing local authority responsibility. After the passing of the Children Act 1948 its effect was to render it an offence for any person other than the parent, legal guardian or a relative to undertake for reward (whether or not for profit) the care of a child below school leaving age (15 in 1948) without notifying the County Council as a welfare authority. The Children's Department publicised the legal obligations upon such persons, supervised placements, inspected and regulated foster homes and so on. After the Adoption Act 1950, a similar duty to notify the Council rested upon anyone placing a child in another's care (with the same exceptions as above).
iii) Approved schools and remand homes: a child could be committed by the courts into the care of the Council either by a Fit Person Order, the effect of which was to put the child into the care of the Children's Department or by an Approved School Order, which placed the child under the care of managers at an Approved School. It should be noted that placements were made under the aegis of the Home Office nationwide, and that although the Council, through sub-committees of the Children's Committees, ran two approved schools, by no means all Middlesex children would be allocated places there. The Committee also ran two remand homes. The Children's Department were involved in briefing judges on cases: sometimes in bringing themselves in order to gain the powers by which to afford children under threat the care and protection they needed; and as the executive arm of the County Council on receipt of Fit Person Orders. Staff were also responsible for the supervision and after-care of "licensed" Middlesex children.
iv) Under the Adoption Act 1926, the County Council had since 1943 to oversee the compulsory registration of adoption societies in the county (not an onerous duty: two were registered in of which only one, the Homeless Children's Aid and Adoption Society, continued for any length of time). Compulsory notification to the County Council of all adoptions in the county was not introduced until the Adoption Act 1950. Also, from that point of view the Council had to supervise every prospective third party adoption in its area, whether or not involved in any other capacity. After the 1958 Act the Council had the power to place children for adoption even if those children were not in its care. Its powers of supervision were widened to include all adoptions in the county.
Health areas of the County of Middlesex, also used as administrative areas by the MCC Children's Department: Area 1 Enfield and Edmonton; Area 2 Southgate, Potters Bar, Wood Green and Friern Barnet; Area 3 Hornsey and Tottenham; Area 4 Finchley and Hendon; Area 5 Harrow; Area 6 Wembley and Willesden; Area 7 Ealing and Acton; Area 8 Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington, Yiewsley and West Drayton; Area 9 Heston and Isleworth, Southall and Area 10 Feltham, Staines, Twickenham, Sunbury
Industrial and Reformatory Schools:
Industrial Schools were first founded as voluntary run organisations to provide a home and education for homeless and vagrant children. Under the Industrial Schools Acts of 1857 and 1860-1861 the schools came under local authority control. Magistrates were given the power to sentence children aged between 7 and 14 to attend one of the schools if they were found begging, wandering, in the company of thieves or if they were beyond the control of their parents. Industrial schools were also an alternative to prison for children under the age of 12 who had committed minor crimes. It was believed that sending vagrant, destitute or disorderly children to an Industrial School would prevent them from falling into crime, remove them from bad influences and teach them a useful trade. A typical industrial school had a very structured day, with set times for schooling, learning trades, housework, religious service, meals and play. Boys were taught skills such as gardening, tailoring and shoemaking while girls learned knitting, sewing, housework and laundry. Industrial and reformatory schools were later known as approved schools.
The Children's Department of the Middlesex County Council was set up under the Children Act 1948 which embodied the findings of the Curtis Report of 1945-1946. The Act took effect on 5 July 1948; the first meeting of the newly formed Children's Committee took place on the next day, taking over from the Interim Children's Committee, formed of the members of the thereafter defunct Children's Care Sub-Committee of the Education Committee. The first Children's Officer, Mr Ainscow, had in fact been appointed in anticipation, with effect from 1 May 1948. The duties of the Department had previously been distributed across several County Council departments (the Public Assistance, Public Health and Education Departments), as well as bodies (education authorities outside the MCC and the County Maternity and Child Welfare authorities) not part of the County Council at all.
The activities of the Children's Department may be summarised as follows:
i) Care and welfare: this comprised of the provision of care for a) children under the age of 17 if they had no parents or guardians; if they were abandoned or lost; of if their parents were unable to provide for their proper upbringing, provided that such care was in the child's best interests: and b) children committed by a court to the care of the County Council under a Fit Person order. This involved inter alia the running of homes and nurseries, the maintenance of the boarding out system for foster homes, and in some cases the assumption of full parental rights until the child should attain majority. The Department also undertook the care of children as delegated by the Welfare Department when dealing with problem or evicted families.
ii) Child Life Protection: this was a long standing local authority responsibility. After the passing of the Children Act 1948 its effect was to render it an offence for any person other than the parent, legal guardian or a relative to undertake for reward (whether or not for profit) the care of a child below school leaving age (15 in 1948) without notifying the County Council as a welfare authority. The Children's Department publicised the legal obligations upon such persons, supervised placements, inspected and regulated foster homes and so on. After the Adoption Act 1950, a similar duty to notify the Council rested upon anyone placing a child in another's care (with the same exceptions as above).
iii) Approved schools and remand homes: a child could be committed by the courts into the care of the Council either by a Fit Person Order, the effect of which was to put the child into the care of the Children's Department or by an Approved School Order, which placed the child under the care of managers at an Approved School. It should be noted that placements were made under the aegis of the Home Office nationwide, and that although the Council, through sub-committees of the Children's Committees, ran two approved schools, by no means all Middlesex children would be allocated places there. The Committee also ran two remand homes. The Children's Department were involved in briefing judges on cases: sometimes in bringing themselves in order to gain the powers by which to afford children under threat the care and protection they needed; and as the executive arm of the County Council on receipt of Fit Person Orders. Staff were also responsible for the supervision and after-care of "licensed" Middlesex children.
iv) Under the Adoption Act 1926, the County Council had since 1943 to oversee the compulsory registration of adoption societies in the county (not an onerous duty: two were registered in of which only one, the Homeless Children's Aid and Adoption Society, continued for any length of time). Compulsory notification to the County Council of all adoptions in the county was not introduced until the Adoption Act 1950. Also, from that point of view the Council had to supervise every prospective third party adoption in its area, whether or not involved in any other capacity. After the 1958 Act the Council had the power to place children for adoption even if those children were not in its care. Its powers of supervision were widened to include all adoptions in the county.
Health areas of the County of Middlesex, also used as administrative areas by the MCC Children's Department: Area 1 Enfield and Edmonton; Area 2 Southgate, Potters Bar, Wood Green and Friern Barnet; Area 3 Hornsey and Tottenham; Area 4 Finchley and Hendon; Area 5 Harrow; Area 6 Wembley and Willesden; Area 7 Ealing and Acton; Area 8 Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington, Yiewsley and West Drayton; Area 9 Heston and Isleworth, Southall and Area 10 Feltham, Staines, Twickenham, Sunbury.
Child Life Protection (Fostering and Boarding-out):
Both fostering and boarding out as activities greatly pre-date the formation of the County Council. Fostering - that is the arrangement whereby one person pays another for the care of a child - has always existed in one form or another. Boarding out was a function of the Guardians under both the old and reformed Poor Law, whereby pauper children, instead of being maintained in the workhouse were housed by private individuals either in or out of the Union, who paid them for doing so. The main motive for this was probably economic: boarding out cost the Guardians less than maintaining the child in a workhouse, and those taking pauper children were able to use them as cheap, if not indeed free, labour.
Fostering too had its abuses, the grossest of which was baby farming, the scandal of which necessitated legislation in the form of the Infant Life Protection Act 1872 which made it compulsory for persons taking for hire two or more infants less than a year old to register with the local authorities, who were the Councils in the care of the boroughs and the Justices in the case of counties. A new Infant Life Protection Act was passed in 1897 which included the power for the inspectors of the local authority forcibly to remove a fostered child to a place of safety if it were endangered. A further measure to the same end was the Notification of Births Act 1907, a permissive act , made compulsory in 1915, whereby all births had not only to be registered but also notified to the local medical officer of health.
Under the Children Act 1908, the legislation was extended to cover those fostering one child for reward. Child life protection as a whole was transferred to the Poor Law authorities, whose duties comprised the receiving of notice where a person undertook for reward the nursing and maintenance of an infant under the age of 7; the appointment of visitors to inspect such children; the limitation of the number in a dwelling; the removal of such infants improperly kept; and the receiving of fines imposed from offences. Poor Law institutions had in fact been specifically excluded from child life protection legislation, and they were thus not obliged to inspect their own boarding out facilities. These had already been the subject of separate legislation in 1889 and 1905, to be followed by more in 1909 and 1911, whereby boarding-out committees exercised an impartial supervision of the measures of each Union.
The Local Government Act 1929 abolished the Guardians and their powers were transferred to and divided between various Departments of the County Councils and their authorities. Child life protection became the duty of the local health authorities responsible for the maternity and child welfare services under the Maternity and Child Welfare Act 1918. These were the same authorities as were constituted under the Notification of Births Act, of which the MCC was one of several in the County. Boarding-out of children in care, however, became the duty of the Public Assistance Department.
All the Maternity and Child Welfare authorities passed their child life protection duties to the Children's Department in 1948, which thus became responsible for the supervision of fostering throughout the County. The Department was of course also responsible for the boarding out of children in care.
In 1889 County Council policy was directed by 72 members and administered under the leadership of Sir Richard Nicolson, Clerk of the County Council, and a handful of staff. The number of members had risen to 116 by 1952 and by 1965 the County staff numbered some 32,000, of whom 2,000 head office staff occupied the Guildhall and five other offices in Westminster. This indicates the tremendous increase in administrative work under successive Clerks of the County Council.
In the years between the two wars a semi-rural county became an almost completely urbanised area. The introduction of new legislation made ever increasing demands upon members of the administrative staff, involving in later years monthly meetings of some 50 committees and sub-committees.
The Middlesex County Council Clerks of the Council were:
Sir Richard Nicholson, 1889-1909
Walter George Austin, 1909-1918
Sir Ernest Walter Sidney Hart, 1919-1935
Sir Clifford Walter Radcliffe, 1935-1954
Kenneth Goodacre, 1955-1965.
In 1888 the Local Government Act provided for the establishment of county councils, with constitutions on the lines of a borough council. County Councils were constituted of aldermen and councillors, the councillors being directly elected by the local government electors (for which purpose each county was divided into electoral divisions), the aldermen being elected by the councillors, the proportion being one alderman for three councillors. The aldermen and councillors held office for six years and three years respectively. There is, however, no mayor - the aldermen and councillors are required to elect a Chairman who held office for one year and could be re-elected, but who did not have to be an elected councillor. A vice-chairman was also elected from the members of the county council.
The boroughs and urban districts from which councillors were elected in 1889 were: Staines, Sunbury, Feltham, Stanwell, Uxbridge, Hillingdon, Hayes, Norwood, Heston, Hounslow, Isleworth, Twickenham East, Twickenham West, Teddington, Hampton, Brentford East, Brentford West, Ealing North, Ealing South, Chiswick, Turnham Green, Acton North, Acton South, Hanwell, Harrow-on-the-Hill, Harrow, Pinner, Willesden West, Willesden East, Kilburn North, Kilburn South, Hendon, Friern Barnet, Finchley North, Finchley South, Highgate, Hornsey, Finsbury Park, South Hornsey (Brownswood Park), South Hornsey (Milton Road), Tottenham Lower, Tottenham Middle, Tottenham High Cross, Tottenham Saint Ann's, Tottenham West Green, Edmonton North, Edmonton South, Southgate North, Southgate South, Enfield East, Enfield Central and Enfield West.
At one of the first Council meetings in March 1889 the formation of Committees was considered. Councillors were elected to the Finance, Highways, General Purposes, Parliamentary, Asylum, Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act and Standing Joint Committees. The introduction of new legislation made ever increasing demands upon the Council, involving in later years monthly meetings of some 50 committees and sub-committees.
The Local Government Act, 1929, made the Council financially responsible for all classified roads and county bridges. By 1954 the Council was responsible for 550 miles of classified road and 200 bridges, as well as 81 miles of trunk road. Expenditure on improvement, reconstruction and repair cost on average £4000 a day.
The phenomenal growth of population in Middlesex from early 1920s brought problems of peculiar difficulty in sewage disposal. These were partly offset by the district councils extending their local purification works but it was clear that the problem could best be met by co-ordination and centralisation of treatment.
After intensive investigation and report by its consulting engineers, under the guidance of John Duncan Watson, the County Council with difficulty secured one of the last Unemployment Grants and obtained powers to construct and operate a system of trunk sewers, with sewage purification and sludge disposal works, to serve Western Middlesex. The undertaking came into operation in 1935-36 and included the Mogden works, then the largest and most modern full-treatment plant in the world.
Further powers were obtained in 1938 for a similar undertaking to serve North and East Middlesex. Although the Second World War delayed the project, the new works were in operation by 1963. The East Middlesex works served 14 local authorities covering an area of 95 square miles and a population of 710,000. The system included 24 miles of trunk sewers, with a flow of 32,000,000 gallons a day.
In 1889 County Council policy was directed by 72 members and administered under the leadership of Sir Richard Nicolson, Clerk of the County Council, and a handful of staff. The number of members has risen to 116 by 1952 and by 1965 the County staff numbered some 32,000, of whom 2,000 head office staff occupied the Guildhall and five other offices in Westminster. This indicates the tremendous increase in administrative work under successive Clerks of the County Council.
In the years between the two wars a semi-rural county became an almost completely urbanised area. The introduction of new legislation made ever increased demands upon members of the administrative staff, involving in later years monthly meetings of some 50 committees and sub-committees.
The Establishment Committee was responsible for staffing and personnel matters for all County Council employees, including matters relating to duties, appointments and salaries.
The County Council was required by statute to appoint a Finance Committee, and a recommendation from the Finance Committee was required to enable payments to be made. This prevented the Council committing itself to expenditure beyond its means. In addition to the duty of examining and approving estimates, the Committee also examined and approved all accounts for payment, made arrangements for financing expenditure and raised loans.
The chief financial officer was the County Treasurer. He had responsibility for the conduct of the Financial Department and the control and organisation of the staff. He also prepared, in conjunction with other chief departmental officers, estimates of the expenditure of each committee for the ensuing year.
The County Council had three sources of revenue: the income from charges of various kinds which they are allowed by law to levy; government grants and rates. Charges for services included school tuition, for accommodation at old people's homes, for children maintained in Council homes, for home helps and other health services, although some of these charges were stopped or changed over the course of the Council's operations. Other charges included rentals of properties, smallholdings, fines and court fees, and various licences. Government grants included contributions from the Ministry of Transport towards upkeep of roads, assistance from the Ministry of Agriculture for small holdings, payment from the Ministry of Education for school meals and teacher training, a grant from the Home Office for the Fire Service and a grant from the Ministry of Health for health services.
The balance of the Council's requirements was raised by rates. These were obtained not by a direct levy on the tax-payer but by a precept on each borough and urban district council, as the rating authority. This precept required each authority to pay to the County Council a rate of so many pence in the pound by instalments spread over the financial year. For the bulk of services the County precept was levied over the whole County, but for some services a 'special county rate' was levied. For example, the borough of Acton was responsible for its own public libraries, therefore it would have been unjust for the rate-payers of that borough to pay a County charge for libraries outside their area.
Everyday expenditure on the upkeep of schools and roads, on salaries and wages and on the many other services was known as 'revenue expenditure', as distinct from 'capital expenditure'. The building of a new school or similar project was 'capital expenditure'. In most cases this would be too heavy to charge to the rates in one year, and the money was borrowed in the form of stock issues or mortgages.
The Edmonton Latymer Foundation was the legacy of Edward Latymer (1557 or 1558-1627), an official of the Court of Wards, who by his will dated 1624 left property in the Hammersmith area to provide, amongst other things, clothing and education for eight poor boys of Edmonton and eight of Fulham. Separate groups of trustees administered the property on behalf of the boys in the two parishes.
Rapid local development, the tremendous increase in motor transport and national requirements such as Heathrow Airport all greatly influenced the Middlesex County Council road programme; necessitating new and widened roads and dual carriageways. In the post-war period emphasis was laid upon relief of traffic congestion and reduction of accidents by junction improvements and the construction of pedestrian subways. A policy of landscaping and amenity treatment led to the planting of trees and shrubs and the extensive use of grass verges. Middlesex works undertaken by the Ministry of Transport completed the picture with two motorways, the M1 into Hendon and the M4 connection to London Airport.
The highways pattern for Middlesex stemmed from the radial roads originally built by the Romans - Watling Street to Saint Albans is now Edgware Road; Ermine Street to Lincoln is now Hertford Road and the western road to Silchester is now Staines Road. These radial routes remained of importance and were primarily supplemented by the Great West Road, Western Avenue, Watford and Barnet by-passes and the Great Cambridge Road which, in turn, have been linked by the North Circular Road, which traversed Middlesex from Kew Bridge to the Essex boundary. In 1889 the Council was responsible for 128 miles of road, as compared with 640 miles in 1964.
In 1927 the Joint Thames Bridges Committee was formed as a joint undertaking between Surrey County Council and Middlesex County Council to construct new bridges over the River Thames between the two counties. By 1903 the two Councils had provided the present King Edward VII bridge at Kew (Kew Bridge), designed by John Wolfe Barry, and subsequently erected three new bridges at Hampton Court, Twickenham and Chiswick.
Kingston Bridge connects Kingston to Hampton Court Park and carries the A308 road. It was first constructed in the medieval period, but a new bridge was erected in 1825. In 1912-1914 the bridge was widened, with the carriageway increased from 25 feet to 55 feet. A new facade of Portland stone was also added.
The phenomenal growth of population in Middlesex from early 1920s brought problems of peculiar difficulty in sewage disposal. These were partly offset by the district councils extending their local purification works but it was clear that the problem could best be met by co-ordination and centralisation of treatment.
After intensive investigation and report by its consulting engineers, under the guidance of John Duncan Watson, the County Council with difficulty secured one of the last Unemployment Grants and obtained powers to construct and operate a system of trunk sewers, with sewage purification and sludge disposal works, to serve Western Middlesex. The undertaking came into operation in 1935-36 and included the Mogden works, then the largest and most modern full-treatment plant in the world.
Further powers were obtained in 1938 for a similar undertaking to serve North and East Middlesex. Although the Second World War delayed the project, the new works were in operation by 1963. The East Middlesex works served 14 local authorities covering an area of 95 square miles and a population of 710,000. The system included 24 miles of trunk sewers, with a flow of 32,000,000 gallons a day.
The MCC became a planning authority in 1948. It planning duties were to control the development of land in the County and to prepare a Development Plan. Between the wars Middlesex had grown at a phenomenal rate, producing sprawl and over-industrialisation, with the attendant problems of competing uses for the remaining available land.
The County Development Plan, which laid down the future pattern of land use in Middlesex, was approved by the Minister of Housing and Local Government in 1956, with a Review of the Plan approved in 1964. The Plan maintained a careful balance of competing uses and was primarily directed towards the maintenance of the Green Belt, a limitation on uses giving rise to employment and improved provision of open space and land for the social services. Under its planning policies, the Council arranged for hundreds of trees to be planted near main thoroughfares and acquired about fifty wrongly-sited premises in order to extinguish their industrial uses.
In most counties the chief function of the Standing Joint Committee was the control of the local police force, but, owing to the fact that Middlesex was within the Metropolitan Police Area under the jurisdiction of the Home Office, its Standing Joint Committee did not have these duties.
In 1888 most counties had shire halls, guildhalls and other buildings in which courts and quarter sessions were held and where the officers dealing with county administration were accommodated. It would have been impractical to that one building should be under the control of two distinct bodies - the justices and the county council - but also unnecessary for the county council to have separate premises. The Standing Joint Committee was accordingly given charge of all matters relating to accommodation for the quarter sessions and all property which was used jointly with the county council.
The Committee also controlled the officers who served both the quarter sessions and the county council, such as clerks of the peace who were also clerks of the council. In addition the Committee considered the provision of petty sessional courthouses and appointed clerks to the justices.
From 1953 Magistrates' Court Committees were established which largely took over the work of the Standing Joint Committee.
In 1889 County Council policy was directed by 72 members and administered under the leadership of Sir Richard Nicolson, Clerk of the County Council, and a handful of staff. The number of members had risen to 116 by 1952 and by 1965 the County staff numbered some 32,000, of whom 2,000 head office staff occupied the Guildhall and five other offices in Westminster. This indicates the tremendous increase in administrative work under successive Clerks of the County Council.
In the years between the two wars a semi-rural county became an almost completely urbanised area. The introduction of new legislation made ever increased demands upon members of the administrative staff, involving in later years monthly meetings of some 50 committees and sub-committees.
In 1957 the Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London was set up under the chairmanship of Sir Edwin Herbert. Their terms of reference were 'to examine the present system and working of local government in the area' and 'to recommend whether any, and if so what, changes in the local government structure and the distribution of local authority functions in the area, or any part of it, would better secure effective and convenient local government'. After nearly three years consideration of these issues the Commission reported in 1960, recommending a radical reorganisation of London's and Middlesex's local government. All existing local authorities except the City of London Corporation were to be abolished, a council for Greater London (including most of Middlesex, now largely part of the urban sprawl of London) was to be established, and new boroughs were to be created, each within a population range of 100,000 to 250,000. The councils of these new boroughs were to be the primary units of local government and to have the most normal local government functions, including housing, personal health, welfare and children's services, environmental health, roads other than main roads, libraries and functions in relation to education and planning. The council for Greater London was to have certain functions of education and planning, and be the authority for traffic, main roads, refuse disposal, fire and ambulance services; as well as having supplementary powers for housing, parks, entertainments, sewerage and land drainage. When the Bill for the Local Government Act, 1963, based on the Royal Commission report, was introduced into Parliament it was met with considerable opposition. Some amendments were passed, but the Bill was passed into law without major alterations.
The phenomenal growth of population in Middlesex from early 1920s brought problems of peculiar difficulty in sewage disposal. These were partly offset by the district councils extending their local purification works but it was clear that the problem could best be met by co-ordination and centralisation of treatment.
After intensive investigation and report by its consulting engineers, under the guidance of John Duncan Watson, the County Council with difficulty secured one of the last Unemployment Grants and obtained powers to construct and operate a system of trunk sewers, with sewage purification and sludge disposal works, to serve Western Middlesex. The undertaking came into operation in 1935-36 and included the Mogden works, then the largest and most modern full-treatment plant in the world.
The West Middlesex undertaking served 16 local authorities covering an area of 171 square miles and a population of 1,360,000. 70 miles of trunk sewers carried 70,000,000 gallons of sewage a day.
The Education Department of the Middlesex County Council may be described as one of the most important, progressive and vital public services provided by the council throughout its history. The Middlesex Education Authority, following its inception in 1903, stood as a pioneer in numerous aspects of its work. Previously various attempts had been made to provide public education, since the passing of legislation in 1870. Before 1870 schools were run as private concerns including small private schools and dame schools, the endowed grammar schools, and the beginning of the development of the Public Schools, and for the very poor there existed schools run by religious organisations.
Forster's Education Act of 1870 marked a watershed in the history of English education. It was based on the principle of elementary education for all. It aimed 'to cover the country with good schools and to get the parents to send the children to the schools', and principally to provide instruction in basic literacy and numeracy until the age of 12. The Act provided for the division of England and Wales into school districts. Wherever surveys showed that existing voluntary schools could not provide enough places for all the school age children within their districts, the ratepayers elected school boards, which were required to supplement the existing schools with (what became known as) Board Schools. Funds to build and maintain were to come from fees, government grants and the rates. This was the starting point of local responsibility for education expenditure, and of the partnership of central and local authorities.
School Boards were abolished by the 1902 Education Act and replaced by Local Education Authorities (LEAs), which were, in effect, the county councils or county borough councils. They were given charge of all elementary and much secondary education throughout the country. The Act was in many respects a great step forward, but Part II did create administrative complications in elementary education, that particularly affected Middlesex. For all higher education the LEA was to be the county council or county borough. However, the local variations in the needs of elementary education demanded closer local responsibility, and it was also felt that well populated urban areas deserved some degree of autonomy. Part III of the Act therefore laid down that within a county council area any boroughs of population over ten thousand or urban districts of population over twenty thousand should themselves be the LEA for elementary education in that area. The county council was left as the authority for any parts of the county that remained outside these areas. This produced anomalies in Middlesex where the County Council was directly responsible for secondary and technical education throughout the County (rural and inner city), but was only the elementary education authority for rural and agricultural areas, where the need was radically different. Generally, the Act instigated a period of great educational activity, as the LEAs were obliged to survey the needs of their areas, to shape their policies and implement them. The subsequent legislation described below modified and extended the power of the county council.
1918 Education Act
The fundamental principle of this Act was the right of the intelligent child to receive extended education to suit his age and ability. The minimum leaving age was raised to 14, and authorities were to increase the number of their secondary schools. The counties and Part III authorities were to co-operate in producing 'joint schemes of education', and the Board of Education was to make annual grants-in-aid to authorities related to their recognised expenditure on education as a comprehensive service. It was this Act which founded the Burnham Committee as the joint negotiating body for teachers salaries, which had previously been decided by the individual employing authorities.
The Hadow Report 1926
The recommendations of this Report were in accordance with Labour Party policy, although Labour were no longer in power. It proposed that elementary schooling should be renamed 'primary schooling' and end at the age of 11 or 12; and that children should then progress to one or other of two types of secondary school: grammar schools or 'modern schools' which would have a simpler curriculum in preparation for employment at 14 or 15.
The Butler Act of 1944
This Act called for the raising of the school leaving age to 15; for primary and secondary education to be provided in separate schools; for the provision of nursery classes for under 5's; for special facilities for the mentally or physically disabled and for the opportunity of boarding school education where parents desired it or where special circumstances made it advisable. The Act ended the autonomy of Part III authorities and made County Councils full Local Education Authorities for primary, secondary and further education with the duty to prepare comprehensive Development Plans for education in their areas and to implement them. The over-riding responsibility for all stages of education now lay with the County Council.
1945-1965
The 1944 Act triggered off a period of intense educational activity. There was a pressing need for school building, to replace premises damaged during the Second World War and to provide separate primary and secondary schools demanded by the Act.
On 31 March 1965 the Middlesex County Council ceased to exist under the terms of the 1963 London Government Act. Education became the responsibility of newly created London boroughs covering the area of the former Middlesex.
With the formation of the County Council in 1889, responsibility for repair and maintenance of main roads, county bridges and their approaches, passed into its jurisdiction. All other roads remained the responsibility of parish authorities. Middlesex County Council took over responsibility for the maintenance of 106 miles of road from 39 separate local authorities in 1889.
The MCC Highways Committee met for the first time on 14 May 1889 with the Earl of Aberdeen as the first Chairman. The first Engineer and Surveyor was F.H. Pownall, who had previously worked with the Court of Quarter Sessions. In 1890 offices were established at Middlesex Guildhall and a staff consisting of a deputy, 3 assistants, an office boy and 5 part time surveyors followed. In the twentieth century the department expanded and the county was divided into 3 parts, each under the supervision of a Divisional Surveyor. The Department had three functions: trunk and county roads; bridges and rivers and streams.
Trunk and county roads
A series of Acts of Parliament passed after 1889 affected the duties of the Surveyor. These included the County Council of Middlesex (General Powers) Act 1906 which act enabled the County Council to prescribe frontage lines. These were lines in advance of which buildings might not be erected on the more important roads. The County Council was empowered to acquire the land in advance of the frontage line in order to effect any future road widening. These powers were used extensively as highways were constructed and reconstructed. Also the Development and Road Improvement Act 1909 which established a Road Board which was empowered to construct new roads and to make financial advances to County Councils for the construction of new roads and the improvement of existing roads. The powers of the Road Board were transferred to the newly formed Ministry of Transport in 1919.
The rapid growth of road transport in the early twentieth century highlighted the fact that roads into central London from Middlesex were unable to deal with this increased demand. In 1912 the Local Government appointed a departmental committee to look into this problem. As a result the construction of new arterial roads was recommended. In consequence of this Act that the County Council was given financial assistance necessary to build the vast network of arterial roads in the county - for example the Great West Road. In 1911 the Surrey and Middlesex County Councils were empowered to take over Kingston Bridge from the Trustees of the Kingston Municipal Charities and to carry out works of widening and improvement. The Middlesex County Council (Great West Road and Finance) Act 1914 authorized the construction of the Great West Road, the first of a series of arterial roads built in Middlesex in the twentieth century.
In 1919 the Ministry of Transport was formed. First and second class roads were created, a percentage of the cost and maintenance of which, was to be borne by the Ministry of Transport. The Unemployment (Relief Works) Act 1920 was passed with a view to providing work for the relief of unemployment. It enabled County Councils to acquire land for road construction and improvement by compulsory purchase.
The arterial roads built by the Middlesex County Council were:
Barnet Bye-Pass (Archway Road to South Mimms)
Cambridge Road (Tottenham to Wormley in Hertfordshire via Edmonton and Enfield)
Chertsey Road (Chiswick High Road to Laleham via Twickenham)
Great West Road (Cromwell Road to Staines via Chiswick, Brentford and Hounslow)
North Circular Road (Great West Road at Chiswick to Chingford via Acton, Ealing Wembley, Willesden, Hendon, Finchley, Hornsey and Southgate)
Watford Bye-Pass (Finchley Road to Aldenham Reservoir)
Western Avenue (west of the Edgware Road to Denham in Buckinghamshire via Acton, Park royal, Perivale, Greenford, Northolt and Harefield)
The Roads Improvement Act 1925 enabled the County Council to plant trees and lay out grass margins on highways and to prevent obstruction of view at street corners. It also contained a general power for the prescription of building lines - the line to which the main walls of houses and other buildings may be erected. The Middlesex County Council Act 1925 enabled the Council to prescribe frontage lines and building lines on the more important roads, with a view to facilitating future widening. The Council was also empowered to purchase the land lying between the frontage or building line and the road, in order to carry out improvements. The Local Government Act 1929 made the County Council financially responsible for the maintenance and repair of all classified roads in the county. Some of these had not been previously considered by the Council as main roads, therefore increasing its activities in this respect. A number of the roads which had been controlled by the County as main roads had not been classified by the Ministry of transport and the Council still maintained its authority over these. In practice while the cost subject to grant was borne by the County Council, the work on a considerable number of its roads was executed by the local authorities under the supervision of the County Engineer.
The Bridges Act 1929 enabled highway authorities to enter into agreements with private owners of bridges, for example canal and railway companies, with a view to taking over the responsibility for maintenance, improvement and reconstruction. Under the Middlesex County Council (Sewerage) Act 1931, the County Council was constituted the authority for main drainage of the western portion of the County. The responsibility for the eastern side was assumed under the Middlesex County Council (Sewerage Act 1938. The Restriction of Ribbon Development Act 1935 enabled the County Council to control the erection of houses along or adjacent to county roads, and new means of access to such roads.
Under the Trunk Roads Act 1935 responsibility for the most important traffic arteries was transferred from the County Council to the Ministry of Transport. The County Council still acted as agent of the Minister in regard to the maintenance of the roads. The London and Middlesex (Improvements) Act 1936 authorised the construction of an extension to the Great West Road from Chiswick into London. The Air Raid Precautions Act 1937 required the Council to prepare and submit to the Home Secretary a scheme indicating the distribution of the necessary duties for guarding against loss of life and avoidable damage by air raids in the event of war. During the Munich Crisis of 1938 trenches were dug in parks and other precautionary measures taken. The ARP services later became known as the Civil Defence services and after the Second World War plans were made for outlining the most efficient methods of dealing with the damage arising from hostile air attacks, such as the clearance of debris from highways, streets and public places, dealing with damaged and unsafe buildings and the decontamination of highways, streets, buildings and public places.
The Middlesex County Council Act 1938 gave the County Council further powers in regard to the control of highways and of the development of lands adjoining important roads. The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 repealed many of the restraints placed upon local authorities by the 1935 Restriction of ribbon Development Act. The County Council was responsible for ensuring that any new building developments (for example shops or cinemas) on county roads had adequate accommodation to provide parking for any service vehicles. They also had to ensure that existing traffic on county roads was not inconvenienced and prevent building work on land marked down for future road widening projects. The Trunk Roads Act 1946 increased the number of trunk roads for which the Ministry of Transport has been made responsible, while the Special Roads Act 1947 provided for the construction by local authorities of roads reserved for special types of traffic, subject to the approval of the Ministry of Transport.
Under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1953 local authorities were able to provide bus shelters. The County Councils were also able to submit plans for improving unclassified roads to the Ministry of Transport, which in turn could finance these projects with government grants. The London Traffic and Highways (Transitional Provisions) Order 1965 transferred responsibility for metropolitan roads to the newly formed Greater London Council and for minor roads to London Boroughs. Middlesex County Council had 640 miles of highway in its control at this date.
The Engineer and Surveyors Department was also responsible for the planning of roads. Roads had to be designed to bear the weight and volume of traffic using them. In the period 1900 - 1965 the most popular materials used for surfacing roads were bituminous compounds, asphalt and concrete reinforced with steel. As well as constructing new roads it was necessary to widen and improve most of the old roads and bridges in Middlesex to make them equal to the ever increasing volume of traffic they were required to carry. The safety measures introduced included the provision of dual carriageways, separated by central islands or a grass verge; the provision of service roads parallel with the main carriageways to accommodate local traffic and the construction of roundabouts at important road junctions. The County Engineer was responsible for the installation of systems of automatic traffic signals, also road markings and street furniture. It was the Department's task to ensure the road system was in good order and functioning efficiently.
Bridges
Common law (immemorial custom of the country) in the Middle Ages held that the repair of bridges forming a highway was generally the liability of the county. The 1530 Statute of Bridges embodied this common law and also stated that the repair of a bridge included approach roads for a short distance on either side. The 1555 Act of Parliament gave the parish the responsibility of building and maintaining minor bridges. Money to do this was raised by minor rates. County rates were raised to build major bridges. As Middlesex on one side bordered the Thames it had responsibility for Thames bridges with the County of Surrey. The 1740 Bridges Act gave Quarter Sessions the power to buy land to build and repair bridges. The 1803 Bridges Act codified the county liability to repair bridges by excepting new bridges built by private individuals from county responsibility if the County Surveyor was dissatisfied with the work. These powers held by Quarter Sessions were transferred to the County Council in 1889.
Bridges controlled by Middlesex County Council with Surrey County Council:
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Chiswick Bridge: the two County Councils obtained powers by the Middlesex and Surrey (Thames Bridges) Act to construct two new bridges of which Chiswick was one. The new bridge was opened in 1933.
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Hampton Court Bridge: opened in 1753. In 1876 it was bought by the Joint Committee of the Hampton and Mosley Local Boards and the Corporation of London for £48,048. A new bridge was built under the terms of the Middlesex and Surrey (Thames Bridges) Act and opened in 1933.
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Kew Bridge: this bridge was opened in 1759 and replaced in 1789. It remained in private hands until 1873 when it was sold to the Metropolitan Board of Works. The Board transferred the bridge to Middlesex and Surrey County Councils in 1889 and another new bridge was built and opened in 1903 by Edward VII (and renamed Edward VII Bridge although this proved unpopular and was dropped).
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Kingston Bridge: the first bridge at Kingston was built in the early 1200s to serve the important trading centre at Kingston. It was rebuilt in 1828. It was administered by the Trustees of the Kingston Municipal Charities until 1911 when direct responsibility was assumed by the Middlesex and Surrey County Councils. By that time road traffic on the bridge had increased to such an extent road widening was necessary. The bridge was closed for this work and reopened in 1914.
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Richmond Bridge: this bridge was opened in 1777 and run thereafter by commissioners. It was transferred to joint Middlesex and Surrey County Council control by the terms of the Middlesex and Surrey (Thames Bridges) Act when the commissioners discovered that they were unable to meet running costs. Road widening began in 1937 and lasted 2 years.
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Twickenham Bridge: in 1909 the Board of Trade proposed that a new bridge be constructed in Twickenham. The outbreak of war in 1914 held up plans to begin building. Middlesex and Surrey County Councils obtained powers by the Middlesex and Surrey (Thames Bridges) Act 1928 to construct two new bridges of which Twickenham was one. The new bridge opened in 1933.
Under the Bridges Act 1929 County Councils were able to enter into agreements with private owners of bridges with a view to taking over responsibility for maintenance, improvement and reconstruction. Notable construction work was done by the Middlesex County Council in this area, including the 1934 aqueduct to carry the Grand Union Canal over the North Circular Road, and the Western Avenue Viaduct. By 1965 the County Council had responsibility for 200 bridges; the Greater London Council took control of Thames Bridges and major road bridges, and the London boroughs took control of minor road bridges.
Rivers, streams and waterways
Rapid urbanization in Middlesex in the late nineteenth century made it necessary to improve the existing provisions for keeping rivers and streams clean and free flowing. Middlesex County Council was the first authority to take control of its watercourses when it obtained the necessary powers in 1898. Under the County Council of Middlesex (General Powers) Act 1906 the County Council was given extensive powers with regard to the cleansing and improvement of rivers and streams. The Council also began acquiring land adjacent to rivers to provide riverside walks and open spaces to counteract the effects of urbanization.
The County Council had responsibility for the following county rivers, streams, brooks and watercourses:
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River Ash (also Ux, Ure or Exe): Uxbridge to Sunbury
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River Brent: North-west to south of London Borough of Brent
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River Crane: Harrow to Twickenham
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River Colne: Hertfordshire to Staines along the county border
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Deans Brook: Mill Hill to Silk Stream
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Dollis Brook: Hendon to Welsh Harp Reservoir
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Duke of Northumberland's River: an artificial river flowing into the Thames at Isleworth. It was built by Henry VII to serve the abbey at Syon with water to drive a mill at Twickenham and later another mill at Isleworth. By the 1900s the mills had closed and as having a privately run river in the county was proving a nuisance and an expense the County Council bought it in 1930 under the Middlesex County Council Act 1930.
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Fray's River: Uxbridge to the River Colne along the county border.
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Longford River (also King's, Queen's, New Cut, Hampton Court Cut, Wolsey's, Cardinal's): Charles I built this river to supply water to gardens at Hampton Court Palace. It was cut from the River Colne and runs via Bedfont and Feltham to the Palace.
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Mutton Brook (also Moudin's): Small tributary of the River Brent in Finchley.
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New River: Hugh Myddelton built this river to carry water from the wells at Amwell and Shadwell in Hertfordshire to Clerkenwell.
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River Pinn: Pinner to Ruislip. It was used to carry water to the grounds of Swakeleys at Ickenham.
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Pymmes Brook: Friern Barnet via Southgate and Edmonton to the River Lea.
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Salmans Brook: Edmonton to the River Lea.
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Silk Stream: Hendon to Welsh Harp Reservoir.
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Wealdstone Brook: Wealdstone to the River Brent at Wembley
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Yeading Brook: Yeading to the Grand Union Canal.
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River Thames
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Lee Navigation: Connected the Thames at the London Docks with Hertfordshire
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Grand Union Canal: laves the Thames at Brentford and runs onto Uxbridge and then the Midlands. At Hayes it connects via Paddington and the regents Canal with the London Docks. The Canal had been built at the end of the eighteenth century and was of great economic importance.
The Land Drainage Act 1930 meant that all watercourses falling within the catchment area of the rivers Thames and Lee passed into the control of the new Thames and Lee Catchment Boards. Middlesex County Council retained control of 68 miles of watercourses in the catchment area of the rivers Brent, Crane, Duke of Northumberland, Longford, New and Pinn. The Rivers (Prevention of Pollution) Act 1951 gave the Council statutory powers equal to those of a river board to act against river pollution and to inspect river banks and adjoining structures. Middlesex County Council's powers with regard to rivers and watercourses were assumed by the Greater London Council in 1965.
The Valuation Department was established in 1927. It became the Estates and Valuation Department in 1948. The Chief Officer was the County Valuation Officer (1927-1938) and the County Valuer (1938-1965). The Department reported to the County Valuation Committee from 1927-1948 and thereafter to the Estates and Housing Committee.
Rates
The concept of raising money (rates) to pay for local services from property owners and occupiers is a tradition which goes back to the Tudors. The Poor Relief Act 1601 and the Highways Act 1654 both imposed parish rates to provide local services. By the second half of the nineteenth century the Justices were responsible for levying county rates, although as crown appointments they were not direct representatives of the ratepayers. It was this lack of representation which was one of the significant factors in the local government reforms of 1888.
Until the passing of the Rating and Valuation Act 1925 there were two local rates - the poor law rates levied by the Poor Law Unions and the general district rate levied by the local councils. The general rate originated from the 1840s sanitary legislation and was confined to urban areas, which included much of Middlesex. This was an inefficient system as it meant that in urban areas there were two separate rate collecting systems for public services, which were inadequate for county councils. Poor Law rates were generally higher than general rates and were levied on occupiers of property according to the annual value of property (this was determined by the Assessment Committees of Guardians). Standards of assessment were not uniform throughout the country.
Rating and Valuation Act 1925
Neville Chamberlain rationalised and reformed the rating system. The new system was based upon the Valuation (Metropolis) Act 1869. Local councils became the rating authorities and levied one rate for all local services, thus abolishing the Poor Law rate and anticipating the eventual abolition of the Poor Law Unions themselves in 1930. The County Councils, Poor Law Unions (until 1930) and the parishes were to issue precepts to the rating authorities. The rating authorities had to submit their rates assessments to committees which consisted of the county councils, their own representatives and the poor Law Guardians. The County Valuation Committees were empowered to secure, as far as was possible, uniform standard assessments throughout their areas. The lower tier authorities were the actual rating authorities and collected the monies. Three bodies were concerned in the preparation of rating assessments: the rating authorities; the assessment committees; and the County Valuation Committees.
1 Rating Authorities
These were the local authorities in Middlesex. They had their own valuation committees who made assessments and recorded details in valuation lists which were prepared once every five years. The lists were kept in local town halls.
2 Assessment Committees
Each country was divided into assessment areas. Middlesex had five areas with a committee for each area. Ratepayers who were dissatisfied with their assessment in the valuation list could appeal to these committees. Central Middlesex assessment area consisted of: Harrow on the Hill, Hendon UDC, Hendon RD, Kingsbury, Wealdstone, Wembley. North Middlesex assessment area consisted of: Edmonton, Enfield, Finchley, Friern Barnet, Hornsey, South Mimms, Southgate, Tottenham, Wood Green. South Middlesex assessment area consisted of: Brentford, Chiswick, Feltham, Hampton, Hampton Wick, Heston and Isleworth, Staines RD, Staines UD, Sunbury, Teddington, Twickenham. West Middlesex assessment area consisted of: Acton, Ealing, Greenford, Hanwell, Hayes, Southall-Norwood, Ruislip -Northwood, Uxbridge RD, Uxbridge UD, Yiewsley and Willesden.
3 County Valuation Committees
Three quarters of the rates collected by lower tier authorities had to be paid to the councils so the Valuation Committee had to ensure just decisions were made by the rating authorities. They investigated valuations and assisted the rating authorities and assessment committees.
The following types of buildings were exempt from rates: agricultural land and buildings, Crown property, police stations, Post Offices, telephone exchanges, courts, places of worship, voluntary schools, literary and scientific premises, ambassadors residencies, drill halls, some light houses. The following types of buildings were charged only a quarter of their rates: industrial premises (not public utilities) and docks, harbours, wharfs, canals, railways (not the London Underground which did not carry freight).
Local Government Act 1945
The attempts of the 1925 Act to establish uniform levels of rating assessments were not successful. This new act abolished the County Valuation Committees and transferred the preparation and amendment of valuation lists to the Inland Revenue. The levying of rates remained a local government function.
Acquisition and valuation of County Council property and land
The Department was also concerned with the negotiations for the acquisition and sale of County Council property. The County Council by necessity acquired many large areas of land and many buildings in order to carry out its statutory functions. The range of this property was very large and included municipal offices; houses; shops; sports grounds; schools and colleges; county estates; highways; factories.
Green Belt
In Middlesex the population rose at a rate of 30.8% between 1921 and 1931 (5 times above the normal rate and more than any other administrative county) and at a rate of 27.4% between 1931 and 1939 (7 times above the normal rate). This rise was due less to the rising birth rate than to adult migration as people moved out of London, surrounding counties and areas of depression in the north and west to occupy the new housing in Middlesex and to work in the industries growing up around the new arterial roads. The growth of transport services enable the rising working population in London and Middlesex to live in the suburbs and commute to work. This in turn produced a housing boom - in 1939 a third of all houses in England and Wales had been built since 1918 and 2,700,000 of these had been built since 1930. Concern grew about the detrimental effects development was having on rural areas and in 1927 Neville Chamberlain (the Minister of Health) set up the Greater London Regional Planning Committee. Chamberlain called for the establishment of an agricultural belt around the greater London area to separate the capital from development in he surrounding satellite areas. Furthermore the Committee's Technical Adviser, Sir Raymond Unwin, urged that recreation land be preserved for those living in London and Middlesex by a girdle of open space encircling greater London. Unwin urged that open spaces should not (as current legislation stood) be planned around building land, but that building development be planned around open spaces. The concept of Green Belt was given full backing by the Middlesex County Council. Middlesex County Council acquired some 10,000 acres of Green Belt land by 1965. Much of this was leased to the local authorities for management.
The land and properties of the County Council were transferred to the successor authorities (the Greater London Council, the London Boroughs, the County Councils of Surrey and Hertfordshire) according to the transfer of the appropriate functions.
The Middlesex Fire Brigade was established in 1948, under the terms of the Fire Services Act 1947. The auxiliary branch of the fire service was re-established in 1949 under Home Office directives under the terms of the Civil Defence Act 1948 which again made the County Council a civil defence authority. This branch was set up to organise an emergency fire service which would come into operation in the event of a war. The Auxiliary Fire Service (or Civil Defence Corps) was trained by members of the regular fire service. Enrolment was open to women who worked as radio operators, despatch riders and control room staff. The men performed regular periods of duty as a backup to the regular service. There were 5 divisions consisting of approximately 30,000 volunteers in the Corps.
Local taxation licences were necessary for keeping a dog, employing a game-keeper, carrying a gun, killing or dealing in game and were obtainable at any Post Office or directly from the County Council. The Council was also responsible for the issue of minor excise licences required by hawkers, pawnbrokers, resreshment house keepers and money lenders. In all these cases it was the Council's duty to ensure that the necessary licences were taken out and renewed. All these functions were carried out by the Local Taxation Department in which was employed a staff of inspectors and enquiry officers who worked from offices in Brentford, Tottenham and Willesden. When necessary the Council prosecuted offenders. It was also empowered to impose monetary penalties, the payment of which avoided the necessity for court proceedings.
The Local Taxation Department was also responsible for the registration and licensing of all motor vehicles kept in the County and for issuing driving licences to County residents. For registration and licensing purposes, the person keeping and using a motor vehicle was regarded as its owner, and once a vehicle had been registered, all changes of ownership, as well as changes in the use of the vehicle, had to be reported. Factors which were considered before a vehicle was licensed included ownership, construction and use, and in the case of goods vehicles the weight.
The first election of Middlesex County Councillors took place on 29 January 1889 and the first meeting of the Provisional Council was held at Middlesex Guildhall on 7 February 1889. At a meeting on 21 March 1889, the formation of committees was considered. Members were elected to the Finance, Highways, General Purposes, Parliamentary, Asylum, Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act, and Stand Joint Committees.
As the work of the Council increased so too did the number and range of committees. Joint committees were also organised with other relevant bodies such as neighbouring local authorities or lower tier Middlesex authorities.
A section within the Clerk's Department became the Public Control Department in 1920 and existed until 1965. The Department reported to the General Purposes Committee and the Head of the Department was the Chief of Weights and Measures Staff 1908-1920 and Chief Officer of the Public Control Department 1920-1965.
Weights and Measures:
Before 1889 the Justices of the Peace had powers and responsibilities over the verification and inspection of weights and measures. The Weights and Measures Act 1878 provided for a national standardization of weights and measures and the Weights and Measures Act 1889 provided legislation for the verification of weighing machines. Under the Local Government Act 1888 the County Council became responsible for the inspection and verification of weighing and measuring apparatus used by traders in Middlesex. Under the terms of the Middlesex County Council Bye-laws the County Council also had responsibility for weighing coke. Further responsibilities were added so that by 1965 three quarters of the Departments work was concerned with weights and measures functions.
The functions of this section were:
1 To keep and maintain in good condition the weights, scales and balances used by the County Council inspectors
2 To test apparatus to be used by traders
3 To check the quantities of pre-packed goods in wholesale and retail transactions. Foods not pre-packed, coal, sand, and ballast in retail transactions also had to be checked.
The County Council owned and operated two public weighbridges at Brentford and Willesden. As a highway authority the County Council was also responsible for ensuring that overweight vehicles were not driven on roads and this work was dealt with by the Public Control Department.
Food and Drugs:
Here too the Justices of the Peace had responsibilities to protect the public against the adulteration of food. The County Council inherited these functions in 1889. During the lifetime of the County Council these responsibilities were added to and consolidated. The Department was responsible for ensuring that food and drugs sold were genuine; that they did not contain unlawful substances; that they were correctly labelled; and that the special provisions for the production and sale of milk were carried out. Milk was the substance most commonly tested.
Middlesex County Council was the biggest Food and Drugs authority in the country and resisted attempts by its local authorities to take over these functions. The Department established a system of informal sampling (formal sampling had to be done by the County Analyst and was more expensive). These departmental tests were made as preliminary surveys to decide on the best selection of formal samples to be procured. Under Food and Drugs legislation the County Council was obliged to appoint a County Analyst. The County Analyst was not a full time employee.
Merchandise Marks:
The Merchandise Marks Act 1887 prohibited the use of false or misleading trade descriptions being applied to goods. The Merchandise Marks Act 1926 gave food and drugs authorities permission to use this legislation in relation to imported foods. This legislation was consolidated later in the century.
Pharmacy and Poisons:
The Pharmacy and Poisons Act 1933 made local authorities responsible for the control of poison sellers (other than pharmacists) and poisons in Part II of the Poison List. The Pharmaceutical Society was responsible for pharmacists. Stringent provisions regarding the packaging, storage, labelling and sale of poisons were introduced. Poisons on the Part II list were mainly domestic in type - ammonia, carbolic disinfectants, insecticides and weed-killers.
The Public Control Department:
Until 1920 the work of the Department was done as a section of the Clerk's Department. In 1920 the Chief of Weights and Measures staff became the Chief Officer of the Public Control Department. The Department was, by the 1950s, run on two tiers with a small Headquarters staff and below that three divisional offices administered on an area basis.
Western Division: Brentford and Chiswick; Ealing; Feltham; Hayes and Harlington; Heston and Isleworth; Southall; Staines; Sunbury-on-Thames; Twickenham; Yiewsley and West Drayton.
Central Division: Acton; Harrow; Hendon; Ruislip-Northwood; Uxbridge; Wembley; Willesden.
Eastern Division: Edmonton; Enfield; Finchley; Friern Barnet; Hornsey; Potters Bar; Southgate; Tottenham; Wood Green.
Divisional offices were in Willesden, Brentford and Tottenham. At each divisional office thee was a Divisional Chief Inspector; a Senior Inspector of Weights and Measures with up to half a dozen inspectors; a Coal and Sale of Food officer and trained assistants. The direction of policy came from the County Headquarters. On the abolition of the County Council in 1965 the functions of the Public Control Department passed to the new London Boroughs.
The Public Assistance Department was set up under the 1929 Local Government Act which followed the recommendations of the Macclean Report. Under section 1 of the Act the functions of the existing Poor Law Guardians were transferred to the County Council from 1 April 1930. Section 4 of the Act required that a scheme for the administration of such functions be submitted to the Ministry of Health for approval. The Middlesex (Public Assistance) Scheme 1929 was approved and the first meeting of the Public Health, Housing and Public Assistance Committee sat on 16 January 1930.
The 1929 Act did not abolish the Poor Law system, but transferred its administrative functions. Poor Law had its origins in the 1601 Poor Relief Act which put the responsibility for providing relief onto the parish. The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act established Boards of Guardians and grouped parishes together into Poor Law Unions for which the Guardians took responsibility. The single most important function of the Poor Law Guardians was to administer, regulate, and dispense relief to the poor and destitute. Other functions included child care (the 1872 Infant Life Protection Act and 1908 Children Act] and the administration of hospitals, care of the homeless and single mothers.
Under section 1 of the 1929 Act the Middlesex County Council took responsibility for the following: consideration and examination of applicants for relief, determination of the nature and amount of any relief granted, determination of any reimbursement to the council; making arrangements for the casual poor and administration of casual wards; and managing institutions and staff, visitation and inspection and making arrangements with other counties for joint use of institutions. The office of Director of Public Assistance was created. The Director was responsible to the Public Assistance Committee and Clerk of the County Council and had the following tasks: control of the staff dealing with Poor Law administration; keeping records and indexes; supply of goods, materials and provisions to the poor law institutions; arranging settlement, emigration, casuals, schemes for dealing with the able bodied unemployed; adoption, boarding out and apprenticeship of children and reporting to the Public Assistance Committee and Supervising Guardians meetings.
Before the 1929 Local Government Act the following Poor Law Unions existed in Middlesex: Brentford; Edmonton; (which had the out county parishes of Cheshunt and Waltham); Hendon; Staines; and Willesden. The parishes of Hampton, Hampton Wick and Teddington were in Kingston Union and the parishes of Finchley, Friern Barnet and South Mimms were in Barnet Union. The Middlesex (Public Assistance) Scheme 1929 divided the County into the following 6 areas for the purposes of administration: North Middlesex; North east Middlesex; Central Middlesex; Willesden; West Middlesex and South Middlesex.
Each area had a Guardians Committee of 18 members to administer the relief functions transferred to the County Council, namely to interview all applicants for relief and distribute it. The Committees also inspected and reported on institutions in their areas. In 1931 the Committees were delegated the function of making determinations of relief for the unemployed under the Unemployment Insurance (Transitional / Payments) Regulations 1931.
Middlesex County Council Act 1934:
In 1934 the Public Assistance Department was overhauled. Problems had arisen with the Guardians Committees because large scale migration into Middlesex had increased the number of relief applications. In addition the committees varied in their generosity towards applicants. In October 1932 the Ministry of Health criticised the out relief system in one Middlesex area and this resulted in County Scales and Regulations being introduced. When a Guardians Committee wished to deviate from these rules they had to submit their case to the Public Assistance Committee. As large numbers of submissions were made by certain committees the County Council decided it would be more effective for them to run the service directly.
The Middlesex County Council Act 1934 gave the County Council direct and complete control over the administration of relief by means of abolishing the Guardians Committees. The work of the Guardians Committees was assumed by a Relief Sub-Committee made up entirely of Council Members. The County was re-divided into 8 new areas, grouped in 4 sections: Area 1: North Middlesex and North East Middlesex; Area 2: East Middlesex; Area 3: North East Middlesex and Central Middlesex and Area 4: South Middlesex, West Middlesex and South West Middlesex.
Each area had an Area Officer and a Deputy Area Officer. The Area Officers were in charge of the staff in their regions and advised the County Council Committees on granting relief. The area offices were allocated to Edmonton (area 1), Tottenham (area 2), Kilburn (area 3) and Brentford (area 4). An Adjudicating Officer was appointed to each area to interview applicants for relief and investigate liable relations. Hospital Almoners sent financial details about patients to the Area Officers. Appeals by relief applicants could be made and were heard by the Sub Committees.
National Health Service Act 1946 and National Assistance Act 1946:
The National Health Service Act transferred the County Council's responsibility for the provision of a countrywide hospital service to the new regional hospital boards. The Act came into force in July 1948. In the same month the National Assistance Act was enforced and transferred the responsibility of the County Councils for relieving financial distress to the National Assistance Board. Thus the functions of the Public Assistance Department were radically overhauled and a new Welfare Department was set up as its successor. The first meeting of the Welfare Committee took place on 5 July 1948.
Under the National Assistance Act the Welfare Department had the following functions: provision of residential accommodation for the aged and infirm; provision of temporary accommodation for the homeless; promotion of the welfare of people with disabilities such as blindness; administration of the registration of all homes for the elderly and disabled and responsibility to insure the homes were suitably maintained; registration of charities for the disabled and provision of temporary protection of moveable property of certain persons.
The following areas were used to administer these responsibilities within Middlesex: Area 1: Enfield, Edmonton; Area 2: Southgate, Wood Green, Potters Bar, Friern Barnet; Area 3: Tottenham, Hornsey; Area 4: Hendon, Finchley; Area 5: Harrow; Area 6: Wembley, Willesden; Area 7: Ealing, Acton; Area 8: Uxbridge, Rusilip-Northwood, Hayes and Harlington, Yiewsley and West Drayton; Area 9: Brentford and Chiswick, Southall, Heston and Isleworth and Area 10: Twickenham, Staines, Feltham, Sunbury on Thames.
On 1 April 1965 on the abolition of the Middlesex County Council the functions of the Welfare Department were transferred to the newly established London Boroughs.
The Middlesex Provincial Joint Industrial Council was affiliated to the National Joint Industrial Council. The Council considered the working conditions, health, and welfare provisions for manual workers of all local authorities in Middlesex. The Council also had some responsibility to education, training and the protection of rights and inventions. It liaised with the National Council and other Provincial Councils. The Council consisted of representatives elected from the Middlesex County Council, lower tier authorities (borough councils and urban districts) and trade unions.
The City Road Congregational Chapel was founded in 1848. The congregation had been assembling in temporary premises at Chadwell Street, Islington; Barford Street School, Finsbury and at Islington Green Chapel.
Lower Street (now Essex Road) Congregational Chapel was built in 1744 on the south corner of Greenman's Lane. It was the first dissenting chapel in Islington. During the ministry of John Gawsell, 1761-1768, seceders met in Ward's Place, an old house just south of the chapel, but the congregation was reunited when their minisiter left. Numbers rose after 1768 and galleries were built to provide added accommodation. The church was known as Islington Meeting House in 1800. The Chapel was much enlarged in 1820, when the front was brought forward. A schoolroom for 200 was also later added. Attendance in 1851 was 476 in the morning and 560 in the evening. The lease expired in 1865 and a new chapel in River Street (later River Place) was registered in 1864. A lecture room was added by 1872. However, attendance in 1903 was 19 in the morning and 86 in the evening, and the church closed in 1909.
Source: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 101-115.
The parish of Saint Peter, Vauxhall was created from part of the district chapelry of Saint Mary-the-Less in 1861. The church, which was designed by John Loughborough Pearson, was consecrated on 28 June 1864. Saint Paul's Chapel, Miller Lane (now Saint Oswald's Place) was used as a temporary church for the district whilst the church of Saint Peter was being built. In 1983 the parish became part of North Lambeth Parish.
For a description of the design and building of the church and a discussion of the Reverend Robert Gregory's social experiment in the provision of schools, including an art school, and a soup kitchen and orphanage connected to the church see pp 64-78 and 259-60 of the monograph John Loughborough Pearson by Anthony Quiney (Yale UP, 1979).
The church was consecrated in 1870. The architect was R.W. Drew, and the building was completed by G.F. Prynne. The parish was formed out of part of the ancient parish of Saint Leonard, Streatham (P95/LEN). The Patron of Saint Peter's Streatham is Saint Stephen's House, Oxford.