A deed is any document affecting title, that is, proof of ownership, of the land in question. The land may or may not have buildings upon it. Common types of deed include conveyances, mortgages, bonds, grants of easements, wills and administrations.
The Colne Valley Water Company Plc was a statutory water company supplying parts of South West Hertfordshire from 1873 to 1994. In 1994 it merged into Three Valleys Water. Stanmore is in Harrow, North London, close to the border with Hertfordshire.
The 'Plume of Feathers' is an old public house situated on Plumstead High Street. It may be the same public house referred to in the document.
Mission work was carried out in rented halls in Edmonton until a church was built in 1850 on Fore Street. A parish was assigned to this church in 1851. It was first dedicated to Saint Pancras but this was later changed to Saint James. The church carried out active mission work, opening several mission halls in the area.
In 1847 John Snell left 1 acre in his will, to be the site of a Church of England school for the poor. A school for boys was therefore opened by Saint James's church in 1851. Girls' and infants' departments were added in 1871. It was rebuilt in 1963.
From: 'Edmonton: Churches' and 'Edmonton: Education', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 181-187 and pp. 196-203 (available online).
A deed is any document affecting title, that is, proof of ownership, of the land in question. The land may or may not have buildings upon it. Common types of deed include conveyances, mortgages, bonds, grants of easements, wills and administrations.
From the British Records Association "Guidelines 3 - Interpreting Deeds: How To Interpret Deeds - A Simple Guide And Glossary".
The church of Saint George in the East, Stepney, was one of three Stepney churches built under the 1711 "Act for the building of Fifty New Churches in the Cities of London and Westminster or the Suburbs thereof" to be paid for by a tax levied on coal entering the City of London. The church was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor to serve the residents of Upper Wapping, however it was not consecrated until 1729 because of financial difficulties. It has a 160 foot tower. The east window was designed by Sir Joshua Reynolds.
The church was the centre of a controversy in the 1850s when the Presbyterian Bishop of London A C Tait replaced the high church rector with a low church preacher, causing demonstrations and unrest and the eventual temporary closure of the church.
The interior of the church was gutted during World War II, but the exterior was left intact. After the bombing, services continued in a shed at the rear. In 1963 a new church, by Arthur Baily, was built within the Hawksmoor shell. The original apse with its plasterwork and the font at the west end have been retained. There was space for an inner courtyard between the original west front and the new, which was built entirely of glass. On either side of the courtyard, the former galleries incorporate four flats which were given the Civic Trust Award in 1967.
Frederick Gill lived in Dartford, Kent.
The first meeting of the London Trades Council was on 18 May 1860 in Shaftesbury Hall, Aldersgate Street. The Council had been established as a result of a campaign for a nine hour day in the building trade, and was intended "to cheer, instruct and advise in any trade difficulty", (Short History of the London Trades Council, 1935, Acc/3287/02/007), but became increasingly involved in political activity, particularly under two of its Secretaries - George Odger (1862-1872), and George Shipton (1872-1896).
There were trade councils in many industrial areas in the country at this time, but it was the London council which through its links with them and their equivalents abroad was considered to be the leader of British trade unionism. By the early 1870's the Trades Union Congress had been formed and it gradually took over many of the trade councils' functions and political impetus, although the latter remained in existence within the Congress framework. In 1945 Julius Jacobs became Secretary, and for the next seven years the Council became a voice for the Communist Party, distanced from the rest of the trade union movement. The result was expulsion from and deregistration by the Trades Union Congress in 1952; followed by the drawing up of a new constitution, election by the Trades Union Congress of a new committee, and a move into new offices in Rosebery Avenue. The Council is no longer in existence.
The National Union of Vehicle Builders was founded in 1919 on the merger of several smaller societies such as the London and Provincial Coachmakers' Society and the United Kingdom Society of Coachmakers. It represented the manufacturers of coaches and cars, and related trades such as smiths and wheelwrights. The union merged with the Transport and General Workers' Union in 1972.
Frere Cholmeley, solicitors, were based at 28 Lincoln's Inn Fields.
Blake's (Confectionary) Limited first appear in Post Office Directories for London in 1928, with their address given as Queen Victoria Street, E.C.4. There is another company similarly listed as confectionary retailers, called 'Blakes', but it is highly unlikely that the two businesses were one and the same. Further confusion may arise from the fact that the 'other' Blakes had premises for a time in Victoria Street, S.W.1.
According to the History of the County of Middlesex: "3,000 acres of the parish were inclosed in 1804. Openfield land lying between Eastcote Road and the Northolt boundary made up the bulk of this, but further areas of common land to the north-east of Park and Copse woods were also included".
From: 'Ruislip: Introduction', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 127-134. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22442&strquery=inclos Date accessed: 12 August 2010.
Leslie R. Wolfson was born in March 1911. Between 1928 and 1932 he attended the Liverpool Dental School of Liverpool University, and in 1933 he bought a small dental practice at Priory Road, Anfield, Liverpool, where he worked until August 1934. He then became employed by the Co-operative Dental Association, being placed in charge of a surgery at Enfield Wash, Middlesex.
In 1935 he married Dr. Estelle Roekin and they moved to 1 The Grangeway, Grange Park, Winchmore Hill N21 where Dr. Roekin set up in medical practice. However, due to illness she had to close the practice in 1944. Mr. Wolfson opened his own dental practice in the vacant rooms at Grange Park. He was asked to help Mr. Grimshaw, a registered dentist, who had fallen ill, and worked partly at 340 Baker Street, Enfield. By 1949 Mr. Grimshaw became to ill to work and Mr. Wolfson eventually bought the practice from him, thus transferring his whole practice from Grange Park to Baker Street. He remained there doing only National Health work until his retirement in 1978.
The Peabody Trust:
The Peabody Trust has its origins in gifts totalling £500,000 made by an American Citizen, George Peabody, for the benefit of the people of London, the city where he spent much of his adult life. The gift, -which became known as the Peabody Donation Fund - was put into the hands of selected trustees who were to ensure that it should be used to 'ameliorate the condition of the poor' of London. No other stipulations were made, but it was agreed that the provision of cheap, clean housing would best fulfil the intention of the gift. The significance of this gift may be seen in the fact that many claim for Peabody the honour of 'founder of modern philanthropy'. The first housing estate was opened at Spitalfields in 1864 and consisted of 57 dwellings and 9 shops, and today, Peabody estates are an established feature of London life.
The 1830 Housing Society / The Society for the Improvement of the Labouring Classes:
In 1830 Benjamin Wills founded the Labourer's Friend Society. The aim of this society was to promote the granting of small allotments of land to labourers for cultivation in their spare time. Eventually the Society's scope embraced loan funds, clothing clubs and so on. Lord Ashley encouraged the enlargement of the Society into a more powerful body and at a public meeting on 11th May 1844 The Society for the Improvement of the Labouring Classes was formed. Queen Victoria transferred her patronage to this new society which had the Prince Consort as its President and Lord Ashley as a Chairman. The Society declined after 1862 following the completion of the last 'model' as work had been taken over by other organisations in the field. In October 1959, with the grant of a new charter the Society became the 1830 Housing Society, and in 1965 was taken over by the Peabody Trust.
The Westminster Housing Trust Limited:
WHT Ltd was registered as a Public Utility Society for the purpose of erecting 180 flats in Pulford Street, Westminster. The greater part of the site was saved from use for commercial purposes as a result of the activities of the Pulford Street Site Committee. The £32,000 needed for the purchase was almost entirely subscribed by Westminster residents, while grants were made by the Ministry of Health and Westminster City Council. The LCC sold the land below the market price in view of the proposed use of the site. The resulting estate was called the Tachbrook Estate. The WHT was taken over by the Peabody Trust in 1972.
South Hackney School began its life as Lauriston Road Central School, which opened in March 1911 in an area that was then a fashionable suburb of London. After World War One air raids over London, the school moved into an existing school building in Cassland Road in 1917. It is believed that this Cassland Road building was the last Higher Grade School built by the London School Board before county councils took over responsibility for education in 1904.
The name of the school changed in 1913 to Hackney Council School, which reflected its role as one of the new central schools established in 1911 by the London County Council to provide education for brighter children whose parents could not afford the fees and who had not won a scholarship. According to Mr. Chew, Hackney Central's headmaster from 1911 to 1943, these schools 'were intended to put boys and girls on the road they could travel best'. Hackney Central Secondary School covered a fixed catchment area of elementary schools, and began with a commercial bias towards shorthand, book-keeping and typing. The syllabus developed towards more general education, although passing public examinations was not the primary aim of the central schools.
The school in Cassland Road was bombed during the Blitz and many children were evacuated to Northampton. In 1944 the school was forced to use another building in Lauriston Road and a new headmistress, Miss Beswick, took charge. The inter-war years started a tradition of school journeys and music and drama activities. The war had caused severe disruption with pupil members falling to 280, but the 1950s saw a period of growth and development.
Although the changes established by the 1944 Education Act refined the role of secondary education and the central schools, Hackney Central was one of the few schools allowed to select its pupils until the comprehensive system was introduced. But when the Education Committee decided that a school should not be allowed to bear the name of a borough, Hackney Central was forced to change its name in 1951 to Cassland Secondary School. The name derived from the old estate of Sir John Cass, a prominent educationalist, on whose grounds the school stood. The Sir John Cass Foundation gave permission for the family badges and shield to be worn on the uniform, and old pupils became familiarly known as 'Old Casslanders'.
Samuel Fisher was a leading member of the Anglo-Jewish Community and a well-known figure in London local government.
He was Mayor of Stoke Newington Metropolitan Borough 1953-1954 and Camden London Borough 1965-1966. He was Chairman of the London Labour Mayors Association 1966-1977. He was made a life peer in 1974.
His influence was felt on a number of London wide bodies such as the Metropolitan Water Board where he was Chairman and national bodies such as the Board of Deputies of British Jews where he was President. A musical of his life was written entitled The Sammy Fisher Story. He died in 1979.
These plans were never implemented. They appear to have been prepared as a student exercise in or shortly after 1935 by the three architects whose names appear on the drawings, K C Brown, R A Fever, and D Crandon Gill. The larger plans are also labelled "School of Planning and Design for National Development".
The Survey of London was founded in the 1890s by the arts and crafts architect and thinker C.R. Ashbee and its production was initially a volunteer effort. From the middle of the 20th century it came under the care successively of the London County Council, the Greater London Council and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of England, until it became part of English Heritage in 1999. Since October 2013 it has been part of the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London.
The Survey produces detailed architectural and topographical studies, which appear as large, sumptuously produced books and are the nearest thing to an official history of London's buildings. The books also appear online.
During the period when it was part of English Heritage, the Survey produced six volumes on four areas of London: Knightsbridge, Clerkenwell, Woolwich, Battersea, including a monograph on the Charterhouse and began work on a volume relating to Marylebone. The Survey of London provides essential reading for anyone wishing to find out about London's streets and buildings.
(information from www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional/research/buildings/survey-of-london accessed 12 December 2013).
Lyons was founded in 1886 as a catering business, earning a reputation as caterers for exhibitions at Newcastle, Glasgow, Paris and London's Olympia. In 1894 it was incorporated as a public company and established its head office and food factories at Cadby Hall in Hammersmith. The company rapidly established a chain of Teashops, Cornerhouses and Restaurants with the opening of the first Lyons Teashop in 1894 in Piccadilly, the Trocadero Restaurant in 1896 and the First Lyons Corner House in 1909 in Coventry Street. To keep pace with this expansion, the factories were moved to Greenford in Middlesex in 1920 and the largest tea packing plant in the world opened. Further progress was made during the Second World War with the development of the FROOD a revolutionary frozen cooked food process. The company is also famous for its work in less obvious fields - from 1941 to 1945 it operated a munitions factory at Elstow near Bedford on the reputed site of the slough of despond. In 1954 it developed LEO (Lyons Electronic Office), the first computer in the world capable of use for commercial work.
Further growth came in the 1970s with the acquisition of a number of businesses both in the UK and overseas. In 1978, Lyons became the food division of Allied Breweries which was renamed Allied-Lyons in 1981. In 1990 the head office was moved from Cadby Hall to Greenford. In 1994 Allied-Lyons decided to dispose of its food manufacturing operations and to change its name to Allied Domecq. The individual companies were sold off and Lyons head office closed in 1995.
It appears that William Hunt lost the Assizes case and was fined. The matter then went to the Court of Queen's Bench. The Court of King's Bench (or Queen's Bench, depending on the monarch) was founded circa 1200 to hear common pleas, although it came to specialise in pleas of special interest and concern to the king, such as those which involved his own property interests, or breach of his peace, or an error of judgment by another royal court. By 1675 the King's Bench was the highest court of common law in England and Wales, with jurisdiction over both civil and criminal actions. Civil business was conducted on the 'Plea Side' and criminal business on the 'Crown Side'. It was absorbed into the High Court in 1875 (source of information: The National Archives Research Guides Legal Records Information 34 and Legal Records Information 36).
The Society of Antiquaries was founded in 1707 for men with an interest in antiquarian pursuits. Originally based in taverns on Fleet Street, the Strand and Chancery Lane, the Society moved to Somerset House in 1781 and Burlington House in 1875.
The Royal Society was founded in 1648 to promote the natural sciences, mathematics, engineering and medicine. The Society was based at Gresham College, then Somerset House from 1780, Burlington House from 1857 and Carlton House Terrace from 1967.
Wormwood Scrubs prison was designed in 1870s by Major-General Edmund Du Cane, chairman of the Directors of Convict Prisons, as a national long-term penitentiary, built on a site in East Acton with convict labour. By the time the prison was completed, its entire purpose had, however, changed, and it became a local prison for short-term petty offenders. Today Wormwood Scrubbs provides lower security accommodation for remand and short-term prisoners.
From 1904, the prison also became part of the Borstal system for young offenders, and in 1929 it was made an allocation centre from which newly-sentenced trainees were assessed before being sent to a suitable Borstal. In addition Wormwood Scrubbs came to specialise in holding first time offenders, or 'star' prisoners as they were known. It has more recently become a prison in which life-sentence prisoners are assessed in the early years of their terms.
During the Second World War, part of the prison was evacuated for the use of MI5 and the War Department, and by the end of the war, a section of the hospital wing was being used as condemned quarters for prisoners from Wandsworth and Pentonville prisons.
The general election of 1906 was held from 12 January to 8 February 1906. It was won in a landslide victory by the Liberal Party under Henry Campbell-Bannerman.
The 1907 London County Council elections were won by the Municipal Reform Party, who were allied with the Conservative party.
In 1953 a small group of friends whose birthdays all fell within the same month decided to hold a joint birthday party, which was a great success. Other parties were held for increasing numbers of dancers, until in August 1953 at a meeting held at the Royal Scottish Corporation Hall in Fetter Lane it was decided to form the Scottish Reel Club. Its aim was the promotion of Scottish Country Dances in London. Dances were held throughout the year, at which new and different dances were introduced. In its first year a membership of 69 was achieved.
From 1973 the Club met at St Columba's Church of Scotland in Pont Street, London SW1. In July 1990 it was decided that the Club should be wound up as a result of decreasing attendances at dances making them no longer financially viable.
These papers relating to boilers were collected for their general or antiquarian interest and relevance to the subject.
A. Hunt and Company were office fitters and furnishers of 11 Bell Yard, Gracechurch Street.
The Government Commodities Fire Insurance Scheme was set up in May 1940 to protect valuable raw commodities during the Second World War. The Associated Fire Insurers (Government Commodities) Management Committee (based at 66 Cheapside) advised the Government, through the Ministry of Supply, Board of Trade, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, UK Dominion Wool Disposals Limited and the Raw Cotton Commission, on the insuring of raw commodities such as wool, cotton, pit wood and molasses, stored in the United Kingdom and abroad.
The scheme ended on 31 March 1957. The committee was wound up by the Joint Secretariat of the Associated Insurers (British Electricity) Management Committee (set up 1949) and the British Insurance (Atomic Energy) Committee (set up 1956) which comprised two members of its staff (the committee had agreed to make its organisation available to these bodies on their establishment). The records were passed to the Fire Offices' Committee.
Founded in 1939, the Association was based first at 84 Leadenhall Street. It moved to 5-7 Houndsditch in 1959, then to 24 St Mary Axe in 1968. After circa 1965 it was known as the Association of Organic and Compound Fertilisers Limited. It does not appear in the ratebooks after 1972.
Henry Ballow was born in 1643, the son of Henry Ballow of St Helen Bishopsgate. He gained his freedom of the Dyers' Company on 3 November 1676. He died in 1715, when he was described as gent of St Margaret Westminster.
Eliazer (or Eleazer) Hasell (1656-1731), the son of James Hasell a saymaker of Sudbury, Suffolk, was apprenticed to Samuel Totton, mercer, on 22 Sept 1671 and gained his freedom of the Mercers' Company on 10 November 1682.
The Batavia Sea and Fire Insurance Company was based on Birchin Lane. It was one of the Java Companies, a group of insurers trading in Indonesia. The other companies were Veritas Insurance Company, Ardjoeno Insurance Company and Java Sea and Fire Insurance Company.
The plantations were acquired in 1837 by Boddington and Company (Samuel and Thomas Boddington and Richard Davis), West India merchants, of 9 St Helen's Place, Bishopsgate.
John Bonus (c 1720-84) was the son of John Bonus of St John Wapping, a waterman and later a slopseller. In 1736 he was apprenticed to William Jesser, slopseller of Billingsgate and freeman of the Merchant Taylors' Company. John Bonus gained his freedom of the Merchant Taylors' Company on 2 August 1749. He married Ann Child on 30 August 1752 in St Dunstan in the East and had one son, John. His business operated from Thames Street, possibly in conjunction with William Jesser and his son, William. He took on as apprentices his niece Elizabeth in 1749, nephew James in 1753 and his son, all of them subsequently becoming free of the Merchant Taylors' Company. James Bonus set up as a slopseller in Tower Hill, but went bankrupt in 1765. He died in 1804. Elizabeth Bonus married Stephen Child (presumably a relative) in 1758 in St Botolph Aldersgate. John Bonus joined the Court of Assistants on the Merchant Taylors' Company on 19 July 1780. He died in 1784, his will being proved on 29 April.
NB-a slopseller produced and sold cheap, ready-made clothing.
Liverpool Street Station was constructed in 1874. In the 1970s British Rail suggested a number of redevelopment schemes to renovate and update the station. After a public enquiry, redevelopment work began in 1986.
Broad Street Station was built in 1865 as the terminus of the North London Railway. It was closed in 1984 and the Broadgate office development, which covers platforms 11-18 of Liverpool Street Station, was constructed in its place.
Blackfriars Station was opened as St Paul's Station in 1886 by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway; the name was changed in 1937. The District line station of the same name was opened across the road in 1870. The station was rebuilt in 1977.
Information from The London Encyclopaedia, eds. Weinreb and Hibbert (LMA Library Reference 67.2 WEI).
At the front of the volume are brief notes on the history of the company, compiled in 1929. The notes suggest that the firm was established in 1765, but the firm is first listed in the London trade directories at 31 Cateaton Street (later Gresham Street) from 1781-1825 under the styles John Cowley; Cowley, Son and Sancton; and Cowley and Sancton. The firm is described by various trades, including merchants, linen factors and scotch factors. From 1826-40 the firm is recorded, at the same address, as Cowley and Hewetson.
From internal evidence in the volume the firm had a warehouse in Blackwell Hall Court in the 1820s and the partners for the period 1825-34 appear to be Samuel Norman Cowley and Henry Hewetson. From 1841 the firm is styled in the London trade directories as Henry Hewetson and Co at various addresses including 55 Wood Street. The last mention of the firm in the directories is in 1976, when it was sited in Stoke Newington.
Thomas D'Aeth senior (d 1708) and Thomas D'Aeth junior (d 1744), were Italian merchants, of the parish of St Dionis Backchurch.
The name of Peter Dobree is found in a number of places in these ledgers, perhaps as a partner in the business, but the bank cannot be identified from London directories. Samuel Dobree and Sons (later of 6 Tokenhouse Yard) can be found in directories at 65 Old Broad Street from 1800; Dobree and Aubin, merchants, are found at this address 1798-99.
Felix Calvert (1735-1802) was the fourth son of Felix Calvert (1693-1755) of Furneux Pelham by his wife Christian, nee Nicolson (d 1759). His uncle, Sir William Calvert (d 1761) was Lord Mayor in 1749 and established a successful brewery business in Campion Lane, Thames Street.
On his death in 1761, Felix took over the business. By 1773 it had become known as Felix Calvert and Company. He married Elizabeth Ladbroke, daughter of Sir Robert Ladbroke, in 1763. His elder brother Nicolson (1724-93) inherited the family property at Hunsdon House, but died childless. Felix lived at Portland Place. He shot himself in Don Saltero's coffee house in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea on the evening of 23 March 1802. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Nicolson Calvert (1764-1841).
The City of London Brewery traded as Felix Calvert and Company at Campion Lane until 1860.
Nicolas Geffe owned Barking Abbey and certain lands in Essex from 1586. The book appears to have been compiled prior to 1593, probably for legal or business purposes.
Grant, Chambers and Company were tobacco brokers of 37 Fenchurch Street.
Hart, Hart and Company were wine and spirit merchants, successively of 59 Fenchurch Street, Lower Thames Street, and Water Lane, Tower Street.
Thomas Holmes and John Pyke were both liverymen of the Coachmakers' Company. They had premises at 109 Long Acre.
Jenings, Bolton and Jenings were attorneys of 4 Elm Court, Temple. They were taken over, shortly after 1860, by Merriman, White and Company, of 3 King's Bench Walk, Temple.
C. S. Knight was an insurance broker, of 55 Great Tower Street (1899).
Lindsay, Greenfield and Masons were solicitors of 6-8 Clements Lane.
Henry Major and Robert Slade were proctors of Doctors Commons, at 20 Little Knightrider Street.
In law, a proctor represented others in a court of canon or civil law; similar to an attorney or solicitor in courts of equity and common law.
John March (fl 1768-1774) was a Turkey merchant, with premises at 60 Mark Lane. He died sometime between 2 September and 2 December 1774. After that date the firm was taken over by his nephew Thomas March.
In the London directory of 1777 the address is given as 58 Leman Street, Goodman's Fields. This is the last reference to the firm traceable in London directories.
Sir Charles Peers (1661-1737) was a Citizen and Salter, Common Councilman for Aldgate Ward 1701-8, Alderman of Tower Ward 1708-37, Sheriff 1707-8, and Lord Mayor 1715-16.
Peirce and Tait appear to have been engaged in fish dealing. They are listed in trade directories as merchants at 99 Lower Thames Street, 1769-93. The volume also mentions premises at 7 Billingsgate.
Anthony Seal (d 1757), Citizen and Glazier, of Ashentree Court, Whitefriars, was a glassmaker and the proprietor of the last of the glass houses in the City of London. Possibly born in 1720, he was apprenticed into the Glaziers' Company in 1736 and made free in 1747.
The South Sea Company was established in 1711, ostensibly to trade with Spanish South America, but, in fact, as a vehicle for managing government debt incurred during the War of the Spanish Succession. Holders of government debt were persuaded to exchange it for shares in the new Company which by 1720 had made only one, moderately successful, trading voyage and held around £20m of government debt. Company directors continued to talk up the potential of the scheme, provoking feverish speculation followed by a share price collapse in which thousands were ruined.
A Parliamentary investigation uncovered massive fraud by the directors, but the South Sea Company itself survived and continued to trade into the 1760s. It retained a role in the management of the National Debt until effectively abolished in 1854.