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

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

From 1837 to 1845 Fulham parish was one of the parishes controlled by Kensington Poor Law Union. In 1845 it united with the parish of Hammersmith as Fulham Poor Law Union. However, in 1899 the Fulham Poor Law Union was dissolved and the Board of Guardians for the separate Parish of Fulham was constituted. The Fulham Palace Road Workhouse was constructed in 1848. In 1884 an infirmary was added to the north of the site, facing Saint Dunstan's Road.

In 1908 the Union took over management of school buildings in Sutton, renaming them the Belmont Workhouse. In the 1920s this institution began a scheme training inmates in key skills to improve their chances of gaining employment. When the London County Council took over the building it continued this work, renaming the institution the Sutton Training Centre.

Source of information: Peter Higginbotham at The Workhouse website.

The Royal Free Hospital began life as a small dispensary in Holborn. It was founded by William Marsden in 1828, to provide free medical care to those who could not afford it (at that time, people seeking hospital treatment had to pay a fee, or provide a letter of recommendation.) Thus, it was the first free hospital in London. The title 'Royal' was granted by Queen Victoria in 1837, in recognition of the hospital's work during the 19th century cholera epidemics, when it was the only London hospital to accept cases.

Demand for free hospital treatment was high, so in 1844 the Royal Free moved to larger premises, a former army barracks in Gray's Inn Road, where it stayed until the early 1970s. In 1877, the Royal Free became a teaching hospital and made history by becoming the first hospital in Britain to accept women as medical students. This began a close association with the London School of Medicine for Women, later renamed the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine. The Royal Free School of Nursing was started in 1889, and in 1895 the Royal Free became the first hospital to appoint an almoner, forerunner of the modern social worker. After the Second World War, The Royal Free continued to innovate, leading the way in treatments for kidney and liver diseases, haemophilia and cancer.

On the inception of the National Health Service in 1948, the Royal Free joined with several smaller hospitals including the Children's Hospital Hampstead, the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, the North-Western Hospital, Hampstead General Hospital and the London Fever Hospital to form the Royal Free Group. In 1968, Coppett's Wood and New End Hospital joined the Royal Free Group and, in 1972, Queen Mary's House.

Survival of records from the Gray's Inn Road era is generally very good. Extensive series of minutes, annual reports and photographs give insight into the management and day-to-day administration of the Royal Free, the difficulties funding a voluntary hospital, and the development of the NHS. The collection also includes some of the earliest surviving patient case notes from a British hospital (1899-1920). These give detailed personal and clinical histories of patients, which provide a unique insight into the personal, social and medical conditions of the population of London's Kings Cross slums. They include case notes by some of the first women surgeons and physicians.

The Royal Free moved to its present site in Pond Street, Hampstead, in the mid 1970s. The new hospital brought together the old Royal Free Hospital in Gray's Inn Road with Lawn Road Hospital (formerly the North-Western Fever Hospital), New End Hospital and Hampstead General Hospital. As a result of NHS reorganization, the Royal Free came under the control of Camden and Islington Area Health Authority between 1974 and 1982 and the Hampstead Health Authority between 1982 and 1991. Records from this period of the Royal Free's history are patchy. Major series of minutes have survived, but few other records have been transferred.

In April 1991 the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust became one of the first trusts established under the provisions of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990. The Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital joined the trust in 1996. On 1 April 2012, the trust was authorised as a foundation trust, under the name Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.

The Children's Hospital Hampstead was founded in 1875 as a voluntary institution, situated in Maida Vale, and was originally called the Hospital and Home for Incurable Children. It took sick children up to the age of 16, whereafter they were returned to family and friends. It moved to College Crescent, Hampstead in 1904, and in 1919 changed its name to Northcourt Hospital and Home for sick children, in view of the fact that many diseases which a few years earlier would have rendered their sufferers incurable could be treated. In 1928 it was renamed the Hampstead Hospital for Children, and finally, in 1929, the name became the Children's Hospital Hampstead, to avoid confusion with Hampstead General Hospital.
At the outbreak of World War Two the hospital was requisitioned by the War Office. Throughout the war years various plans were proposed for its future use, including a merger with the Hampstead General, but these never materialised. The hospital joined the Royal Free Group when the NHS came into being in 1948, and the building was used firstly as the School of Nursing Preliminary Training School (PTS) and then as a nurses' home from then until its sale in 1990.

The Central London Throat Nose and Ear Hospital was founded in 1874 by Lennox Browne (who had previously served as assistant to Dr Morell Mackenzie at the Hospital for Diseases of the Throat in Golden Square), Llewellyn Thomas (a physician who had worked with Lennox Browne at Golden Square), Captain Alfred Hutton (a friend of Lennox Browne), George Wallis (a dentist), and Ernest Turner (architect of the hospital).

The hospital initially opened as a dispensary in Manchester Street (now Argyle Street), but demand for its services was such that in 1875 it moved across the road to its current location on Gray's Inn Road. The very poor were treated free of charge; however, other patients were expected to contribute towards the cost of their treatment. The hospital was also financed by subscriptions, grants from the King's Fund, and fundraising events supported by the actors and singers who benefited from the expertise of its staff.

The Central London Throat Nose and Ear Hospital published its first Annual Report in 1876, in order to publicise its work and encourage new subscribers. The report included a report of the ceremony to lay the foundation stone of the hospital (reprinted from The Times 17th September 1875) and an article describing the work of the hospital which had appeared in All The Year Round (25th July 1874).

By 1885, it was clear that the hospital needed to expand its premises, and in 1893 the Committee were able to purchase some adjoining land. Building work began in 1895. In 1904, the King's Fund put forward a proposal to merge the five ENT hospitals in London: the Central London Throat Nose and Ear Hospital in Gray's Inn Road, the Hospital for Diseases of the Throat in Golden Square, the Royal Ear Hospital in Huntley Street, the London Throat Hospital in Portland Street, and the Metropolitan Ear Nose and Throat Hospital in Fitzroy Square. The Central London Hospital did not support the proposal, partly because it would have resulted in the sacking of Richard Kershaw, and in 1905 its grant from the King's Fund was removed. Negotiations were opened with the Royal Ear Hospital and the London Throat Hospital, but by 1913 these had broken down, and the latter had agreed to merge instead with the Golden Square Hospital. Further plans for expansion had been drawn up in 1902, and the Central London Hospital decided to proceed in the hope that the increased numbers of patients which would result from larger premises would secure the future of the Gray's Inn Road site.

Despite losing many of its staff to active service during the First World War, the Central London managed to continue its work. In 1916 a 20 bed annexe was opened to treat soldiers suffering the effects of shellshock and deafness caused by explosions. At the end of the war the annexe remained, increasing the number of in-patient beds to 43. The hospital expanded further in 1929, when the new Princess Louise wing opened, containing an out-patients department, operating theatre, dispensary, pathology laboratory and rooms for the students. The hospital had been hiring St Jude's church hall for over 20 years, and when the church closed in 1935, the Central London Hospital put forward a proposal to acquire the site. Nos. 57-67 Wicklow Street had been purchased for the Central London Hospital in 1903, with a view to providing accommodation or nurses. A house in Coram Street was also purchased for this purpose after the First World War, and furnished with the assistance of the Ladies' Association (the Association's President Lady Riddell provided a piano).

The General Nursing Council was established in 1919, and soon afterwards it recognised the Central London Hospital as a Preliminary Training School for nurses. Probationers spent 2 years at the hospital, before moving down the road to the Royal Free to complete their training. The School of Nursing was established in 1930, and offered 12 month courses and 6 month courses (to train as an SRN and SEN respectively).

Referring doctors had always been encouraged to attend the hospital, and observe the operations performed on their patients, and it was perhaps inevitable that this tradition should develop into more formal postgraduate teaching. From 1885 Lennox Browne and his Dundas Grant were giving lectures on otology, rhinology and laryngology to doctors and medical students (many of whom offered their services to the hospital in return for practical instruction). By the mid-1890s, a more systematic syllabus of lectures had been arranged, with Dr Wyatt Wingrave (formerly the hospital's pathologist) providing teaching in anatomy, physiology and pathology. Although Dundas Grant retired in 1913, the Central London continued to provide teaching throughout the First World War, and found space for a lecture theatre and classrooms. When the Royal College of Surgeons instituted a Diploma in Laryngology and Otology in 1919, the Central London Hospital was the only institution to provide the specialist practical instruction necessary to qualify for it, drawing students from Guys Hospital and elsewhere.

The hospital benefited from the long service of several men: Lennox Browne who worked as surgeon to the hospital until 1900 (and consulting surgeon until his death in 1902), Alfred Hutton, who served as Chairman of the Committee 1874-1905 and Treasurer 1874-1904, and Richard Kershaw, who served as Secretary 1877-1927 (and also Dispenser/Almoner for several years).

From its early days, the Central London Throat Nose and Ear Hospital also had a Royal Patron, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught. His sister Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll also showed great interest in the hospital, and became President in 1909. In 1928, she laid the foundation stone of the new wing to be named in her honour. She also opened a convalescent home at Ealing (in a house left to the hospital by its Vice President, Col. Sir John Young) in 1933, and laid the foundation stone for the new nurses' home in Swinton Street in 1939.

In 1939, the decision was taken to amalgamate with Golden Square, with the approval of the King's Fund. The outbreak of war delayed the merger in practical terms, but a joint Committee of Management was formed immediately. The Gray's Inn Road site was fortunate not to be damaged during the war, and provided a temporary home for the Hospital for Nervous Diseases, whose premises had been badly damaged.

Colney Hatch Asylum opened at Friern Barnet in July 1851 as the second pauper lunatic asylum for the County of Middlesex. The first Middlesex County Pauper Asylum, now Saint Bernard's Hospital, had opened at Hanwell in 1831 (see H11/HLL). In 1851 Colney Hatch, designed in the Italianate style by S. W. Dawkes, with 1,250 beds was the largest and most modern institution of its kind in Europe. Within ten years it was enlarged to take 2,000 patients. It had its own cemetery (closed in 1873 after which patients were buried in the Great Northern Cemetery), its own farm on which many patients were employed, its own water supply, and its own sewage works built after local residents complained of untreated sewage from the asylum flowing into Pym's Brook.

On the creation of the County of London in 1889 Colney Hatch Asylum was transferred from the control of the Middlesex Justices to the London County Council, although it remained geographically within the administrative county of Middlesex. The need for more accommodation for lunatics led to construction in 1896 of a temporary wood and iron building for 320 chronic and infirm female patients in five dormitories. This was destroyed by a fire in 1903 with the loss of 51 lives. Between 1908 and 1913 seven permanent brick villas were built, one for behavioural disordered subnormal and epileptic boys, two with verandas for tubercular and dysenteric cases, and the remainder for women who had survived the fire. In 1912 a disused carpenter's shop and stores at the railway siding were converted into additional accommodation for male patients. Brunswick House at Mistley in Essex was leased in 1914 to provide 50 beds for working male patients supervised by a single charge attendant and four assistants. After the First World War, Brunswick House became a separate unit for higher-grade “subnormals”.

Construction of a male admission villa in 1927 and a female nurses home in 1937 freeing 89 beds for female patients brought the number of patients to its highest total of almost 2,700. In 1937 it was renamed Friern Hospital. Patients were admitted from the Metropolitan boroughs of Finsbury, Hampstead, Holborn, Islington, Saint Marylebone, Saint Pancras and Shoreditch. Jewish patients from the whole of the County of London were as far as possible congregated at Friern, which provided special arrangements for the preparation of food and religious ministrations. The staff included nine full time doctors, 494 nurse and 171 probationers.

On the outbreak of the Second World War 12 wards along the main front corridor containing 215 male and 409 female beds were taken over by the Emergency Medical Service run by units from Saint Bartholomew's Hospital. Patients were sent to other hospitals or distributed around the remaining wards. Five villas were either destroyed or damaged by air raids in 1941 in which 36 patients and 4 nurses died. Shortage of accommodation resulted in acute overcrowding.

In 1948 Friern Hospital became part of the National Health Service under the control of the North West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. It had its own Hospital Management Committee, which was renamed the New Southgate Group Hospital Management Committee on the opening of Halliwick Hospital in 1958. This was a new 145 bed block built in the grounds of Friern at a distance from the main hospital. It was intended to serve as an admission unit to separate recent cases from confirmed, long stay patients. In practice it became a 'neurosis unit' for 'less sick, socially superior, and fringe patients' (Hunter and MacAlpine p.50) selected by the medical staff. By 1972 it ceased to be treated as a separate hospital and, now known as Halliwick House, provided admission and convalescent beds for the main hospital.

By 1973 the official maximum number of patients in Friern had been reduced to 1,500. On the reorganisation of the National Health Service in 1974 the hospital became the responsibility of the North East Thames Regional Health Authority and Camden and Islington Area Health Authority. On the abolition of area health authorities in 1982, Friern was transferred to Hampstead Health Authority, which in 1993 merged with Bloomsbury and Islington Health Authority to form Camden and Islington Health Authority. By 1989 it had been decided that Friern Hospital should close as part of the policy of replacing large long stay mental hospitals with care in the community. The hospital finally closed on 31 March 1993.

The Hospital for Diseases of the Throat in Golden Square was founded in 1862 by Dr Morell Mackenzie, a pioneer of laryngology. It began as a free dispensary, but soon adopted a provident system whereby patients contributed towards the cost of their treatment.

The hospital was sufficiently successful for the Prince of Wales to become Patron in 1872; however, from this point Golden Square suffered a number of setbacks. Between July 1873 and November 1874 the hospital was unsuccessful both in its attempt to gain a royal charter and its application to the Board of Trade for incorporation. Three Trustees were subsequently appointed to manage the affairs of the hospital: Lord Charles Bruce, Colonel Percy Fielding and Dr Morell Mackenzie, but it continued to deteriorate. In 1878 an enquiry into the financial management of the hospital resulted in the withdrawal of Royal Patronage. Members of staff began to desert the hospital in droves; Lennox Browne and Llewellyn Thomas left in 1874 to set up their own establishment, and between 1876 and 1877 seven further members of staff (including the Chairman of the Management Committee, Matron and Secretary) resigned over an incident with a patient.

In 1904, the King's Fund put forward a proposal to merge the five ENT hospitals in London: the Hospital for Diseases of the Throat in Golden Square, the Central London Throat Nose and Ear Hospital in Gray's Inn Road, the Royal Ear Hospital in Huntley Street, the London Throat Hospital in Portland Street, and the Metropolitan Ear Nose and Throat Hospital in Fitzroy Square. The Hospital for Diseases of the Throat in Golden Square eventually decided to merge with the London Throat Hospital in 1918. The Royal Ear Hospital merged with University College Hospital in the following year. In 1939, the decision was taken to amalgamate with the Central London Throat Nose and Ear Hospital, and a joint Committee of Management was formed.

The merger was delayed by the outbreak of war, during which, in 1940, the hospital was slightly damaged by bombing. Golden Square had a number of eminent surgeons on its staff, including Charles Heath (1856-1934) who invented the anti-gas helmet used by British soldiers in World War I, George Cathcart (1861-1951) who financed the first Prom with Henry Wood and Lionel Colledge (1883-1948) who was instrumental in the amalgamation of Golden Square with the Central London, and in whose honour the Royal College of Surgeons awards the annual Lionel Colledge Fellowship.

The Hampstead General Hospital was founded in 1882 in South Hill Park Road as the Hampstead Home Hospital and Nursing Institute by Dr William Heath Strange, with the aim of providing care for people who did not wish to be treated at a public hospital, but could afford to pay a small amount for their treatment. In 1894 it changed its name to the Hampstead Hospital and in 1902, when the number of patients had outgrown the original building, the foundation stones of a new building were laid on Haverstock Hill. However, by 1907 the money for this project had run out, and the only way to complete the project was to merge with the North-West London Hospital in Camden Town, becoming the Hampstead General and North-West London Hospital. Thereafter the in-patients were treated in the new Hampstead General on Haverstock Hill and outpatients at the Camden site. In 1912 a new outpatients department was built at Bayham Street, Camden, in the house in which Charles Dickens had lived as a boy. The hospital became part of the Royal Free Group in 1948. It was demolished in 1975 to make way for the building of the new Royal Free.

The North-Western Fever Hospital, Lawn Road, Hampstead, was founded in 1870 as the Hampstead Smallpox Hospital. However, owing to pressure from local residents smallpox patients were removed from metropolitan areas shortly afterwards, and the hospital became the North-Western Fever Hospital, managed by the Metropolitan Asylums Board. The main buildings of the hospital were built in 1892, set in large grounds.

The hospital was in great demand during the frequent outbreaks of diseases such as polio in the first half of the twentieth century, and one ward was used by patients in iron lungs. In 1944, when the Goodenough Report set guidelines for the optimal number of beds that should be available to provide a proper training for medical students, the Dean of the London School of Medicine for Women, Katharine Lloyd-Williams, approached the London County Council about the possibility of allowing students access to North-Western Fever Hospital beds to augment the number of cases already available to them at the Royal Free Hospital in Gray's Inn Road.

The Hospital joined Royal Free Hospital Group on the inception of the National Health Service in 1948, and was renamed the Lawn Road or North-Western Branch of the Royal Free Hospital. As fever cases declined in Britain, the remaining infectious disease beds were transferred to Coppetts Wood Hospital in 1963, and the Lawn Road branch of the RFH became used for general cases. Throughout the 1960s the branch achieved worldwide recognition as the place where the first kidney transplants were performed, and also the hospital which pioneered home dialysis. When the Royal Free was rebuilt in Hampstead, the land on which the North-Western Fever Hospital had stood was used, and the remaining parts of the old building were demolished in 1973. The 'new' Royal Free still has a 'Lawn Road' Division, dealing with surgery, communicable diseases, renal services, and therapy services.

The London School of Medicine for Women was the first medical school in Britain to allow women to train to become fully qualified doctors. Many pioneering women doctors trained and worked at the School, including Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Louisa Aldrich-Blake, and Mary Scharlieb.

Until 1874 it was almost impossible for women to train as doctors in Britain. Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, who was Dean of the School from 1883-1903, was actually the first woman to qualify in Medicine, but as soon as she had done so, in 1865, the loophole which allowed her to do so was closed, preventing others from following in her footsteps.

The London School of Medicine for Women was set up by a group of pioneering women physicians, led by Sophia Jex-Blake, who had been expelled from Edinburgh University after beginning their medical training, together with some male doctors who supported women's entry into the medical profession. It was the first medical school in Britain to admit women, and the only school to do so until 1886.

The School opened in 1874, in a small house in Henrietta Street, off Brunswick Square. At first, students were taught in laboratories and classrooms at the School by a group of male lecturers. Then in 1877, an agreement was reached with the Royal Free Hospital which allowed students at the London School of Medicine for Women to complete their clinical studies on its wards. The Royal Free Hospital was the first teaching hospital in London to admit women for training. In recognition of this relationship, in 1898 the School changed its name to The London (Royal Free Hospital) School of Medicine for Women.

The School building was rebuilt and enlarged in 1898. The main entrance was moved to the Hunter Street side of the building, and the address changed to reflect this. The School was further enlarged in 1914, when the number of women wishing to study medicine made it necessary to practically double the number of laboratories and lecture rooms. At this time the school had over 300 students, making it the largest of the women's university colleges in Britain. In just 40 years the number of women on the medical register had increased from two to 1000, 600 of whom were graduates of the School.

The School was noted for its strong links with other countries, beginning in 1890 when the first Indian female student enrolled. Many students went abroad to help train female doctors in cultures where women could not be seen by male doctors. This part of the School's mission was encouraged by Queen Victoria, who felt very strongly that all her subjects in the Empire should have access to proper medical treatment.

Increasing numbers of students were admitted, particularly when the First World War took many male medical students overseas. Past students of the School did valiant work for the war effort at this time, voluntarily staffing all-female medical units across Europe, and female medical students who were refugees from European universities also joined the School temporarily.

The School remained women-only until 1948, when all medical schools became co-educational under the newly inaugurated National Health Service (NHS). This necessitated another change of name for the School, to the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine.

By the 1950s, the School was pre-eminent in medical research, known particularly for its Medical Unit, renal unit and haemophilia centre.

When the Royal Free Hospital moved to Hampstead in 1974, the school followed, finally moving all its activities from Hunter Street by 1983.

After World War Two the School was threatened by three successive government reports (in 1946, 1968 and 1980), either with closure or with merger with another school. Each time the School rejected the proposals. In 1998 however, the School finally merged with University College London to form a new school, the Royal Free and University College Medical School. In October 2008 it was officially renamed UCL Medical School.

When the National Health Service was established in 1948, it was divided into three parts.

The personal health services, including ambulances, health visitors, community nursing and midwifery were run by local authorities. General medical services, including general practice, dental and ophthalmic services were the responsibility of the executive councils. Hospitals were placed under the control of regional hospital boards. Within each region hospitals were formed into groups and responsibility for more routine administration was delegated to the hospital group management committee. Teaching hospitals were excluded from this system. They had their own boards of governors who were directly responsible to the Minister of Health. Within each hospital region joint committees were established to facilitate consultation and cooperation between teaching hospitals and the board's hospitals.

In 1974 the regional hospital boards, hospital management committees and most boards of governors were abolished. They were replaced by regional health authorities and area health authorities, which were responsible for the three formerly separate parts of the NHS. In 1982 the area health authorities were in turn abolished. Their powers were transferred to district health authorities.

In 1948 the North West Metropolitan Regional Health Board was formed with responsibility for Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, north west London, and Spelthorne; while the North East Metropolitan Regional Health Board was formed with responsibility for Essex and north east London. In 1974 they were renamed as the North West Thames Regional Health Authority and the North East Thames Regional Health Authority. In 1994 the two services were merged to form the North Thames Regional Health Authority, with responsibility for Essex, Hertfordshire and north London.

In April 1960 First Limator Limited was registered; in May it was renamed London Sumatra Plantations Limited. It acted as a holding company of various plantation estates companies. In 1960 it acquired
Allied Sumatra Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-018),
Asahan Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-020),
Deli Estates Engineering and General Union Limited (CLC/B/112-042),
Lankat Rubber Company (CLC/B/112-102),
Mendaris (Sumatra) Rubber and Produce Estates (CLC/B/112-115),
Soengei Rampah Rubber and Coconut Plantations Company (CLC/B/112-144),
Tandjong Rubber Company (CLC/B/112-153),
Toerangie (Sumatra) Rubber and Produce Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-155), and
United Serdang (Sumatra) Rubber Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-159).

In 1961 it acquired
Bah Lias Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-023),
Bajoe Kidoel Rubber and Produce Company (CLC/B/112-024),
Central Sumatra Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-031),
Djasinga Rubber and Produce Company (CLC/B/112044),
Kulai Rubber Estate Limited (CLC/B/112-098),
Namoe Tongan Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-119),
Sialang Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-143) and
United Lankat Plantations Company (CLC/B/112-158).

It acquired Nalek Rubber Estate Limited (CLC/B/112-118) in 1964, and Auxiliary Investments Limited (CLC/B/112-021) in 1967/8.

London Sumatra Plantations Limited became a PLC (public limited company) in 1982. In 1984 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Harrisons and Crosfield Limited until 1994 when it was sold off.

Lunuva (Ceylon) Tea and Rubber Estates Limited was registered in 1907 to acquire the Swinton, Rookatenne, Waldemar, Amblangoda, Galloola and Hopton tea and rubber estates in Ceylon [Sri Lanka]. In 1926 it acquired Hingurugama Tea and Rubber Estates Limited, Brambrakelly (Ceylon) Tea and Rubber Company and Sapumalkande Rubber Company. In 1945 it acquired Crawley Tea Estates Limited.

The company was nationalised by the Sri Lankan government in 1975. In April 1982 it became a PLC (public limited company), and in 1983 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112).

Malayalam Plantations (Holdings) Limited was registered in 1977 to acquire the share capital of Malayalam Plantations Limited (which was registered in 1921 to acquire properties in Southern India). In 1978 all the shares in the company were acquired by Harrisons and Crosfield Limited. In 1982 Harrisons and Crosfield Limited sold 34% of the equity to Indian nationals.

Meppadi Wynaad Tea Company Limited was registered in 1910 to acquire the Arrapetta-Kardoora, Neddikarna, Nedimballi-Meppadi, Moopenaad, and Sentinel Rock estates in the Wynaad district of southern India. In 1923 it was acquired by Malayalam Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-113).

Midland Aggregates Limited, a company owning sand and gravel deposits, was a wholly owned subsidiary of Wilkinson Rubber Linatex Limited (CLC/B/112-166).

Strathisla (Perak) Rubber Estates Limited: This company was registered in 1910 to acquire estates in the Kinta district of Perak, Malaya. In 1959 it was taken over by Pataling Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-124).

Phillips, Harrisons and Crosfield Limited, traders in tea, was registered in 1965 on the merger of the Harrisons and Crosfield's branch business in Nairobi, Kenya (established in 1963) and the firm of P. Phillips and Company Limited. In 1974 an African registered company, Apex Distributors Limited, was formed and controlled by Phillips, Harrisons and Crosfield Limited with a minority shareholding. In 1987 Harrisons and Crosfield sold their 50% holding in Phillips, Harrisons and Crosfield.

This company was registered in 1961 as Borneo Plantations Limited, for production of palm oil, kernels and cocoa on land offered by the Borneo Government to the British Borneo Timber Company at Kalunpang, North Borneo, formerly leased by Darvel Tobacco Company (see CLC/B/112/MS38170). In April 1962 the name was changed to Sabah Plantations Limited. Harrisons and Crosfield acted as secretaries and eastern agents until 1982 when they were replaced by Harrisons Malaysian Plantations Berhad (CLC/B/112-080). From 1977-83 Harrisons Malaysian Estates (CLC/B/112-079) held 48% of the capital of Sabah Plantations Limited; from 1984 it held 100%. From 1982 the company was resident in Malaysia for tax purposes.

Sabah Timber Company Limited was registered in 1920 as British Borneo Timber Company Limited, on an agreement between Harrisons and Crosfield Limited and British North Borneo (Chartered) Company. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited transferred the property and assets of China Borneo Company Limited to British Borneo Timber Company Limited. The company received timber cutting licences. Harrisons and Crosfield acted as secretaries and agents for British Borneo Timber Company Limited from 1920.

British Borneo Timber Company Limited supplied logs to Borneo Veneers Limited (established in 1959), which was half owned by British Borneo Timber Company Limited and half by Plywoods Limited.

In 1963 British Borneo Timber Company Limited was renamed Sabah Timber Company Limited. (It already controlled a company named Sabah Timber Company, registered in March 1963. The name of this company was changed in October 1963 to Sabah Trading Company Limited, see CLC/B/112-138). In the same year the name of Borneo Veneers Limited was changed to Sabah Veneers Limited (see CLC/B/112-139).

In 1972/3 Harrisons and Crosfield Limited acquired 50% of the shareholding in Sabah Timber Company Limited which became a subsidiary company. It became a wholly owned subsidiary in 1978.

Sabah Timber Company Limited acquired a number of other timber supplying companies including John Wright and Son (Redditch) Limited in 1969, William T Storer and Company Limited in 1970, Robinson, David and Company in 1969 and Pattinson and Company Limited in 1982.

In 1982 the last logging agreement ended and Sabah Timber Company developed an extensive timber and building supplies network in the UK and Ireland. In 1988 the timber and building supplies operations of Harrisons and Crosfield Limited were consolidated into a single corporate identity: Harcros Timber and Building Supplies Limited.

For historical notes on Sabah Timber Company see CLC/B/112/MS37392.

Seaport (Selangor) Rubber Estate Limited was registered in 1910 to acquire land on the railway between Klang and Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malaya. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited acted as secretaries for the company 1910-1965. In 1965/6 Seport (Selangor) Rubber Estate Limited went into voluntary liquidation and its estates were sold.

South African Nectar Tea Company Limited was acquired by Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) in 1914 to pack and sell nectar tea in South Africa. Its head office was in Cape Town. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited sold the company in 1920/1.

Sungei Kari (Sumatra) Rubber Estates Limited was registered in 1909 to acquire estates in Serdang, Sumatra. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) became agents for the company in 1924.

T.R.S. Limited was registered in 1957 as an investment company. It was a subsidiary of Rubber Plantations Investment Trust Limited. T.R.S Limited was dormant from 1980, and in 1986 it went into voluntary liquidation.

This firm was established as tea merchants and commission agents in Amoy, China, in 1846. An interest in the company was acquired by Irwin Harrisons and Whitney (CLC/B/112-089) in 1922. In 1926 it became a limited company. Irwin Harrisons and Whitney purchased the Taipeh part of the business in 1927. The Amoy part of the business continued as an unlimited partnership but later went bankrupt.

In 1947 Harrisons, King and Irwin (CLC/B/112-083) acquired share capital from Harrisons and Crosfield Limited and Irwin Harrisons and Whitney. Tait and Company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Harrisons, King and Irwin until it was liquidated in 1963, after which it was owned by Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112). In 1990 the company was sold by Harrisons and Crosfield Limited as part of its general trading division.

For historical notes on Tait and Co see CLC/B/112/MS37392 and CLC/B/112/MS38199. For staff lists see CLC/B/112/MS37340-1.

Tanah Datar Rubber Estates Limited was registered in 1912 to acquire Tanah Datar and Doesoen estates in the province of Batoe Bahara, Sumatra, Indonesia. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) replaced Bright and Galbraith as secretaries and agents of the company in 1952. It held this post until 1967.

Tandjong Rubber Company Limited was registered in 1907 to acquire Tandjong Kassau estates in the district of Batoe Bahara, on the East Coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. In 1960 it was acquired by London Sumatra Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-110). In April 1982 it became a private company.

Technical Advisory and Service Company Limited was formed in 1963 as general engineering consultants. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112-001-016). One of its principal activities was the selling, on an agency basis, of palm oil processing machinery.

United Serdang (Sumatra) Rubber Plantations Limited was registered in 1907 to acquire Begerpang and Namoe Rambei estates in Serdang, Sumatra. In 1927 it took over Amalgamated Rubber and General Estates Limited and Amalgamated (Rubber) Development Co Limited.

Its estates and assets in Sumatra were vested in N.V. Landbouw Maatschappij Senggoro, N.V. Nagodang Rubber Maatschappij and N.V. Vereenigde Plantage Maatschappij. In 1960 it was acquired by London Sumatra Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-110); in April 1982 it became a private company.

Wallardie Tea Estates Limited was registered in 1913 to acquire estates in Travancore, South India. In 1923 it was acquired by Malayalam Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-113).

This company was registered in 1926 in Kuala Lumpur to produce linatex and other crepe rubber. It had a factory in Batu Caves, Selangor, Malaya. It was partly owned by Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112-001-016), and Harrisons and Crosfield (Malaya) Limited (CLC/B/112-071) acted as secretaries for the company.

Harrisons and Crosfield Limited and, from 1930, Wilkinson Rubber Linatex Limited (CLC/B/112-166) acted as sole concessionaires in Europe of the company's products.

In 1966 its name was changed to Wilkinson Process Rubber Company Berhad, and from 1990 it was known as Linatex Process Rubber Berhad. In 1989 Harrisons and Crosfield became the majority shareholder.

For staff lists see CLC/B/112/MS37341.

In 1867 Herbert Chappell founded a firm of tailors, H. Chappell, at 81 Bishopsgate Street. Chappell was originally from Woodbridge, Suffolk, where his father was also a tailor. In 1892 the business moved to 50 Gresham Street, where it remained until it was sold in 1964. In 1923 the name of the business became Herbert Chappell Limited. Further information on the history of the company can be found in CLC/B/114/MS35214.

The firm was established in Colombo, Ceylon [Sri Lanka] in the 1860s as an import/export shipping agency house. It was acquired by the first Earl of Inchcape in 1918. An associated company, Delmege, Allen and Company (CLC/B/123-21) was established in 1919 to act for Delmege, Forsyth and Company in the United Kingdom. Both companies were part of the Inchcape Group of companies.

Duncan Macneill and Company Limited was incorporated in London in 1951, giving limited liability and a new name to Macneill Barry and Company, a merger in 1950 of the old-established partnerships Duncan Macneill and Company and J B Barry and Son.

DUNCAN MACNEILL AND COMPANY: established in London in the 1870s by Duncan Macneill and John MacKinnon, nephews of Sir William MacKinnon (for details of the shipping, trading and agency firms established by MacKinnon, see the Inchcape Group introductory note in CLC/B/123). The firm handled the UK end of agency business in shipping, coal, tea and jute transacted by its associated firm, Macneill and Company of Calcutta.

NB: see also Rivers Steam Navigation Company (CLC/B/123-47) for records of Duncan Macneill and Co's management of Rivers Steam Navigation Company.

J B BARRY AND SON: set up in London in the 1860s by the son of Dr J B Barry, a tea garden doctor (or horticulturist) from Assam. Concerned initially with the sale of tea shipped to London by its sister firm Barry and Company of Calcutta, its interests expanded thereafter to include the handling of oil cake, jute and coal.

In 1915 Lord Inchcape, as commercial successor to Sir William MacKinnon, took over the Macneill and Barry partnerships in England and India. The firm was incorporated in 1951 in the period of company restructuring overseen by the third Earl Inchcape prior to the launch of Inchcape and Company Limited in 1958. It was included in the new enterprise as a principal subsidiary.

Duncan Macneill and Company had offices at 7 Lothbury, ca. 1880-6; Winchester House, 50 Old Broad Street, 1887-1926. J B Barry and Son had offices at 110 Cannon Street, c 1880-1918; Winchester House, 50 Old Broad Street 1919-26. Thereafter, both firms shared premises at 117-118 Leadenhall Street 1927-53; Dunster House, Mincing Lane 1954-61, and 40 St Mary Axe 1962-88.

This company, of Bengal, India, was part of the Inchcape Group of companies.

This company, operating in Assam, India, in the 19th and 20th centuries, was part of the Inchcape Group.

This company, operating in Assam, India, was part of the Inchcape Group.

This company acted as shipping agents and managers of Australasian United Steam Navigation Company (see CLC/B/123-07). Both companies were part of the Inchcape Group of companies.

This company of tea growers and manufacturers, operating in Assam, India, 1865-1969, was part of the Inchcape Group of companies.

This company was part of the Inchcape Group of companies.

The firm was established as a partnership in Zanzibar in 1875, to manage the East African mail contract granted to the British India Steam Navigation Company in 1872. Archibald Smith had earlier worked for W. MacKinnon and Company (CLC/B/123-57) in Glasgow; Edmund N. MacKenzie had had experience in London of the operations of Gray, Dawes and Company (CLC/B/123-30). From the first, Gray, Dawes and Company enjoyed strong links with the firm, having invested heavily in its launch.

As agents of the British India Steam Navigation Company, Smith, MacKenzie and Company were soon involved in the import and export of goods carried alongside the mail. BI ships brought in British and British Indian goods, rice and cotton among them.

Locally produced exports included cloves, chillies, coconuts, copra and ivory. Agency work extended to include the representation of the Union Steam Navigation Company, Lloyd's, Reuters and several British insurance companies. The firm also furnished the expeditionary and military needs of the Imperial British East Africa Company, and, from its formation in 1895, the East Africa Protectorate (covering the territory of modern Kenya and Tanzania, excluding Zanzibar). It was further responsible for supplying coal to British and German naval vessels in the area; an activity which proved especially significant during World War One. WJW Nicol joined the staff in Zanzibar as an assistant in 1887, and became a partner in 1890.

Between 1916 and 1923, new offices were opened in Nairobi, Kisumu, Kampala, Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Lindi. Also at this time, the firm's shipping activity was hived off into a subsidiary, the African Wharfage Company Limited. This company soon established its own subsidiaries, including a branch in Tanganyika; the African Marine and General Engineering Company Limited; and the Kenya Landing and Shipping Company Limited.

In 1936, the firm became Smith, MacKenzie and Company Limited, registered in Nairobi with its main East African office in Mombasa. However, it was not until 1950 that the direction of operations moved wholesale to Kenya.

In the preparations for the launching of the Inchcape group in 1958 (see Inchcape Group introductory note), Gray, Dawes and Company Limited increased its shareholding in the firm to 53.03%. A further 29% holding was purchased by the group in 1964.

This company was part of the Inchcape Group of companies.

The Institute of Meat was formed in 1946 as a membership company which provided the organization and management of the UK meat industry training. It was based at 19-20 Holborn Viaduct, 1946-73, 91-3 Charterhouse Street, 1973-85, 56-60 St John Street, and Butchers' Hall, 1985-94, but also held meetings at other venues. Its training and educational roles were taken over in 1993 by the newly-formed Meat Training Council. The Institute continued as an independent body, changing its name at some point after 1995 to the Worshipful Company of Butchers' Guild to reflect its close association with the livery company.

J Tylor and Sons was founded by John Tylor, a Quaker, who was free of the Armourers' and Brasiers' Company in 1778. (The company histories - see MS29374 - mention "Joseph" Tylor and "1777" but do not make any reference to sources. The London trade directories consistently show John Tylor.)

The firm became a limited company in 1892, known as J Tylor and Sons Ltd but underwent two more changes of name, to Tylors (Water and Sanitary) Ltd in 1920 and Tylors of London Ltd in 1947. At first the company specialised in manufacturing tea-urns but gradually expanded its range of items. In the late 19th century J Tylor and Sons were known as hydraulic and sanitary engineers and brass founders and produced water meters, diving suits, soda syphons and urinals as well as many other items. The company appears to have responded quickly to new and growing markets and to have dropped unprofitable lines. In the 20th century a line of bathroom requisites was developed, the motor-car trade appeared briefly and in 1956 all sanitary connections were dropped altogether.

The firm merged with HRI Flowmeters in 1956 and in 1958 became a subsidiary of an American firm, Crane Ltd. In 1975 both firms were incorporated into the General Electric Company.

The firm was based at 75 Wood Street 1778-93; 3 Cripplegate Buildings 1794-1828; College of Physicians, Warwick Lane (later called 2 Newgate Street) 1829-91; 2 Newgate Street and Belle Isle, King's Cross 1892-1907; Belle Isle and 232 Tottenham Court Road 1908-56; and at Burgess Hill, Sussex from 1956.

James Budgett founded H H and S Budgett and Company, wholesale grocers, at 22 Mincing Lane in 1857. The Company moved to 5 Monument Yard in 1858. In 1875 it moved to 22 Eastcheap as a wholesale tea and coffee dealer, while a new firm was founded to carry on its sugar, rice and fruit business at Monument Yard.

James Budgett and Son moved to 3-4 Lawrence Pountney Lane in 1880, 2-4 Idol Lane in 1915 and 60 Mark Lane in 1972. It became a private limited company in 1886. It changed its name to Kirtlington Holdings Limited in 1980, but the old name and the sugar business were continued under new owners, E D and F Mann Limited.

Gordon Lewis Jacobs (b 1880) first appears in the directories as a stockbroker in 1904 at 61 Old Broad Street. In 1910 the firm is listed as Gordon L Jacobs and Company at 3 Tokenhouse Buildings, moving to 2 Austin Friars in 1922, and to 123 Old Broad Street in 1927. The firm merged with Nathan and Rosselli and James Capel and Company in 1961.

Nathan and Rosselli, a firm of stockbrokers, was formed by the partnership of David Nathan (b.1839) and Joseph Rosselli (1860-1930) in 1888. It grew into one of the leading houses doing arbitrage business in New York and Europe. It later specialised in fixed interest securities and US stocks.

The firm was based at initially at 3 Adams Court (1888-95), and subsequently at 7 Adam Court (1895-1958) and 16 Old Broad Street (1958-65). In 1961 it merged with Gordon L Jacobs and Company, but continued to practice as Nathan and Rosselli. In 1965 it merged with James Capel and Company, under whose name the resulting firm was known.

This company began trading as wine and spirit merchants, spirit distillers, and isinglass manufacturers and rectifiers, specialising later on in the manufacture of isinglass and wine filtration aids. The company began trading in 1841 from 11 Mark Lane. By 1842 it had moved to premises at 6 Devonshire Square which housed a distillery, a warehouse and one of the family homes. The family remained there until 1940. The company then moved to Coggeshall, Essex. The company also had premises at 23 Little Britain, 1851-79, and 74 Aldersgate Street, 1856-80. James Vickers appears to have been a substantial City business man. In addition to his business premises, he also owned or rented the following private addresses: 52 Parliament Street, Westminster; 41 Holland Park; and Woodlands, Tooting

James Vickers and his brother Edward were partners between circa 1841 and 1863 when the partnership was legally dissolved. Upon James Vickers' death (30 April 1877), Edward Vickers was once more actively involved with the company for a short time, primarily with the premises at 74 Aldersgate Street. Some of the Vickers papers are family and household papers relating to the division of James Vickers' estate and the provisions he had made for his children. His widow, Mrs Frances Vickers, became a partner with John Watney and oversaw the company as executors of James Vickers' estate until October 1887 when their partnership was legally dissolved. In 1887 John Watney retired from his position in favour of S.F. Vickers.

Janson, Cobb, Pearson and Company, solicitors, of 22 College Hill (1900-79); previously of 83 Basinghall Street (1728-1820), 4 Basinghall Street (1821-65), and 41 Finsbury Circus (1866-1900). Until 1885, the records are those of a succession of partners working under partnership agreements, in their own names, at the addresses above. Since 1885, the partners have retained the title Janson, Cobb, Pearson and Co. Partners prior to 1885 were as follows: Nathaniel Cole (1728-58), John Partridge (1758-74), Godfrey Kettle (1763-91), Thomas Loggen (1780-1810), James Pearson (1792-1803), Richard Smith (1804-37), George Rickards (1811-25), Robert Riddell Bayley (1826-52), Frederick Halsey Janson (1836-1913), Charles Cooper (1852-4), Thomas Pix Cobb (1855-98), and John Michael Pearson (1825-92). See Ms 18743 for a list of partners giving further details, 1728-1966.

Richard Kelsey was surveyor to the City of London Commissioners of Sewers, 1832-46.

Kleinworts was founded in 1855 by Alexander Kleinwort, although its origins may be traced to Herman Greverus, who established a business as a merchant at 3 White Hart Court, Lombard Street, in 1830. He formed a partnership with Edward Cohen in 1851 under the style Greverus and Cohen and retired in 1855, whereupon Alexander Kleinwort became Cohen's partner, and the firm was restyled Kleinwort and Cohen. Kleinwort had served an apprenticeship and gained some experience as a merchant in Hamburg before going, in 1838, to Havana, Cuba, then an international trading centre based upon its sugar, coffee and tobacco production. In Cuba he became acquainted with his future business partners, Edward Cohen and James Drake, and gained further experience as a merchant and banker. He also accumulated sufficient capital to establish business in London with Edward Cohen.

In 1858, James Drake became a partner, contributing capital and his name, but taking no part in running the partnership, which was known as Drake, Kleinwort and Cohen. He died in 1871 and the firm then became Kleinwort, Cohen and Company, with 80 % of the capital supplied by Kleinwort.

In 1881, Herman Greverus Kleinwort, Alexander's elder son, became a partner, and, in 1883, when Edward Cohen retired, Alexander's younger son, Alexander Drake Kleinwort, also became a partner, the firm being renamed Kleinwort, Sons and Company. Alexander senior died in 1886 and the business was continued by his two sons until 1907, when their nephew Herman Anton Andreae also became a partner. Alexander Drake Kleinwort was created a baronet in 1909, and Herman Greverus Kleinwort retired from active participation in the partnership in 1914.

In 1927, Sir Alexander Drake Kleinwort's two sons, Ernest Greverus Kleinwort and Cyril Hugh Kleinwort, were brought into the partnership. Sir Alexander Drake Kleinwort died in 1935. His brother Herman Greverus Kleinwort withdrew completely from the partnership in 1939 and died in 1942. In 1945 Herman Kleinwort Andreae, son of Herman Andreae, became a partner.

In 1948 the partnership became a private limited company, and in 1955 the company changed its name to Kleinworts Limited and became the holding company for a new company, Kleinwort, Sons and Company, which was created to carry on the banking business formerly conducted under the same name. In 1961 a merger with the firm of Robert Benson, Lonsdale and Company, investment bankers, created Kleinwort, Benson Limited.

The firm had offices at 3 White Hart Court, Lombard Street, 1830-54; 4 Cullum Street, 1855-9; 7 Mincing Lane, 1859-66; and 20 Fenchurch Street from 1867. It is variously described in London directories as merchants; merchants and foreign bankers; and bankers and commission merchants.