The local parishes appear to have agreed in 1927 to work together for the formation of a new parish in Streatham Vale from sections of the parishes of Immanuel Streatham, Saint Andrew, Lower Streatham, Saint Mark, Mitcham, and Saint Barnabus Mitcham. A diocesan missioner, C.P. Turton, was appointed in July 1928 and services were held in what was to be the parish hall of the new parish, which had been erected in Churchmore Road, in the parish of Saint Andrew. For a time, the projected new parish was known unofficially as Saint Luke, Streatham Vale, but in May 1930, it was formally constituted as the parish of the Holy Redeemer, Streatham Vale. The church was consecrated on 5 March 1932.
Saint Stephen's Church, Manfred Road, Wandsworth (built 1881), established a mission church on Putney Bridge Road consisting of a church with a hall and mission rooms.
The church of Saint Michael and All Angels was constructed in 1878 to the designs of J.W. Walters. A nave was added in 1889, designed by William Butterfield; and further extensions were added in 1954. The parish has been merged with Saint Mary Magdalene (P97/MRY) to form the parish of Saint Mary Magdalene with Saint Michael and All Angels. The church remains open and in use.
Brentford Magistrates' Court:
Brentford Magistrates Court, situated in Market Place, Brentford High Street, was originally opened in 1850 as a combined Town Hall and Police Court. A second Court was added in 1891 and the front extensively rebuilt in 1929. Ealing Magistrates Court, Green Man Lane, Ealing was built in 1914-1915, to a design commissioned by the Middlesex County Council.
History:
An Act of 1792 established seven 'Public Offices' (later Police offices and Police courts) in the central Metropolitan area. The aim was to establish fixed locations where 'fit and able magistrates' would attend at fixed times to deal with an increasing number of criminal offences.
Offices were opened in St Margaret Westminster, St James Westminster, Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Shadwell and Southwark. An office in Bow Street, Covent Garden, originally the home of the local magistrate, had been operating for almost 50 years and was largely the model for the new offices.
In 1800 the Marine Police Office or Thames Police Office, opened by 'private enterprise' in 1798, was incorporated into the statutory system. In 1821 an office was opened in Marylebone, apparently replacing the one in Shadwell.
Each office was assigned three Justices of the Peace. They were to receive a salary of £400 per annum. These were the first stipendiary magistrates. Later they were expected to be highly qualified in the law, indeed, to be experienced barristers. This distinguished them from the local lay justices who after the setting up of Police Offices were largely confined, in the Metropolitan area, to the licensing of innkeepers. In addition each office could appoint up to six constables to be attached to it.
The commonly used term of 'Police Court' was found to be misleading. The word 'police' gave the impression that the Metropolitan Police controlled and administered the courts. This was never the case, the word 'police' was being used in its original meaning of 'pertaining to civil administration', 'regulating', etc.
In April 1965 (following the Administration of Justice Act 1964) the London Police Courts with their stipendiary magistrates were integrated with the lay magistrates to form the modern Inner London Magistrates' Courts.
The police courts dealt with a wide range of business coming under the general heading of 'summary jurisdiction', i.e. trial without a jury. The cases heard were largely criminal and of the less serious kind. Over the years statutes created many offences that the courts could deal with in addition to Common Law offences. Examples include: drunk and disorderly conduct, assault, theft, begging, possessing stolen goods, cruelty to animals, desertion from the armed forces, betting, soliciting, loitering with intent, obstructing highways, and motoring offences. Non-criminal matters included small debts concerning income tax and local rates, landlord and tenant matters, matrimonial problems and bastardy.
Offences beyond the powers of the Court would normally be passed to the Sessions of the Peace or Gaol Delivery Sessions in the Old Bailey (from 1835 called the Central Criminal Court). From the late 19th century such cases would be the subject of preliminary hearings or committal proceedings in the magistrates' courts.
Outside the London Police Court Area but within the administrative county of Middlesex lay justices continued to deal with both criminal offences and administrative matters such as the licensing of innkeepers.
The exact area covered by a Court at any particular time can be found in the Kelly's Post Office London Directories, available on microfilm at LMA. The entries are based on the original Orders-in-Council establishing police court districts. A map showing police court districts is kept in the Information Area of LMA with other reference maps. Please ask a member of staff for assistance.
Clerkenwell Magistrates' Court:
Clerkenwell Police Court was originally established in Hatton Garden, St Andrew Holborn, under the Act of 1792. It was transferred to Bagnigge Wells Road (renamed King's Cross Road in 1863) in approximately 1841. Part of the district it served was transferred to the newly established Dalston Police Court circa 1888.
Historical information:
An Act of 1792 established seven 'Public Offices' (later Police offices and Police courts) in the central Metropolitan area. The aim was to establish fixed locations where 'fit and able magistrates' would attend at fixed times to deal with an increasing number of criminal offences.
Offices were opened in St Margaret Westminster, St James Westminster, Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Shadwell and Southwark. An office in Bow Street, Covent Garden, originally the home of the local magistrate, had been operating for almost 50 years and was largely the model for the new offices.
In 1800 the Marine Police Office or Thames Police Office, opened by 'private enterprise' in 1798, was incorporated into the statutory system. In 1821 an office was opened in Marylebone, apparently replacing the one in Shadwell.
Each office was assigned three Justices of the Peace. They were to receive a salary of £400 per annum. These were the first stipendiary magistrates. Later they were expected to be highly qualified in the law, indeed, to be experienced barristers. This distinguished them from the local lay justices who after the setting up of Police Offices were largely confined, in the Metropolitan area, to the licensing of innkeepers. In addition each office could appoint up to six constables to be attached to it.
The commonly used term of 'Police Court' was found to be misleading. The word 'police' gave the impression that the Metropolitan Police controlled and administered the courts. This was never the case, the word 'police' was being used in its original meaning of 'pertaining to civil administration', 'regulating', etc.
In April 1965 (following the Administration of Justice Act 1964) the London Police Courts with their stipendiary magistrates were integrated with the lay magistrates to form the modern Inner London Magistrates' Courts.
The police courts dealt with a wide range of business coming under the general heading of 'summary jurisdiction', i.e. trial without a jury. The cases heard were largely criminal and of the less serious kind. Over the years statutes created many offences that the courts could deal with in addition to Common Law offences. Examples include: drunk and disorderly conduct, assault, theft, begging, possessing stolen goods, cruelty to animals, desertion from the armed forces, betting, soliciting, loitering with intent, obstructing highways, and motoring offences. Non-criminal matters included small debts concerning income tax and local rates, landlord and tenant matters, matrimonial problems and bastardy.
Offences beyond the powers of the Court would normally be passed to the Sessions of the Peace or Gaol Delivery Sessions in the Old Bailey (from 1835 called the Central Criminal Court). From the late 19th century such cases would be the subject of preliminary hearings or committal proceedings in the magistrates' courts.
Outside the London Police Court Area but within the administrative county of Middlesex lay justices continued to deal with both criminal offences and administrative matters such as the licensing of innkeepers.
The exact area covered by a Court at any particular time can be found in the Kelly's Post Office London Directories, available on microfilm at LMA. The entries are based on the original Orders-in-Council establishing police court districts. A map showing police court districts is kept in the Information Area of LMA with other reference maps. Please ask a member of staff for assistance.
An Act of 1792 established seven 'Public Offices' (later Police offices and Police courts) in the central Metropolitan area. The aim was to establish fixed locations where 'fit and able magistrates' would attend at fixed times to deal with an increasing number of criminal offences.
Offices were opened in St Margaret Westminster, St James Westminster, Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Shadwell and Southwark. An office in Bow Street, Covent Garden, originally the home of the local magistrate, had been operating for almost 50 years and was largely the model for the new offices.
In 1800 the Marine Police Office or Thames Police Office, opened by 'private enterprise' in 1798, was incorporated into the statutory system. In 1821 an office was opened in Marylebone, apparently replacing the one in Shadwell.
Each office was assigned three Justices of the Peace. They were to receive a salary of £400 per annum. These were the first stipendiary magistrates. Later they were expected to be highly qualified in the law, indeed, to be experienced barristers. This distinguished them from the local lay justices who after the setting up of Police Offices were largely confined, in the Metropolitan area, to the licensing of innkeepers. In addition each office could appoint up to six constables to be attached to it.
The commonly used term of 'Police Court' was found to be misleading. The word 'police' gave the impression that the Metropolitan Police controlled and administered the courts. This was never the case, the word 'police' was being used in its original meaning of 'pertaining to civil administration', 'regulating', etc.
In April 1965 (following the Administration of Justice Act 1964) the London Police Courts with their stipendiary magistrates were integrated with the lay magistrates to form the modern Inner London Magistrates' Courts.
The police courts dealt with a wide range of business coming under the general heading of 'summary jurisdiction', i.e. trial without a jury. The cases heard were largely criminal and of the less serious kind. Over the years statutes created many offences that the courts could deal with in addition to Common Law offences. Examples include: drunk and disorderly conduct, assault, theft, begging, possessing stolen goods, cruelty to animals, desertion from the armed forces, betting, soliciting, loitering with intent, obstructing highways, and motoring offences. Non-criminal matters included small debts concerning income tax and local rates, landlord and tenant matters, matrimonial problems and bastardy.
Offences beyond the powers of the Court would normally be passed to the Sessions of the Peace or Gaol Delivery Sessions in the Old Bailey (from 1835 called the Central Criminal Court). From the late 19th century such cases would be the subject of preliminary hearings or committal proceedings in the magistrates' courts.
Outside the London Police Court Area but within the administrative county of Middlesex lay justices continued to deal with both criminal offences and administrative matters such as the licensing of innkeepers.
The exact area covered by a Court at any particular time can be found in the Kelly's Post Office London Directories, available on microfilm at LMA. The entries are based on the original Orders-in-Council establishing police court districts. A map showing police court districts is kept in the Information Area of LMA with other reference maps. Please ask a member of staff for assistance.
Finsbury Petty Sessions Division:
Finsbury was the name given to one of the administrative divisions of the ancient county of Middlesex included within Ossulston Hundred. It included the parishes of Islington, Clerkenwell, St Luke Old Street, St Sepulchre, Hornsey, Finchley, Friern Barnet, Stoke Newington, and the Liberty of Glasshouse Yard.
In 1853 Stoke Newington was transferred to the Edmonton Division and became itself a division in 1890. On 17 October 1890 Hornsey, Finchley, and Friern Barnet were transferred to the new Highgate division within the administrative county of Middlesex.
On 1 July 1956 the Finsbury Division ceased to exist and was incorporated within the newly formed New River Petty Sessional Division.
History of Petty Sessions:
An Act of 1792 established seven 'Public Offices' (later Police offices and Police courts) in the central Metropolitan area. The aim was to establish fixed locations where 'fit and able magistrates' would attend at fixed times to deal with an increasing number of criminal offences.
Offices were opened in St Margaret Westminster, St James Westminster, Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Shadwell and Southwark. An office in Bow Street, Covent Garden, originally the home of the local magistrate, had been operating for almost 50 years and was largely the model for the new offices.
In 1800 the Marine Police Office or Thames Police Office, opened by 'private enterprise' in 1798, was incorporated into the statutory system. In 1821 an office was opened in Marylebone, apparently replacing the one in Shadwell.
Each office was assigned three Justices of the Peace. They were to receive a salary of £400 per annum. These were the first stipendiary magistrates. Later they were expected to be highly qualified in the law, indeed, to be experienced barristers. This distinguished them from the local lay justices who after the setting up of Police Offices were largely confined, in the Metropolitan area, to the licensing of innkeepers. In addition each office could appoint up to six constables to be attached to it.
The commonly used term of 'Police Court' was found to be misleading. The word 'police' gave the impression that the Metropolitan Police controlled and administered the courts. This was never the case, the word 'police' was being used in its original meaning of 'pertaining to civil administration', 'regulating', etc.
In April 1965 (following the Administration of Justice Act 1964) the London Police Courts with their stipendiary magistrates were integrated with the lay magistrates to form the modern Inner London Magistrates' Courts.
The police courts dealt with a wide range of business coming under the general heading of 'summary jurisdiction', i.e. trial without a jury. The cases heard were largely criminal and of the less serious kind. Over the years statutes created many offences that the courts could deal with in addition to Common Law offences. Examples include: drunk and disorderly conduct, assault, theft, begging, possessing stolen goods, cruelty to animals, desertion from the armed forces, betting, soliciting, loitering with intent, obstructing highways, and motoring offences. Non-criminal matters included small debts concerning income tax and local rates, landlord and tenant matters, matrimonial problems and bastardy.
Offences beyond the powers of the Court would normally be passed to the Sessions of the Peace or Gaol Delivery Sessions in the Old Bailey (from 1835 called the Central Criminal Court). From the late 19th century such cases would be the subject of preliminary hearings or committal proceedings in the magistrates' courts.
Outside the London Police Court Area but within the administrative county of Middlesex lay justices continued to deal with both criminal offences and administrative matters such as the licensing of innkeepers.
The exact area covered by a Court at any particular time can be found in the Kelly's Post Office London Directories, available on microfilm at LMA. The entries are based on the original Orders-in-Council establishing police court districts. A map showing police court districts is kept in the Information Area of LMA with other reference maps. Please ask a member of staff for assistance.
An Act of 1792 established seven 'Public Offices' (later Police offices and Police courts) in the central Metropolitan area. The aim was to establish fixed locations where 'fit and able magistrates' would attend at fixed times to deal with an increasing number of criminal offences.
Offices were opened in St Margaret Westminster, St James Westminster, Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Shadwell and Southwark. An office in Bow Street, Covent Garden, originally the home of the local magistrate, had been operating for almost 50 years and was largely the model for the new offices.
In 1800 the Marine Police Office or Thames Police Office, opened by 'private enterprise' in 1798, was incorporated into the statutory system. In 1821 an office was opened in Marylebone, apparently replacing the one in Shadwell.
Each office was assigned three Justices of the Peace. They were to receive a salary of £400 per annum. These were the first stipendiary magistrates. Later they were expected to be highly qualified in the law, indeed, to be experienced barristers. This distinguished them from the local lay justices who after the setting up of Police Offices were largely confined, in the Metropolitan area, to the licensing of innkeepers. In addition each office could appoint up to six constables to be attached to it.
The commonly used term of 'Police Court' was found to be misleading. The word 'police' gave the impression that the Metropolitan Police controlled and administered the courts. This was never the case, the word 'police' was being used in its original meaning of 'pertaining to civil administration', 'regulating', etc.
In April 1965 (following the Administration of Justice Act 1964) the London Police Courts with their stipendiary magistrates were integrated with the lay magistrates to form the modern Inner London Magistrates' Courts.
The police courts dealt with a wide range of business coming under the general heading of 'summary jurisdiction', i.e. trial without a jury. The cases heard were largely criminal and of the less serious kind. Over the years statutes created many offences that the courts could deal with in addition to Common Law offences. Examples include: drunk and disorderly conduct, assault, theft, begging, possessing stolen goods, cruelty to animals, desertion from the armed forces, betting, soliciting, loitering with intent, obstructing highways, and motoring offences. Non-criminal matters included small debts concerning income tax and local rates, landlord and tenant matters, matrimonial problems and bastardy.
Offences beyond the powers of the Court would normally be passed to the Sessions of the Peace or Gaol Delivery Sessions in the Old Bailey (from 1835 called the Central Criminal Court). From the late 19th century such cases would be the subject of preliminary hearings or committal proceedings in the magistrates' courts.
Outside the London Police Court Area but within the administrative county of Middlesex lay justices continued to deal with both criminal offences and administrative matters such as the licensing of innkeepers.
The exact area covered by a Court at any particular time can be found in the Kelly's Post Office London Directories, available on microfilm at LMA. The entries are based on the original Orders-in-Council establishing police court districts. A map showing police court districts is kept in the Information Area of LMA with other reference maps. Please ask a member of staff for assistance.
Marlborough Street court was one of the seven Public Offices established in 1792. It has the distinction of being the only Metropolitan Police Court to remain on its original site, 21 Great Marlborough Street, Westminster.
An Act of 1792 established seven 'Public Offices' (later Police offices and Police courts) in the central Metropolitan area. The aim was to establish fixed locations where 'fit and able magistrates' would attend at fixed times to deal with an increasing number of criminal offences.
Offices were opened in St Margaret Westminster, St James Westminster, Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Shadwell and Southwark. An office in Bow Street, Covent Garden, originally the home of the local magistrate, had been operating for almost 50 years and was largely the model for the new offices.
In 1800 the Marine Police Office or Thames Police Office, opened by 'private enterprise' in 1798, was incorporated into the statutory system. In 1821 an office was opened in Marylebone, apparently replacing the one in Shadwell.
Each office was assigned three Justices of the Peace. They were to receive a salary of £400 per annum. These were the first stipendiary magistrates. Later they were expected to be highly qualified in the law, indeed, to be experienced barristers. This distinguished them from the local lay justices who after the setting up of Police Offices were largely confined, in the Metropolitan area, to the licensing of innkeepers. In addition each office could appoint up to six constables to be attached to it.
The commonly used term of 'Police Court' was found to be misleading. The word 'police' gave the impression that the Metropolitan Police controlled and administered the courts. This was never the case, the word 'police' was being used in its original meaning of 'pertaining to civil administration', 'regulating', etc.
In April 1965 (following the Administration of Justice Act 1964) the London Police Courts with their stipendiary magistrates were integrated with the lay magistrates to form the modern Inner London Magistrates' Courts.
The police courts dealt with a wide range of business coming under the general heading of 'summary jurisdiction', i.e. trial without a jury. The cases heard were largely criminal and of the less serious kind. Over the years statutes created many offences that the courts could deal with in addition to Common Law offences. Examples include: drunk and disorderly conduct, assault, theft, begging, possessing stolen goods, cruelty to animals, desertion from the armed forces, betting, soliciting, loitering with intent, obstructing highways, and motoring offences. Non-criminal matters included small debts concerning income tax and local rates, landlord and tenant matters, matrimonial problems and bastardy.
Offences beyond the powers of the Court would normally be passed to the Sessions of the Peace or Gaol Delivery Sessions in the Old Bailey (from 1835 called the Central Criminal Court). From the late 19th century such cases would be the subject of preliminary hearings or committal proceedings in the magistrates' courts.
Outside the London Police Court Area but within the administrative county of Middlesex lay justices continued to deal with both criminal offences and administrative matters such as the licensing of innkeepers.
The exact area covered by a Court at any particular time can be found in the Kelly's Post Office London Directories, available on microfilm at LMA. The entries are based on the original Orders-in-Council establishing police court districts. A map showing police court districts is kept in the Information Area of LMA with other reference maps. Please ask a member of staff for assistance.
Stoke Newington Magistrates Court:
For the purposes of petty sessional business, Stoke Newington parish fell within the Finsbury Division until 1853. In that year it was transferred to Edmonton Division. In April 1890, with the formation of the county of London within which Stoke Newington was situated, it became a petty sessional division in its own right.
History of magistrates courts:
An Act of 1792 established seven 'Public Offices' (later Police offices and Police courts) in the central Metropolitan area. The aim was to establish fixed locations where 'fit and able magistrates' would attend at fixed times to deal with an increasing number of criminal offences.
Offices were opened in St Margaret Westminster, St James Westminster, Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Shadwell and Southwark. An office in Bow Street, Covent Garden, originally the home of the local magistrate, had been operating for almost 50 years and was largely the model for the new offices.
In 1800 the Marine Police Office or Thames Police Office, opened by 'private enterprise' in 1798, was incorporated into the statutory system. In 1821 an office was opened in Marylebone, apparently replacing the one in Shadwell.
Each office was assigned three Justices of the Peace. They were to receive a salary of £400 per annum. These were the first stipendiary magistrates. Later they were expected to be highly qualified in the law, indeed, to be experienced barristers. This distinguished them from the local lay justices who after the setting up of Police Offices were largely confined, in the Metropolitan area, to the licensing of innkeepers. In addition each office could appoint up to six constables to be attached to it.
The commonly used term of 'Police Court' was found to be misleading. The word 'police' gave the impression that the Metropolitan Police controlled and administered the courts. This was never the case, the word 'police' was being used in its original meaning of 'pertaining to civil administration', 'regulating', etc.
In April 1965 (following the Administration of Justice Act 1964) the London Police Courts with their stipendiary magistrates were integrated with the lay magistrates to form the modern Inner London Magistrates' Courts.
The police courts dealt with a wide range of business coming under the general heading of 'summary jurisdiction', i.e. trial without a jury. The cases heard were largely criminal and of the less serious kind. Over the years statutes created many offences that the courts could deal with in addition to Common Law offences. Examples include: drunk and disorderly conduct, assault, theft, begging, possessing stolen goods, cruelty to animals, desertion from the armed forces, betting, soliciting, loitering with intent, obstructing highways, and motoring offences. Non-criminal matters included small debts concerning income tax and local rates, landlord and tenant matters, matrimonial problems and bastardy.
Offences beyond the powers of the Court would normally be passed to the Sessions of the Peace or Gaol Delivery Sessions in the Old Bailey (from 1835 called the Central Criminal Court). From the late 19th century such cases would be the subject of preliminary hearings or committal proceedings in the magistrates' courts.
Outside the London Police Court Area but within the administrative county of Middlesex lay justices continued to deal with both criminal offences and administrative matters such as the licensing of innkeepers.
The exact area covered by a Court at any particular time can be found in the Kelly's Post Office London Directories, available on microfilm at LMA. The entries are based on the original Orders-in-Council establishing police court districts. A map showing police court districts is kept in the Information Area of LMA with other reference maps. Please ask a member of staff for assistance.
South Western Magistrates Court:
According to the London Post Office Directory of 1950, the South Western Magistrates Court was situated at Daventry House, 217 Balham High Road, SW17. Its jurisdiction covered "the space included within the following boundary ... from a point in the middle of the roadway on Vauxhall bridge, at the middle of the river Thames, south-eastward along the middle of that roadway and of Vauxhall Bridge rd., Harleyford rd., the roadway on the south side of Kennington Oval, Harleyford St., Camberwell New rd., Brixton rd., Brixton hill, Streatham hill, and of Streatham High rd. to the boundary of the County of London; thence southward and westward along the said County boundary, by Lambeth cemetery, Garratt pk. and Beverley brook, then northward and eastward along the said County boundary to the middle of the river Thames west of Fulham palace; thence eastward along the middle of the river Thames to the aforementioned point in the middle of the river Thames to the aforementioned point in the middle of the roadway of Vauxhall bridge".
History of magistrates courts:
An Act of 1792 established seven 'Public Offices' (later Police offices and Police courts) in the central Metropolitan area. The aim was to establish fixed locations where 'fit and able magistrates' would attend at fixed times to deal with an increasing number of criminal offences.
Offices were opened in St Margaret Westminster, St James Westminster, Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Shadwell and Southwark. An office in Bow Street, Covent Garden, originally the home of the local magistrate, had been operating for almost 50 years and was largely the model for the new offices.
In 1800 the Marine Police Office or Thames Police Office, opened by 'private enterprise' in 1798, was incorporated into the statutory system. In 1821 an office was opened in Marylebone, apparently replacing the one in Shadwell.
Each office was assigned three Justices of the Peace. They were to receive a salary of £400 per annum. These were the first stipendiary magistrates. Later they were expected to be highly qualified in the law, indeed, to be experienced barristers. This distinguished them from the local lay justices who after the setting up of Police Offices were largely confined, in the Metropolitan area, to the licensing of innkeepers. In addition each office could appoint up to six constables to be attached to it.
The commonly used term of 'Police Court' was found to be misleading. The word 'police' gave the impression that the Metropolitan Police controlled and administered the courts. This was never the case, the word 'police' was being used in its original meaning of 'pertaining to civil administration', 'regulating', etc.
In April 1965 (following the Administration of Justice Act 1964) the London Police Courts with their stipendiary magistrates were integrated with the lay magistrates to form the modern Inner London Magistrates' Courts.
The police courts dealt with a wide range of business coming under the general heading of 'summary jurisdiction', i.e. trial without a jury. The cases heard were largely criminal and of the less serious kind. Over the years statutes created many offences that the courts could deal with in addition to Common Law offences. Examples include: drunk and disorderly conduct, assault, theft, begging, possessing stolen goods, cruelty to animals, desertion from the armed forces, betting, soliciting, loitering with intent, obstructing highways, and motoring offences. Non-criminal matters included small debts concerning income tax and local rates, landlord and tenant matters, matrimonial problems and bastardy.
Offences beyond the powers of the Court would normally be passed to the Sessions of the Peace or Gaol Delivery Sessions in the Old Bailey (from 1835 called the Central Criminal Court). From the late 19th century such cases would be the subject of preliminary hearings or committal proceedings in the magistrates' courts.
Outside the London Police Court Area but within the administrative county of Middlesex lay justices continued to deal with both criminal offences and administrative matters such as the licensing of innkeepers.
The exact area covered by a Court at any particular time can be found in the Kelly's Post Office London Directories, available on microfilm at LMA. The entries are based on the original Orders-in-Council establishing police court districts. A map showing police court districts is kept in the Information Area of LMA with other reference maps. Please ask a member of staff for assistance.
Crystal Palace was constructed in 1851 in Hyde Park, to house the Great Exhibition. After the Exhbition it was dismantled and re-erected in Sydenham where it was used as an amusement park, holding exhbitions, concerts, theatrical productions, firework displays and sports events. It had a small zoo, fountains and a statue park. The Palace burned down in 1936 and was destroyed.
The Queen Adelaide Fund was established in 1835 by Col. Clitherow, Chairman of the Committee of Visitors for Hanwell Asylum, for the assistance of patients discharged cured from Hanwell Asylum in Middlesex, "to enable them to make a fresh start in life". It had come to the attention of the chairman of the Asylum, Colonel James Clitherow, that when cured patients were discharged from the asylum many of them were forced to enter the workhouse as their furniture, tools and even clothes had been sold to support their families while they were being treated. The Fund provided such patients with a grant to enable them to resume their jobs and reunite their families. The fund was supported by Queen Adelaide, consort of William IV, who was also a patron of the Hanwell Asylum. She was the first subscriber to the Fund, donating £100 as well as her name.
The Fund was expanded in 1840 and from 1852 it assisted and administered the similar Queen Victoria Fund for Colney Hatch Asylum patients. In 1889 the Queen Victoria Fund was formally consolidated into the Queen Adelaide Fund.
On the formation of the Middlesex County Council and London County Council, two Trustees were appointed from the Councillors of each County Council. However, the administrative and secretarial staff continued to be supplied by the Asylum, and later by Middlesex County Council. The Clerk to the Committee for Hanwell Asylum was originally also Clerk to the Trustees of the Queen Adelaide Fund, but later this position was taken by the Clerk of the Middlesex County Council.
This collection of photographs had its origins in the Greater London Council (GLC) Architect's Department.
The first assessments of 1692-1693 were made under the terms of an "Act for granting to their Majesties an aid of four shillings in the pound for one year for carrying on a vigorous war against France" [4W and M c.1, 1692/3]. The Act specfied that real estate and personal property, that is buildings and moveable property as well as land, were to be taxed. It nominated, for each borough and county in England and Wales, the local commissioners who were to supervise the assessments and local collection.
The tax was voted annually, usually in the spring, until 1798 when it was transformed into a permanent tax, but was redeemable on a payment of a lump sum. It was levied on a number of different bases: as a pound rate between 1693 and 1696, as a four shillings assessment supplemented by a poll tax in 1697 and, from 1698-1798, on the system whereby each county or borough was given a fixed sum to collect. In 1949 redemption became compulsory on property changing hands and in 1963 all unredeemed land tax was abolished.
The assessors for each county are listed in the annual Acts of Parliament, until 1798. The sums collected for the counties of London, and Middlesex (and the City of Westminster) appear, until at least 1760, to have been passed to the Chamber of London and subsequently to the Exchequer.
The hundred of Gore comprised the parishes of Edgware, Hendon, Kingsbury, Little Stanmore, Great Stanmore, Harrow and Pinner. The hundred of Spelthorne included Ashford, East Bedfont, Feltham, Hampton, Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, and Teddington.
The origins of the Justices of the Peace lie in the temporary appointments of 'conservators' or 'keepers' of the peace made at various times of unrest between the late twelfth century and the fourteenth century. In 1361 the 'Custodis Pacis' were merged with the Justices of Labourers, and given the title Justices of the Peace and a commission (see WJP). The Commission (of the Peace) gave them the power to try offences in their courts of Quarter Sessions, appointed them to conserve the peace (within a stated area), and to enquire on the oaths of "good and lawfull men" into "all manner of poisonings, enchantments, forestallings, disturbances, abuses of weights and measures" and many other things, and to "chastise and punish" anyone who had offended against laws made in order to keep the peace.
The justices were helped in their work by parish and court officials, and most particularly by the Clerk of the Peace who was responsible for the everyday administration off the court as well as maintaining a record of its work.
The cases which the justices originally dealt with were offences which could not be dealt with by the manorial court (misdemeanours), but which were less serious than those which went to the Assize Judges (felonies). Misdemeanours included breaches of the peace - assault, rioting, defamation, minor theft, vagrancy, lewd and disorderly behaviour, and offences against the licensing laws.
In 1388 a statute laid down that the court sessions should meet four times a year (hence quarter sessions): Epiphany, Easter, Trinity (midsummer) and Michaelmas (autumn) - two or more justices (one at least from the quorum) were to decide exactly where and when. The Middlesex justices were also empowered to try the more serious cases (including those from Westminster) under the Commissions of Oyer and Terminer and Gaol Delivery normally given to the Assize Judges, but these cases were heard at the Old Bailey Sessions House (see classes MJ/GB, OB).
The judicial process began even before the sessions opened with examinations being taken by the magistrates once the crime had been reported by the constable, injured party or a common informant. The accused could then be bailed to keep the peace or to appear at the next sessions, be remanded in gaol before a trial, or acquitted. Once the sessions had opened there was still an examination by a Grand Jury as to whether there was a case to answer, before the trial proper could get underway.
During the sixteenth century the work of the Quarter Sessions and the justices was extended to include administrative functions for the counties. These were wide ranging and included maintenance of structures such as bridges, gaols and asylums, to regulating weights, measures, prices and wages, and, probably one of their biggest tasks, enforcing the Poor Law. The dependence of the justices on officials like the sheriff (High Bailiff in Westminster), the constables, and the Clerk of the Peace to help them carry out their functions (judicial and administrative) cannot be underestimated. As their workload grew, particularly during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, more help was needed and there was an increase in the number of officers appointed for specific tasks, and committees for specific purposes were set up.
Another solution for dealing with increased judicial business was (by an Act of Parliament passed in 1819) to allow the justices to divide in order that two courts could sit simultaneously (see MJ/SB/B and MJ/SB/C). The Middlesex Criminal Justice Act of 1844 decreed that there should be at least two Sessions of the Peace each month, and also that a salaried assistant judge (a barrister of at least ten years experience in the Middlesex Commission) should be appointed. The bulk of the administrative work was carried out on one specific day during the court's sitting known as the County Day; apart from relevant records in the main sessions series' (WJ/O, WJ/SP, MJ/SP), there are uncatalogued records in the class WA. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, it was clear that the Quarter Session's structure was unable to cope with the administrative demands on it, and it lost a lot of functions to bodies set up specifically to deal with particular areas - the most important of these was the Poor Law, which was reformed in 1834. By the end of the century and the passing of the Local Government Act in 1889, which established county councils, the sessions had lost all their administrative functions. The judicial role of the Quarter Sessions existed until 1971, when with the Assize courts they were replaced by the Crown Courts.
Alongside the aforementioned functions of the Quarter Sessions, was its role as the place of the registration and deposit of official non-sessions records, which needed to be certified and available for inspection (see WR). Much of the routine judicial and administrative work was carried out by small groups of justices during the period covered by the existing records. This was done outside the main court sittings by the justices in their local areas - usually within a Hundred division. Special Sessions were held for purposes such as licensing alehouses (Brewster Sessions), or to organise the repair of the highways. More common were the meetings of one or two justices in what became known as petty sessions and which dealt with issues such as rating, granting of licences, the appointment of parish officers, and the examination of witnesses and suspects prior to the start of the next sessions. Increasingly here the justices also began to determine cases involving minor offences and exercise 'summary jurisdiction'. The inconvenience of using their own homes for this work, and the need for the public to know where magistrates would be available led to the setting up of a 'public office'. The first was in Bow Street, Westminster from about 1727. Following this example, in 1763 Middlesex set up three such offices in the divisions of Ossulstone Hundred nearest to the centre of London. Here two (paid - stipendary) justices would sit each day on an hourly rota basis. It was not until 1792 that the system was officially established by an Act of Parliament, when seven more public offices were set up in Westminster and Middlesex. The Bow Street office, (under John Fielding, and his brother Henry, the novelist, both magistrates for Westminster), had introduced paid constables as early as 1756, and each new public office from 1792 had six constables of their own; these were the forerunners of the Metropolitan Police as introduced by an Act of 1829. In 1828 all courts of Quarter Sessions were allowed to create within each county, divisions for petty sessions, thus formalising any earlier informal arrangements. Although there are occasional references to early petty and special session meetings in the main records (see WJ and MJ), the class of records concerned with such sessions (MSJ) covers mainly the nineteenth century.
The City of Westminster covered an area from Marylebone and Paddington in the north to Pimlico in the south, from Hyde Park and Knightsbridge in the west, to Covent Garden and Soho in the east. The Commission of the Peace to hold separate sessions to Middlesex was first issued in 1618, although the reasoning is unclear; perhaps the fact that Westminster became a city in 1540, and set up a Court of Burgesses in 1585 to deal with its minor cases and moral offences, may indicate a growing feeling of civic consciousness at this time. The Westminster sessions lasted until 1844, when they again became part of the Middlesex courts' sittings, held "by adjournment" several days after the end of the latter's own, when the court literally adjourned or moved to the Westminster sessions house. Thus the Westminster records eventually came into custody of Middlesex.
Prior to 1752 the Westminster sessions met in the Town Court House near Westminster Hall; thereafter in "a building of great antiquity" demolished at the beginning of the nineteenth century. In 1805 the Westminster Guildhall was built in Broad Sanctary, and enlarged in 1888 and 1889 before the Middlesex sessions moved there. Lack of space prompted the building next door of the Middlesex Guildhall in 1913.
The origins of the Justices of the Peace lie in the temporary appointments of 'conservators' or 'keepers' of the peace made at various times of unrest between the late twelfth century and the fourteenth century. In 1361 the 'Custodis Pacis' were merged with the Justices of Labourers, and given the title Justices of the Peace and a commission (see WJP).
The Commission (of the Peace) gave them the power to try offences in their courts of Quarter Sessions, appointed them to conserve the peace (within a stated area), and to enquire on the oaths of "good and lawfull men" into "all manner of poisonings, enchantments, forestallings, disturbances, abuses of weights and measures" and many other things, and to "chastise and punish" anyone who had offended against laws made in order to keep the peace.
The cases which the justices originally dealt with were offences which could not be dealt with by the manorial court (misdemeanours), but which were less serious than those which went to the Assize Judges (felonies). Misdemeanours included breaches of the peace - assault, rioting, defamation, minor theft, vagrancy, lewd and disorderly behaviour, and offences against the licensing laws.
In 1388 a statute laid down that the court sessions should meet four times a year (hence quarter sessions): Epiphany, Easter, Trinity (midsummer) and Michaelmas (autumn) - two or more justices (one at least from the quorum) were to decide exactly where and when. The Middlesex justices were also empowered to try the more serious cases (including those from Westminster) under the Commissions of Oyer and Terminer and Gaol Delivery normally given to the Assize Judges, but these cases were heard at the Old Bailey Sessions House (see classes MJ/GB, OB).
The judicial process began even before the sessions opened with examinations being taken by the magistrates once the crime had been reported by the constable, injured party or a common informant. The accused could then be bailed to keep the peace or to appear at the next sessions, be remanded in gaol before a trial, or acquitted. Once the sessions had opened there was still an examination by a Grand Jury as to whether there was a case to answer, before the trial proper could get underway.
During the sixteenth century the work of the Quarter Sessions and the justices was extended to include administrative functions for the counties. These were wide ranging and included maintenance of structures such as bridges, gaols and asylums, to regulating weights, measures, prices and wages, and, probably one of their biggest tasks, enforcing the Poor Law. The dependence of the justices on officials like the sheriff (High Bailiff in Westminster), the constables, and the Clerk of the Peace to help them carry out their functions (judicial and administrative) cannot be underestimated. As their workload grew, particularly during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, more help was needed and there was an increase in the number of officers appointed for specific tasks, and committees for specific purposes were set up.
Another solution for dealing with increased judicial business was (by an Act of Parliament passed in 1819) to allow the justices to divide in order that two courts could sit simultaneously (see MJ/SB/B and MJ/SB/C). The Middlesex Criminal Justice Act of 1844 decreed that there should be at least two Sessions of the Peace each month, and also that a salaried assistant judge (a barrister of at least ten years experience in the Middlesex Commission) should be appointed. The bulk of the administrative work was carried out on one specific day during the court's sitting known as the County Day; apart from relevant records in the main sessions series' (WJ/O, WJ/SP, MJ/SP), there are uncatalogued records in the class WA. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, it was clear that the Quarter Session's structure was unable to cope with the administrative demands on it, and it lost a lot of functions to bodies set up specifically to deal with particular areas - the most important of these was the Poor Law, which was reformed in 1834. By the end of the century and the passing of the Local Government Act in 1889, which established county councils, the sessions had lost all their administrative functions. The judicial role of the Quarter Sessions existed until 1971, when with the Assize courts they were replaced by the Crown Courts.
Alongside the aforementioned functions of the Quarter Sessions, was its role as the place of the registration and deposit of official non-sessions records, which needed to be certified and available for inspection (see WR). Much of the routine judicial and administrative work was carried out by small groups of justices during the period covered by the existing records. This was done outside the main court sittings by the justices in their local areas - usually within a Hundred division. Special Sessions were held for purposes such as licensing alehouses (Brewster Sessions), or to organise the repair of the highways. More common were the meetings of one or two justices in what became known as petty sessions and which dealt with issues such as rating, granting of licences, the appointment of parish officers, and the examination of witnesses and suspects prior to the start of the next sessions. Increasingly here the justices also began to determine cases involving minor offences and exercise 'summary jurisdiction'. The inconvenience of using their own homes for this work, and the need for the public to know where magistrates would be available led to the setting up of a 'public office'. The first was in Bow Street, Westminster from about 1727. Following this example, in 1763 Middlesex set up three such offices in the divisions of Ossulstone Hundred nearest to the centre of London. Here two (paid - stipendary) justices would sit each day on an hourly rota basis. It was not until 1792 that the system was officially established by an Act of Parliament, when seven more public offices were set up in Westminster and Middlesex. The Bow Street office, (under John Fielding, and his brother Henry, the novelist, both magistrates for Westminster), had introduced paid constables as early as 1756, and each new public office from 1792 had six constables of their own; these were the forerunners of the Metropolitan Police as introduced by an Act of 1829. In 1828 all courts of Quarter Sessions were allowed to create within each county, divisions for petty sessions, thus formalising any earlier informal arrangements. Although there are occasional references to early petty and special session meetings in the main records (see WJ and MJ), the class of records concerned with such sessions (MSJ) covers mainly the nineteenth century.
The City of Westminster covered an area from Marylebone and Paddington in the north to Pimlico in the south, from Hyde Park and Knightsbridge in the west, to Covent Garden and Soho in the east. The Commission of the Peace to hold separate sessions to Middlesex was first issued in 1618, although the reasoning is unclear; perhaps the fact that Westminster became a city in 1540, and set up a Court of Burgesses in 1585 to deal with its minor cases and moral offences, may indicate a growing feeling of civic consciousness at this time. The Westminster sessions lasted until 1844, when they again became part of the Middlesex courts' sittings, held "by adjournment" several days after the end of the latter's own, when the court literally adjourned or moved to the Westminster sessions house. Thus the Westminster records eventually came into custody of Middlesex.
Prior to 1752 the Westminster sessions met in the Town Court House near Westminster Hall; thereafter in "a building of great antiquity" demolished at the beginning of the nineteenth century. In 1805 the Westminster Guildhall was built in Broad Sanctary, and enlarged in 1888 and 1889 before the Middlesex sessions moved there. Lack of space prompted the building next door of the Middlesex Guildhall in 1913.
Until the sixteenth century prison was seen primarily as a place to remand before sentence, not as a place of punishment. From this date, houses of correction (or bridewells) were established in each county to house able-bodied vagrants, and also to reform them through the punishment of hard labour. Increasingly the justices sent petty offenders to these houses following their trials, and the overcrowding and poor conditions became notorious and widespread. The Westminster Bridewell was in Howick Place until 1664, from which date it moved to Tothill Fields and became known as the Westminster House of Correction. In 1834 this prison was replaced by a building in Francis Street, which in turn closed in 1877 when the inmates were transferred to the Millbank Penitentiary. There was also a prison in the Gatehouse of Westminster Abbey, at the western end of Tothill Street. Built in 1370 it had two gaols - one for clerics, and one for lay offenders, and was demolished in 1776-1777.
The Department of Education and Science was created in 1964. These plans were created by the Department and its predecessors in the course of their work.
Community Health Councils were established in England and Wales in 1974 "to represent the interests in the health service of the public in its district" (National Health Service Reorganisation Act, 1973). Often referred to as 'the patient’s voice in the NHS', each Community Health Council (CHC) served the public and patients in its local area by representing their interests to National Health Service (NHS) authorities and by monitoring the provision of health services to their communities.
CHCs were independent statutory bodies with certain legal powers. CHCs were entitled to receive information about local health services, to be consulted about changes to health service provision, and to carry out monitoring visits to NHS facilities. They also had the power to refer decisions about proposed closures of NHS facilities to the Secretary of State for Health. For this reason, CHCs were sometimes known as the ‘watchdogs’ of the NHS. The co-ordinated monitoring of waiting times in Accident and Emergency departments led to ‘Casualty Watch’ which gained national press coverage. Locally, many CHCs represented patients’ views by campaigning for improved quality of care and better access to NHS services, and by responding to local issues such as proposed hospital closures.
Each CHC had around 20 voluntary members from the local area. Half were appointed the local authority, a third were elected from voluntary bodies and the remainder were appointed by the Secretary of State for Health. Members met every month to six weeks and meetings were usually open to the general public. Guest speakers or guest attendees were often invited, particularly when a specific topic or issue was under discussion.
All CHCs employed a small number of paid office staff and some had shop-front offices, often on the high street, where members of the public could go for advice and information about local NHS services. CHCs published leaflets and guidance on a wide variety of topics from ‘how to find a GP’ to ‘how to make a complaint’.
Within the guiding principles and statutory duties of the legislation, CHCs developed organically in response to the needs of the communities they served and for this reason considerable variation can be found in the records of different CHCs.
Hammersmith and Fulham Community Health Council (CHC) began in 1974 as South Hammersmith Community Health Council. Members were appointed from the London Borough of Hammersmith and the London Borough of Hounslow as well as from voluntary organisations, the local authority and the regional health authority. The Council had a shop front office at 42 Fulham Palace Road.
South Hammersmith Community Health Council ceased to exist when Hammersmith and Fulham District Health Authority was created in the NHS Restructuring of 1982. A new CHC was formed to cover the area of Hammersmith and Fulham, named Hammersmith and Fulham CHC.
The Greenwich Workshop for the Blind, began as the Workshop for the Blind of Kent, opened in 1875 by Major-General PJ Bainbrigge, to provide training and employment for local blind men. The workshops were situated on Greenwich High Road, fronted by a shop in which the goods made by the blind were sold. These included household goods such as brooms, baskets, rugs and mattresses. Among the workshop's many customers were several of London's poor-law unions and hospitals, which purchased their mattresses from the shop.
The Workshop was administered by a committee until 1 April 1958 when it was taken over by the London County Council. The Council's services for the blind included the keeping of a register of all blind persons, home visiting, social and handicraft clubs, the teaching of handicrafts and the disposal of the finished products. In 1942 the Council had established a placement service for finding employment for blind people in war work. After the war the placement service was expanded and the Council took over the administration of the Greenwich Workshop as part of this service.
The Small Pox Hospital was founded on Windmill Street, Tottenham Court Road in 1746, and was later moved to the parish of Saint Pancras on the site of the present King's Cross Station. The institution was rebuilt in c 1793-1794 when it received patients from the Cold Bath Fields Hospital in Clerkenwell, a foundation originating in Islington in 1740.
The hospital moved from King's Cross to Highgate Hill in c 1846, and from there to Clare Hall, South Minns c 1895-1899. It was acquired by the Middlesex Districts Joint Small Pox Hospital Board c 1900-1910. In May 1911, the Local Government Board made an order permitting the admission to Clare Hall of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Under a special order of the Minister of Health in 1928, the Hospital became a Middlesex County Council Institution. This came into effect on 1 April 1929 and the Joint Board was dissolved. In 1948 on creation of the National Health Service, the hospital was transferred to the North West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. In 1949 non-tuberculosis patients were admitted for treatment. The hospital was closed in 1975.
Lambeth Hospital had its origins in two institutions both built and administered by Lambeth Board of Guardians. These were Renfrew Road Workhouse opened in 1871 and Lambeth Infirmary, opened in 1876 on an adjoining site, but with its main entrance in Brook Drive. By 1922 the Lambeth Guardians had an excess of accommodation for the able bodied poor and too little for the sick. Consequently they amalgamated the two institutions under the control of the medical superintendent and matron of the infirmary, which was renamed Lambeth Hospital. The Hospital now provided the following services and facilities - a lying-in ward (until 1922 accommodated in Renfrew Road Workhouse), an antenatal clinic, VD wards, two large observation wards, two weekly sessions by an ophthalmic surgeon, a pathological laboratory and radium and deep x-ray apparatus. The Lambeth Guardians not only purchased the necessary equipment, but also sent Dr George Stebbing on a tour of European capitals to study radiotherapy.
As a result of the 1929 Local Government Act, from 1930 Lambeth Hospital came under the control of the London County Council. The LCC sought to create an integrated hospital service for London, concentrating certain specialised departments in particular hospitals. Lambeth Hospital lost its observation wards, but the development of the Radiotherapy department was encouraged. Mr Stebbing was appointed Surgeon specialist and Medical Officer in charge of the radiotherapy department. A Cardio-Vascular Unit was formed at Lambeth Hospital under the direction of Lord Dawson of Penn with Mr Lawrence O'Shaughnessy and Dr H.E.M. Mansell as medical officers. In the early 1930's a Uterine Cancer Unit was transferred from the North Western Hospital to Lambeth Hospital with its Medical Director, Sir Comyns Berkeley, and Mr Arnold Walker. A few years later Mr Stebbing absorbed the unit into the Radiotherapy Department. The LCC built a Nurses' Home in 1936, provided a new Maternity Block in 1938, and completed a Pathology Block in 1940.
By 1939 Lambeth Hospital could accommodate 1,250 patients and was one of the three largest municipal hospitals in London. During the Second World War many air raid casualties were treated at the hospital, from which elderly, long term patients had been evacuated. Several bombs fell on the hospital killing ten members of staff and destroying two ward blocks, the kitchen, dining rooms and laundry. Three other ward blocks were badly damaged.
In 1948 Lambeth Hospital became part of the National Health Service administered by the South Western Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. It formed part of the Lambeth Group of hospitals, together with the South Western Hospital, South London Hospital for Women and Children, Annie McCall Maternity Hospital and from 1956, the Royal Eye Hospital. Money for the repair and replacement of war damaged buildings was, at first, scarce, but between 1960 and 1962 a new two storey block containing kitchens, dining rooms, and offices was constructed. In July 1964 the Lambeth Group of hospitals was dissolved. Lambeth Hospital became part of the Saint Thomas' Hospital Group, and then from 1974, part of the Saint Thomas' Health District (Teaching). In 1970 Lambeth Hospital was an acute, general hospital with 468 beds. A new twin operating theatre block had been completed in 1967 and a new Renal Unit opened in 1969. The hospital closed in 1976 on the opening of the new North Wing of Saint Thomas' Hospital. On part of the site of the hospital in Monkton Street, the Lambeth Community Care Centre was completed in 1985.
The Kirchner Convalescent Home was a gift to the Royal Waterloo Hospital in 1914 by Mr and Mrs Frederick J. Kirchner. The property was Sea Copse Hill, Wootton, Isle of Wight. The house stood in nine acres of land and was handed over to the Hospital fully furnished with beds, linen and household equipment. The house was sold in 1924 by the Board of Governors and the proceeds went towards general hospital purposes.
These prints and photographs form part of the Nightingale Collection deposited in the Greater London Record Office by the Nightingale School. They illustrate the life of Florence Nightingale and the work of the school of nursing, which she founded at Saint Thomas' Hospital in 1860. Many of the prints and photographs have been given to the Nightingale School by former 'Nightingales' and other benefactors. The collection is divided between the London Metropolitan Archives and the Florence Nightingale Museum at Saint Thomas' Hospital.
Saint John's House was founded in 1848 as a "Training Institution for Nurses for Hospitals, Families and the Poor". It was an Anglican religious community run by a Chaplain and Lady Superior, although the sisters and nurses took no vows. The records from 1848 to 1919 have been listed separately and this list should be consulted for the early history of the Institution.
In May 1920 the house at 12 Queen Square, Bloomsbury, was given to Saint Thomas' Hospital and two sisters from the Hospital took charge in April 1919. The institution was renamed Saint John's and Saint Thomas' House and was used as a centre for private nursing, the staff being composed of the remaining Saint John's House nurses, and those nurses who had been trained at Saint Thomas' Hospital and who wished to take up private nursing under the direction of the Hospital. Payments were made according to the fees earned with deduction for the expenses of the house.
The house was closed during the Second World War and the building was damaged by bombing. After the war, no residence was maintained for the private nurses but the organisation was continued from the Matron's Office at St Thomas' Hospital. The last remaining Saint John's and Saint Thomas' House nurses resigned in April, 1964.
The building itself was reopened in 1947 as a Night Nurses' Home and continued in that role until January 1967, when it was closed due to staffing difficulties.
Saint Thomas' House, initially known as the College House Extension, was built between 1925-1927 on a site in Lambeth Palace Road opposite Saint Thomas' Hospital, as a memorial to those connected with Saint Thomas' Hospital who died in the First World War. It provided accommodation and club facilities for medical students and house officers. During the Second World War several floors were occupied by hospital maids. The architect was Harold W. Currey.
This collection of prints, topographical notes and photographs relating to Saint Thomas' Hospital and other buildings of historical interest in Southwark was gathered together and researched by staff at the hospital before being deposited in 1970.
The Queen Mary Convalescent Auxiliary Hospital for sailors, soldiers and airmen who lost limbs in war service was founded in May 1915 from an idea by Mrs Gwynne Holford. Mr Kenneth Wilson had placed the stately home Roehampton House at the hospital's disposal, free of rent, but in 1920 the governors were able to purchase the house outright. Limb-makers factories and workshops soon grew up around the hospital, on the Roehampton Estate.
The Queen's Auxiliary Hospital, Sidcup was set up in 1917 by Mr Charles Kenderdine, one of the original founders of Queen Mary's Hospital, for the treatment of ex-servicemen with severe facial and jaw injuries. Close links between this hospital and Queen Mary's continued until 1930, when The Queen's Hospital was sold to the London County Council. Its patients were transferred to Queen Mary's Hospital.
The Ministry of Pensions began contributing to the hospital's costs in 1920, and in 1925 an agreement was entered into, whereby the ministry would bear the cost of major re-building works in return for the use of the hospital beds for any of its patients, except those suffering from tuberculosis or mental illness. The hospital's limbless patients still had priority treatment under this agreement, and the governors retained responsibility for the upkeep of all buildings and grounds on the estate. Also in 1925 the name of the hospital was changed to the Queen Mary (Roehampton) Hospital.
In 1939 a new artificial limb factory was opened at the hospital and plans were approved for an additional 550 beds. In the year 1938-1939, the number of war pensioners attending for artificial limbs totalled 10,987 combined with 355 civilians and 16,251 limbs were sent by post.
On the outbreak of World War II the Ministry of Pensions assumed overall responsibility of the hospital area of the estate. At this time the governors were running schemes which enabled civilians to be provided with artificial limbs, and agreements were made with the Railway Companies' Association and mine-workers' associations.
With the addition of 550 beds, the total now reached approximately 900. The Limb Fitting Centre and factory were expanded also, prompted by the memories of 40,000 men losing limbs during the First World War. The plan was for Queen Mary's to deal with amputees, fractures and facial injury cases. However, there were approximately half the number of amputees during the Second World War. Leon Gillis (QMH Consultant Surgeon, 1943-1967) summarised the reasons for this as follows:`Advances in surgical techniques, in chemotherapy and in the general management of any injury, better treatment of infection and the availability of blood transfusion' all helped to lower the levels of amputation. Techniques developed in the First World War, also played a significant role.
In addition to the expansion of the existing departments of Plastic Surgery, Neuro-surgery and General Medicine, a Department of Tropical Diseases was established at Roehampton. This was in response to the needs of men who had been stationed in countries where tropical diseases were endemic. Roehampton was to suffer considerably from bomb damage during the War, with Roehampton House being damaged in the autumn of 1940 and February 1944. In 1953 control of the limb-fitting centre was also passed to the Ministry of Pensions.
In 1960 Queen Mary's Hospital was acquired by the Westminster Hospital group, and in 1961 it became a National Health Service Hospital. The Hospital's academic connection with the Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School was emphasised by changing the name to Queen Mary's University Hospital. In 1982 the Roehampton Estate was sold to the NHS.
From 1974 to 1982 Queen Mary's Hospital came under the South West Thames Regional Health Authority and the Westminster Hospital Group (Teaching) Regional Health District. In 1982 the District Health Authority became Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton. On the 1st April 1993, Queen Mary's became part of the Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton NHS Trust. However, this was not to be the last change as, in 1998, Queen Mary's became the headquarters for the South West London Community NHS Trust. The same year saw the start of the reduction of acute provision on the Queen Mary's site.
Yarrow Convalescent Home at Broadstairs in Kent was purchased by the Westminster Hospital in May 1947.
The hospital later known as The Princess Beatrice Hospital was founded in 1887 as a voluntary hospital called the Jubilee Hospital to commemorate the jubilee of Queen Victoria. It was situated at the corner of Finborough Road and Old Brompton Road, then known as Richmond Road. There were 14 beds, this being increased later to 18 by the addition of a children's ward of 4 beds. The name "Jubilee" was at some time before 1910 changed to Fulham and Kensington General Hospital and in 1921 to The Kensington, Fulham and Chelsea General Hospital. In 1928 the number of beds was increased to 19. Work commenced on a new and bigger hospital in January 1930, and the foundation stone was laid by Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice. The name of the hospital was changed in 1931 to the Princess Beatrice Hospital. The new outpatient hall opened in December 1931, and the in-patient department in January 1932. In 1933 the Ladies Association was formed, with Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, as President, and the Marchionesses of Carisbrooke and Linlithgow as Vice Presidents. When the Health Service was inaugurated in 1948 the hospital was for two years attached to St George's Hospital, and on 1 August 1950 was transferred to the No.4 (Chelsea) Group Hospital Management Committee. The hospital was closed in July 1971 in order to convert it to an Obstetric Unit. It had been decided in the late 1960's that owing to the development of St Stephen's Hospital, the acute services at the Princess Beatrice Hospital would be transferred to St Stephen's Hospital as soon as the re-development of that hospital enabled this to happen. The hospital re-opened in 1972. With the re-organisation of the Health Service in 1974 it became part of the Kensington Chelsea and Westminster Area Health Authority, South District. The hospital was finally closed at the end of March 1978.
There was a proposal in 1899 by Miss Nott Bower, Matron of the Hospital, that a Babies' Home should be established for the children of the women who worked in the Laundry Hostel and elsewhere in the Hospital. A property known as "Shelford", 182 Devonshire Road, Honor Oak was purchased and the Home, known as "the Haven", was opened in November 1899. Miss E.H. Fullager was appointed Lady Superintendant in 1900. The decision was taken to close the Home at a meeting of the Council of the Children's Home on 15 January 1908, after the resignation of the Treasurer, Mrs Wells.
The Trained Nurses Institution was established by Edward Hearbord Lushington, Treasurer of Guy's Hospital, in June 1884. The original memorandum he issued stated that "The Governors of Guy's Hospital have sanctioned the establishment of a Nursing Institution in connection with the hospital, wholly independent of the Hospital for its support, though subject to Regulations to be approved by the Governors".
The objects of the Institution were to: provide the public with skilled nurses trained in the hospital and of good character, to supply the hospital with extra nurses when required in emergencies and remove the need to hire casual nursing staff, and to provide nursing free of charge to those in the locality who could not afford other care.
Subscriptions were invited and £968.10.0 were received for the establishment of the Institution, its furnishing and the training of nurses. It was hoped that the Institution would be self-supporting within the first year. In September 1884 the Institution opened its doors for the first time at No.12 St Thomas' Street. The expansion of the Institution led rapidly to a need for further accommodation, therefore nos. 14 and 10 St Thomas' Street were leased from the Governors of St Thomas' Hospital in 1890 and 1899; the Institution took applications from women aged 23-32 yrs. Applicants were interviewed by the Lady Superintendent; they then had to work a month's probation on the wards before commencing their training. They were trained in medical and surgical nursing for a period of three years on the wards of Guy's Hospital, after which they were required to engage in private nursing on account of the Institution for a further year and a half.
Between 1884-1892 the management of the Institution was in the hands of Edward Lushington, in consultation with the Matron of Guy's Hospital and the Lady Superintendent of the Institution. In 1892 an Indenture was signed that vested all the property, funds and monies of the Institution in a body of Trustees, however the day to day administration was still in the hands of Mr Lushington. It was not until 1896 that an amendment was made to the Indenture and to the management of the Institution. The Deed Poll of 1896 created a body of managers to govern the Institution, this was to consist of four ex-officio members, the President, the Treasurer and the Matron of Guy's, and the Lady Superintendent. There were also three representatives from the Governors and two representatives drawn from the Medical and Surgical staff of the Hospital.
The Trained Nurses Institution was also responsible for the maintenance of two maternity nurses. These women were paid by the Institution to nurse in their homes, women attended by students of Guy's during their confinement who were subsequently suffering complications. In 1900 a Midwifery Training School was established in No.10 St Thomas' Street with a resident midwife to prepare pupils for the examination of the Central Midwives Board. Nurses on the staff of the Institution took the course on completion of their four and a half years training. Other Guy's Nurse could pay to undertake the course, or were trained free of charge on the condition that they served on the staff for nine months after qualification. The Midwifery School began as a charity, and then became a source of income, as a means of attracting nurses to the Institution.
During the First World War a large number of nurses from the Institution saw active service. They were serving with the War Office (Civil Hospital Reserve), the British Red Cross and the St John's Ambulance Associations and other organisations. This was to have a direct impact on the future of the Institution. The shortage of staff due to the number participating in war nursing led to a decrease in receipts and increased expenditure. This resulted in the Institution operating at a loss. From as early as 1917 the minutes of the Board of Managers show the concern that was felt over the financial situation and discussions were taking place about the institution's future. On 10th November 1921 a resolution was passed unanimously by the Managers "That having regard to the financial position of the Institution and being satisfied the same cannot be continued without further loss and that it is advisable that the affairs of the Institution be wound up. The Managers acting in pursuance of the powers conferred upon them Hereby resolve that the Institution be wound up as from the 31st December next." The Institution was liquidated as from 31st January 1922 and the remaining nurses entered into private practice.
The British Lying-In Hospital was founded in November 1749 by a group of governors of the Middlesex Hospital who were dissatisfied with the resources allocated by that hospital to lying-in women. They purchased a house in Brownlow Street, Long Acre, and ordered it to be furnished with twenty beds. They decided that it should be staffed with "2 physicians who practise midwifery, 2 Surgeons who practise midwifery, a Chaplain, an Apothecary, a Secretary, a Matron well skilled in midwifery, and nurses and other inferior servants as shall be found necessary." Women were to be received in the last month of their pregnancy on production of a letter of recommendation from a subscriber, an affidavit of their marriage and their husband's settlement. No money was to be received from them. On the approach of any labour, the Matron was to send to the Physician or Surgeon whose week of attendance it was so that he might judge whether the case required his assistance or might be left to the Matron. The Matron was to deliver women in easy natural labour. From 1752 female pupils were admitted to the hospital for periods of six months in order to learn midwifery.
A General Meeting or Court of the Governors was held every quarter to make the laws and rules of the hospital. A committee of fifteen governors was chosen at each Quarterly General Court to meet at the hospital once a week to receive patients and to direct the ordinary affairs of the hospital. From 1806, except for the years 1811-1820, the General Court met half-yearly instead of quarterly. A new constitution was approved on 9 July 1869. This provided for an annual general meeting of governors who were to elect fifteen of their number to form a Board of Management that was to meet once a month. The Board was to appoint such standing committees as might be advisable including a ladies committee.
In 1756 the name of the hospital was changed from "The Lying-In Hospital for Married Women" to "The British Lying-In Hospital for Married Women". This was in order to avoid confusion with the City of London Lying-In Hospital founded in 1750 and the General Lying-In Hospital, later Queen Charlotte's Hospital, founded in 1751. In 1828 the hospital decided to start sending midwives to deliver outpatients in their own homes. In 1849 it moved to a new building in Endell Street, Holborn.
By the beginning of the 20th century the hospital was facing serious problems. Its buildings were unsatisfactory and old fashioned. It was in financial difficulties. The population of the area was decreasing and the teaching hospitals in the neighbourhood had opened maternity wards. Rather than rebuilding in the same area, King Edward's Hospital Fund advised amalgamation with another maternity hospital, preferably the Home for Mothers and Babies in Woolwich. Agreement between the two institutions was soon reached, though legal difficulties delayed the signing of the Charity Commission Scheme approving the amalgamation until 29 January 1915. The British Lying-In Hospital closed on 31 May 1913 and the Matron, nurses and other staff received gratuities in recognition of their service. The Home for Mothers and Babies was renamed the British Hospital for Mothers and Babies but otherwise continued as before under the guidance of its three founders, Miss Gregory, the honorary secretary, Mrs Parnell, the Matron and Miss Cashmore, the senior sister. The Charity Commission Scheme established a new constitution for the hospital, which was to be controlled by a Managing Committee. Six out of the first fourteen members of the Committee were nominated by the British Lying-In Hospital. The hospital buildings in Endell Street were sold. The money raised by the sale and other endowments assisted the British Hospital for Mothers and Babies to build specially designed and much larger premises in Samuel Street, Woolwich, opened in 1922.
The Council for the Promotion of the Higher Training of Midwives was formed in February 1904 after a series of preliminary meetings in 1903. Its object was to found a national training school for district midwives. Rather than amalgamating with an existing hospital, it was decided to open a new maternity hospital in Woolwich, at this time a part of London with an expanding population and very little hospital provision. The Home for Mothers and Babies was opened in Wood Street, Woolwich on 11 May 1905. The Council appointed an Executive Committee to manage the hospital. All matters of outside policy respecting growth of the hospital or those in any way arising from its work as a National Training School for District Midwives were to be reserved for the Council.
When the British Lying-In Hospital amalgamated with the Home for Mothers and Babies, the Charity Commission Scheme of 29 January 1915 established a new constitution for the hospital. This laid down that six out of the fourteen members of the Managing Committee were to be appointed by the Council for the Promotion of the Higher Training of Midwives on condition that the Council provided the hospital with not less than £400 a year. Miss Gregory described the special mission of the six Council members on the Committee as being:- "(a) to safeguard the higher training of midwives, zealously opposing any lowering of the standard, (b) to demand that the training school was used primarily for those intending to work among the poor rather than the rich - even if higher fees were obtainable from the latter and (c) to resist any effort that might be made in the future to admit medical students as pupils since the training of midwife pupils would infallibly suffer in consequence".
In 1938 the Council decided to terminate its existence. It had failed to raise £400 for the hospital for the last nine years and it felt that its aims and objects were identical with those of the hospital.
Sydney Street Chapel had origins in a group which met under Reverend Josiah Viney at a schoolroom in Bonner Street in 1844. They moved to Morpeth Street in 1845 and Sydney Street, Globe Town, in 1850. Worshippers were entirely 'working people' and included most of the women at the industrial home in Homerton, to which minister Benjamin Woodyard was attached. The Chapel was registered for Congregationalists in 1861 and again when rebuilt to seat 370 in 1865. The church closed in 1901.
From: 'Bethnal Green: Protestant Nonconformity', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 228-240.
Victoria Park Congregational Church was registered in 1865 at an iron chapel opened in 1864. A new building was constructed at the south-west junction of Approach and Bonner Roads, seating 2,000, in 1869. The church had the highest Congregational attendance in Bethnal Green in 1886, when 885 attended morning service and 953 attended in the evening, and in 1903, when 412 attended in the morning and 625 in the evening. The Church life was vigorous, including Sunday schools at Victoria Hall and Twig Folly, free concerts, and work among poor, missions, and ragged schools. Labour leader Benjamin Tillett (d. 1943), was librarian in the 1880s. The building was damaged in 1940 and closed in 1953. The site was acquired by neighbouring Parmiter's school.
From: 'Bethnal Green: Protestant Nonconformity', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 228-240.
In 1926, Linden Grove Church, Peckham Rye, being without a minister, joined together with Christ Church Congregational Church, Peckham High Street, the new combined church taking the name Church of the Strangers. This arrangement came to an end in 1927; the church in Linden Grove reverted to its former name, and that in Peckham High Street became the Church of the Strangers. Marriages of the combined church were performed in the Linden Grove Church.
Upper Clapton Congregational Church on Upper Clapton Road was founded in 1815. When the Congregational and Presbyterian Churches merged in 1972, it became Upper Clapton United Reformed Church.
The first Independent [Congregational] congregation in Isleworth was registered in 1798. A place of worship for Congregationalists is mentioned in 1831, and in 1849 the present chapel at the corner of Twickenham Road and Worton Road was opened. A British school was attached to it from 1840 to the eighties.
From: 'Heston and Isleworth: Protestant nonconformity', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington (1962), pp. 131-133.
Early in 1910 decline in local membership obliged the congregation of Craven Hill Church, Lancaster Gate, to decide to dispose of the church and school buildings and to erect a new church elsewhere. A meeting was held in the Craven Hill Vestry in March 1911, but in September of the same year was held in the temporary church in Wrentham Avenue, Brondesbury. At the latter meeting the request of 22 members of the Kensal Rise Congregational Church to unite in fellowship was accepted. The church closed in 1971.
A Methodist circuit is normally a group of churches in a local area served by a team of ministers. A minister will have pastoral charge of one or more churches, but will preach and lead worship in different local churches in the circuit, along with local preachers. The arrangements for leading worship in a circuit are drawn up in a quarterly Plan.
Hugh Price Hughes a Wesleyan Minister in London founded the West London Mission in 1887 as part of the Forward Movement in Methodism which stressed that faith had to be expressed in social and political as well as personal life. The Inaugural meeting of the then West Central Mission was on 21st October 1887 with the Sermon at St. James' Hall, Piccadilly preached by C.H. Spurgeon. The West London Mission remained at St. James' Hall which was a popular Concert Hall, until 1905 when it was demolished to form the Piccadilly Hotel. The Mission moved to Exeter Hall, another concert hall, in the Strand.
In 1906 the Methodist Conference gave the Mission its own building, the Wesleyan Chapel at Great Queen Street. The building was later condemned by the LCC and the Mission were temporarily housed in the Lyceum Theatre, while on Great Queen Street at the old site a new place of worship, Kingsway Hall, was under construction. Kingsway Hall opened in 1912 and enjoyed nearly 70 years of occupation until it was sold in the eighties after the amalgamation of the Kingsway Circuit and Hinde Street; the Mission returned to the West End to Thayer Street/Hinde Street.
In the early days, much of the day to day work went on in smaller chapels and halls in the middle of slum areas where social needs were great. These buildings such as Craven Hall at Fouberts Place were used for a wide variety of activities not just devotional but social, education and welfare. However, this use of smaller halls was dropped after the First World War in favour of the new Kingsway Hall premises.
Since its beginning the West London Mission has been involved with social work. One of its first services offered was a Crèche. There were also job registries and men's social department catering for the unemployed, dispensaries and free surgeries, a poor man's lawyer service, a Home of Peace for the Dying, a home for homeless girls - The Winchester House, and a clothing store. In the 1920s and 1930s the social work of the West London Mission expanded. They set up hostels for abandoned mothers and for girls in London without jobs and in 1923 a Mission Maternity Hospital was established. The social work continued and now includes St. Luke's and St. Mary's Hostels for men and women, Emerson Bainbridge House for young offenders and the Katherine Price Hughes house set up in 1937 and which now provides accommodation for men and women on probation and bail.
Another aspect of the work of the Mission was Open Air Ministry. There were open air services on the streets every evening and in Hyde Park on Sundays which included the Mission brass band. One of the most well known open air preachers was the Reverend Lord Donald Soper whose outdoor work began in 1927 at Tower Hill and in 1942 at Speakers' Corner.
The Mission now has its home at 19 Thayer Street.
The Stanhope Street Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was situated near the Hampstead Road, north of Euston and near Regent's Park. It was part of the West London Mission.
The New North Road Chapel was situated in Hoxton, Hackney.
The Wilson Street Chapel was in the First London Circuit between 1857 and 1864. It was situated off Finsbury Square in the City of London. It served the Welsh Wesleyan Methodist community.
A Methodist circuit is normally a group of churches in a local area served by a team of ministers. A minister will have pastoral charge of one or more churches, but will preach and lead worship in different local churches in the circuit, along with local preachers. The arrangements for leading worship in a circuit are drawn up in a quarterly Plan. There has been much reorganisation as chapels closed and circuits were altered; for further details and names and dates of circuits, contact the Society of Cirplanologists who collect Circuit plans.
The Reverend Alexander McAulay founded the Bow Road Methodist Church (ACC/1850/11) in 1861.
The Fernhead Road Methodist Church, also known as the Trinity Methodist Church, was founded in 1885. It was a Wesleyan Methodist Church. It is situated in Maida Vale, Westminster.
Shortly after the foundation of Methodism by John Wesley, he concluded that he needed a permanent base from which to preach and convert. He founded a chapel to the east of the City of London, but this soon fell in to disrepair. In 1778 he built a new and more permanent chapel on the City Road, which still stands today. Wesley's Chapel has been altered in some ways but was restored after a major fund raising campaign in the 1970s, and re-opened in 1978 in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh.
Wesley's House was built by Wesley in 1779. It was Wesley's winter home and also provided a home for the preachers of the Chapel, their families and servants. The house is now open to visitors and contains many of John Wesley's belongings and furniture, including his electrical machine, his study chair and his small Prayer Room.
In 1885 the Wesleyan Methodist Church established its first Mission at Saint George's Church, Cable Street, Shadwell, with the Reverend Peter Thompson as Superintendent. The Church aimed to combat the poverty and squalor of the East End of London with a combination of evangelism and social work. The Mission at Saint George's rapidly expanded and new Missions were opened at Stepney, Mile End, Bethnal Green and Tower Hill. Following the foundation of the welfare state after the Second World War the Mission shifted the focus of its social work. Saint George's was converted into a centre for the care of homeless men.
A Methodist circuit is normally a group of churches in a local area served by a team of ministers. A minister will have pastoral charge of one or more churches, but will preach and lead worship in different local churches in the circuit, along with local preachers. The arrangements for leading worship in a circuit are drawn up in a quarterly Plan. There has been much reorganisation as chapels closed and circuits were altered; for further details and names and dates of circuits, contact the Society of Cirplanologists who collect Circuit plans.
The Deptford Circuit was Wesleyan Methodist. It included churches in Rotherhithe, Woolwich, Dartford, Greenwich, Peckham, Bromley and Plumstead.