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The church of Saint James was constructed in the 1850s, while the parish was assigned in 1854. A new church building was constructed in 1957-58.

A place of worship at Tooting Graveney is mentioned in the Doomsday Book. The small Saxon church was demolished after a new Saint Nicholas church was erected a little to the west of the old church in 1833. It was designed by T.W. Atkinson with later additions 1873-1875.

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.

Christ Church was constructed between 1855 and 1856 to the designs of architects Tress and Chambers. It is part of the Eltham and Mottingham Deanery and the Woolwich Episcopal Area.

Saint Francis, Eltham was originally a daughter church of Saint John the Baptist, Eltham and was used as a mission church until 1962. Between 1946 and 1953, it appears to have been known as Talbot Settlement Number 2 and was located in a temporary structure in Hengist Road.

In 1953, a permanent church, designed by Ralph Covell, opened at the corner of Sibthorpe Road and Hengist Road.

Between 1981 and 2006, the church was leased to Horn Park Community Association.

From 2006, the church was used by the parish of Saint Saviour, Eltham.

Saint John's was constructed in 1845-47. The benefice was united with Saint Mary's (P97/MRY) in 1939 and the church was closed. It was destroyed by enemy action during the Second World War.

The church of Saint James was constructed in 1855. It was assigned a parish in 1878. The church was closed in the 1960s and later sold and developed as flats. The parish was united with Saint John the Baptist (P97/JNB1) to form the parish of Saint John with Saint James and Saint Paul, Plumstead.

The church of Saint Luke was constructed in 1906 to 1907 to the designs of architect Temple Moore. It is in the Deanery of Eltham and Mottingham; the Archdeaconry of Lewisham and Greenwich and the Episcopal Area of Woolwich.

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.

Saint Thomas' was built in 1849 to 1850, to designs by Joseph Gwilt. The style is Romanesque. In 1982 the church was remodelled by Thomas Ford and Partners.

Saint Thomas' is situated within the borough of Greenwich. Its parish now lies partly in Greenwich and partly in Woolwich, although the greater part is in Greenwich. The parish was formed from parts of the old parishes of Woolwich and Charlton; since the majority come from Woolwich, the parish received the designation 'Saint Thomas, Woolwich'. The Western edges of the old parish of Woolwich, in addition to the whole of the old parish of Charlton, now lie in the Borough of Greenwich, but Saint Thomas' modern designation is 'St Thomas, Old Charlton'.

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.

Before the 1840s children received the same treatment in the courts as adults. Changes began tentatively in 1847, when the Juvenile Offenders Act permitted children not over the age of 14 and charged with simple larceny, to be tried and sentenced by two lay justices of the peace or one stipendiary magistrate. This was an alternative to the usual full court hearing by indictment before a jury (see MSJ/CY series in the Middlesex Sessions records).

The Summary Jurisdiction Act 1879 enlarged the provisions of the 1847 Act. Offenders under the age of 16 could be tried summarily for nearly all indictable offences. This reduced the number of juveniles in prison and simplified the trial process. However, juveniles still had to mix with adult defendants and prisoners.

The 1908 Children Act at last established separate juvenile courts. Cases concerning persons under 16 were to be heard in a separate room or building and at separate times from adult cases. The Act authorised the establishment by Order-in-Council of separate juvenile courts for the Metropolitan Police District.

An Order-in-Council, 2 December 1909, established six juvenile courts to cover the then fourteen police court districts. These courts were: Bow Street, Clerkenwell, Tower Bridge, Westminster, Old Street, and Greenwich. These courts were presided over by a Metropolitan stipendiary magistrate sitting alone.

From 1920, under the Juvenile Courts (Metropolis) Act, the Metropolitan Magistrate was to be joined by two lay justices (one to be a woman) drawn from a panel nominated by the Home Secretary. From the mid-1930s the juvenile courts became largely the preserve of lay justices.

In the early 1930s all the Metropolitan juvenile courts were administered from Bow Street. A Chief Clerk was subsequently appointed to deal solely with juvenile courts and was given full-time staff. This centralised administration still continues.

The original six courts, after 1909, changed names and location several times and were gradually increased. These changes can be traced in the Post Office Directories in the History Library.

Under the Administration of Justice Act 1964 and the London Government Act 1963 a unified system of magistrates' courts for Inner London was established, of which the juvenile courts formed part. At least one juvenile court was established for each of the new London Boroughs.

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.

Lambeth Magistrates Court (Renfrew Road, Lambeth), was formerly known as Lambeth Police Court.

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.

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.

West London Magistrates Court:
This court was originally opened in Kensington (1 Church Court) in approximately 1841. It was known as the Kensington Police Court and administered jointly with Wandsworth Police Court. It was moved to Brook Green Lane, Hammersmith in 1843 and became known as the Hammersmith Police Court. In 1859 it moved to the junction of Vernon Street and Southcombe Street, West Kensington. In 1889 it was administratively separated from Wandsworth and became known as the West London Police Court.

In 1996 both the old West London and Walton Street Magistrates' Courts closed and their resources amalgamated to form the West London Magistrates Court now residing in Talgarth Road.

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.

The church of Saint Philip was situated on Granville Square, Clerkenwell. It was designed by Edward Buckton Lamb between 1831 and 1833. After only 25 years the church had been undermined by the building of the Metropolitan Railway and had to be repaired, re-opening in 1860. The last marriage register was closed in 1936 on the union of the parish with the Church of the Holy Redeemer, Exmouth Market.

The church of Holy Trinity on Grays Inn Road was designed by Sir James Pennethorne and erected in 1837. It seated 1500 people. Restored in 1880, it reopened in 1881. It was closed during the 1914-1918 war but was in use again by 1921; before finally closing in 1928. Holy Trinity parish was created from the parish of Saint Andrew, Holborn in 1839. The parish and benefice were united with Saint George the Martyr, Queen Square in 1931. Holy Trinity church was closed with the intention of demolishing the church and selling the site.

St Mary's Church, Greenwich, was demolished in 1936.

Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, was born in 1566. He was educated at Cambridge before joining the Middle Temple. In 1588 he went to Ireland and took up a post as deputy escheator, with the work of identifying, valuing and leasing lands confiscated following an uprising in Munster. He profited from the position, helping his friends and himself to valuable portions of land. His dealings caused scandal and he narrowly avoided arrest, returning to London in 1598. Once the controversy had abated and his supporters were in power, he purchased the lands of Sir Walter Ralegh in Munster, so that his estates now amounted to over 42,000 acres. In July 1603 Boyle married Catherine Fenton, the daughter of one of his patrons, and had 7 sons and 8 daughters. After his marriage he concentrated on the management of his estates and avoiding further political scandal. He was created Lord Boyle, Baron of Youghal, in 1616 and Earl of Cork in 1620. He is thought to have paid £4500 for these honours. In 1629 he was appointed Lord Justice of Ireland. He died in 1643.

Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork, was born in 1694 in Burlington House, Piccadilly [now the home of the Royal Academy], the only son of Charles Boyle, the 2nd Earl of Burlington and 3rd Earl of Cork. He inherited his fathers' title and estates on the latter's death in 1704, including Burlington House in London, a subruban estate at Chiswick, a country seat at Londesborough in East Riding, Yorkshire, and Lismore Castle with extensive estates in Waterford and Cork. In 1715 he was made lord treasurer of Ireland and governor of county Cork. He was also vice admiral of York and lord lieutenant of the East and West Ridings. In 1729 he was assigned to the Privy Council of England; but resigned all his offices in 1733. However Burlington was more noted for his activities as an architect and patron of the arts. He was a fellow of the Royal Society and the Society of Antiquaries. He practiced architecture, adopting a Palladian classical style for his own villa at Chiswick and the villas and town houses of his friends and family. He was a great patron of music and literature, often allowing poets such as Alexander Pope and musicians such as Handel to stay at Burlington House. Burlington died in 1753. His sole heir was his daughter Charlotte, who was married to William Cavendish, Duke of Devonshire. The family holdings in York and Ireland passed to the Devonshire family.

The Fairfax family were established by Thomas Fairfax, the first Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1560-1640), who built a mansion house at Denton, near Ilkley, Yorkshire.

Information from: Toby Barnard, 'Boyle, Richard, first earl of Cork (1566-1643)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2008 and Pamela Denman Kingsbury, 'Boyle, Richard, third earl of Burlington and fourth earl of Cork (1694-1753)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 .

Phillips and Son, solicitors and commissioners of oaths, are listed in the 1865-1875 Post Office London law directories as James Phillips and Henry Druit Phillips, operating as Phillips and Son, with offices at 11 Abchurch Lane. They also acted as vestry clerks for City of London churches Saint Mary Woolnoth and Saint Mary Woolchurch Haw. It is unclear when 'Neal' joined the partnership.

The latter documents in this collection (Q/PSN/007 onwards) came from a solicitor's office at 14 Essex Street, Strand. This office was occupied c.1800 by Robert Blake, after 1856 by Edward and Henry Tylee, and before 1873 by E. and H. Tylee, Wickham and Moberly.

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. The Commission of the Peace gave them the power to try offences in their courts of Quarter Sessions which the manorial courts were not able to deal with (misdemeanours), but which were less serious than those which went to the Assize Judges (felonies). It 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.

Gradually they took over the work of the sheriff in the county. During the sixteenth century their powers and duties increased, as the Tudor monarchs found them a cheap and effective way of enforcing their will across the country. Likewise, the new middle classes saw the post as a means to gain local prestige and influence (despite the arduous and costly duties) and there was regular pressure 'from below' to increase numbers in the Commission. Consequently, at this time, the numbers on the commission rose from an average of 8 to around 30 to 40 by the middle of the sixteenth century. Not until the mid-nineteenth century did the post lose its desirability and numbers begin to drop off. It was a system that recognised local social structures - the natural wish to regulate local law and order, and men wanting to be judged by other local men. The justices have often, aptly, been described as 'the rulers of the county', and the crown had to be careful to choose men whose standing would not turn them into faction leaders. Equally, the justices' unpaid status ensured that the crown could not take advantage of them and act despotically, and they retained some local independence. Justices needed to be of sufficient local status to exercise authority in a judicial and administrative capacity, and to supervise the parish officials who did so much of the actual law enforcement. Men were therefore appointed from the ranks of the local gentry, most without legal training. To some extent their unpaid status excluded men from the lower orders who had to work and earn a wage.

As early as 1439 a statute introduced a property qualification for each prospective justice (MJP/Q). Many names on the commission were purely honorific, not all listed had to attend every court, and in practice only a minority did so. Only those named as being of the quorum (who possessed knowledge of the law) had to appear.

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.

During the eighteenth century as the sessions' work increased in amount and variety, committees were set up and officials were appointed for specific tasks. The County Treasurer was one such official, whose post developed from the treasurers appointed to keep the funds for which rates were periodically raised, such as the repair of bridges, maimed soldiers and maintenance of the house of correction. Sometimes one person did have control of several funds - in Middlesex, for example, in 1726 Sir Daniel Dollin was made general treasurer of the County; and in 1731 John Higgs was formally appointed general treasurer to receive funds raised by any public rates, to be paid an annual salary of twenty-five pounds, and to keep an account book for annual audit and storage by the Clerk of the Peace. The County Rate Act of 1739 directed that one general rate should be levied instead of several, and that it should be paid to the treasurer appointed by the sessions. Under this Act, Westminster had no separate rate from Middlesex, meaning that the latter's county treasurer was responsible for the City's accounts also. Records of the work of these officials may be found not only in the main body of sessions records (MJ, WJ, WR), but also in their own series: WC - Clerk of the Peace; MF - County Treasurer; MS - County Surveyor; TC - records of offices held by county officers outside sessions 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.

Brent Community Health Council in its final incarnation was created in 1995. The area had formerly been served by Parkside Community Health Council. Parkside CHC was created around the same time that Parkside District Health Authority was created in 1988 through the amalgamation of the Paddington & North Kensington and the Brent District Health Authorities. The CHCs appear to have amalgamated also, Paddington & North Kensington CHC combining with Brent CHC to create Parkside CHC. In 1990 Parkside District was enlarged through the addition of a part of the City of Westminster from the abolished Bloomsbury District. Parkside District Health Authority was abolished in 1993 and replaced by Brent & Harrow District Health Authority and Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster District Health Authority. With the abolition of the Parkside District Health Authority, Parkside CHC was wound up. In the Brent & Harrow District Health Authority area it was replaced by Brent CHC. In the Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster District Health Authority area Parkside CHC was replaced by Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster CHC (see LMA/4750).

Community Health Councils in England were abolished in 2003 as part of the ‘NHS Plan (2000)’.

Non-profit organisation supporting member-nominated trustees, directors and employee representatives of both private and public-sector UK pension schemes, with registered address at 90 Fenchurch Street, City of London. Formed in response to feedback and comments from member nominees’ desire to build a community to liaise with other professional and share experiences, the organisation was launched in 2010 with the support of Pitmans Trustees Limited. The first meeting was held on September 2010 and was attended by firms including Marks and Spencer, Aegon and Kasbank.

The firm was established in 1896 as an amalgamation of several companies - Wholesale and Retail Grocers, Tea Dealers and Blenders, Provision Dealers, Wine and Spirit and Beer Merchants and General Purveyors previously run by A. J Cave, A.J. and C.H. Cave, J and Alfred Austin and James McCabe. The original board of directors consisted of A.J. Cave, C.H. Cave, Alfred Austin, Charles Stamp, E Underwood, James McCabe and E.J. Mansfield. The stores (including the Eastbourne store pictured in LMA/4758/C/02/002) held a range of goods including fish, meat, green groceries, spirits and hardware. A range of Cafés on the Kent and Sussex Coast lines opened from 1896 onwards. The idea originated from C.H. Cave who opened the first tea and coffee shop in Brighton. By 1931, however, the decision was made to focus on becoming a 'High-class Grocers'; instead of acquiring more stores, the company would expand and modernise the existing stores and cafes (see LMA/4758/B/01/002). The company’s registered offices were at Idol Lane, Eastcheap, City of London (until 1931); then at Seeay House, 34/40 Eastdown Park, Lewisham (1931 until after 1957).

At its height, Austin Cave Grocers had over fifty branches all over South-East London, North-East London, Kent and Surrey as well as cafés in many major South Coast resorts such Deal in Kent and, St Leonards-on-Sea and Hastings in Sussex. In 1956 the company could boast that ‘2600 tons of food are delivered from warehouses to branches per year’ (see LMA/4758/B/02/001) while ‘Town and Country Life’ suggested in the 1920s that ‘all motorists and other travellers should make note of the Cave’s Cafés’ (see LMA/4758/B/01/001).

From the beginning to his death in 1935, Charles Stamp was a leading figure: as director, secretary and chairman. He was succeeded by his son, Charles Alfred Stamp who was subsequently also succeeded as chairman by his elder son Barry Hartnell Stamp. Barry Hartnell Stamp was the last managing director as the company was taken over by Burton, Son and Sanders in 1963. The company was sold again in 1966 to Moores Stores and the name Cave Austin disappeared soon after. For more information see the company history ‘Sixty Years of Trading’ (LMA/4758/B/02/001).

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.

The Royal Waterloo Hospital was founded in 1816 by John Bunnell Davis as the Universal Dispensary for Children. The name was changed in 1821 to the Royal Universal Dispensary for Children. It occupied premises at St Andrew's Hill, Doctor's Commons, in the City of London. Between 1823 and 1824 a new building was erected on the corner of Waterloo Bridge Road and Stamford Street in Lambeth. It was intended to admit in-patients and consequently the Institution was renamed the Royal Universal Infirmary for Children. Unfortunately John Bunnell Davis died suddenly before the new building was completed. With his death the hospital lost some of its influential supporters and found itself heavily burdened with debt. The plan to admit in-patients had to be postponed.

The name of the institution was again altered in 1843 to the Royal Infirmary for Children and in 1852 to the Royal Infirmary for Children and Women. This second change was as the result of the receipt of an annual bequest of £450 from the Hayles Estate on condition that the hospital admitted in-patients and treated women. The first in-patients entered the hospital in 1856. Further changes of name took place on the extension of the hospital in 1875, when the title Royal Hospital for Women and Children was adopted, and in 1903, when on the rebuilding of the Hospital the name of the Royal Waterloo Hospital for Children and Women was chosen.

In 1948 the hospital became part of the National Health Service as one of the Saint Thomas' Hospital Group, providing beds for children, general medical and surgical, skin and psychiatric patients. It was also used for the training of medical students. The Royal Waterloo Hospital closed on 27th July 1976.

Saint Thomas' Hospital was founded in the early part of the 12th Century as the infirmary of the Augustinian Priory of St Mary Overy and was run by the 11 brothers and sisters of the monastery. It had 40 beds for the poor including the 'sick and the merely needy'. The exact date of foundation is uncertain but tradition says that the priory was founded about 1106 - by 1215 it was being described as 'ancient'. It is dedicated to Saint Thomas the Martyr, a name that cannot have been assumed until after the canonisation of Saint Thomas Becket in 1173, three years after his death. Following a disastrous fire in 1212, the priory and the hospital developed quite separately. The site opposite the priory in Long Southwark (later known as Borough High Street) was acquired by the hospital in 1215 and occupied until 1862. Its position is still indicated by St Thomas' Street and by Saint Thomas' Church, until recently used as the Chapter House of Southwark Cathedral. Little documentary evidence remains to tell of life in the hospital between 1215 and its suppression with other monasteries in 1540. Treatment was a medley of pseudo-science and old wives' remedies.

The early fifteenth century was marked by the opening of a new ward, the gift of Richard Whittington, Lord Mayor of London (1397, 1406 and 1419). 'The noble merchant, Richard Whittington, made a new chamber with 8 beds for young women that had done amiss, in trust of a good amendment. And he commanded that all the things that had been done in that chamber should be kept secret for he would not shame no young women in no wise, for it might be cause of their letting {i.e. hindering} of their marriage.'

Henry VIII dissolved the Hospital in 1540, despite pleas from the City to allow it to take over control. It was described as a 'bawdy' house possibly because the Master was accused of immorality, or because it treated many of Southwark's prostitutes and their clients for their venereal diseases. At this time there had been forty patients, but the hospital was to remain empty for eleven years until a petition to Edward VI led to it being refounded in 1552 and rededicated to Thomas the Apostle as Becket had been decanonised. The hospital grew in size and reputation. At the end of the 17th century the hospital and the adjoining Saint Thomas' Church were largely rebuilt by Thomas Cartwright (Master Mason to Christopher Wren at Saint Mary-le-Bow). In 1822 part of the herb garret above the church was converted into a purpose built operating theatre for female patients. This strange situation resulted from the fact that the female surgical ward abutted the garret. Previously operations had taken place on the ward.

The rebuilding of London Bridge between 1824 and 1831 led to alterations within the hospital. Borough High Street was realigned further to the west and on a higher level. This resulted in the demolition of two old wings of the hospital, built by Thomas Guy and Mr Frederick. These were replaced by new north and south wings built between 1840 and 1842; these wings stood on much higher ground than the rest of the hospital and it was therefore intended that the whole hospital should be modernised, starting with the rebuilding of the main entrance.

In 1859 Florence Nightingale became involved with Saint Thomas' setting up on this site her famous nursing school, the Nightingale Training School. This started with fifteen probationers and grew rapidly. Instruction during the course was mainly practical, with the Probationers working in the hospital wards under close supervision. Considerable emphasis was placed on high moral character. At the end of the year, if they were approved, they were entered on the Register of Certified Nurses, and employment was found for them.

It was about this time that Parliament gave permission for the railway from Greenwich to be extended from London Bridge across the River Thames to Charing Cross. This extension was to pass within half a metre of the north surgical block of the Hospital and despite protests from the governors went ahead. The only solution for the Hospital was to move elsewhere. Florence Nightingale undertook a statistical survey that suggested that as the majority of the Hospital's patients came from outside the immediate area a move would have little significant effect. The Governors decided to sell the hospital and its site to the South-Eastern Railway Company and seek a new location. The Hospital closed in June 1862 and found temporary accommodation in the old Surrey Gardens Music Hall at Newington. A suitable permanent site was found at Stangate in Lambeth where work began in 1865. On 21 June 1871 Queen Victoria opened the new hospital. In the years immediately after the opening of the hospital the financial situation was such that it became necessary to admit private, paying patients in order to increase the hospital's revenue and meet its running costs.

The turn of the century saw a number of advancements in the running of the hospital including the introduction of electric lighting throughout the hospital in both theatres and wards. It was at this time that the first diagnostic work was done with x-rays and experiments were taking place in the use of x-rays in treating inoperable cancers. However this expansion in the work of the hospital's work put pressure on accommodation that was already over subscribed by 1891. The medical school was allotted money for building work to build a much needed extension. Other building projects were instituted but again the problems of financing the improvements meant there was a continuing shortage of beds and operating facilities.

During the First World War the hospital lost many members of staff to military service and as a result had to restrict the services offered to civilians. Two hundred beds were put aside for the treatment of sick and wounded men from the armed forces. On August 16th 1915 the military section of the hospital became the 5th London (City of London) General Hospital, the staff were given commissions and the nurses enrolled in the City of London Territorial Force Nursing Service. The 5th London General was closed on March 31st 1919, but the hospital continued to be overwhelmed with work in the aftermath of the war.

The inter-war years saw the reform of the scheme used for training nurses, this was undertaken by Miss Alicia Lloyd Still and was based upon the syllabus of the General Nursing Council. Miss Lloyd Still introduced an organised programme of lectures and had proper lecture rooms installed to replace the need to have classes in the nurses dining-room. This period also saw the donation of large sums of money to the hospital for specific purposes with the result that a number of laboratories were founded to expanded the research facilities available at the hospital and further accommodation was provided for the treatment of patients. However the finances of the hospital were as ever under-funded.

The Second World War saw the hospital involved in direct action. From 1940 the hospital buildings were heavily bombed and much damage and destruction occurred. The hospital was allotted to Sector VIII as the centre of a scheme to provide medical care for injured servicemen. Two hundred beds were again set aside for use by the military and 130 beds were retained for civilian use. Such staff as were not needed at the hospital were sent to work in outer areas, and a basement operating theatre was established. Once the bombing began conditions at the hospital became increasingly difficult and most of the staff and patients were evacuated to Hydestile near Godalming where the Australians were evacuating a temporary hospital. The first patients were admitted on April 17th 1941 and it remained in operation throughout the war and afterwards while rebuilding work was taking place in Lambeth, finally closing in 1963. Immediately the war was over work began on rebuilding the hospital, but a shortage of labour and supplies meant progress was slow. By 1947 there were again facilities to provide over 500 beds.

In 1948 the establishment of the National Health Service brought fundamental changes to the hospital. Saint Thomas' Hospital and the Babies' Hostel were the nucleus of a group that included the General Lying-In Hospital, the Royal Waterloo Hospital, the Grosvenor Hospital and the Roffey Park Rehabilitation Centre at Horsham, Surrey. Each of these constituent hospitals retained its name but was fully amalgamated with Saint Thomas' and the group as a whole was given the umbrella name of Saint Thomas' Hospital. Saint Thomas's Hospital was managed by the London Regional Hospital Board (Teaching), acting through a Hospital Management Committee. The nationalisation of the Health Service was greatly to Saint Thomas' financial advantage but lead to increasingly heavy demands for improved services.

Between 1950 and 1975 Saint Thomas' Hospital was virtually rebuilt. The bombing of the Second World war caused such extensive damage that it was shown to be necessary to start again from scratch. The hospital architect W. Fowler Howitt planned a modern hospital built along vertical rather than the traditional horizontal lines. This work was done over a period of time in order to enable the hospital to continue to serve the public throughout the work and to minimise disruption as far as possible.

In 1974 Saint Thomas's District Health Authority (Teaching) was formed under the Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Area Health Authority (Teaching) which in 1982 became West Lambeth District Health Authority. The Special Trustees of Saint Thomas' Hospital came into existence on 1 April 1974 when as a consequence of National Health Service reorganisation, Saint Thomas' Hospital ceased to have its own Board of Governors, but became part of the Saint Thomas' Health District (Teaching) of Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Area Health Authority. The Special Trustees took over responsibility for the hospital's endowment funds. In April 1993 in a further reorganisation of the National Health Service and the way hospitals were organised and grouped the Saint Thomas' Hospital group was amalgamated with the Guy's Hospital Group to create the Guy's and Saint Thomas' NHS Hospital Trust. Their mission statement outlines what the trustees see as the Hospital's current role in society: "To be London's leading University Hospital, providing a comprehensive local acute hospital service to people who live and work in London, providing a range of specialised hospital services and working in partnership with Guy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences to deliver high quality teaching and research."

St Thomas's Hospital has its origins in a small infirmary attached to the Augustinian Priory of St Mary the Virgin (St Mary Overie), which was destroyed by fire in 1212. During the Reformation in 1540 the hospital, along with many other religious foundations, was dispossessed of its revenues and closed. Edward VI restored St Thomas's estates and revenues. The hospital re-opened with 120 beds and three Barber Surgeons, assisted by apprentices, were appointed, possibly marking the beginning of St Thomas's Hospital Medical School. A royal charter of 1553 made the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of London perpetual Governors of King's Hospital, as it was known for a time before becoming St Thomas's Hospital.

The hospital underwent an extensive building programme between 1693 and 1709, and about 300 beds were provided. Medical education was also formalised at this time, with regulations introduced to control the entry of pupils into the hospital. Students were educated on the wards long before this time. A record of one of the apprentices of a surgeon at St Thomas's appears in 1561. By the second half of the seventeenth century surgeons at the hospital were accepting the apprentices of other surgeons for short periods of tuition within the hospital. The physicians at the hospital had some pupils, though a fewer number than the surgeons. From about the early 18th century the Hospital Apothecary also apprenticed pupils.

Until the mid nineteenth century there were three types of student attending the medical school: surgeons' apprentices and dressers, dressers who had served an apprenticeship elsewhere and were completing their training with a particular surgeon, and pupils, who were not attached to any particular surgeon. Pupils first appeared in 1723, and tended to be on the periphery of surgical procedures. Their numbers were unrestricted and they paid smaller fees than dressers. All students were able to attend the courses of lectures provided by the teaching staff at the hospitals and dissection classes. The study of anatomy was the most prestigious course offered at St Thomas's. New accommodation for dissection classes was provided in 1814, and allowed up two hundred students at a time to practice dissection. Other courses offered to students included chemistry, materia medica, physiology and midwifery.

The popularity and influence of the medical schools led to the building of new facilities at St Thomas's Hospital. New accommodation was opened in 1814, and comprised a museum, laboratory, library, dissection room and large lecture theatre. In 1842 the Hospital Governors stepped in to rationalise and improve the status of the medical school, and took over the management for the next sixteen years. A medical school fund was established and administered by the Hospital Treasurer to pay for the general running costs of the school, including the salaries of the non-teaching staff. A Medical School Committee was created to govern the school, appoint lecturers and oversee expenditure. The first Dean, Dr Henry Burton, was appointed in 1849. In 1858, management of the school was restored to the physicians and surgeons and in 1860 to the teaching staff, as the school had become self-financing.

In 1866 the extension of the railway from London Bridge to Charing Cross forced the Hospital to move to Lambeth, at the foot of Westminster Bridge. The new accommodation and new teaching staff heralded a good start for the new medical school. However, by 1892 most of the teaching staff had left and the new student intake was only forty-three. The enlargement of facilities at the school helped revive the school's reputation, and by 1900 student numbers were improving and increased rapidly.

St Thomas's Hospital and Medical School were seriously disrupted by the Second World War. Students were dispersed among other London hospitals and the pre-clinical school went to Wadham College, Cambridge. With the establishment of the National Health Service the medical school became a separate corporate body in 1948 and one of the general medical schools of the University of London. In 1949 the school accepted its first female medical student. The annual intake of students continued to increase throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In 1982 the medical schools of Guy's and St Thomas's Hospitals reunited as the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals (UMDS). In 1990 King's College London began discussions with the United Schools and a formal merger with UMDS took place on 1 August 1998. The merger created three new schools: the Guy's, King's and St Thomas' Schools of Medicine, of Dentistry and of Biomedical Sciences, and reconfigured part of the former School of Life, Basic Medical and Health Sciences as the new School of Health and Life Sciences.

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 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.

Saint Thomas' Home is the part of Saint Thomas' Hospital which provides for private paying patients. The principle of accepting paying patients was accepted by the Governors in November 1878 after much controversy, as it was thought to be an infringement of the charter of 1551 which had constituted the Hospital as a house of the poor. However, more income was needed if the poor were to be properly served and the Hospital to be made financially secure.

Two wards named 'Adelaide' and 'Alice' were opened as Saint Thomas' Home in March 1881. The charges were 8 shillings a day in a general ward and 12 shillings a day in a private room. The Home proved a success, especially with patients who did not have homes of their own at which they could be nursed - for example, clerks living in lodgings, visitors in London, or colonists returned to England for medical care.

On the completion of Gassiot House in 1906 the Home moved into the bottom two floors. It was closed to patients on the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, and the space was used to house members of the administrative and medical staff. It reopened in 1950 in Gassiot House, and in 1966 moved to Simon Ward in the East Wing of the new hospital buildings.

Yarrow Convalescent Home at Broadstairs in Kent was purchased by the Westminster Hospital in May 1947.

The Guy's Hospital Group was formed in 1948 when the National Health Service was established in the wake of the National Health Service Act 1946. It comprised Guy's Hospital, including Nuffield House and York Clinic, and the Evelina Hospital for Sick Children, including the Eleanor Wemyss Home.

When the National Health Service was re-organised in 1974 into Area Health Authorities, which were then split into Districts, the Guy's Hospital Group became Guy's Health District (Teaching) of the Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Area Health Authority.

By now this included the Royal Dental, Saint Olave's and New Cross Hospitals, in addition to Guy's and the Evelina.

There were further administrative changes to the National Health Service in 1982 and 1990. In 1982, Guy's Health District (Teaching) was merged with Lewisham Health District to form the Lewisham and North Southwark Health Authority.

In 1990, Guy's Hospital was established as a National Health Service Trust.

Guy's Hospital merged with Saint Thomas' Hospital in 1993 to form the Guy's and Saint Thomas' Hospital Trust after the Tomlinson report in 1992 recommended that one of the two should be closed.

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.

Massage was first taught to nurses at Guy's in 1888. In 1913 the School of Physiotherapy was founded, with backing from Sir Cooper Perry, Superintendant and Mr William Henry Trethowan, Senior Orthopaedic surgeon. The School quickly outgrew its accomodation and spread into additional rooms in Hunt's House and across the hospital. In 1918 the decision was reached to bring the School together in its own building, this was completed in 1921 with money provided by Sir Percy Shepherd. The School of Physiotherapy remained in Shepherd House until its closure in 1992.

The London Infirmary for the Cure of Diseases of the Skin was established in 1841. It was based at 84 London Wall. In 1844 the name was changed to the London Cutaneous Institution for the treatment and cure of non infectious Diseases of the Skin and the Hospital moved to 25 Bridge Street, Blackfriars. Finally from March 1850 it became The Hospital for Diseases of the Skin.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The 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 Home for Mothers and Babies opened in two converted houses in Wood Street, Woolwich on 11 May 1905. Its objects were, "(1) to enable women to be attended in their confinements, either in the Hospital or at their own homes, by Gentlewomen, all of whom have received previous training in General Nursing", "(2) to promote the training of Gentlewomen as District Midwives", "(3) to lengthen the customary period of training for District Midwives". The inspiration for its foundation came from three well educated and devoutly religious women, Miss Alice Gregory, Mrs Lelia Parnell, and Miss Maud Cashmore. Miss Gregory became honorary secretary to the hospital, Mrs Parnell was the first Matron, and Miss Cashmore became Senior Sister. On Mrs Parnell's death in 1931, Miss Cashmore succeeded her as Matron.

The original hospital had beds for twelve in-patients. Midwives also attended outpatients in their own homes. Patients were charged fees according to their means. In 1915 an antenatal clinic was started. Midwifery pupils with at least a year's experience of general nursing were admitted for a minimum of six months training. When pupils had completed their training, they were expected to work as district midwives. A building fund was started to raise money to build a new and larger hospital.

In 1912 a proposal was received from the British Lying-In Hospital, Holborn, for the amalgamation of the two institutions. This was formally approved by the Charity Commission on 29 January 1915. The British Lying-In Hospital closed in May 1913. The Home for Mothers and Babies was renamed the British Hospital for Mothers and Babies and was placed under the control of a newly constituted Managing Committee with representatives of both institutions. In practice it continued much as before with the same objects, the same methods, and the same staff, but enriched by the endowments of the British Lying-In Hospital.

A site in Samuel Street, Woolwich was purchased in 1914. The first stone of the new building was laid in 1920 and the first stage of the new hospital was opened in March 1922. The second stage of the building was completed in 1929. An important part of the work of the hospital was the holding of both antenatal and postnatal clinics.;The hospital was badly damaged by bombing in 1940. An evacuation hospital was set up in Pednor House, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, which was loaned by the Ministry of Health. The Ministry then insisted that the administration of the hospital should be handed over to Buckinghamshire County Council. Rather than submit to this condition, the evacuation hospital was moved in March 1941 to a privately owned house, Moatlands, situated at Brenchley in Kent. Moatlands was purchased in 1944.

Miss Gregory and Miss Cashmore retired in October 1945 after forty years at the hospital. In 1948 the hospital was taken over by the National Health Service and became the responsibility of Woolwich Group Hospital Management Committee. Moatlands was vacated in 1953 when the beds were transferred to Saint Nicholas Hospital, Plumstead. The hospital was transferred to Greenwich and Bexley Area Health Authority in 1974 and to Greenwich Health Authority in 1982. It closed in 1984.

The Lambeth Group of Hospitals was formed in June 1948 by the South West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board to be responsible for the management of Lambeth hospital (ref. H01/L), the South London Hospital for Women and Children (ref. H24), Annie McCall Maternity Hospital (ref. H24) and the South Western hospital ref. H15/SW).

In October 1956 the group was enlarged by the addition of the Royal Eye Hospital, Southwark and its branch at Surbiton (ref. H15/RE). Holmhurst Home, a halfway house for elderly patients (ref. H15/HH), was opened in 1952, by the King's Fund and attached to the Lambeth Group. Records of all these hospital are held by the London Metropolitan Archives.

On 1 July 1964 Lambeth Hospital was transferred to the Saint Thomas' Hospital Group. Lambeth Group Hospital Management Committee amalgamated with Wandsworth Hospital Management Committee to form the South West London Hospital Group Hospital Management Committee. All other hospitals in the Lambeth Group also became part of the new group. In 1968 the South Western Hospital was transferred across to the Saint Thomas' Hospital Group.

Edgware General Hospital was originally known as Redhill Hospital and was built by Hendon Board of Guardians. Rather than extending the old Redhill Infirmary, in the 1920's Hendon Board of Guardians decided to build a new hospital of 175 beds on 20 acres of land at Burnt Oak. Work began in 1924 and Redhill Hospital opened in December 1927. It was taken over by Middlesex County Council on 1 April 1930 who renamed it Redhill County Hospital. Between 1936 and 1938, the Middlesex County Council built extensive additions to the hospital including a 60 bed maternity unit and a 329 bed medical unit. In January 1938 the Middlesex County Maternity Hospital opened in Bushey. This was administered from Redhill County Hospital. The hospital became part of the National Health Service in 1948 and came under the control of the North West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board and Hendon Group Hospital Management Committee. Its name was changed the same year to Edgware General Hospital. It now forms part of Barnet Health Authority.

In 1838, the surgeon James Yearsley founded the Metropolitan Ear Nose and Throat Hospital, in Sackville Street, W1. It was the first hospital to specialise in diseases of the Ear, Nose and Throat. The hospital moved to Fitzroy Square in 1911, where it remained until the Second World War. During the war the hospital was severely damaged by bombing, and was evacuated to Watford but retained a clinic in London for treatment of outpatients and emergencies. In 1949 it moved again, to No. 5 Collingham Gardens, Earls Court. The hospital was transferred to Saint Mary Abbots Hospital in 1953, where it retained its identity as a specialist hospital until 1985 when it was removed from the control of Saint Mary Abbots and became part of the Ear, Nose and Throat Department of the new Charing Cross Hospital.

Shoreditch Workhouse and Shoreditch Infirmary (later Saint Leonard's Hospital I) occupied adjoining parts of the same site which stretched from Hoxton Street in the west to Kingsland Road in the east. When the functions of the Boards of Guardians were transferred to the London County Council in 1930, Saint Leonard's Hospital had certified accommodation for 556 patients, while the workhouse (by then known as Saint Leonard's House) had certified accommodation for 424. On 1 April 1938 the L.C.C. completed its policy of removing its hospitals entirely from the ambit of the Poor Law by the appropriation of the remaining six institutions which accommodated chronic sick patients and which were within the curtilages of general hospitals. These included Saint Leonard's Institution which was renamed Saint Leonard's Hospital II to distinguish it from the neighbouring general hospital of the same name, which was to be known as Saint Leonard's Hospital I. By 1948, when Saint Leonard's Hospital became part of the National Health Service as one of the Central Group of hospitals, the two hospitals were being managed as one general hospital, much reduced in size.

Saint Matthew's Hospital was built in 1873 as City Road Workhouse by Holborn Board of Guardians on the site of Saint Luke's Workhouse. By 1930 when it was taken over by the London County Council, it had become known as Holborn and Finsbury Institution. The London County Council decided to use it as a hospital for the care of the chronic sick and renamed it Saint Matthew's Hospital in 1936. In 1948 Saint Matthew's Hospital became part of the National Health Service as one of the Central Group of Hospitals of the North East Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. In 1974 Saint Matthew's Hospital became part of Tower Hamlets Health District (Teaching) of the City and East London Area Heath Authority. The hospital closed in 1986.

The Brook Hospital opened in 1896 as one of the hospitals for infectious diseases built and maintained by the Metropolitan Asylums Board. It was situated on Shooters Hill Road in Woolwich. In 1930 on the dissolution of the Metropolitan Asylum Board the hospital was transferred to the London County Council. In 1938 it had 552 beds and was one of the principal London County Council fever hospitals for such diseases as scarlet fever and measles.

During the Second World War the Brook Hospital was also used as a general hospital treating service personnel, air raid casualties, and civilians. In 1948 on the formation of the National Health Service it came under the control of the South East Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board and the Woolwich Group Hospital Management Committee, who linked it with the Memorial Hospital transferring all the medical beds from the Memorial Hospital to the Brook, which was renamed the Brook General Hospital. In 1952 it had 414 beds in use.

On the reorganisation of the NHS in 1974, responsibility for Brook Hospital passed to the South East Thames Regional Health Authority and Greenwich and Bexley Area Health Authority, succeeded in 1982 by Greenwich Health Authority. The hospital closed in 1995 on the transfer of services by Greenwich Healthcare NHS Trust to Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich.

Banstead Hospital opened in 1877 as the third lunatic asylum for the county of Middlesex. It was under the general control of the Middlesex justices of the peace until 1889 when, on the establishment of the London County Council it passed into their hands.

In 1948 the hospital came under the South West Metropolitan Hospital Board and the Banstead Hospital Management Committee, which lasted until 1974. With the reorganisation of the National Health Service the hospital came under the management of the North West Thames Regional Health Authority and the North East Health District until 1982 when it became part of the Victoria District Health Authority and finally the Riverside Health Authority in 1985 prior to its closure in 1986.

Horton Hospital was founded in 1902 by the London County Council as Horton Asylum. It was one of five mental hospitals opened on the Horton Estate, Epsom. In 1915 Horton Asylum became Horton (County of London) War Hospital, which was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel J.R. Lord. This required the transfer of 2143 patients to sister hospitals. From 1918 until 1937 Horton Asylum became known as Horton Mental Hospital. The Second World War saw Horton once again become a war hospital as part of the Emergency Medical Service, returning to its function as a mental hospital in 1949.

Upon the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948, Horton Hospital became part of the South West Metropolitan Region. Between 1974 and 1982 the Hospital was part of the North West Thames Region within the North East District (Teaching) Health Authority. From 1982 the Hospital was part of the North West Thames Region within the Victoria District Health Authority and in 1985 it became part of the Riverside Health Authority. The hospital was closed in 1998.

General Paralysis of the Insane (GPI) sufferers accounted for about 1 in 12 of mental hospital admissions. Patients with this illness would show signs of sudden psychotic symptoms, with unusual eye and muscular reflexes, speech and hearing problems, seizures and dementia, leading to incapacitation and death. The cause of GPI was an invasion of the central nervous system by syphilitic bacteria. In 1917 a new treatment was developed which involved deliberately infecting GPI patients with malaria, because the high fever which is a symptom of malaria raised the body temperature to as high as 40ºC and killed the bacteria causing the GPI. The cure was discovered after an outbreak of malaria in a mental hospital left many patients unexpectedly cured of their GPI.

In 1923 some of the mental hospitals run by the London County Council (LCC), including Horton Hospital, started to trial the malaria therapy. In 1925 it was decided to set up a specialist centre for London just to provide this malaria therapy for GPI patients. The centre, together with a separate specialist laboratory for the study of malaria, was established at Horton.

By 1935 about 700 patients had been treated. 75% were said to have recovered completely. The centre was named the Mott Clinic in the late 1920s, named after the Director of the Central Laboratory and Pathologist to the LCC Mental Hospitals, Sir Fredric Mott (1855-1926).

The development of antibiotics such as penicillin after World War Two reduced the need for malaria therapy. The laboratory was instead turned into a malaria research centre. The Mott Clinic became known as the Ministry of Health Malaria Laboratory, until 1952 when it became the Malaria Reference Laboratory. The Laboratory later moved from Epsom to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, becoming known as the Health Protection Agency Malaria Reference Laboratory.