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London Chest Hospital

The London Chest Hospital was founded in 1848 as the City of London Hospital for Diseases of the Chest. Its founders, who were predominately Quakers, recognised the needs of people suffering from diseases of the heart and lungs, particularly pulmonary tuberculosis, who were not able to afford adequate medical attention. The institution was intended to offer the same advantages as the Brompton Hospital (established in 1842) conferred on West London. The Royal Chest Hospital, City Road, (founded in 1814), was perceived as too small to accommodate the growing number of patients in the north and east of London seeking care.

The Hospital was originally a public dispensary, offering out-patient care only in Liverpool. Plans were soon drawn up for a new hospital and a site was obtained through the lease of crown property at Bonners Fields, Victoria Park, East London. In 1851 the foundation stone was laid by Prince Albert, who together with Queen Victoria, contributed towards the building costs of thirty thousand pounds. The new hospital, designed by Mr Ordish, opened in 1855 and was soon able to provide 80 beds. By 1881 the original design had been completed to provide 164 beds and was one of the first to employ the corridor system. Patients were admitted on governors' recommendation and were asked to contribute towards the cost of their care. With the development of the open air treatment for tuberculosis, balconies were added to the building in 1900, and the Hospital opened its own Sanatorium for women and children at Saunderton in Buckinghamshire. In 1923 it was renamed the City of London Hospital for Diseases of the Heart and Lungs, before changing again in 1937 to the London Chest Hospital. A Pathological Laboratory and Research Institute opened in 1927 through the support of the Prudential Assurance Company, and in 1937 a new surgical wing was added. Hospital buildings were badly damaged by bombing during the Second World War, but remained open thanks to public generosity in funding repairs.

The London Chest Hospital became part of the National Health Service in 1948 and was designated a teaching hospital, along with Brompton Hospital. The Board of Governors was reconstituted to cover both hospitals, with membership increased from 20 to 30. The Hospital became part of a Special Health Authority, the National Chest and Heart Hospitals (with the National Heart, the Brompton and Frimley Hospitals) in 1974. The Hospital expanded its work to take in 4 chest clinics in East London, and its cardiothoracic surgery also grew with the opening of new theatres and intensive care facilities during the 1980s. In 1988 the Hospital shared in the award of a `Royal' title to the Brompton Group. In line with government recommendations following the publication of the Tomlinson Report in 1982 the Hospital joined St Bartholomew's and the Royal London Hospitals to form the Royal Hospitals NHS Trust in April 1994.

London Chess Club

The London Chess Club was founded in 1807, and held meetings in Tom's Coffee House in Cornhill, City of London. It was possibly replaced in 1852 by the City of London Chess Club.

The London Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1882. There had been various previous attempts in 1823-4 and in the 1860s-1870s to establish a similar body which had met with hostility from the City. An organising committee was set up by the Lord Mayor in January 1881. It applied for incorporation under the Companies Act and had its first general meeting on 25 January 1882. From its foundation, the Chamber published the Chamber of Commerce Journal (copies are held by Guildhall Library Printed Books Section 1882-1961) which became accepted as a mouthpiece for the British business community. Within two years of its formation, the London Chamber was the largest in the UK and had been given prominence in the Association of British Chambers of Commerce. By 1892 it had a membership of over 3000. The Chamber's role was to develop international trade and represent the interests of the London trading community, a community which was intended to encompass all of the metropolis of London, not just the City of London. It also assisted members in resolving more day to day trading concerns.

The Chamber's name changed in 1971 to the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, to reflect the growing industrial membership. The records have been catalogued as records of the London Chamber of Commerce as this was the name used for most of the organisation's existence. The Printed Books Section holds many printed items under the present name.

According to Steven R B Smith's article on the early years of the Chamber, "The Centenary of the London Chamber of Commerce: its origins and early policy" in London Journal 8 (2) Winter 1982, pp.156-70, the London Chamber of Commerce advocated the consolidation of colonial markets and the expansion of the British empire with the active help of the British government. The early years of the Chamber are also covered by Charles E Musgrave The London Chamber of Commerce from 1881 to 1914, published in 1914.

The London Chamber of Commerce's offices were at 26 Nicholas Lane EC4 1881-2; King William Street EC4 1882-6; Botolph House, 10 and 12 Eastcheap EC3 1887-1903; 1-3 Oxford Court, Cannon Street EC4 1903-34; 69-75 Cannon Street EC4 1935-92 and 33 Queen Street EC4 1992 to date.

London Cemetery Company

The London Cemetery Company was founded by architect and civil engineer Stephen Geary. He designed and planned Highgate Cemetery, which was opened in 1839. The Company was later taken over by the United Cemetery Company.

The London Cattle Food Trade Association was formed in 1906 by members of the London Corn Trade Association (CLC/B/103-08) who traded in vegetable proteins used as animal feeding stuffs and who felt the need for a separate organisation to represent their specialist interests. Its aims were similar to those of the London Corn Trade Association, namely to establish uniform contracts and bills of lading, provide a system for arbitration (including the testing of quality samples), and to promote legislation and other measures on behalf of the trade.

Based at 8 Catherine Court until 1912, the association subsequently moved to 50 Mark Lane (1913-20), 50/1 Lime Street (1921-1923), 84 Leadenhall Street (1924-1958), 5/7 Houndsditch (1959-1967) and 52/7 Mark Lane (1968-1971). In 1923, it transferred the responsibility for its routine office work and administration to United Associations Ltd (CLC/B/103-12). In 1965, the association dropped "London" from its title, and invited representatives from kindred associations in Europe to attend meetings of its council.

In 1971, it joined with the London Corn Trade Association to form the Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA).

London Business School

In April 1963 the National Economic Development Council (NEDC) recommended the establishment of a high level business school or institute run on the lines of the Harvard Business School or the School of Industrial Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the same year, the Robbins Committee on Higher Education recommended the establishment of two post-graduate schools of business education in the UK.

Following the NEDC Report, Lord Franks was asked to study the problem of establishing a business school or schools. The Franks Report recommended the establishment of two high quality schools, as part of existing universities (London and Manchester) but enjoying considerable autonomy. The schools would offer courses for about 200 post-graduates and 70-100 post-experience students.

A committee was established under Lord Normanbrook to consider the costs and practicalities of establishing two business schools. The committee recommended that the expenditure should be shared between the Government, through the University Grants Commission (UGC), and business. As a result, the government agreed to bear half the capital and running costs of the two schools. The Foundation for Management Education, the Federation of British Industries, and the British Institute of Management sponsored an appeal for £3 million from the business world.

An Academic Planning Board was established for the new London school under the chairmanship of Lord Plowden, with representatives from the London School of Economics (LSE), Imperial College and the business world. The school was to be formally known as the London Graduate School of Business Studies, and informally as the London Business School. The Academic Planning Board first met in June 1964, and the full 21 member Governing Body in November 1964. The two sponsoring institutions, LSE and Imperial College both nominated four members and then approved the full list.

Temporary premises were acquired in Northumberland Avenue, and Dr Arthur Earle, Deputy Chairman of Hoover Ltd was appointed Principal. The first academic appointments, two professors, a senior lecturer and a lecturer were appointed from October 1965.

The School established two post-experience courses, the Executive Development Programme designed for middle managers, which would last 12 weeks and cover the application of analysis and measurement, human behaviour and the environment of business. The Senior Executive Programme would last six weeks, and cover the broad strategy of business. The postgraduate programme was to last two academic years, and lead to the degree of MSc from the University of London. The range of studies was divided into three broad categories, data for decisions, analysis for decisions, and the environment of decisions. Students would also study applied decision-making in the functional fields of marketing, finance, production, personnel and business policy. The first post-experience courses started in February and May 1966, and the first MSc course began with 39 students in October 1966

The School moved to its present home in Sussex Place, Regent's Park in August 1970. New programmes were developed; the doctoral programme began in September 1970, the International Management Programme for MBA students in 1972, the New Enterprise Programme for individuals wishing to start their own businesses in 1979, and the Extended Enterprise Programme or 'Firmstart', aimed at owner-managers of young companies in 1986. The first research institute, the Institute of Finance and Accounting was set up in 1973, the Centre for Management Development followed in 1975, and the Institute of Small Business Management in 1976.

The School is administered by a Governing Body, which discusses major questions affecting the development and work of the School, including financial planning and the appointment of the Dean. The Governors also approve the accounts and perform such other formal corporate business as may be required. The Management Board advises the Dean and Governing Body on the development and implementation of major policies affecting programmes and research activities, staffing, premises and finances. The Management Committee is responsible for taking and implementing administrative and academic decisions necessary for the management of the School. It refers all fundamental academic or constitutional decisions to the Management Board. The School has a network of seven Regional Advisory Boards, covering Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and the UK. Each Regional Advisory Board has a Chair, a Faculty Advisor, and a Student Liaison Officer. The School also has an Alumni Board, which represents the views of alumni and makes recommendations on a range of issues to the Governing Body.

The distinction of being the first to supply London houses with water by mechanical means goes to a certain Peter Morris, a land drainage engineer and a servant of Sir Christopher Hatton, the Lord Chancellor. His nationality is uncertain. Stow describes him both as a Dutchman and a German. Negotiations between Morris and the City started in 1574 but it was not until 1581 that he was granted a five hundred year lease of the first arch at the northern end of old London Bridge to house a tide wheel driving pumps of his design. In 1582 he obtained a similar lease of the second arch to accomodate another wheel. These enabled him to supply houses in the southern and eastern parts of the City. The works were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 but their reconstruction was authorised by Act of Parliament in the following year. In 1701 the lease of the fourth arch of the bridge was granted to Morris's grandson, Thomas. Morris and his family sold the undertaking for £38,000 to Richard Soame who also acquired a forty three lease of the City conduit waters and an undertaking at Broken Wharf, near St Paul's, started in 1594 by Bevis Bulmer, a mining engineer, for the supply of the western end of the City. The whole was united into a partnership called "The Proprietors of the London Bridge Water Works" and was subsequently divided into 1,500 shares of a nominal value of £100 each.

By the mid eigteenth century the waterworks consisted of five water wheels occupying three arches and driving sixty four small pumps. Some 1,500,000 gallons a day were pumped on an average. In 1761 a lease of the third arch of the bridge was obtained for the purpose of affording a supply to Southwark. In 1767 two further arches were leased, the fifth from the northern end and the second from the southern end of the bridge, the latter being used in place of the third for the Southwark supply. Among the eminent engineers consulted as to the effect of these additions on the structure of the bridge and on the navigation were Brindley, Smeaton and Robert Mylne, the architect of the Blackfriars Bridge and later engineer to the New River Company.

A steam engine was installed at the northern end of the bridge about the year 1762 in order to assist the supply at the turn of the tide. At the beginning of the 19th century the works are stated to have been capable of furnishing a supply of nearly four million gallons a day. The great fall of water occasioned by the water wheels endangered navigation through the bridge and in 1822 an Act was passed for their removal. To ensure the supply of water, provision was made for the undertaking to be conveyed to the New River Company who forthwith began to dismantle the wheels. The old bridge was taken down in 1831 and replaced with one designed by John Rennie, this survived until 1968.

The distinction of being the first to supply London houses with water by mechanical means goes to a certain Peter Morris, a land drainage engineer and a servant of Sir Christopher Hatton, the Lord Chancellor. His nationality is uncertain. Stow describes him both as a Dutchman and a German. Negotiations between Morris and the City started in 1574 but it was not until 1581 that he was granted a five hundred year lease of the first arch at the northern end of old London Bridge to house a tide wheel driving pumps of his design. In 1582 he obtained a similar lease of the second arch to accomodate another wheel. These enabled him to supply houses in the southern and eastern parts of the City.

The works were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 but their reconstruction was authorised by Act of Parliament in the following year. In 1701 the lease of the fourth arch of the bridge was granted to Morris's grandson, Thomas. Morris and his family sold the undertaking for £38,000 to Richard Soame who also acquired a forty three lease of the City conduit waters and an undertaking at Broken Wharf, near St Paul's, started in 1594 by Bevis Bulmer, a mining engineer, for the supply of the western end of the City. The whole was united into a partnership called "The Proprietors of the London Bridge Water Works" and was subsequently divided into 1,500 shares of a nominal value of £100 each.

By the mid eigteenth century the waterworks consisted of five water wheels occupying three arches and driving sixty four small pumps. Some 1,500,000 gallons a day were pumped on an average. In 1761 a lease of the third arch of the bridge was obtained for the purpose of affording a supply to Southwark. In 1767 two further arches were leased, the fifth from the northern end and the second from the southern end of the bridge, the latter being used in place of the third for the Southwark supply. Among the eminent engineers consulted as to the effect of these additions on the structure of the bridge and on the navigation were Brindley, Smeaton and Robert Mylne, the architect of the Blackfriars Bridge and later engineer to the New River Company.

A steam engine was installed at the northern end of the bridge about the year 1762 in order to assist the supply at the turn of the tide. At the beginning of the 19th century the works are stated to have been capable of furnishing a supply of nearly four million gallons a day. The great fall of water occasioned by the water wheels endangered navigation through the bridge and in 1822 an Act was passed for their removal. To ensure the supply of water, provision was made for the undertaking to be conveyed to the New River Company who forthwith began to dismantle the wheels. The old bridge was taken down in 1831 and replaced with one designed by John Rennie, this survived until 1968.

The London Boroughs Disability Committee was formed in 1986 by a number of London boroughs, to secure the collective provision of disability-related services for those boroughs. The Disability Resource Team was established as a charity linked to the Committee in April 1993, in order to carry forward the work of the Committee, to promote good practice and to act as an organisational resource on disability nationally. The Disability Resource Team was governed by seven trustees, six of whom were members of the Disability Committee.

The London Boroughs Children's Regional Planning Committee was based at the Town Hall in Euston Road. It was responsible for the preparation and implementation of regional plans for community homes and for intermediate treatment schemes. It acted as agent for the London Boroughs Association in inspecting private homes for children in care.

The London Boroughs Association was formed in 1964 to provide a forum in which the London boroughs could discuss common problems, coordinate their activities and express their views corporately to the Greater London Council and the government.

London Borough of Harrow

The archiepiscopal manor and ancient parish of Harrow covered an area 6½ miles long and 4½ miles wide in the eastern half of Gore hundred. The parish, called Harrow in the account that follows to distinguish it from the hamlet of Harrow-on-the-Hill or Harrow Town, stretched south from the Hertfordshire border to the River Brent. It was bounded by Elthorne hundred on the west and by Great Stanmore and Kingsbury parishes on the east. Parts of the parish, notably Pinner and Harrow-on-the-Hill, attracted wealthy residents as early as the 17th century. Harrow School, founded in 1572, contributed to the growth of Harrow-on-the-Hill from the end of the 18th century. Railways were followed in the late 19th century by housing estates and factories. After the British Empire Exhibition of 1924-5, for which Wembley Stadium was built, the site was developed and building spread over the south-east of the parish.

In the 19th century the total area was 13,809 acres, divided between Harrow (10,027 acres) and Pinner (3,782 acres). In 1931, when part of Northolt parish was added, the whole area, then administered by four district councils, consisted of 13,909 acres. In 1961 this area, divided into wards totalling 13,983 acres, formed part of the municipal boroughs of Harrow (12,555 acres) and Wembley (6,294 acres). In 1965 Harrow became the London Borough of Harrow, and Wembley became part of the London Borough of Brent.

From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 169-172.

London Borough of Barnet

This collection consists of a large number of planning applications relating to buildings in north Middlesex. They were submitted over nearly a century and kept by the planning departments of Finchley, Friern Barnet and Hendon, and after 1965, by the London Borough of Barnet.

Whenever someone wished to build a new property or make alterations to an existing building they had to submit copies of plans of the scheme to the relevant local authority for approval. This collection is made up entirely of these plans and any other documents that were submitted at the time.

The period covered by the applications, the end of the nineteenth century to the 1980s was one that saw huge changes in the areas around London. Middlesex, to the north of the capital, had been a largely rural county with few small towns during the reign of Queen Victoria, but it developed over a short period in the first decades of the new century into a sprawling suburban environment. Farms and isolated villas had, by the 1930s, given way to new roads, housing and light industry.

London Blues

The London Blues was a club for gay men founded in 1978. It met in several different venues in London throughout its history, including The Green Man, Heaven, the Laurel Tree and Central Station. The club was for gay men with an interest in uniforms and western/denim clothes (in practice it was mainly for those with military, naval, airforce, police and other uniform interests - whether as wearers or admirers). It had close links to the network of leather clubs in the UK and Europe (see items 22 and 23). For a history of the club and more information about its ethos and activities, see items 2 and 3. The London Blues was most active in the 1980s and early 1990s but went into decline towards the end of the 90s and was finally dissolved early in 2002.

The Kashrut Division is the largest single department of the London Beth Din (the Beth Din gives advice on halachic matters and is the ecclesiastical authority on Kashrut and Shechita for the majority of Anglo-Jewry; it supervises religious conversions, divorces, adoptions and deals with determination on Jewish status). The Division is responsible for the licensing of restaurants, hotels, bakeries and similar establishments, and supervision of catered events per year, and certification of almost 700 factories worldwide.

The Kashrut Division produces The Really Jewish Food Guide annually. This lists several thousand products whose kosher status have been approved by the Beth Din on the basis of research by Food Technologists into ingredients, processing aids, and any shared use of equipment.

The early origins of the London Beth Din are unclear. Probably the Court evolved, along with the Chief Rabbinate, from the Great Synagogue which was the first Ashkenazi synagogue in Britain following the resettlement. By the nineteenth century the Rabbi of the Great Synagogue had come to be acknowledged as spiritual leader of the the Askenazim in Britain and in British colonies overseas and he would have consulted other erudite and senior elders of the community on matters of Jewish religious law. Some procedures would have required the Chief Rabbi to have had at least two other Dayanim with him.

The influx of Jewish immigrants into Britain from the mid-nineteenth century onwards increased the workload of the Beth Din, particularly under the Chief Rabbinates of Nathan and Hermann Adler. In the twentieth century it was necessary to employ a small secretariat. This was led by a Clerk to the Court, later a Registrar. The Chief Rabbi remained the ex-officio President (the Ab Beth Din) as he still is today. One of the dayanim was appointed as a Rosh Beth Din (a senior judge).

The status of the Beth Din increased under the Chief Rabbinate of Joseph Hertz and with the appointment in the 1930s of Yechezkel Abramsky as a Dayan. Abramsky was in the words of the Jewish Chronicle: "a distinguished exponent of unbending East European orthodoxy...He yielded not one iota...in applying the strict letter of the Shulchan Aruch to all the diverse religions and quasi-religious issues of the day." The destruction of the continental European Batei Din and Jewish communities during the Second World War left the London Beth Din as the most important Beth Din in Europe. At the beginning of the twenty-first century the London Beth Din remains one of the oldest, most prestigious and orthodox Batei Din in the world.

Work of the London Beth Din:
The work of the London Beth Din increased throughout the twentieth century, but in essence remains the same type of work it always was. Dayan Grunfeld in an article for the Jewish Chronicle in October 1948 divided the functions of the London Beth Din into three categories: judicial, advisory and cultural.

1) Judicial:
The dayanim are required to interpret questions of Jewish law which affect the individual and the community. They also act as judges in cases of civil arbitration (Din Torah). These are cases which would normally come within the remit of the civil courts - for example landlord and tenant, vendor and purchaser, domestic differences. The Beth Din acts as a Court of Arbitration with the sanction of civil law and the moral force of Jewish religious law. The parties concerned sign an undertaking (submission) to take their case to the Beth Din and agree to accept the court's judgement.

The Beth Din also deals with questions concerning Jewish status and can undertake research to determine whether it would recognise if a person was Jewish. The London Beth Din does not recognise conversions supervised by non-orthodox organisations in Britain.

Judaism does not actively seek converts. People who wish to convert to Judaism under the auspices of the United Synagogue are referred to the London Beth Din (this is done to ensure all cases are dealt with fairly and consistently). Each case is dealt with individually and potential converts have to demonstrate a commitment to Jewish life and learn all the major Jewish laws and teachings. Conversion can be a long process.

Divorce proceedings take up a large amount of court time. The civil divorce dissolves the civil contract, but not the religious one. For this to be done a Jewish religious divorce or "get" is required. The husband writes the get under the supervision of the Beth Din and it is then handed over and received by the wife. Remarriage in a synagogue cannot take place unless there has been a get.

The London Beth Din supervises and grants licences to butchers, caterers and bakers in adherence to Shechita and Kashrut. Mohalim and the Initiation Society are supervised and approved by the Beth Din.

2) Advisory:
The Beth Din is consulted exhaustively both by individuals and organisations on points of Jewish law. The Beth Din has frequently been approached by communities outside the British Isles, particularly countries in the Commonwealth, for advice. Other Batei Din consult the London Beth Din. From time to time rulings on halachic matters are issued.

3) Cultural:
The Dayanim participate in the cultural life of the Anglo-Jewish community by giving lectures and Shiurim, and represent the Beth Din on the governing bodies of many communal organisations.

London Assurance Corporation

The London Assurance Corporation was established by Royal Charters granted in June 1720 (marine business) and April 1721 (fire and life). It became a subsidiary of the Sun Alliance in 1965.

Its first offices were in the "Rising Sun" in Broad Street, E.C. In August 1720 it moved to a house in Castle Court, Birchin Lane E.C. (formerly the "Ship and Castle" tavern built upon the site of the "Dolphin Tavern" destroyed by the Great Fire in 1666) where it remained until another fire in March 1748. New offices were built at 19 Birchin Lane E.C. and it remained there until 1845. From 1845 to 1922 its head office was at 7 Royal Exchange, E.C. and from 1922-65 at 1 King William Street, E.C.4.

The London Association of Recreational Gardeners inaugural meeting took place on 9th February 1974. Its object was to promote, encourage and protect the interests of its members in the pursuit of recreational gardening.

Their president was Lord Wallace of Coslany who was a campaigner for social justice, particularly on matters close to his heart such as saving allotments from encroachment by property developers.

The Association produced a journal including information on current alltotment matters and horticultural practises, ran lectures on 'Modern planned allotment gardens', 'Food from our own resources' and other horticultural subjects and assisted member organisations with Local Authorities and Government Departments on matters concerning the welfare and protection of allotment garden sites in co-operation with Borough organisations as well as offering horticultural, legal and insurance advice.

The London Association for the Teaching of English was formed in March 1947 by a number of teachers of English and others interested in the subject.The purpose was to provide a society in the London area for all interested in the teaching of English. Its objective was to provide a live forum for the exchange of ideas, for the practical study of problems connected with English teaching and for the dissemination of the results of group and individual work. Teachers from all types of schools and training colleges were invited. The inaugural meeting was held on June 3rd 1947 at the London Institute of Education. In September 1963 the National Association for the Teaching of English was formed and LATE became a corporate member. By the 1960s membership included teachers of English of all levels, in primary and secondary schools, day and training colleges and universities.

In 196[3] the Association's aims were:
(i) To undertake education research by means of group investigations, or by any other method, according to the nature of the problem
(ii) To campaign in educational field for such reforms as are considered necessary in the interests of education in and through English
(iii) To provide an opportunity for the communication of experiences and conclusions drawn from them
(iv)To give members an opportunity of hearing authoritative speakers on topics of importance and interest to teachers of English
(v)To furnish all members with full reports of meetings, conferences and study groups
(vi)To publish such results of our work as merit wider dissemination
(vii)To participate in the work of the National Association

LATE's work involved the creation of study and discussion groups which met and reported to the Association, and created books for schools; holding of two weekend conferences and several day conferences a year which often formed the starting point for a group study; holding of evening meetings twice a term with either speakers from the Association or an address by a 'distinguished speaker'. They were particuarly interested in composition, comprehension and poetry, and campaigned in the area of examinations. Reports of conferences were published and sold.

At writing (May 2010) LATE was still active. Their website is http://www.late.org.uk

This company was registered in 1907 to take over the business of Asiatic Rubber and Produce Company Limited (registered in Ceylon in 1905, with estates in Malacca, Selangor and Perak). The London Asiatic Rubber and Produce Company acquired the Diamond Jubilee and Ayer Molek estates in Selangor and Perak. It took over Tamok Rubber Estate Limited (1920), Elphil Rubber Company Limited (1921), Batang Benar Rubber Company Limited (1922), Tangkah Rubber Estates Limited (1923), Sepang Selangor Rubber Estates Limited (1931), Oriental Rubber Company Limited (1960) and Lanadron Rubber Estates Limited (1960). It consolidated Harrisons and Crosfield Limited's (CLC/B/112) secretarial interests in Malaya.

In 1977 the company was purchased by Harrisons Malaysian Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-079). In December of that year it became resident in Malaysia, and in June 1982 it became a private company.

London Asiatic Trustee Company Limited was registered in 1929 to administer provident and other funds for the benefit of London Asiatic Rubber and Produce Company.

London Archives Users' Forum

The London Archives Users' Forum (LAUF) was established in 1988 with the following objects 'for the public benefit -

  • to represent and further the interests of users of archives in Greater London in public and private ownership;

    • for the dissemination of information about such archives, and
    • for the education of the public in their use'.

    The objects were revised in 2002 to reflect the variety of work covered by Forum, as follows:

  • 'promoting, supporting and assisting in the collection, preservation and conservation of archives;

    • 'promoting public access to archives;
    • 'publishing material, and promoting the creation and enhancement of catalogues and indexes, relating to archives;
    • 'holding meetings, lectures, exhibitions and visits relating to archives;
    • 'advancing the education of the public in the use of archives and their value as a resource for historical research, and
    • affording a means of, and otherwise faciliating, communication between users and potential users of archives and those who have archives in their care or possession.'

    The Forum successfully secured and steered a Heritage Lottery Fund project 'A Place in the Sun' relating to records of Sun Fire Insurance held at Guildhall Library, and subsequently was regularly called upon to give support to organisations applying for funding for projects. The Forum also commented and voiced concerns on changes in archive provision in the region including the reduction of archive services in the City of Westminster in 2004. Other activities included a quarterly newsletter, publications, visits and annual conferences.

    The Forum remained a small body with membership of 300, with a low subscription rate and administration depended upon the commitment and energies of a small number of members. In 2004, a proposal was put forward by a working party represented by LAUF to establish a new membership organisation representing the interests of practioners and users of archives in London which would effectively absorb existing pan-London organisations promoting the interests of archives in London, including professional bodies such as the Greater London Archives Network (GLAN) and LAUF. 2006 saw the dissolution of LAUF and the transfer of assets to the newly established Archives for London (AfL).

The London Archaeologist Association was founded in 1968 and the first issue of London Archaeologist magazine was produced late that year. The association is a registered charity.

The magazine is produced by a mixture of professional and amateur archaeologists and covers the 'London' area, which allows a flexible approach. The annual membership subscription covers four issues of the magazine plus a supplement devoted to excavations, fieldwork and details of books and articles on London's archaeology.

As well as publishing London Archaeologist, the charity undertakes educational activities, administers the London Archaeological Prize, and supports publication of archaeological work.

A deed is any document affecting title, that is, proof of ownership, of the land in question. The land may or may not have buildings upon it. Common types of deed include conveyances, mortgages, bonds, grants of easements, wills and administrations.

Conveyances are transfers of land from one party to another, usually for money. Early forms of conveyance include feoffments, surrenders and admissions at manor courts (if the property was copyhold), final concords, common recoveries, bargains and sales and leases and releases.

A covenant or deed of covenant was an agreement entered into by one of the parties to a deed to another. A covenant for production of title deeds was an agreement to produce deeds not being handed over to a purchaser, while a covenant to surrender was an agreement to surrender copyhold land.

From the British Records Association "Guidelines 3 - Interpreting Deeds: How To Interpret Deeds - A Simple Guide And Glossary".

The London and Suburban Traction Company was formed in 1912, jointly by British Electric Traction and the Underground Electric Railways Company of London Ltd. It was formed with the purpose of merging three existing tram service providers: London United Tramways, Metropolitan Electric Tramways and South Metropolitan Electric Tramways. The company's trams operated mainly in the north of London. The Company became part of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933. The decision was made to phase out trams to be replaced by motor buses and trolley buses, and the last tram in London ran in 1952.

These plans were created for the London and South Western Railway and the South Eastern Railway. The London and South Western Railway developed from a decision in 1832 to create a railway from London to Southampton, whilst the South Eastern Railway developed from a proposal in 1824 for a railway between London and the Kent Countryside.

The bank was established by Royal charter in 1860 as an overseas bank operating in the British colonies of the Cape of Good Hope and Natal. By a supplemental charter of 1864 it was empowered to operate in addition in other British colonies south of the 22nd degree of latitude. The bank also had the right from early on to issue its own bank notes. The bank was taken over by the Standard Bank of British South Africa in 1875.

The bank's head office was located as follows: 1860-1, 16 Gresham House, Old Broad Street; 1862-75, 10 King William Street.

This company was established in 1862 as London and Lancashire Life Assurance Company; it was a sister company to London and Lancashire Insurance. After 1910 it expanded into general insurance as well and became known as London and Lancashire Life and General Assurance Association, but it was renamed London and Scottish Assurance Corporation Ltd in 1919. It became a subsidiary of Northern Assurance in 1923 and Northern Assurance merged with Commercial Union in 1968. London and Scottish Assurance had their first offices at 73-4 King William Street; by the time of their amalgamation in 1919 their address was 66 Cornhill.

George William Gill, a ship surveyor, founded the Chatham Shipbuilding Business of Gill and sons in 1858. This business built sailing craft, barges and paddle steamers and had its own fleet of barges. On the 1st April 1900 the company joined with Stewart Brothers and Spencer of Strood, it owned a seed crushing mill and operated barges. The resulting London and Rochester Barge Company Ltd. started with a fleet of 25 sailing barges of 22 lighters. In 1907 the company bought its first motor barge. By 1924 the sail barge fleet had expanded to 60; in that year the present name of the company was adopted. The company built sail barges for its own use until 1928. In 1929, Albert Hutson of Maidstone was made Managing Director of the Maidstone Office. Hutson owned 20 sailing barges and 50 lighters. Transshipment of wood pulp from Rochester to Aylesford began that year. The company placed a prominent role in barge racing. In 1960 the company began 'Crescent Line' services between Whitstable, Kent and Esbjerg, Denmark. Services from Rainham to Dieppe, Rotherham and Ostend began in 1965, 1966 and 1968 respectively. In 1951 Francis Gilders Ltd. of Colchester merged with the firm. In 1964 London and Rochester merged with the Hay's Group. The London & Rochester Company's first bulk starch carrier was delivered in 1969. The company also carried beer in casks, coal and dry cargoes. In 1969 the fleet consisted of 30 motor ships, 13 coastwise barges, 14 estuary barges, 7 river barges, 96 lighters, 6 tugs and 19 motor craft, which were merged from other owners.

The Society was based at 32 New North Road, Blackfriars (1846-55) and 21 Fleet Street (1856-84). In 1884 it was acquired by Guardian Fire and Life Assurance Company, later Guardian Assurance Company Ltd.

The London and North Western Railway was formed in 1846. It was originally planned as a freight only line, however, once it opened it ran a passenger service initially from Bow Junction to Islington. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the L and NWR connected to the Great Northern, Great Eastern, Great Western, London and North Western, London and South Western, Midland and Metropolitan District Railways. By 1922 the L and NWR had absorbed the North London Railway.

In 1846 three companies, London and Birmingham, Grand Junction Railway and Manchester and Birmingham amalgamated to form the London and North Western Railway. The amalgamation created 247 miles of railway that linked London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Preston. The London and North Western Railway continued to expand and by 1868 the company had added links to Oxford, Cambridge, Leeds, Swansea and Cardiff. However, attempts to amalgamate with Midland Railway ended in failure. By 1871 the London and North Western Railway employed 15,000 people.

The London and North Eastern Railways Company (LNER) was formed 1 January 1923. It was one of the four main railway companies created under the Railways Act, 1921 which was passed to create greater efficiency. LNER consisted of a first rank company, NER; second rank companies, GNR, GER, GCR and NBR; and the minor companies of the Great North of Scotland Company and the Hull and Barnsley Company.

The London and North Eastern Railway, which incorporates the former Great Central, Great Eastern, Great Northern, Hull and Barnsley, North Eastern, North British and Great North of Scotland Railway Companies, is the second largest railway company in Great Britain. With a total single track mileage, including sidings, of 16,824, the system covers the whole of Eastern England and East and West Scotland It serves the country between the Moray Firth and the Thames.

In 1926 the government set up a Royal Commission to look into the problems of the Mining Industry. The Commission published its report in March 1926. It recognised that the industry needed to be reorganised but rejected the suggestion of nationalisation. The report also recommended that the Government subsidy should be withdrawn and the miners' wages should be reduced. The month in which the report was issued also saw the mine-owners publishing new terms of employment. These new procedures included an extension of the seven-hour working day, district wage-agreements, and a reduction in the wages of all miners. The mine-owners announced that if the miners did not accept their new terms of employment they would be locked out of the pits from the first of May. A Conference of the Trade Union Congress met on 1st May 1926, and afterwards announced that a General Strike "in defence of miners' wages and hours" was to begin two days later. The TUC decided to bring out workers in what they regarded as the key industries - railwaymen, transport workers, dockers, printers, builders, iron and steel workers - a total of 3 million men (a fifth of the adult male population). Only later would other trade unionists, like the engineers and shipyard workers, be called out on strike. During the next two days efforts were made to reach an agreement with the Conservative Government and the mine-owners. For several months the miners held out, but by October 1926 hardship forced men to return to the mines. In 1927 the British Government passed the Trade Disputes and Trade Union Act. This act made all sympathetic strikes illegal, ensured the trade union members had to voluntarily 'contract in' to pay the political levy, forbade Civil Service unions to affiliate to the TUC, and made mass picketing illegal.

The London and Middlesex Archaeological Society was founded to encourage the study of archaeology, local history and historic buildings in the City and county of London and surrounding area. During it's existence that brief has widened to include the preservation of such sites. It promotion of such activites continues today through lecture programmes, visits, conferences, research committees and projects often in conjunction with other societies, and through the publication of its own annual journal, the Transactions, and ad hoc monographs. The Society's inaugural meeting was in December 1855 at Crosby Hall; and its first headquarters was at 6 Southampton Street (1855-1857), moving subsequently to various sites in the same area, before finally settling at the Bishopsgate Institute in 1911. It is now based at the Museum of London.

This company was established in 1861 as the London and Lancashire Fire Insurance Company. In 1919 it acquired the Law Union and Rock Insurance Company Limited. In 1920 its name was changed to the London and Lancashire Insurance Company Limited. In 1961 it was acquired by, and allied with, the Royal Insurance Company Limited.

The London and Lancashire had joint head offices in London and Liverpool during some periods, but its chief administration offices were 79 Lombard Street, 1861-2; 73 King William Street, 1862-5; 158 Leadenhall Street, 1865-7; Exchange Buildings, Liverpool, 1867-9; 11 Dale Street, Liverpool, 1869-89; 45 Dale Street, Liverpool, 1889-1919; and 7 Chancery Lane, from 1919.

The membership of this organisation included religious, political, trade union, co-operative, peace society, womens', council and youth representatives. The organisation's first chairman was John Beckett (1894-1954). Beckett was educated at Latymer School and was a journalist and Company Director. He was Labour MP for Gateshead 1924-1929, and Peckham 1929-1931.

The London and Cambridge Economic Service was a joint venture between the London School of Economics and Cambridge University established in 1923. In the period before many of the official statistics series, the LCES aimed to support business by providing existing statistics in a usable form and developing new indicators such as share prices, money wages and industrial production. Longer 'Special Memoranda' were produced on particular subjects. The LCES was directed by an Executive Committee consisting of William Beveridge and Arthur Bowley from LSE and John Maynard Keynes and Hubert Henderson from Cambridge.

The London and Birmingham Railway was sanctioned in 1833, and the Company appointed Robert Stephenson as chief engineer. Its construction was dogged by much opposition. The 112 mile long London to Birmingham line took 20,000 men nearly five years to build. The total cost of building the railway was £5,500,000 (£50,000 a mile). The railway was opened in stages and finally completed on 17 September 1838. The line started at Birmingham's Curzon Street Station and finished at Euston Station in London.

This company was established in 1887 for life and accident insurance. Its offices were at 3 Regent Street. In 1894 it amalgamated with Scottish Metropolitan Assurance Company; this became London and Scottish Assurance in 1912; Northern Assurance in 1923 and merged with Commercial Union in 1968.

The London Alliance of West End Cutters was founded in 1892 by J P Thornton, and was a professional society for tailors. Annual dinners were held and lectures given to meetings. The Alliance was wound up in 1987.

The 'London Aged Christian Society for the permanent relief of the decidedly Christian poor of both sexes, who have attained sixty years and who reside within seven miles of Saint Pauls Cathedral' was founded in 1826 at a provisional meeting held at 32 Sackville Street, at the 'Religious and Charitable Societies House' by a group of men 'in consequence of the great interest that has lately been excited at the Western part of the Metropolis on behalf of the aged Christian poor' (A/LAC/1/1).

The group consisted of William Newman, a grocer and tea-dealer of 21 Cockspur Street; William Adeney, a tailor of 16 Sackville Street (for many years the sub-treasurer); Mr Palmer and Benjamin Palmer upholsterers of 175 Piccadilly; Edward Swaine, a whip maker of 224 Piccadilly and Richard Sawyer, an engraver of 43 Dean Street.

The Earl of Rocksavage (later Marquess of Cholmondeley) was the first president and continued in office until his death in 1870. At the second meeting Henry Drummond was proposed as Treasurer and began a long association with Drummonds Bank.

Two committees were established, the main (gentlemen's) committee and a ladies committee. Members of the former were 'monthly to visit and relive the poor pensioners in their own habitations', such members were known as almoners (A/LAC/1/1), while members of the ladies committee visited and interviewed applicants, who, if approved, went on the gentlemen's rotas. The ladies were known as visitors. Subscribers were entitled to recommend pensioners. In 1892 the two committees were amalgamated.

The principle, which was enunciated at every annual general or anniversary meeting was a 'deep sense of the Scriptual obligation to do good especially to those who are of the household of faith'.

For many years the Society relied on the support of individual contributors but from 1854 to 1888 West Street Episcopal Chapel maintained an association in aid of the Society's funds and in the Society made its first public appeal. The Society welcomed the Old Age Pensions Act in 1909 but maintained its belief that there was still a need for its work. In 1885 the idea of an almshouse was first proposed and the provision and maintenance of almshouses became a large part of the Society's work.

In 1913 the Society left 32 Sackville Street for Denson House in Vauxhall and is now to be found with the Field Lane Foundation at Vine Hill.

Born in Birmingham, England, 1877; studied at Mason University College, Birmingham; BA (University of London external degree); appointed London Missionary Society (LMS) missionary to Madagascar, 1917; detained in England owing to World War One (1914-1918); sailed to Madagascar, 1919; took temporary charge of the Girls' High School at Fianarantsoa, Betsileo; moved to Tananarive and took charge of the Girls' Central School, 1921; retired, 1939; died at Parkstone, 1959.

Logan was born in Liverpool in 1910 and went on to be educated at University College, Oxford. During 1935-1936 he held the Henry fellowship at Harvard and during 1936-1937 was assistant lecturer in Law at the London School of Economics. Logan was called to the bar (Middle Temple) in 1937 and also elected a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. During World War Two Logan worked for the Ministry of Supply before being appointed in 1944 as Clerk of the Court at London University where he became Principal in 1948. In 1959 Logan was knighted and went on to receive honorary fellowships from the London School of Economics (1962), University College Oxford (1973) and University College London (1975) as well as honorary degrees from numerous universities around the world. He died at University College Hospital, London, in 1987.

William Kennett Loftus was born in Rye, Sussex in c 1821. He was educated at Newcastle Grammar School, a school in Twickenham and later at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge where he did not take a degree. Loftus' interest in geology may have been inspired by the lectures of Prof Adam Sedgwick, Woodwardian Professor at Cambridge, certainly it was Sedgwick who proposed Loftus as a Fellow of the Society in 1842.

Sir Henry De la Beche, Director of the Geological Survey, recommended Loftus to Lord Palmerston for the post of geologist on the staff of Sir William Fenwick Williams on the Turco-Persian frontier commission. This joint commission, consisting of representatives appointed by the British, Russian, Turkish and Persian governments, was charged with defining the border between Turkey and Persia [now Iran], the work which it undertook between 1849-1852.

The publication of the paper was delayed due to a bout of ill health and Loftus' absorption in his archaelogical digs around the biblical cities of Mesopotamia. In 1855, Loftus was appointed to the Geological Survey of India however his health, already weakened from a fever which he developed in the swamps of Assyria, completely broke down due to sunstroke. He died on the return voyage aboard the Tyburnia on 27 November 1858 from the effects of an abscess of the liver.

Charles Thornton Lofthouse, born York, 12 Oct 1895; chorister, St Paul's Cathedral, 1904-1910; attended Royal Manchester College of Music; after World War One, studied the organ with Walter Parratt and conducting with Adrian Boult at the Royal College of Music; studied the piano with Alfred Cortot in Paris and the harpsichord with Aimee van der Wiele and Gustav Leonhardt; B Mus, 1930; D Mus, Trinity College, Dublin, 1935; accompanist to the London Bach Choir, 1921-1939; developed art of continuo playing, for which he was the first person to use a harpsichord in the Royal Albert Hall; professor at the RCM, 1922-1971; Director of Music at Westminster School, 1924-1939, and Reading University, 1939-1950; appointed examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, 1923, and acted as external examiner in music for several university institutes of education; created and conducted the University of London Music Society, 1934-1959; performed as a continuo, chamber or solo harpsichordist throughout Europe and in the USA; died London, 28 Feb 1974. Publications: Commentaries and Notes on Bach's Two- and Three-Part Inventions (London, 1956).