Showing 15887 results

Poplar Methodist Church is situated in Emery Hall, Annabel Close, near to Queen Victoria's Seaman's Rest. It is part of the Tower Hamlets Circuit.

Eastcote Methodist Church began as meetings in private houses, begun in around 1825. In 1848 the first Methodist chapel was built opposite the present chapel in Pamela Gardens. This served the Eastcote congregation until a new chapel in Pamela Gardens, the building of which had been delayed by the Second World War, was substantially completed. The chapel was occupied in 1950 and building work finished in 1962.

A Wesleyan Methodist church was opened in 1929 to serve the new Kenton estate, near Harrow, and was replaced by another church and a hall on the same site, Woodgrange Avenue, in 1937.

In Northwood Primitive Methodists met in a house called 'Elthorne' in the modern High Street from about 1896. In that year a school chapel to accommodate 250 people was built on the corner of High Street and Hallowell Road. The present church next to the school chapel was completed in 1903. It was further extended in 1910, and a new vestry added in 1927. Enemy action caused considerable damage to the building in 1944. From 1905 a group of about 20 Wesleyan Methodists worshipped in a house in Chester Road. Two years later a temporary corrugated iron church was erected in Hallowell Road. After the construction of a permanent building in Oaklands Gate in 1924, the temporary structure was transferred there for use as a church hall. A new hall and classrooms costing £22,500 were completed in 1962. After the Methodist Union in 1932 these two churches became known as the High Street and Oaklands Gate Methodist churches.

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. 145-146.

Ruislip Manor Methodist Church was built in 1937 on Torrington Road.

Harrow Methodist Church, Welldon Crescent, was opened in 1904. The church has now closed and the building has been converted into the Welldon Community Centre.

The Wealdstone Methodist Church has its origins in a Methodist mission room in Harrow Weald from 1889 to 1935. The congregation used a chapel in Station Road, Wealdstone, from 1892 to 1904, when it was replaced by the present chapel in Locket Road.

The Brunswick Methodist Chapel was situated on Balcombe Street, Saint Marylebone.

The Great Queen Street Chapel was founded in 1706 as a dissenting chapel constructed in the garden of a home on Lincoln's Inn Fields. In 1758 the chapel was purchased by the Reverend Thomas Francklyn and became a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel. The chapel was rebuilt in 1817 when land was bought in neighbouring gardens in order to construct a larger building with galleries.

The chapel was the centre of the Great Queen Street Circuit which was formed in the 1820s and stretched as far as Finchley and Barnet. In 1906 the Methodist Conference gave the Chapel to the West London Mission. The building was later condemned by the London County Council and the Mission was temporarily housed in the Lyceum Theatre, while on Great Queen Street at the old site a new place of worship, Kingsway Hall, was under construction. Kingsway Hall opened in 1912.

On 5 September 1688 James II issued letters patent incorporating a body of ten French ministers and granting them a licence to establish one or more churches for the Huguenot refugees in the City and suburbs. Two churches, both known as 'La Patente', were established by the ministers, one in Spitalfields and the other in Berwick Street in the parish of St. James, Westminster. In 1694 part of the congregation of the latter removed to Little Chapel Street (now Sheraton Street) off Wardour Street, Westminster, and became known as La Petite or La Nouvelle Patente.In 1784 the congregation merged with that of Les Grecs-La Savoie, which survived, latterly as the French Episcopal Church, in Shaftesbury Avenue, until c 1925.

For a period after 1784 the chapel was used by the Methodists, but in 1796 a lease of the building was taken by a part of Dr John Trotter's Scots Presbyterian congregation from Swallow Street (see LMA/4365). The Presbyterians continued to use the chapel, which by 1850 had become known as the Wardour Chapel, until 1889, when it was taken over by the Wesleyan West Central London Mission. The Wesleyans remained until about 1894, when the building was demolished to make way for Novello's printing works.

From: 'Wardour Street Area: Pulteney Estate', Survey of London: volumes 33 and 34: St Anne Soho (1966), pp. 288-296.

A Sunday School was established in 1798 at 74 Golden Lane, off the south side of Old Street, and in 1819 moved to Radnor Street, off the north side of Old Street in Islington. The Sunday School was situated near to the City Road Chapel and belonged to the Circuit run from that Chapel. It was the first Methodist Sunday School in London. In 1837 a Day School was also opened at the Radnor Street site. The Day Schools were closed 29 May 1903.

British Schools were run using the "Lancasterian Monitorial System of Education", which was developed by Quaker John Lancaster in 1798. The system allowed huge numbers of pupils to be educated under one school-master by using able pupils as monitors assisting the others and was intended to provide a basic education for poor children. The "Society for Promoting the Lancasterian System for the Education of the Poor" was founded in 1808 and had the support of many non-conformists. The Society changed its name to the "British and Foreign Schools Society" in 1814 and founded many 'British Schools' which were often attached to non-conformist churches.

The North West London Mission included the Gospel Oak, Paddington, Prince of Wales Road, Saint John's Wood, Sutherland Avenue, Harrow Road, Fernhead Road and Mill Lane Methodist Churches.

The Horace Jones Trust was established in 1933 to carry on the religious and philanthropic work of the founder, mainly in the Borough of Saint Pancras. The work included the provision of silver medals for 'good and meritorious conduct' for children in certain schools in the area.

The Prince of Wales Wesleyan Methodist Church stood in Prince of Wales Road, Kentish Town. The church closed in 1965 when it merged with the Gospel Oak Methodist Church, and the building was converted to a Dance Centre.

Source: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9: Hampstead, Paddington (1989), pp. 153-158.

A Methodist circuit is normally a group of churches in a local area served by a team of ministers. A minister will have pastoral charge of one or more churches, but will preach and lead worship in different local churches in the circuit, along with local preachers. The arrangements for leading worship in a circuit are drawn up in a quarterly Plan. There has been much reorganisation as chapels closed and circuits were altered; for further details and names and dates of circuits, contact the Society of Cirplanologists who collect Circuit plans.

The Methodist Church in Britain is arranged into over 600 Circuits, which in turn are grouped into 32 Districts covering Great Britain, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Each District is supervised by a District Synod.

Harlesden Methodist Church was founded in 1869. It was damaged by enemy action in 1941, and rebuilt in the 1950s on its present site.

Willesden Green Primitive Methodist chapel was opened in the High Road, Willesden Green by 1897. The church was rebuilt in 1904 but closed in 1963.

Barking Road Wesleyan Methodist Church originated in 1857, when Thomas Jacob, a Wesleyan from Cambridge, started services in Sabberton Street. Services, Sunday school, and a day-school were later held in Hallsville Road. In 1862 a school-chapel, seating 250, was built on the north side of Barking Road, east of Canning Town railway station. Owing mainly to the efforts of the superintendent minister, J. S. Workman, a larger building was opened in 1868, heading a new Canning Town circuit, with a membership of 150. The society had previously belonged first to the Spitalfields, then to the Bow circuit. The old chapel continued in use as a day and Sunday school. The new one, with all its records, was destroyed by a fire of 1887 and rebuilt in the same year. Barking Road was transferred to the Seamen's Mission in 1907, when the Cory Institute was erected, costing £6,000, of which £2,000 was given by John Cory of Cardiff. Unemployment and movement of population after the closing of the Thames Ironworks weakened the church about this time, but it revived and flourished until the 1930s. It was destroyed by bombing in September 1940, and a temporary building was erected on the site in 1948. In 1957 it joined the London Mission (West Ham), with a membership of 50. The temporary building was sold and in 1960 the congregation amalgamated with Custom House Primitive Methodist Church and Shirley Street United Methodist Church in a new church at Fife Road, Canning Town. War damage compensation from Barking Road helped to build a new church at Harold Wood, Hornchurch, in 1962. In 1963 there was a petrol station on the Barking Road site.

From: 'West Ham: Roman Catholicism, Nonconformity and Judaism', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 123-141.

Barking Road Wesleyan Methodist Church originated in 1857, when Thomas Jacob, a Wesleyan from Cambridge, started services in Sabberton Street. Services, Sunday school, and a day-school were later held in Hallsville Road. In 1862 a school-chapel, seating 250, was built on the north side of Barking Road, east of Canning Town railway station. Owing mainly to the efforts of the superintendent minister, J. S. Workman, a larger building was opened in 1868, heading a new Canning Town circuit, with a membership of 150. The society had previously belonged first to the Spitalfields, then to the Bow circuit. The old chapel continued in use as a day and Sunday school. The new one, with all its records, was destroyed by a fire of 1887 and rebuilt in the same year. Barking Road was transferred to the Seamen's Mission in 1907, when the Cory Institute was erected, costing £6,000, of which £2,000 was given by John Cory of Cardiff. Unemployment and movement of population after the closing of the Thames Ironworks weakened the church about this time, but it revived and flourished until the 1930s. It was destroyed by bombing in September 1940, and a temporary building was erected on the site in 1948. In 1957 it joined the London Mission (West Ham), with a membership of 50. The temporary building was sold and in 1960 the congregation amalgamated with Custom House Primitive Methodist Church and Shirley Street United Methodist Church in a new church at Fife Road, Canning Town. War damage compensation from Barking Road helped to build a new church at Harold Wood, Hornchurch, in 1962. In 1963 there was a petrol station on the Barking Road site.

From: 'West Ham: Roman Catholicism, Nonconformity and Judaism', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 123-141.

The Walworth Methodist Church belongs to the Southwark and Deptford Circuit. The church was founded in 1813.

The London Central Mission Circuit of the Methodist Church had its origins in 1886 with the establishment of the London Central Mission at the already well-established Wesleyan Methodist church in St. John's Square, Clerkenwell, which became the principal church of the circuit. Many of the records of the circuit as a whole were lost when the St. John's Square church was destroyed by enemy action in 1941. The circuit was abolished in 1960, when its remaining churches were transferred to the London Mission (North) Circuit and the London Mission (Hackney and Clapton) Circuit.

The Wesleyan Methodist Church, Caledonian Road was built at the corner of Hillmarton Road in 1866. It was a member of the Highbury Circuit until its closure in 1916.

Haggerston Methodist Church was also known as Haggerston Mission Hall. It was established by Wesleyan Methodists at Hilcot Street as part of the Islington circuit. In 1900 it transferred to the Mildmay Park Circuit and then in 1905 to the London Central Mission Circuit. New premises were opened at Haggerston Road in 1932. The Church was transferred to the London Mission (Hackney and Clapton) Circuit in 1960.

Saint John's Square Church was built by Wesleyan Methodists in 1849. It established the London Central Mission in 1886. In May 1941 it was totally gutted on the worst night of the London Blitz. The congregation met in various temporary premises including St James' Anglican church, Clerkenwell and Finsbury Town Hall. In 1949 temporary buildings were opened on the original site, however, in 1957 the church was closed and the remaining buildings were demolished.

Gospel Oak Methodist Church on Agincourt Road originated in 1875 in Wesleyan Methodist meetings held in Lismore Circus. The meetings were recognized as a mission in 1877 and placed under the control of the Prince of Wales Road church. A site at the corner of Lisburne Road was bought but only a school was built at first. A permanent church building opened in 1900. In 1940 the Grafton Road Methodist Church was amalgamated with the Gospel Oak church. The need to carry out building repairs brought about a union with the Prince of Wales Road Methodist Church at the Gospel Oak site in 1965. The church was duly demolished in 1970 and the new building opened in 1971.

The Prince of Wales Wesleyan Methodist Church stood in Prince of Wales Road, Kentish Town. The church closed in 1965 when it merged with the Gospel Oak Methodist Church, and the building was converted to a Dance Centre.

In 1858 Mill Lane Primitive Methodist Church was located at Little Church Row in Hampstead. The church was relocated to Mill Lane, West Hampstead in 1886 and was registered in 1890 as the Ebenezer Primitive Methodist chapel. The church closed and was demolished in the late 1970s.

Source: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9: Hampstead, Paddington (1989), pp. 153-158.

In 1885 the Wesleyan Methodist Church established its first Mission at Saint George's Church, Cable Street, Shadwell, with the Reverend Peter Thompson as Superintendent. The Church aimed to combat the poverty and squalor of the East End of London with a combination of evangelism and social work. The Mission at Saint George's rapidly expanded and new Missions were opened at Stepney, Mile End, Bethnal Green and Tower Hill. Free meals were handed out during hard winters, medical care was provided and events were organised for children including trips to the sea-side, penny films and Christmas treats. The Mission also campaigned on political issues, particularly for temperance and the closure of Music Halls. Articles on such issues appeared in the monthly magazine of the Mission - the 'East End' and later the 'East End Star'.

Following the foundation of the welfare state after the Second World War the Mission shifted the focus of its social work. Saint George's was converted into a centre for the care of homeless men and the Mission as a whole developed its support for immigrant communities, single parents, the disabled, the unemployed and those in inadequate housing. A care home for the elderly was established in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex and a campsite opened at Lambourne End in the Hainault Forest, Essex. A Social Studies Centre was opened to provide voluntary placements for Sociology students.

The London Methodist Choir was part of the London North East District of the Methodist Church. The Methodist Church in Britain is arranged into over 600 Circuits, which in turn are grouped into 32 Districts covering Great Britain, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Each District is supervised by a District Synod. Circuits and missions in the London North East District include: London City Road, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Hackney, Stoke Newington, Finsbury park and Southgate, Tottenham, Enfield, Waltham Abbey and Hertford, [Epping] Forest, Barking and Ilford, West Essex, Bishop's Stortford, Cambridge, Huntingdon, Romford, Grays, Southend-on-sea, Leigh-on-sea, Basildon, Chelmsford, Colchester, Manningtree and Harwich, Clacton-on-Sea.

The Metropolitan and District Electric Traction Company was formed in 1901 to electrify the Metropolitan District Railway (now the District Line). This included the construction of the Lots Road Power Station to supply electricity. The American investor who owned the Metropolitan District Railway, Charles Yerkes, favoured using DC power with third rail pick-up; while a joint committee of the Metropolitan Railway and the Metropolitan District Railway had favoured AC traction. A Board of Trade ruling led to the use of DC. The District Railway was electrified by 1905.

The Metropolitan and St John's Wood Railway Company was a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Railway Company. It carried out the construction of a northern extension to the Metropolitan Railway's central London line. An extension between Baker Street and Swiss Cottage was opened in 1868. The line was continued to West Hampstead and Willesden Green in 1879, Harrow in 1880 and Pinner in 1885. The Metropolitan and St John's Wood Railway Company merged with the Metropolitan Railway Company in 1882. The line extensions are now part of the London Underground's Metropolitan Line.

The Metropolitan Association (founded 1841, incorporated by Royal Charter 1845) was the first organisation to build 'social' housing on a large scale. It was part of the philanthropic movement which reserved the right to profit for the investor (commonly known as Five Per Cent Philanthropy). Its pioneering block dwellings in Old Pancras Road, London were completed in 1848 and acted as a model for future developments in other big cities. Indeed the Association had branches in Liverpool, Newcastle, Torquay, Bristol, Wolverhampton, Sunderland, Brighton, Dudley, Ramsgate and Southampton.

HMS Exmouth was loaned to the Metropolitan Asylums Board by the Admiralty for use as a training ship for poor boys in 1876. The cadets were often from families that had been placed in workhouses, having fallen on hard times.

The Exmouth replaced the previous training ship at Grays, HMS Goliath. This was destroyed by fire in 1875, killing 19 cadets. Exmouth's first commander, Staff Commander Bouchier, survived the blaze.

The first Exmouth, built in 1840, saw more than 30 years service in the Navy. She had accommodation for 750 boys and staff, who were usually former members of the Royal Navy. The ship was run along naval lines with regular inspections. But by 1903, Exmouth was felt to be too old for service and she was replaced by a new, purpose-built vessel.

This ship remained in service until the outbreak of war in 1939. The boys were moved inland, while the Exmouth was taken over by the Admiralty for use as a depot ship.

Source: http://www.portcities.org.uk.

The Metropolitan Benefit Societies' Asylum was founded in 1829 by John Christopher Bowles. The foundation stone of the Asylum which was situated in Balls Pond Road, Islington, was laid by the Lord Mayor in 1836. The Asylum was intended to provide accommodation for aged persons of either sex who were members of any friendly or benefit society and who lived in or near London. The almshouses were modernised in 1959. In 1964 twelve two storeyed houses for four tenants each were arranged around three sides of a quadrangle with a central hall to provide homes for a total of 48 men and women.

The Metropolitan Benefit Societies Asylum (MBSA) was established in 1829 under the patronage of her Majesty the Queen and the Duchess of Kent. It was supported by voluntary contributions. The objectives of the MBSA were to 'afford an asylum for the reception of aged and infirm members of Friendly Societies.'

The original asylum was located in houses rented for the purpose, however once sufficient funds were raised the almshouses at 100 Balls Pond Road, Hackney, were erected. The foundation stone was laid on August 17th 1836 by the then Lord Mayor, W. Taylor Copeland, and the total cost of the building came to £3600.

The asylum was built to accommodate 28 residents and was eventually expanded with the addition of two side wings affording accommodation for 64 couples. Sometime during the period up to the Second World war the Society changed its name from 'Asylum' to 'Almshouses'.

The MBSA was registered under the Friendly Societies Acts as a Benevolent Society, and although in later years it no longer came under the patronage of the Queen it still retained its voluntary contributions mainly from the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Subsequently the Benevolent Society registered under the Friendly Societies Act was dissolved and a new society was registered under The Charity Acts, enabling them to apply to form a Housing Association. The MBSA was registered in 1986 as a charity, and a Housing Association.

Since then much work has been done on the Almshouse building itself creating a Warden's residence and office, a central community block and 13 two room flats for residents.

Bethnal Green was a Metropolitan Borough within the Administrative County of London. Electors within the constituency elected the Bethnal Green representative on the County Council. They also elected councillors for the borough council.

The Metropolitan Buildings Office (MBO) was established in 1844 under the Metropolitan Buildings Act and was the first statutory body with responsibility for building regulation for the whole of the Metropolitan area. Revision of building regulation was long overdue. Between 1801 and 1841 the population of London had increased from under a million to over two million. The built up area had spread well beyond the boundaries set by the London Building Act of 1774.

Building methods and uses had also changed in the period, and there was a pressing need to prevent building developments which were undesirable for social or sanitary reasons - even the most conservative were beginning to realise that accumulations of untreated sewage under and around dwellings in crowded streets and alleys were a menace to health.

The 1844 Metropolitan Buildings Act was concerned with the security and thickness of party walls and the use of fire-resistant materials. Buildings were classified into three types - dwelling houses, warehouses and public buildings, which included churches, schools and theatres, and detailed provisions were set out for each.

In addition it established that:

• No new streets should be formed less than 40 feet wide and buildings adjacent to them should be no higher than the width of the street.

• New dwelling houses were to have an area of at least 10 square feet at the rear unless the windows on the other three sides gave light and air to all the rooms.

• No cellar or underground room was to be used for human habitation unless it had a window, a fireplace and drainage.

• Privies and closets were to be properly enclosed and screened from public view and drains were to be provided in all new houses.

• Noxious and dangerous businesses were not to be set up within 50 feet of other buildings.

As an organisation the MBO was administratively very complicated - The Lord Mayor, the Justices, the Secretary of State and the Commissioners of Works all had a say in the appointment of officers. There was apparently much friction between the Registrar and the Official Referees, and officers were expected to accomplish far more than their powers permitted. Almost from the beginning private builders, surveyors and others were clamouring for revision of the Act. In 1855 the MBO was abolished and a new body, the Metropolitan Board of Works, was set up in its place.

As a result of the rapid increase of population and of building in the last quarter of the 18th century and the first few decades of the 19th most of the scattered villages and hamlets in the areas covered by the 7 commissions of sewers in the neighbourhood of London had by the 1840s coalesced into one urban area for which the old piecemeal drainage systems were quite inadequate. Sewage accumulated in cesspools and open ditches and even on the surface of the ground, fouling the water supplies. Cholera epidemics increased in frequency and intensity until the government was forced to take action.

In 1847 a Royal Commission was appointed to "inquire whether any, and what, special means might be requisite for the improvement of the health of the metropolis, with regard more especially to the better house, street and land drainage.... etc.". One important conclusion of the Commissioners was that adequate provision for the sewerage of London could not be made until it became the responsibility of one competent body. The matter was treated as one of urgency and Her Majesty's Government acted on this advice in advance of legislation in November 1847, by the device of summoning the same 23 commissioners for each of the 7 districts (plus the extra Westminster district in the palatinate of the Savoy). The same chief officers were appointed for all the districts and so some unity of policy and organisation was already in being before the combined Metropolitan Commission of Sewers was appointed under the Act of September 1848 "to consolidate and continue in force for Two Years and to the End of the then next Session of Parliament, the Metropolitan Commissions of Sewers".

Further Acts "to continue and amend the Metropolitan Sewers Act" were passed in 1851and 1852. Both the powers and the resources of the Commission were however inadequate for the entire replanning and reconstruction of the main drainage of the London area which was what the situation required and in 1855, under the Metropolis Management Act, the Commission was superseded by the Metropolitan Board of Works.

The Metropolitan Committee for War Savings was intended to be primarily an organisation for the promotion of the sale of War Loans and Savings Certificates, but it by no means confined itself to this activity. It dealt with economies in the use of food and in the cooking of food, nutrition, inequalities in the distribution of food, and even salvage or recycling of materials.

At one period the Committee was much concerned with racial tension caused by the fact (the truth of which was agreed by the Chief Rabbi) that foreign Jews in the East End (most of whom, it was said, could not understand English) could obtain from Jewish shops ample supplies of foodstuffs which the English populace could only obtain in small quantities after queuing for long periods at the ordinary English shops. The Committee proposed a system of rationing. It examined closely the quality of the war-time bread. It even considered a report on the possibilities of extracting grease from the London sewers.

The Association was originally called the "Metropolitan and National Nursing Association for Providing Nurses for the Sick Poor" until 1894, when it changed its name to the "Metropolitan Nursing Association for Providing Nurses for the Sick Poor". Its present title was adopted in 1925.

The Metropolitan District Railway (MDR) was formed in 1864 in order to raise capital to complete the 'Inner Circle' railway being constructed by the Metropolitan Railway, who constructed the line between Mansion House and South Kensington via Kings Cross. The MDR completed the section of line between South Kensington and Mansion House via Blackfriars, finishing by 1871. The expectation was that the two companies would merge once work was completed. However, they instead had a falling out over finances (and a personality clash of the two Chairmen) and began to run separate services using the same lines. Some agreement was eventually reached so that the final section of line, between Mansion House and Aldgate, was completed in 1884, thus forming the modern day Circle Line.

In an attempt to improve their finances the MDR embarked on a series of line expansions, to Hammersmith in 1874, Richmond in 1877, Ealing Broadway in 1879, Putney Bridge in 1880, Hounslow in 1883, and Wimbledon in 1889. The Whitechapel to Upminster line extension was opened in 1902. The line was electrified in 1905, following the construction of a power station at Lots Road. The majority of the line cosntructed by the MDR forms the modern London Underground District Line, although some sections of line (Ealing to Uxbridge) are now on the Piccadilly Line. The MDR was purchased by Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited and subsequently became part of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933.

When the companies operating underground railways began to electrify them it was necessary for them to generate their own power as there was no National Grid. In 1897 the Metropolitan District Railway obtained permission to build a coal fuelled power station at Lots Road, at the junction of the Thames and Chelsea Creek. The station was completed by 1905. It provided most of the electricity needed by the London Underground and the tram networks, but was closed in 2002 when it became cheaper to purchase electricity than generate it.

The Metropolitan District Railway Mutual Provident Society is thought to have been founded in 1887. It raised funds by subscriptions from members, donations and voluntary contributions to: relieve and maintain its members in sickness or infirmity from accident or natural causes; provided medical aid for members' wives and children; make payments on the death of members; and contribute towards members' funeral expenses. Its members were employees of the Metropolitan District Railway Company.

The Society was managed by a Secretary, Treasurer, two Auditors, two Scrutineers and a Committee of Management made up of twelve elected members. Three Trustees were elected by the Members and the Society's funds were invested in the names of these Trustees.

The Society was amalgamated into the London Electric Railway Employees' Benefit Society (Additional Section) in 1936.

Registered office: Lillie Bridge Works, West Brompton, London.

Source of information: rules booklet and London Gazette, 16 October 1936.

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.

Kensington Infirmary and Kensington Workhouse were administered by the Kensington Board of Guardians until 1930. Kensington Workhouse became known as Kensington Institution in 1912 and Kensington Infirmary became St Mary Abbot's Hospital in 1923. In 1930 when the London County Council took over the two hospitals, St Mary Abbot's Hospital was designated a type A hospital for the acute sick, and Kensington Institution became a type B hospital for the chronic sick. In 1931 on the retirement of the Master of Kensington Institution, the hospital was placed under the charge of a Medical Superintendent as a first stage in integrating the two hospitals. This was carried a step further in 1933 when the Institution was renamed St Mary Abbot's Hospital (Institution).

From 1938 St Mary Abbot's Hospital became St Mary Abbot's Hospital (I) and St Mary Abbot's Hospital (Institution) became St Mary Abbot's Hospital (II), until 17 June 1944 when Hospital (II) was closed due to enemy action. The two hospitals were eventually united formally in 1948 when they were taken in to the National Health Service.

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 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.

The Metropolitan Electric Tramways Company Limited was founded in 1894 as the Metropolitan Tramways and Omnibus Company Limited. The company had an agreement with Middlesex County Council to operate electric tramways that the Council was constructing. The company was purchased in 1904 by British Electric Traction who changed the name to Metropolitan Electric Tramways. The area of operations was expanded, including much of Middlesex and parts of Hertfordshire. In 1913 the company became a subsidiary of the London and Suburban Traction Company, which was co-owned by British Electric Traction and Underground Electric Railways Company of London Ltd. In 1933 the company was absorbed into the London Passenger Transport Board.

When the London Coal and Wine Duties Continuance Bill was before the House of Commons in 1868, it met strong opposition. The suggestion was made that some compensation should be given by setting free the bridges across the Thames and Lea. This suggestion was embodied in the Act of 1868 by which the duties for the year 1888-9 were to be applied in the first instance to freeing from toll the following bridges: Kew, Kingston, Hampton Court, Walton and Staines on the Thames, and then Chingford and Tottenham Mills Bridges (including Hellyer's Ferry Bridge) upon the River Lea. These objects were provided for by the Kew and other Bridges Act of 1869 and an amendment Act of 1874 by which a Joint Committee of the Corporation of London and the Metropolitan Board of Works was appointed. The Coal and Wine Duties of 1888-9 were allocated as security for raising the necessary funds. The total cost of the purchase of the bridges was £155,485.2.0.

The Metropolitan Free Drinking Fountain Association, as it was originally known, was established by Samuel Gurney, MP, in 1859. As a charity it aimed to provide the poor living in London with a clean, fresh water supply. The cholera epidemics of 1848-9 and 1853-4 had demonstrated the need for such action. The first drinking fountain was erected in 1859 against the wall of St Sepulchre's Church, Snow Hill.

Although the Association was largely motivated by the need for a hygienic water supply, it also had the support of temperance organisations, who disliked the fact the beer was more readily available than water.

The Association was also concerned with animal welfare, and erected a considerable number of cattle and horse troughs in and around London. By 1865 the majority of drinking fountains also had troughs for dogs attached to them.

By the 1930s the emphasis of the Association's work had changed. There was no longer such a great need to provide drinking facilities for animals in London as livestock ceased to be herded through the streets to market, and horse drawn vehicles were no longer prevalent. The Association, therefore, concentrated on providing drinking facilities in parks and other recreational areas, as well as schools.

Despite its name the Association has never restricted its work to the London area. It has been responsible for the construction of fountains all over the British Isles, as well as in such countries as Australia, Africa, Japan and Korea.

The Association still exists today and is known as the Drinking Fountain Association.

On 21 November 1872, the Treasurers of London Hospitals met in the London Tavern in Bishopsgate to discuss how the voluntary hospitals in London could find enough money to remain in existence. They decided that the principal of a Hospital Sunday should be adopted and set up a committee chaired by the Lord Mayor of London to carry this out. The Lord Mayor was asked to preside over a public meeting of leading clergymen of all denominations in the Egyptian Hall at the Mansion House in London on 16 January 1873. This meeting adopted the resolution "That the success attending Hospital Sunday in many of the provincial towns makes it desirable that a similar annual collection should be made in all places of worship in the metropolis on behalf of the medical charities". The collections made on Hospital Sunday would be administered by a Fund which soon became known as the Metropolitan Hospital Sunday Fund.

An annually elected Council of both lay and clerical members was established by the meeting and it was given the power to appoint the annual Committee of Distribution. It was also suggested that the Lord Mayor should be the permanent President and Treasurer of the Fund and that Annual Meetings should be convened by him. This has been the case ever since and all Annual Meetings have been held in the Mansion House.

The first Hospital Sunday collections took place on 15 June 1873 and a total of nearly £26,000 was contributed. Each year since then Hospital Sunday has been held on a nominated date, usually the First Sunday after Trinity. Over the years the support from places of worship has decreased. However, the Fund has been able to build up an investment income by capitalising on the many bequests it has received. Street collections were introduced in 1936.

The Fund distributed grants to the voluntary hospitals and dispensaries right up to the time of the foundation of the National Health Service in 1948. Thereafter the Fund felt that it could no longer make grants to hospitals which were financed from statutory sources. However, it decided to continue to make grants to independent hospitals and homes which had not been taken into the National Health Service, and to medical charities and organisations. It also made grants to National Health Service hospitals in the form of Samaritan Funds.

The Samaritan Funds were for the use of Hospital Social Workers in National Health Hospitals to enable them to provide in-patients and out-patients with items not normally available from statutory sources. In 1980 Special Reserve Fund grants were introduced which allowed Social Workers to obtain for patients amounts too large to be met from Samaritan Funds. Longstay/Geriatric Holiday grants were also introduced.

In 1981 the Fund introduced Specific Purpose grants for independent hospitals and homes which enabled applicants to request help with a wide range of requirements. It also enabled the Fund to support a particular project or individual rather than make a grant which was just set against general running expenses.

Until 1974, the official address of the Metropolitan Hospital Sunday Fund was the Mansion House in the City of London, although from 1906 the Fund had had offices at 18 Queen Victoria Street. In March 1974 the Fund moved out of the City to 206B Station Road, Edgware, Middlesex on the demolition of the Queen Victoria Street premises. The Fund moved again in November 1982 to 40 High Street, Teddington, Middlesex.

In 1995, the Fund's administration was reorganised and brought under the wing of the Peabody Trust to whose premises the Fund relocated.

On Wednesday 30 March 1836, an advertisement in 'The Times' announced the foundation of the Metropolitan Free Hospital. The aim of the hospital was to offer treatment to people 'whose only recommendations are poverty, destitution and disease'. They would be accepted without the letter of recommendation required by other hospitals, but which was often difficult to obtain. The founders of the new hospital proposed 'to remedy these inconveniences and defects in most [...] public institutions and to promote the sacred cause of charity'. Two physicians and three surgeons offered their services free of charge. Readers of 'The Times' were asked to give donations. Ten guineas would give them the right to be a life Governor and a subscription of one guinea a year would make them a Governor as long as the money was paid. During the first years of its existence, the Governors of the hospital were largely businessmen of the City of London, the most notable being Joseph Fry. He was a founder member and remained an active chairman for twenty-four years, until his death in 1897.

In the beginning, the hospital had acute financial problems. Tradesmen's bills and even the rent for 29 Carey Street were in arrears. It was probably due to this lack of funds that only out-patients were treated. The Duke of Cambridge visited the hospital on 23 May 1843 and proposed that six beds should be immediately fitted up for in-patients. By 19 June 1844, in-patients were accepted into the Metropolitan Hospital. The Metropolitan moved from Carey Street to 8 Devonshire Square in 1850. The financial situation had not improved and only out-patients were accepted in the new premises. However, on 20 August 1850, it was decided to convert two rooms into an in-patients' ward and to put up beds so that visitors could see that 'in-patients will be received when the funds admit it'. Unfortunately, the new property was soon needed by the Great Eastern Railway Company for an extension of Liverpool Street Station. After long negotiations, 8 Devonshire Square was sold for £8,500 in February 1876.

It was not easy to find suitable new accommodation for the hospital. Several possibilities were suggested and finally it was decided to take a lease on a former warehouse at 81 Commercial Street, Spitalfields. The hospital was closed to out-patients from 21 December 1875 to 3 January 1876, when the new premises were opened. The new wards for in-patients were not ready until April of that same year. Plans were then made to erect a purpose-built hospital in Half Moon Street and Bishopsgate Street. It took some time to remove the sitting tenants, but before any building could begin the Great Eastern Railway Company decided that this space was also needed for Liverpool Street Station and the Great Eastern Hotel. They offered to pay £25,000 and this was accepted in 1882. Again a suitable site had to be found and in January 1883 a freehold site in Kingsland Road was bought for £5,896. Delays occurred and when the lease of the Commercial Street house expired in March 1885, the new building was far from completed. In-patients were sent home or moved to other hospitals, and a cottage and some shops at the corner of Kingsland Road and Enfield Road were taken on a weekly basis. This was not a satisfactory arrangement and in August the Management Committee demanded that the new out-patients department should be completed within two weeks. Even then delays occurred and the department was finally opened on 29 September 1885. The remaining part of the building was finished in the autumn of 1886.

Soon after the Metropolitan Free Hospital was established in Kingsland Road, Sir Edmund Hay Currie became a Governor. He was a businessman in the City of London and he quickly realised that the financial situation of the Hospital would have to be improved. Currie therefore suggested that subscribers should contribute a small sum to the Hospital on a monthly basis, whether ill or in good health. This meant that the name had to be changed. The word 'Free' was omitted and the name became simply 'Metropolitan Hospital'.

Little is known about the nursing staff in the early days of the Hospital. The post of Matron was often vacant, with no suitable candidates for the position. Sir Edmund Hay Currie proposed a solution - to seek the co-operation of an Anglican Nursing Order, the Order of All Saints. This Order provided the nursing staff of the Hospital from 1888 to 1895.

The site in Kingsland Road allowed the further development of the hospital. In 1896 it had 160 beds, twelve being reserved for Jews who had their own cook and a Jewish out-patient physician. In that year, 781 in-patients and 16,033 out-patients were treated. In 1934 the number of in-patients treated at the hospital had increased to 1,981 and out-patients to 29,313, mostly from Hackney. By this time, special departments had been established in ENT and Gynaecology. A Tuberculosis Dispensary had also been organised, which was linked to an inspection of schoolchildren arranged by London County Council. In 1948 the Metropolitan became part of the National Health Service and was administered by the Central Group Hospital Management Committee. In the 1970s it had 146 beds. The hospital was closed in 1977.

The Metropolitan United Pawnbrokers' Protection Society (renamed the Metropolitan Pawnbrokers' Protection Society in 1874) was formed some time before 1844 to give legal protection, assistance and advice to pawnbrokers trading in London.

Georgina Agnes Brackenbury (1865-1949) studied at the Slade School of Fine Art from 1888-1900. She was a member of both the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies and the Women's Social and Political Union. She was arrested in Feb 1908, after taking part in a raid on the House of Commons and was sentenced to six weeks in Holloway Prison. After her release, she continued in militant suffrage activities and was imprisoned for a month in 1912 for smashing windows. She was the daughter of Hilda Brackenbury (1832-1918) and sister of Mary Brackenbury (1866-1946), who were both also involved in militant suffrage activity.

Until 1834 the local authority responsible for poor relief was the parish. After the passing of the Poor Law Amendment Act, all except the largest parishes were forced to combine into poor law unions which elected Boards of Guardians which took over responsibility for poor relief. Some London parishes which had before 1834 obtained local acts of Parliament to regulate their administration of poor relief were able to continue their existing arrangements until 1867, when the Metropolitan Poor Act forced all London parishes to come under the control of Boards of Guardians.

Metropolitan parishes and unions were those falling within the Metropolis: London and those parts of neighbouring Middlesex, Essex, Surrey and Kent which had become increasingly urbanised. Valuation was the process of determining how much rates (local tax) should be paid by each property owner in an area.