The association was founded in 1882, with the object of providing open spaces in the London metropolitan area. It raised money through subscriptions for the purchase and laying out of parks and gardens; it also attempted to persuade local authorities to provide more facilities of this kind. The association also encouraged the conversion of disused churchyards and burial grounds into public gardens.
The Metropolitan Railway Company was responsible for the construction of the world's first underground passenger railway. Work began on the line in 1860, running from Paddington to King's Cross and then on to Farringdon Street. The first trial journey was held in 1862, with the line opened to the public in January 1863. The railway proved popular and extensions were constructed, the first being to Hammersmith by 1864 and Moorgate by 1865. This line formed the core both of the modern Circle Line (constructed as the Inner Circle) and the modern Metropolitan Line. In 1905 an electric service was introduced. In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway was taken over by the London Passenger Transport Board.
The Metropolitan Railway Company was responsible for the construction of the world's first underground passenger railway. Work began on the line in 1860, running from Paddington to King's Cross and then on to Farringdon Street. The first trial journey was held in 1862, with the line opened to the public in January 1863. The railway proved popular and extensions were constructed, the first being to Hammersmith by 1864 and Moorgate by 1865. In 1905 an electric service was introduced. In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway was taken over by the London Passenger Transport Board.
The Metropolitan Railway Company and the Great Central Railway Company worked together to operate a section of line running between Grendon Underwood and London Marylebone via Aylesbury, Harrow and Amersham.
The Hammersmith and City Railway was constructed by the Great Western Railway, running between Hammersmith and Westbourne Park. It was soon connected to the Metropolitan Railway's underground line. In 1867 the Metropolitan Railway purchased a share in the Hammersmith and City Railway and took over operations. The railway was a branch of the Metropolitan Line until 1988, when the line was split into the Hammersmith and City Line, running services from Hammersmith to Whitechapel, and the Metropolitan Line, running from Amersham to Aldgate.
The Watford Joint Railway Committee was a joint undertaking of the Metropolitan Railway Company and the London North Eastern Railway Company. It was formed to construct a branch of the Metropolitan Railway to Watford, now part of the London Underground Metropolitan Line.
The Metropolitan Railway and the Metropolitan District Railway were two separate companies responsible for the construction of the first two underground railways in London. The Metropolitan Railway was begun in 1860, running between Farringdon and Paddington through Kings Cross. This was extended to Hammersmith in 1864 and Moorgate in 1865. Plans were made for an 'Inner Circle' which would link the two ends of the line. A line between Paddington and South Kensington was opened in 1868 and between Moorgate and Aldgate in 1876.
The line between South Kensington and Mansion House was constructed by the Metropolitan District Railway in 1871, which was founded to raise the capital needed to complete the Inner Circle. 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. Both companies continued to expand beyond the Inner Circle, thus laying the foundations of the modern London Underground Circle, Hammersmith and City, District and Metropolitan lines.
The two companies formed a joint committee from 1901 to work together on the electrification of the Inner Circle. The Metropolitan District Railway was subsequently purchased by Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited (later the London Electric Railway). Both companies became part of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933.
The Club was established in November 1844 as an offshoot of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. It met to discuss science, literature and art. Its numbers were limited to 12.
The Metropolitan Rifle Range Company was set-up to provide ranges close to London at which the Metropolitan Volunteers could practice rifle shooting. Directors included Colonel Deane of the 21st Middlesex; Lieutenant-Colonel Cantlon of the 2nd London; Major Cunningham of the 9th Middlesex and Major Gallie of the 21st Middlesex. Mr Mortimer was Secretary.
In 1892 the Company opened a rifle range called the Runemede or Runnymede Range, near Staines. This comprised 1000 acres of flat land bordered by a river, marsh land, a railway and a road, along which a concrete wall was constructed. Nevertheless, the range was later closed because of safety concerns, particuarly relating to the railway.
The Metropolitan Roads Commission was formed in 1826 under the Act 7 George IV. c.142. It was responsible for the maintenance of the following roads:
Kensington Roads
Isleworth Road
Brentford Roads
Uxbridge Road
Kilburn Road
Harrow Road
Old Street
City Road
Hackney Road
Lea Bridge Road
Stamford Hill Roads (including Green Lanes)
Highgate and Hampstead Roads
Camden Town Roads
Marylebone Roads (including Edgware Road and New Road).
According to the Brent Council website, the Metropolitan Tower Construction Company was founded by Sir Edward Watkin, Chairman of the Metropolitan Railway Company. He was impressed by the Eiffel Tower and wished to construct something similar on land he owned in Wembley Park. In 1880 a design was chosen for a 1,200 feet high steel tower incorporating restaurants, theatres, dancing rooms and exhibition space. Work was begun in 1893 but ran into problems both with the construction and finances. Work was stopped when the tower was 155 feet high. The incomplete structure was surrounded by pleasure gardens including sports facilities, tea rooms, bandstands and a lake. The park was served by the new Wembley Park station which had opened in 1894. In 1899 the Tower Construction Company went into liquidation. Subsequently, the structure was neglected and by 1902 it was declared unsafe and closed to the public. It was then demolished, with the scrap steel exported abroad. Wembley Stadium now stands on the site.
See "The history of the Wembley Park area" on Brent Council website, http://www.brent.gov.uk/regeneration.nsf/Wembley/LBB-149 (accessed Jan 2010).
The Metropolitan Water Board was established in 1902 under the terms of the Metropolis Water Act of the same year with a statutory area of 576 square miles, of which it directly supplied 540. Its Board met for the first time in 1903 and was composed of 66 members from every local authority concerned (some smaller authorities had joint representation) and the Lee and Thames Conservancies. This number was increased to 88 in 1956 (due to population growth) but reduced to 39 on the reorganisation of local government in 1965.
During 1903 and 1904 arbitration appeals were heard regarding compensation for the companies' shareholders and in 1904 the 'appointed days' for transfer of the undertakings took place, July 25 for the New River Company and June 24 for the rest. The new undertaking also included the areas covered by the Urban Districts of Enfield and Tottenham which had retained their own powers of supply (from wells) although they had also been heavily dependent on the New River and East London companies.
Its first task was to complete schemes inherited from the companies and effect the rationalisation of the eight separate undertakings, primarily in engineering, staffing, administration and water rates. To this end Staines reservoir was opened in 1904, the Kempton Park works in 1906, Walton reservoir in 1907, Honor Oak reservoir in 1909, and Island Barn reservoir in 1911.
Progress on the financial and administrative side was slower and politically sensitive especially in the rationalisation of water charges. Criticisms of the Board continued through the 1910's and eventually in 1919 it agreed to the setting up of a committee by the Ministry of Health under Sir Horace Monro to review the workings of the 1902 Water Act. The committee reported in 1920, largely supporting the Board's management of the undertaking and the resulting Metropolitan Water Board (Charges) Act of 1921 strengthened its financial position.
In 1914 the Round Pond was closed after three hundred years in operation and on its site in 1920 the Board's new headquarters at New River Head were opened. In 1936 another connection with the early history of the capital's water supply was broken with the decision to allow the lease on Hampstead and Highgate ponds to lapse. It had been in existence since 1543.
In 1947 a Departmental Committee was set up by the Ministry of Health on Greater London Water Supplies with a remit "To examine the present system of water supply administration in the Greater London area and to consider and report on the question whether changes in that system are desirable in the public interest and if so what should be the constitution, powers and duties of the new body or bodies in which control should be rented". The Board was in favour of, in effect, a single regional body based on the hydro-geological area of the London Basin but there was a great deal of opposition to the proposal and nothing of substance was enacted although indirectly it led to the creation of the Thames Water Authority in 1974.
The post war period saw the inauguration of a number of major schemes including the opening of the George VI reservoir at Staines in 1947, the William Girling reservoir at Chingford in 1951, the Ashford Common works in 1958, the Thames to Lee Valley trunk main (to supplement supplies from the River Lee) in 1960, the Elizabeth II reservoir at Walton in 1962 and the Coppermills Works (the last great project completed) in 1972. By 1974 the daily amount of water supplied by the Board had risen from an original 220 million gallons in 1904 to 420 million gallons (with peaks up to 500 million).
The Thames Water Authority came into existence under the 1973 Water Act on 1st August of that year. The last meeting of the Metropolitan Water Board took place on 29th March 1974 and the Authority assumed full control three days later.
Early water supply to the city of London came directly from wells and rivers. However, as early as 1236 the fresh water supply was dwindling as the number of residents in the city increased; and works began to bring in fresh water from outside the city. The era of free water gave way to the era of commercial supply with the foundation of the New River Company (1612) and the London Bridge Waterworks (1581). Chelsea Waterworks Company was founded in 1723, and in 1746 laid the first iron water main (pipes were previously made of wood or lead). The Southwark Water Company was founded in 1760, the Lambeth Water Works Company in 1785, the Vauxhall Water Company in 1805, the West Middlesex Waterworks Company in 1806, the East London Waterworks Company in 1807, the Kent Waterworks Company in 1809 and the Grand Junction Waterworks Company in 1811.
It was not until 1902 that the Metropolis Water Act was passed, leading to the creation of the Metropolitan Water Board. This took over eight private water companies, taking over the New River Company headquarters on Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell. The board was made up of 66 delegated members, 14 from the London County Council, 31 from the Metropolitan Borough Councils and City Corporation, and 21 from the authorities of localities outside the water companies' areas. From 1907 widespread reservoir and waterworks building was carried out.
From 1974 the administration of the Metropolitan Water Board was transferred to the new Thames Water Authority. In 1989 Thames Water became a private company and set up a principal operating subsidiary, Thames Water Utilities Limited, to supply water and sewerage services.
Early water supply to the city of London came directly from wells and rivers. However, as early as 1236 the fresh water supply was dwindling as the number of residents in the city increased; and works began to bring in fresh water from outside the city. The era of free water gave way to the era of commercial supply with the foundation of the New River Company (1612) and the London Bridge Waterworks (1581). Chelsea Waterworks Company was founded in 1723, and in 1746 laid the first iron water main (pipes were previously made of wood or lead). The Southwark Water Company was founded in 1760, the Lambeth Water Works Company in 1785, the Vauxhall Water Company in 1805, the West Middlesex Waterworks Company in 1806, the East London Waterworks Company in 1807, the Kent Waterworks Company in 1809 and the Grand Junction Waterworks Company in 1811.
It was not until 1902 that the Metropolis Water Act was passed, leading to the creation of the Metropolitan Water Board. This took over eight private water companies, taking over the New River Company headquarters on Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell. The board was made up of 66 delegated members, 14 from the London County Council, 31 from the Metropolitan Borough Councils and City Corporation, and 21 from the authorities of localities outside the water companies' areas. From 1907 widespread reservoir and waterworks building was carried out.
From 1974 the administration of the Metropolitan Water Board was transferred to the new Thames Water Authority. In 1989 Thames Water became a private company and set up a principal operating subsidiary, Thames Water Utilities Limited, to supply water and sewerage services.
Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721), was a woodcarver and sculptor who invented a style of foliage woodcarving that was unprecedented in its finely modelled naturalism and subtlety of design, its startling projection and flamboyant pale tone. Long celebrated as the greatest British woodcarver, Gibbons might be said to rank among the greatest of all decorative woodcarvers.
Sir Hugh Myddleton was the founder of the New River Company.
On 10 November 1941, Jews began to be transported from Düsseldorf to Minsk -altogether 5,895 Jews being deported, most of them between Autumn 1941 and Summer 1942. The other destinations for Jews were Theresienstadt, Riga, Litzmannstadt and Izbica. All Jews males under the age of 65 years of age and women under 60 came into consideration and individuals concerned received an 'evacuation order' from the Gestapo, by registered mail, informing them to report one day before 'evacuation'.
Those transported would be subject to special regulations for the duration of transport. Assets were confiscated, though each individual could take a suitcase of belongings with them. In addition they had to fill out an inventory of assets. This 'declaration of assets' ('Vermögenserklärung') consisted of 8 pages and had to be filled out separately for each person. These forms required information concerning bank accounts details, cash and securities, insurances, properties, other receivables, business shares, and total assets.
The Horseshoe Brewery was founded before 1764 and was situated at 269 Tottenham Court Road, London. The business was purchased by Sir Henry Meux after a dispute at his previous business, Reid, Meux and Company, resulted in him leaving. The Horseshoe Brewery had previously been managed by Blackburn and Bywell.
The brewery traded under the name Henry Meux and Company. Sir Henry Meux the Second ran the brewery after the death of his father in 1841 until 1878 when Henry Bruce Meux and Lord Tweedmouth took over management and renamed the company Meux's Brewery Company Limited which was registered in 1888.
In 1921 operations were transferred to the Nine Elms Brewery, Nine Elms Road, Wandsworth which was the premises of Thorne Bros Limited, acquired by Meux in 1914. The Nine Elms Brewery was renamed the Horseshoe Brewery and the old Horseshoe Brewery was closed.
The company acquired Burge and Company Limited, Victoria Brewery, Victoria Street, Windsor, Berkshire in 1931 and Mellersh and Neale Limited, Reigate, Surrey in 1938. In 1956 Meux's Brewery merged with Friary, Holroyd and Healy's Breweries Limited, Guildford, Surrey, to form Friary Meux Limited.
Meux's Brewery Company Limited went into liquidation in November 1961 and the Horseshoe Brewery ceased to brew in 1964.
Unknown.
Baron Alexander Felixovich Meyendorff (1869-1964) was born in Russia, the son of a diplomat and Olga, Princess Gorchagov. After graduating in law from St Petersburg University and military service, in 1893 he joined the civil service. In 1907 he became member for Livonia in the Duma. He was vice president of the Duma for some time and in 1917 became a senator. He accepted an appointment as Russian ambassador to Britain but resigned after the policy supporting the Stockholm Conference was abandoned. In 1918 he left Russia for Latvia with his wife and in 1919 emigrated to Britain, From 1922 to 1934 Meyendorff was reader in Russian institutional politics at the London School of Economics. He wrote several books, his interests being land law, organisation of peasant communities and diplomatic history.
Ref: "Slavonic and East European Review" vol 42, no 99, 1964, pp 440-442
Anne Marie Meyer was born in Berlin into a Jewish family, 1919. She came to Britain with her father and younger brothers in 1933 and attended Bunce Court School in Kent. Unable to fund a university education, she trained as a secretary and started work at the Warburg Institute in London in 1937. From 1939 until her retirement in 1984 she was the Institute's Secretary and Registrar. Although employed as an administrator, Meyer acquired a wide scholarly knowledge in her own right, particularly in relation to classical music and to the history of the Warburg Institute, and her scholarship, knowledge of four languages and editorial skills proved invaluable in the production of the Institute's journal and monographs. She was awarded the MBE in 1983 and became an Honorary Fellow of the Institute in 1984. She died in 2004.
Richard Meyer, a Jewish former resident of Sinzig was responsible for the erection of a memorial commemmorating the fate of Sinzig's Jewish population under the Nazis.
Ernst Meyer (1887-1930), Chairman of the KPD, was born in Prostken, Germany, the son of a train driver. He studied philosophy, history, theology, psychology and economics at Koeningsberg and Berlin universities. From 1912 he worked for the Imperial government in the Kaiserlichen Statistischen in Berlin. In 1908 he became a member of the German Social Democrat Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands). He was also a founder member of the Spartacus League. The League was founded in 1914 by members of the Social Democrat Party who were opposed to the party's decision to support Germany's involvment in World War I. In 1918 he helped found the German Communist Party (Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands). He was voted on to the Executive Committee of the KPD and was director of KPD publications. From 1921 to 1923 he was Chairman of the Politbureau of the KPD. In 1922 he married Rose Levine (1890-1971), widow of Eugene Levine (1883-1919), who was leader of the German Communist Party until his execution in 1919. Meyer died of tuberculosis in 1930.
Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jacob Liebmann Beer), 1791-1864, was the most frequently performed operatic composer during the 19th century. Major works include Il Crotiato in Egitto, 1824; Robert le Diable, 1831; Les Hugenots, 1836; Ein Feldlager de Schliessen, 1844; Le Prophete, 1849 and L'africaine, 1865. He composed much other music in a variety of styles and forms including concerti and church music.
Alice Christiana Gertrude Meynell was born in Barnes, Surrey in October 1847; Alice and her sister, Elizabeth Thompson, later Elizabeth Southerden Butler, Lady Butler (1846-1933) were educated by their father, Thomas James Thompson ([1809]-1881); Alice took instruction and was received into the Roman Catholic church, St George's, Worcester, 1868.
Meynell's first published work was Preludes, 1875 which received much praise, notably from Alfred Tennyson, Coventry Patmore, Aubrey de Vere, and John Ruskin. Meynell married Wilfrid John Meynell (1852-1948) on 16 April 1877. Once married both worked as journalists, editing the Weekly Register and Merry England, 1883 to 1895; Alice regularly wrote literary criticisms for Spectator, The Tablet, the Saturday Review, The World, and the Scots Observer.
Meynell's first volume of essays, The Rhythm of Life, published in 1893, consisted mainly of work reprinted from periodicals. At this time Meynell also wrote a weekly column in the Pall Mall Gazette, 1893. Whilst working as a journalist and during early motherhood Meynell ceased to write poetry, however later she returned to poetry, being mentioned as a possible candidate for Poet Laureate in 1895. From this time until her death she wrote some of her finest work, including poetry about World War One. Meynell was a supporter of the suffrage movement and women's rights, which was reflected in her later work. Meynell died 27 November 1922.
In 1834 Meynell entered Henry Burney's Academy at Gosport and in 1836 joined the PARTRIDGE, home waters. From 1837 to 1839 he was in Australian waters in the ALLIGATOR and then took part in the China War, 1840 to 1843, in the CALLIOPE. Between 1844 and 1845 he was a mate in the PENELOPE during the anti-slavery operations off the west coast of Africa. In 1846 he was presented with a commission and re-appointed as additional lieutenant to the PENELOPE. He was unemployed from 1847 until 1853, when he joined the ROYAL GEORGE in the Baltic during the Crimean War. After 1855 he saw no further service.
Hugo Meynell was aide de camp to Gen Sir Hugh Stockwell, Suez, 1956.
Stephen Miall, of 28 Belsize Grove, London, was a solicitor.
Born in 1915, Ian Michael was appointed as the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Malawi in 1964. Ian Michael also undertook research into the history of the teaching of English. Between 1979 and the 1990s he published English: from the Sixteenth Century to 1870 (1987); Early Textbooks of English (1983) and a number of papers based on his research.
Yorkshire Television is an independent television company based in Leeds, Yorkshire. It was established in 1968 and is presently one of the largest independent television companies. In 1997 it became a franchise of the Granada Media Group, later Granada Compass. The television documentary Four hours in My Lai was broadcast as part of the First Tuesday television series during 1989. It was produced by Michael Bilton and Kevin Sim, and directed by Kevin Sim.
Yorkshire Television is an independent television company based in Leeds, Yorkshire. It was established in 1968 and is presently one of the largest independent television companies. In 1997 it became a franchise of the Granada Media Group, later Granada Compass.
Michael I of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was born in 1921, the only son of King Carol II of Romania. He reigned for two periods, as a child from 1927-1930 and from 1940-1947. He was forced to abdicate a few hours before a communist republic was declared in December 1947. Michael went into exile in London the following year and was stripped of his Romanian citizenship, which he only regained in 1997. On 31st January 1991, King Michael and Queen Anne made an official visit to SSEES where he gave a lecture.
The author was a distinguished and indefatigable botanist and plant collector, who made extensive tours in Italy and Central Europe, and founded the Florence Botanical Society.
Roland Michell was born on 14 February 1847. He was educated at Christ Church College, Oxford. He lived in Egypt for many years, initially as Tutor to Prince Ibrahim Pasha, son of the Khedive of Egypt, 1870-1878. He later served as Chief of the Statistical Department, Revenue Survey of Egypt, 1878-1879, and Commissioner of Limassol, Cyprus, 1879-1911. He published two works, An Egyptian Calendar for the Koptic Year 1295 (Alexandria, 1877), and An Egyptian Calendar for the Koptic Year 1617 (London, 1900). He died on 9 March 1931.
Michell attended the Royal Naval Academy at Portsmouth between 1800 and 1803. He served in various ships in the Mediterranean from 1803 to 1809, becoming a lieutenant in 1807. He spent six years in the RHIN, 1809 to 1815, in horne waters, off Brazil and in the West Indies. In 1816 he was made a commander and led the battering flotilla attached to the squadron of Admiral Edward Pellew at the battle of Algiers. He subsequently commanded the Rifleman in the Mediterranean, 1826 to 1830, when he was promoted to captain; and the MAGICIENNE and the INCONSTANT, also in the Mediterranean, 1840 to 1843. In the MAGICIENNE he was engaged in the Syrian operations of 1840. His last service, 1852 to 1855, was the command of the QUEEN, flagship in the Mediterranean; in her he distinguished himself at the bombardment of Sebastopol and was Senior Officer when Lord Lyons (1790-1858) took his force to Kerch, 1855. He was promoted to rear-admiral in July of the same year, finally becoming an admiral in 1866.
Dr Richard Michels was born in 1873 in Essen and settled in Duesseldorf in 1899. He spent his first few years in Duesseldorf as a ship's doctor on a number of vessels, sailing all over the world. Thus the bulk of this collection contains letters sent to his mother and journals whilst travelling. He came to London in 1939 where he became a doctor specializing in mental disorders and nervous diseases. He made a name for himself by developing the anti-depressant Lubrokal, which was also used for epilepsy. He was married late in life to the famous pianist, Irma Pulvermann, also from Duesseldorf, with whom he visited her home city every year.
John Michie was a director of the East India Company, 1770-88, and High Sheriff of Hertfordshire. He died in 1788. The papers also relate to Jonathan Michie, a wine merchant of 35 Craven Street, Strand (died 1802). It is possible that John Michie was also a wine merchant, but entries in London directories list the business only under Jonathan Michie.
Dr Frank Alexander Middlemiss (1920-2014) was born on 25 March 1920 in Leyton, East London. Served in the Royal Army Medical Corps during the Second World War, spending 14 months as a Prisoner of War in Italy and Germany in 1944-1945. Received a first class degree in Geology from Queen Mary College in 1950, and stayed on to pursue a PhD, completed in 1955. He taught in the Geology department at Queen Mary for the rest of his career, leading many field trips. He officially retired in 1982. He was made a Fellow in 1996.
Middlemiss’s specialisms were Lower Cretaceous brachiopods, and the geology of the Weald and South East England, including the Lower Greensand Group and the chalk cliffs of Kent. He provided advice on the construction of the Channel Tunnel. He was a Fellow of the Geographical Society from 1950-1982. He was a member of the Geologists' Association and a member of several working groups of the International Union of Geological Societies.
Met his wife, Florence, in 1946 when they were both students at Queen Mary. They had two children, Stella and Joan.
The office of Justice of the Peace for a county is a Crown appointment made at the discretion of the Lord Chancellor, upon recommendations received from local advisory committees (such as the Middlesex Advisory Committee) which he appoints to act under the chairmanship of the Kkeeper of the Rolls. In the case of Middlesex this was the Lord Lieutenant. The names of persons whose appointment was approved by the Lord Chancellor were entered upon the commission of the peace, a parchment roll. When the names were entered the newly appointed justice took the oaths at quarter session and was then qualified to take up his or her duties. The first women justices for Middlesex were appointed in 1920.
Income tax was introduced into the United Kingdom by William Pitt the Younger under the Income Tax Act of 1799. The General Commissioners were appointed to implement the Act with sole authority to assess and collect income tax and hear appeals. Under the Finance Act 1946, General Commissioners shed their last remaining administrative responsibility and became purely judicial officers as adjudicators between the taxpayer and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (previously known as Inland Revenue). The jurisdiction of General Commissioners was contained in the Taxes Management Act 1970 as amended by subsequent Finance Acts.
The selection of General Commissioners at first was entrusted to the Grand Jurors of each county. From 1803 the General Commissioners were appointed directly by the Land Tax Commissioners. The Lord Chancellor took over responsibility for the appointment of General Commissioners in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, in 1960, when the provisions of the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1958 came into force. The Scottish Ministers appointed General Commissioners in Scotland. As at 31 March 2009 there were some 1,500 General Commissioners in the UK sitting in around 350 Divisions, generally based upon the parish boundary system.
The General Commissioners of Income Tax was an independent tribunal appointed by the Lord Chancellor to hear appeals from taxpayers against Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. General Commissioners were a group of local people drawn from a range of backgrounds. They were recruited through a system of local Advisory Committees. Appeals were heard locally, usually by three General Commissioners, who were advised on the law by their clerk. The Special Commissioners of Income Tax was a separate tribunal of qualified lawyers who heard more complex cases.
The Tribunal called the General Commissioners of Income Tax was abolished on 1 April 2009, and its functions transferred into the Tax Chamber of the First-Tier Tribunal established under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
Source: http://www.generalcommissioners.gov.uk/AboutUs/aboutUs.htm (accessed June 2009).
The turnpike system dated from 1663 when Parliament authorised the erection of toll barriers along the Great North Road. The principle was that each person should contribute to the repair of the roads in proportion to the use he made of them. A barrier was placed across a road and a toll taken from each road user except pedestrians; the monies were then used to support the maintenance and improvement of the road. Turnpikes were placed under the control of bodies known as Turnpike Trusts. By 1770 there were over 1100 Trusts, administering 23,000 miles of road, with 7800 toll gates.
The "Great Essex Road" from London to Harwich followed what was is now the A12 as far as Colchester and then followed the same route as the A137 and B1352 to Harwich. The original starting point in London was from The Standard in Cornhill, but later measurements were taken from Whitechapel Church on the eastern boundary of the City of London. As Middlesex encircled the north of the City the first milestone in Essex along the route was placed at Stratford.
A militia force was raised from the civilian population of a county, in order to supplement the regular army in cases of emergency. In Middlesex they were called out at times of unrest. They came to be supplemented by volunteer forces, such as those raised by the 1794 Bill for "encouraging and disciplining such corps and companies of men as shall voluntarily enrol for the defence of their counties, towns and coasts or for the general defence of the Kingdom during the Present War [with France]".
There were around 300 militiamen in Middlesex in 1802. During the Napoleonic Wars this number rose to over 2000 by 1808 and 12,000 by 1812. More volunteer corps were raised in 1859, again in response to threat of French invasion. In 1881 the Army was organised into territorial regiments formed of regular, militia and volunteer battalions. Middlesex militia and volunteer battalions came under the Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own).
The first Probation Officers were appointed in 1907 under the Probation of Offenders Act 1907. In the 1920s it became a requirement for courts to appoint a Probation Officer. Female Probation Officers were first introduced in the 1950s. In 1972 Community Service was brought in as an alternative sentencing option to prison. Hostels (now called Approved Premises) were introduced to increase public protection and supervision of dangerous offenders in the 1980s. In 2001 Multi-agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) were introduced, so that probation, police, prisons and other agencies can work together to manage dangerous offenders in the community. In 2004 the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) was formed by merging HM Prison Service and the National Probation Service.
London Probation has been protecting the public and rehabilitating offenders in London since 2001. Before then, five separate organisations provided probation services in London on a regional basis;
South West London Probation Service
South East London Probation Service
North East London Probation Service
Inner London Probation Service
Middlesex Probation Service
The merger in 2001 brought together all five organisations so that London Probation now provides probation services to the whole of London.
Source: http://www.london-probation.org.uk/about_us/history.aspx (Accessed June 2009).
The Middlesex Regiment originated in the 57th and 77th Regiments of Foot, founded in 1755 and 1787. In 1782 and 1807 these regiments were designated the 57th West Middlesex Regiment and the 77th East Middlesex Regiment. In 1881 they were joined and given the name The Duke of Cambridge's Own (Middlesex Regiment); which was changed in 1921 to The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own).
Information from Middlesex by Sir Clifford Radcliffe (2 editions, 1939 and 1954), LMA Library reference 97.09 MID.
In 1889 the North Middlesex Association of Change Ringers put forward a case to Revd D W Barrett to establish the Association on a wider basis in order to promote the cause of change ringing in North Middlesex and South Hertfordshire. As a result, on 17 August 1889, the North Middlesex Association of Change Ringers became the Middlesex Association of Change Ringers.
The South and West Middlesex Guild was established on 4 February 1894 when ringers from Ealing and Isleworth proposed forming an association of bellringers for this district.
During 1896 and 1897 negotiations took place for the amalgamation of the South and West Middlesex Guild and the Middlesex Association of Change Ringers. On 7 June 1897 the Middlesex County Association of Change Ringers was formed "to bring about closer intimacy and a better understanding between the 2 Associations... [for] the advancement of both". The Association comprised 2 districts: the Middlesex Association became known as the North and East District, and the South and West Middlesex became know as the South and West District. The South and West District district was broadly based on the parliamentary divisions of Uxbridge, Brenford, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, and the North and East District on the parliamentary divisions of Harrow, Enfield, Hornsey, Tottenham and Hampstead. For lists of towers in each district see pp 7, 8 and 9 of ACC/2428/9/1. Each district retained its own management and officers, and the affairs of the new County Association were managed by a central committee.
On 10 October 1903, it was decided that the bellringers ought to regard themselves as churchworkers of the diocese and thus ought to have a diocesan name. The title of the Association was therefore amended to Middlesex County Association and London Diocesan Guild of Change Ringers. The name is now Middlesex County Association and London Diocesan Guild of Church Bell Ringers. In February 1984 the South and West District was divided into 2 separate districts: Southern and Western.
The Middlesex County Staff Club was formed in 1911 by members of the staff of the Middlesex County Council. It was admitted to NALGO in the same year. After an hiatus during the war years it was reformed as the Middlesex County Officers' Association in 1919 and became the Middlesex County Branch of NALGO. It ceased to exist on the abolition of Middlesex County Council in 1965. The Association was managed by an Executive Committee ("Council" from 1949).
The Association was formed in 1946 for the purpose of furthering the cause of education; strengthening the organisation of the Union [National Union of Teachers]; promoting the friendly co-operation of all Teachers' Associations in Middlesex; and facilitating prompt and united action in matters affecting teachers serving the Middlesex Education Authority.
Following the re-organisation of local government in the Greater London area as a result of the London Government Act, 1963, the Association was reconstituted as the Middlesex Teachers' Association in 1965, but survived for only one year as the National Executive did not see "fit to extend the life of the Association beyond 31 December 1965".
By an Act of Parliament of 1708 a registry was established for the registration of all deeds, conveyances, wills, encumbrances and so on affecting freehold land and land held by a lease for over 21 years within in the ancient County of Middlesex. The City of London was not included.
In 1862 a national land registry was established on a voluntary basis. Any land registered there was exempt from registration in the local registry. Only a few Middlesex registrations took place there (approximately 200 - 300 titles).
The Local Government Act of 1888 transferred parts of Middlesex into the new County of London. Those areas which became part of London included Hammersmith, Chelsea, Kensington, Paddington, Fulham, Saint Marylebone, Saint Pancras, Westminster, Islington, Hackney, Bow, Bromley, Poplar, Mile End, Bethnal Green and Shoreditch. In 1899 compulsory registration in the national Land Registry was introduced in those parts of the new County of London which were formerly in Middlesex. This considerably reduced the number of registrations made in the Middlesex registry but some deeds, mainly mortgages and leases for little more than 21 years, for land in that part of the County of London continued to be registered there.
In the remaining part of Middlesex, including Twickenham, Sunbury-on-Thames, Staines, Feltham, Heston, Isleworth, Brentford, Chiswick, Yiewsley, West Drayton, Hayes, Harlington, Southall, Acton, Ealing, Uxbridge, Ruislip, Northwood, Harrow, Wembley, Willesden, Hendon, Finchley, Hornsey, Wood Green, Tottenham, Edmonton, Southgate, Friern Barnet, Enfield and Potters Bar, registration at the local registry continued normally until 1 January 1937 when registration of all Middlesex land transactions at the national Land Registry was made compulsory. The last deed was registered in the Middlesex registry on 31 December 1938.
In 1740 Dr Robert Poole was instrumental in creating a charity for the relief of poor persons suffering from smallpox. In 1746 subscriptions were raised for erecting a hospital at Cold Bath Fields, Clerkenwell, on the site of a house that was already used by the charity for the treatment of infected persons.
The trustees had owned land in Saint Pancras since 1765, when they had moved the inoculation hospital there from a house in Old Street. In 1793-1794 the hospital was rebuilt there and subsequently received patients from the Cold Bath Fields Hospital. By 1850 the land in Saint Pancras was redeveloped as Kings Cross Station and the hospital moved to a site on Highgate Hill.
In 1896 the hospital made its final move to Clare Hall, South Mimms, Middlesex. At this time the hospital was still privately run by a Board of Management and administered by a house committee. In 1905, the councils of 14 districts of the County of Middlesex combined to form a Joint Board, which purchased Clare Hall Hospital. In 1907 the Joint Board took over the administration of the hospital.
In May 1911, the Local Government Board made an order, permitting the admission to Clare Hall of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Under a special order of the Minister of Health in 1928, the Hospital became a Middlesex County Council Institution. This came into effect on 1 April 1929 and the Joint Board was dissolved.
During the Second World War as part of the Emergency Medical Service, a hutted hospital was built in the grounds. By December 1942, all 540 beds in the hospital were devoted to tuberculosis patients.
In 1948 on creation of the National Health Service, the hospital was transferred to the North West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. In 1949 non-tuberculosis patients were admitted for treatment. The hospital was closed in 1975.
The Middlesex Guildhall was the headquarters and central office of the Middlesex County Council. It was situated in Parliament Square, Westminster. In 1889 local government rearrangments meant that the Westminster area was moved from the county of Middlesex to the county of London. However, the Middlesex Guildhall remained there despite no longer being in Middlesex.
The Middlesex Magistrates' Courts Committee functioned for the whole County since there was no borough with a separate commission of the peace, and its members included justices representing each petty sessional division in the County.
The Committee was empowered, amongst other matters, to make representations to the Home Secretary regarding any alterations of the petty sessional divisions. It also took responsibility for the appointment of the clerks to the justices and their staff.
Under the provisions of the Justices of the Peace Act, the Middlesex County Council assumed responsibility for the provision of petty sessional courthouses, etc, and for expenses incurred by the Magistrates' Courts Committee, so there was close coordination between the Council and the Committee on all matters involving expenditure.
Source of information: Middlesex by Sir Clifford Radcliffe (2nd edition, 1954), LMA Library reference 97.09 MID.