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The Congregational minister Edward Miall was a campaigner for the disestablishment of the Church of England, that is, the withdrawl of special state patronage and control from the church. In 1844 he organised a national dissenting convention for like-minded individuals, as a result of which the British Anti-State Church Association was founded. The Association urged the withdrawal of all state support for religion, believing that it was wrong for the church to be controlled by outside influences and for politics to influence spiritual worship. They also protested against church rates, discrimination against non-church members and the legal disabilities faced by non-conformists.

In 1853 the Association changed its name to the Society for the Liberation of Religion from State-Patronage and Control, which was usually shortened to the Liberation Society. The Society was politically active and tried to infuence the selection of Parliamentary candidates who shared their opinions. Miall himself was elected to Parliament and several times from 1871 onwards proposed English disestablishment, with no success. Although the Liberation Society did not achieve its goals, they contributed to the dismantling of some of the legal challenges facing non-conformists.

In 1888 the education sub-committee of the Liberation Society, which protested against church involvement in education, became the National Education Association.

The Lady Margaret Hall Settlement was founded in 1897 in Lambeth. It was a community of ladies, working in connection with the Church of England and Lady Margaret Hall College in Oxford, who aimed to carry out social work in the community near the Settlement. This included running clubs for local youth, visiting the elderly and sick, holding Bible and literacy classes and providing legal advice.

Archbishop Temple's School was founded using a bequest of £24 made by Alexander Jones in 1660. In 1661 Richard Lawrence, a trustee appointed by Mr. Jones, bequeathed a property known as "Dog House Fields" for the school. In 1723 the school merged with another charity school and moved into new premises. In 1848 the school was again moved, this time to Hercules Road. The school could now accommodate 300 pupils. In 1904 another move was necessary due to the expansion of the railway. A site next to Lambeth Palace was donated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Frederick Temple. On the death of the Archbishop the name of the school was changed to reflect his contribution. In 1961 the school was merged with the local Archibishop Tenison's Girls School. The school was merged with other local schools in 1964 and in 1972 moved to a new site in Camberwell to accommodate the increase in pupils.

Archbishop Tait's Infants School was named for Archibald Campbell Tait (1811-1882), Archbishop of Canterbury from 1869. It was situated at no 220 Lambeth Road, SE1. The school seems also to have been called Saint Mary's Infants School, and was associated with Archbishop Tenison's School for Girls.

Three schools were managed by the parish of Saint Mary, Lambeth:

Archbishop Tait's Infants School was named for Archibald Campbell Tait (1811-1882), Archbishop of Canterbury from 1869. It was situated at no 220 Lambeth Road, SE1. The school seems also to have been called Saint Mary's Infants School, and was associated with Archbishop Tenison's School for Girls.

Archbishop Temple's School was founded using a bequest of £24 made by Alexander Jones in 1660. In 1661 Richard Lawrence, a trustee appointed by Mr. Jones, bequeathed a property known as "Dog House Fields" for the school. In 1723 the school merged with another charity school and moved into new premises. In 1848 the school was again moved, this time to Hercules Road. The school could now accommodate 300 pupils. In 1904 another move was necessary due to the expansion of the railway. A site next to Lambeth Palace was donated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Frederick Temple. On the death of the Archbishop the name of the school was changed to reflect his contribution. In 1961 the school was merged with the local Archibishop Tenison's Girls School. The school was merged with other local schools in 1964 and in 1972 moved to a new site in Camberwell to accommodate the increase in pupils.

In 1706 Archbishop Tenison founded a school in Back Lane, later Lambeth High Street, for 12 girls - subsequently more. In 1787 the inhabitants of Lambeth subscribed for a new Girls' School, but until premises were ready, 30 girls were maintained by the subscribers at Tenison's School. After 1792 the Lambeth Subscription Girls' School functioned separately, but were linked with Tenison's School again in 1817, when Tenison's Trustees rebuilt "for the joint purposes of each Institution". In 1824 Tenison's Trustees, with "improved funds" offered to support the "Subscription" girls as well; the offer was accepted and the assets of the Subscription Girls' School used for new schools in the Waterloo and Norwood districts.

The constitution of the National Savings Committee states that its aim was to "educate the public to save for the benefit of the individual and the country". It aimed to achieve this through investments in national savings securities, the post office and trustees savings banks.

Regional savings committees were set up to further these objectives on a local basis, the boundaries of the committees being determined by the National Committee. The main function of the regional committee was to act as a link between the local savings committees in the region and the National Committee.

The London Regional Savings Committee was set up in 1916. It consisted of a chairman, who was also the region's representative on the National Committee, representatives of the local committees, who were also on the National Committee, elected members of the districts into which the region was divided, and the chairman of the regional sub-committees.

The LRSC set up a series of standing sub-committees to establish links and promote savings and investment in such areas as schools, streets and villages, trade unions, and places of employment. The committee was finally wound up in April 1978.

The Committee for the Survey of the Old Memorials of Greater London (known as the London Survey Committee and founded in 1894) was entrusted, following a conference in December 1896, with the task of publishing, with the assistance of the London County Council, a series of volumes describing buildings of historic and architectural interest in London. Volume 1 dealing with Bromley-by-Bow appeared in 1902 but the arrangements for LCC co-operation fell into abeyance and Volume 2 dealing with part of Chelsea was published in 1909 at the Survey Committee's own expense. Later that year, an agreement was arrived at between the Council and the Committee, the details of which will be found in the Council minutes for 21 December 1909, pp. 1511-1512, and 26 October 1910, p. 782. This involved the setting up of a joint publishing committee consisting of three representatives of the London Survey Committee and four representatives of the London County Council.

In 1952 (see Council minutes for 21 October 1952, pp. 475-576), the Survey Committee indicated that, for various reasons, it was unable to continue its participation in the work and the continued publication of volumes became the sole responsibility of the London County Council. The Joint Publishing Committee was accordingly discontinued and its functions transferred to the Town Planning Committee. The London Survey Committee was dissolved as from 1 July 1965.

The Survey of London is currently organised by English Heritage.

The London Diocesan Council for Penitentiary, Rescue and Preventative Work was founded by the Diocesan Conference of 1889 at the suggestion of Bishop Frederick Temple. There already existed numerous homes and refuges for 'fallen women' and 'endangered girls', including the Diocesan Penitentiaries at Fulham and Highgate, the Women's Mission to the Fallen, the Men's League for the Rescue of Harlots, the Lady Guardians' Committee helping unmarried mothers in workhouses and the Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants carrying out preventative work with domestic staff. Much of the initial work of the Council was to achieve some sort of co-ordination of these different organisations. An office was established in Church House, Westminster, and a secretary was hired. The rapid expansion of the Council, from ten homes in 1893 to fifty homes and twenty-four local societies in 1900, was largely owing to the work of the Ladies' Committee.

The homes included Saint Mary's Home for younger girls in Bourdon Street, run by the Sisters of Saint Peter, which became known for innovation in the matter of general education and constructive practical training. The Blue Lamp Refuge, established in the 1890s, was open 24 hours, offering a place of safety for local prostitutes. In 1901 Saint Agnes House was opened as a training house for the Council's workers.

The Council also worked with men, through the Men's Committee. The main emphasis of their work was education in personal and public morality through lectures, sermons and the distribution of literature. Some of their pamphlets were described in annual reports as requiring 'the most delicate consideration', implying that they addressed matters of sexual behaviour. The First World War increased the work of the Committee and they lectured in military camps. However, after the war the Committee was disbanded and the work continued by another organisation, the White Cross League.

After the First World War the Council found itself in a poor financial situation, necessitating a move of offices, to Little Grosvenor Street, and the redundancy of their secretary. In addition the workers felt a growing feeling of depression, finding the girls increasingly difficult to influence. Generous but grants from the Ministry of Health for their 'voluntary maternity and child welfare services' helped to tide over this awkward period. The emphasis and balance of the work slowly changed, with fewer, but better, homes and more outside workers, some based in maternity hospitals and venereal disease hospitals, befriending and providing after-care for patients. Inter-diocese co-operation increased and regular meetings were held for the exchange of ideas, including the formation of the London and Southwark Diocesan Moral Education Committee. Work with prostitutes was gradually decreased, as the Women Police were seen to be undertaking this work. However, a drive for better sex education for both sexes was begun, with literature distributed and lectures held.

The Second World War brought problems for the Council, as several homes were destroyed by bombing and its workers were called away to war-work. This coincided with an increase in the number of illegitimate children. This led to a change in policy. Where previously the mother's right to keep the child and the father's duty to maintain it were stressed, more thought was now given to the welfare and future of the baby, which meant that where appropriate adoption was encouraged.

In 1943 the Ministry of Health placed statutory obligations on local authorities to provide for unmarried mothers and children. The Council therefore became more closely united with welfare services. Regular grants were paid by the London County Council, whilst the Diocesan Council made strenuous efforts to increase its own private income, firstly through the Women's Offering Fund and then through a periodical contribution according to the Diocesan quota.

The Council changed its name to the 'London Diocesan Association for Moral Welfare', in the 1970s changing it again, to the 'London Diocesan Council for Welcare'.

Morden College was founded under the will of Sir John Morden, who died in 1708. It was originally a residential care home for 40 elderly merchants who had fallen on difficult times. The trustees of the College were members of the East India Company or the Company of Turkey Merchants. The College has subsequently expanded, and now allows the admission of women and married couples.

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 National Amateur Rowing Association was founded in 1890 to cater for the large number of working class men who were prevented from joining the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA) by virtue of their manual occupations. (According to the interpretation of ARA rules these men were to be considered professionals).

This definition of "amateur" was finally resolved in the 1920's and in 1930 NARA was reconstituted, its objectives being "to foster and encourage amateur rowing and to watch over and generally protect its interests" (Articles of Association 1930). In 1939 NARA was incorporated as a non-profit making company. From about 1929 discussions took place with ARA about the possibility of meeting to form one governing body and in 1956 it was proposed to call it the British Amateur Rowing Association. NARA was dissolved in June of that year.

Many regional associations (including the Thames Amateur Rowing Association, see A/NAR/50-52) and rowing clubs were affiliated to NARA and around 90 regattas a year followed NARA rules.

Charles Bernard Stanley Tugwell: Charles Tugwell was honorary secretary of NARA for over 25 years and devoted much of his life to rowing. He was appointed National Organiser for Rowing during the short-lived National Fitness Campaign (1937-1939). At the outbreak of war the NFC was suspended and Tugwell was left unemployed. The Times (his previous employers) were unable to offer him a job and during the war he worked for the Ministry of Labour, Foreign Office and for a short time, the Red Cross. He died in Spring 1957.

The National Education Association (NEA) was formed to give effect to the resolutions of the Education Conference Committee which was held in 1888 in reaction to the report of the Cross Commission, 1886-1888. The Cross Commission was formed to look into the competing systems of education then current: School Board Schools which were supported by rates, and voluntary schools (including Church schools) which were supported only by donations and fees. The report suggested that all schools should be rate-aided.

The Association aimed to promote a "free progressive system of national education, publicly controlled and free from sectarian interest" both by publicising and advancing the School Board System and by undermining denominational and private schools. Formed in 1888 and formally constituted in 1889 under the presidency of A.J.Mundella, the NEA acted as the education sub-committee of the Liberation Society, whose aims were the disestablishment of the Church of England, the attainment of religious equality for non-conformists and the preservation of the rights of conscience.

The NEA was disbanded in 1959 and its duties taken over by the Free Church Federal Council.

The London Master Builders' Association, under the name of the Central Association of Master Builders of London, was founded in 1872 with the object of promoting and protecting the interests of the building trade of London in general and of Members of the Association in particular, by united action in the settlement of all questions arising between employers and their workmen; by general adoption of equitable conditions of contract; by the interchange of information throughout the Country and the collection of statistics of general interest to the trade; by the assistance of members during trade disputes, at the discretion of the Council; and by the establishment and conduct of an Employment Bureau for builders' foremen, clerks and others.

The name was changed to the London Master Builders' Association in February 1899. Between 1918 and 1922 it was known successively as the London Master Builders and Aircraft Industries Association and the London Master Builders and Allied Industries Association, reverting to London Master Builders' Association in 1922. It became the London Region of the National Federation of Building Trades Employers in 1928; a body which as the National Association of Master Builders of Great Britain, had been established in 1878, as a direct outcome of the mason's strike of 1877/8.

On Nov. 9th, 1855 a public meeting was held in Willis's Rooms, King Street, St James to inaugurate a public subscription in gratitude for Florence Nightingale's work in the Crimean War. £44,000 was raised, the Nightingale Fund Council was set up to administer this fund, and on March 13th 1860, A. H. Clough wrote on behalf of the Nightingale Fund Council to the President, Treasurer and Governors of Saint Thomas' Hospital about the possibility of founding a training school for nurses at the hospital. This was Florence Nightingale's idea as to how the fund could best be used.

The first fifteen Probationers arrived on July 9th 1860. They were paid a salary of £10 during the one year's course, with board and lodging provided. At the end of the year, if they were approved, they were entered on the Register of Certified Nurses, and employment was found for them. If they stayed in employment for a complete year after their training they could earn gratuities of £3 and £5. Instruction during the course was mainly practical, with the Probationers working in the hospital wards under close supervision. Considerable emphasis was placed on high moral character. From 1867 there were two classes of entry to the school: 1) Ordinary Probationers, who entered on the basis of a small salary and free board, as above and 2) Lady Probationers or Special probationers. These were trained specially for posts as Superintendents and Matrons of other institutions on completion of their training. They paid a sum of £30 for the year's tuition, and board and lodging.

One of the particular features of the Nightingale Training School was that nurses were trained not merely for Saint Thomas' Hospital, but with the clear intention that they be sent out in groups to other institutions to undertake nursing reform. The school had only been open two years when the first group went to Liverpool Royal Infirmary, and subsequent groups went as far as Canada and Australia, as well as to many British hospitals.

In April 1850 Frances Mary Buss opened the North London Collegiate School for Ladies at 46 (later renumbered 12) Camden Street. Camden Town was then a professional neighbourhood near both Hampstead and the City, and 35 daughters of gentlemen and 'the most respectable' tradesmen assembled on the opening day. The girls received an education which from the first included Latin, French, natural science, and periods of recreation; German, Italian, and music were extras. The teaching encouraged thought and observation rather than learning by rote, and its success was immediate. By December 1850 there were 115 pupils and Miss Buss had founded 'the model for girls' Day Schools throughout the country'.

In 1870 Miss Buss decided to transform her flourishing private venture into a public grammar school for girls by transferring it to a trust which would carry on the work when she was no longer able to do so. New premises were acquired at 202 Camden Road; here there was a large schoolroom which could be partitioned by curtains, a similar room upstairs, two classrooms, and long passages for 'musical gymnastics'. The move allowed Miss Buss to found a second school, the Camden School, in the accommodation left vacant in Camden Street. The changed status of the school was confirmed in 1875, when a scheme for its administration was prepared by the Endowed Schools Commission. An appeal for an endowment fund for the two schools brought in gifts from several City companies, notably the Brewers' Company, which provided £20,000 for buildings and £600 annually from the Platt Charity, a Brewers' charity, while for scholarships there was an additional £2,000 from Dame Alice Owen's Charity. This enabled Miss Buss to proceed with her plans for a new school building in Sandall Road. The Clothworkers' Company granted £105 a year for scholarships and £2,500 for an assembly hall, which bore the company's name. The new school was opened in 1879 by the Prince and Princess of Wales. The latter had been the patroness of the schools since 1871. Meanwhile the Camden School had moved into new buildings in Prince of Wales Road in 1878.

Miss Buss was a pioneer in other directions, encouraging gymnastics, swimming, skating, hockey, and athletics. She incorporated in the new buildings the first gymnasium designed for a girls' school and obtained the use of the St. Pancras baths, but her proposal to make the girls 'really bold swimmers' by capsizing a boat in open water was not adopted. She started a school sports day, and in the interests of dress reform organized a tug-of-war between girls who wore stays and those who did not; the latter won. Miss Buss had little time for fainting girls, for whom she recommended the cold water treatment. She also encouraged the more usual accomplishments such as art, music, needlework, cookery, and handicrafts.

By present-day standards discipline appears to have been very strict; talking seemed to be the main evil, and 'every moment, almost every movement, was ordered'. There were many rules, breach of which involved signing the 'Appearance Book', but any form which went for half a term without a signature was allowed a 'gratification'-half an hour's free time-as a reward.

Miss Buss' successor at North London Collegiate, whom she had designated as early as 1878, was Mrs. Sophie Bryant, a mathematician and a brilliant teacher. In 1884 she had become the first woman D.Sc. and in 1894 she was one of the three women appointed to the Bryce Commission on secondary education. Miss I. M. Drummond, who was appointed to succeed Mrs. Bryant, was a former member of the staff of North London Collegiate and had been latterly headmistress of the Camden School. Miss Drummond relaxed some of the regulations and encouraged the free choice of creative activities in the arts and in school societies. In 1929, with the assistance of the Middlesex County Council, the school acquired 'Canons', a Georgian house standing in extensive grounds at Little Stanmore, and soon a section of the school was travelling there each morning of the week for lessons and games. Eventually it was decided to move the whole school to Canons, and the foundation-stone of a new building extending behind the house was laid in May 1939.

Source: 'Schools: The North London Collegiate School', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 1, pp. 308-310 (available online).

The National Association of Labour Teachers (NALT) acted as a pressure group and a forum for debate on educational issues through its annual conferences, regional meetings and publications. The NALT was renamed the Socialist Educational Association (SEA) in 1961.

Significant studies of the work of the NALT have been made by several researchers and copies of their dissertations are included with the records (see A/NLT/06/14,15).

In 1674 Elizabeth Newcomen, a widow of the parish of St Saviour, Southwark, died leaving a large estate in trust for her godson during his lifetime, and after his death as an endowment for charitable uses in the parish. These included charity schools for boys and girls. The earliest records surviving date from 1706. The schools were run by the Wardens and a Committee who could nominate children for places at the school. From 1808-1840 the Newcomen Schools were united with the parochial schools, but in 1840 the Boys' school separated from the parochial school and by 1849 the Girls' school had followed.

From 1887 the schools were administered by the Governors of the Newcomen Foundation, after the charity was re-established by a scheme of the Charity Commissioners. The Girls' School became Elizabeth Newcomen Secondary Technical School, which closed in 1970.

The Pentonville Charity School was established in 1788, first as a Sunday School, then as a day school, providing clothing for about half the number of boys and girls educated. The school drew its income mainly from subscriptions and collections at sermons. The National System of education was adopted, reading writing and arithmetic being taught, with needlework for the girls.

In 1678 a group of householders in Bethnal Green formed a Trust to purchase an area of common land, known as the Green or Poor's Land, comprising 15 and a half acres; with the aim of preserving the land as an open space. In 1690 the trust deed stipulated that no new buildings could be constructed on the Green. In 1868 the Trustees sold 4 and a half acres to the new Bethnal Green Museum to form part of their gardens (now known as Museum Gardens); and in 1891 they sold the remaining 6 and a half acres to the London County Council to manage as an open space (now known as Bethnal Green Gardens).

Information from: www.towerhamlets.gov.uk(accessed August 2010).

The London Council for the Promotion of Public Morality, later the Public Morality Council, was formed in 1899 to combat vice and indecency in London and to assist in their repression by legal means, already existing but neglected. Its members included representatives of the Church of England, Roman Catholic and Non-Conformist churches and of the Jewish faith, leaders in education and medicine and charitable associations and others supporting reform. It continued until 1969, concentrating latterly on opposition to sexual immorality and pornography in general and in the theatre, cinema, radio and television. Its functions were taken over by the Social Morality Council, constituted in 1969.

Technical education was vocationally oriented training held at junior and senior technical institutes. The encouragement of such education was thought vital to provide a skilled workforce and support the economy. The Association of Principals of Technical Institutions was a professional body for those working in this field.

According to Daniel Lysons in The Environs of London, "a free-school was founded in this parish about the beginning of the last century by Peter Hills and Robert Bell, and endowed with a small annual income for the education of eight sons of seamen, with a salary of 3 l. per annum for the master. The schoolhouse, which is situated near the church, was rebuilt by subscription in 1745. The endowment has been considerably augmented by various donations. In 1712, 220 l. was subscribed to purchase a ground-rent. Since this time benefactions to the amount of near 900 l. have been given, and the fund is now such as to enable the parish to clothe and educate thirty-three boys and twenty-two girls".

From: 'Rotherhithe', The Environs of London: volume 1: County of Surrey (1792), pp. 470-477.

The organisation known as "The Ranyard Mission and Ranyard Nurses" originated as "The London Bible and Domestic Female Mission" - a lay group of Anglican bible women founded in 1857 by Mrs L. N. Ranyard. In 1868 a nursing branch was added, and the title was changed to the "London Biblewomen and Nurses Mission". In 1952 the headquarters was moved from Holborn to Kennington and the organisation was then known by the title of "Ranyard Mission and Ranyard Nurses."

"The South Lee Benevolent Society and Nurses Fund" (see A/RNY/75-84) was supplied with the services of a nurse by the Ranyard Mission. In 1965 the nurses were taken over by the Boroughs, but the Home at Lewisham is still run by trustees.

The following information was sent to the Record Office in 1976, by Mr R. Crosfield Harris, Treasurer of the Ranyard Mission Fund:-

"In 1958 the Ranyard Memorial Charitable Trust was set up by an admirer of the work of the Ranyard Nurses, Mr A.C. Parker of Lewisham, for the building of a Nursing Home for terminal illness. With assistance from the Ogilvie Charities and other donors the Ranyard Memorial Nursing Home was built in Blessington Road, Lewisham, on land leased from the Merchant Taylors Company. It is managed by a committee responsible to the Trustees of the Ranyard Memorial Charitable Trust. These Trustees also administer the Ranyard Mission Fund - the funds of the Ranyard Mission and the Ranyard Nurses - under a Scheme of the Charity Commission. The income of this Fund, after paying pensions to retired members of the staff of the Ranyard Mission and Ranyard Nurses, is available towards the maintenance of the Home".

The Royal Standard Benefit Society was a mutual sickness and burial society founded in 1828. According to Dickens's Dictionary of London, 1879, the object of the Society was to provide members with weekly payments in cases of sickness, monies towards their own or their wives' funerals, the expenses of their wives' lying-in, replacement of tools if lost in a fire, and superannuation. The Society was open to "respectable healthy men under 35 years of age" who earned over 28 shillings a week, and charged a joining fee and a quarterly subscription.

Dickens Dictionary of London consulted at: http://www.victorianlondon.org/dickens/dickens-f.htm.

The Society, established in February 1772 on the initiative of James Neild, jeweller, of London, drew its first funds from the proceeds of a sermon preached in the Charlotte Street Chapel, Pimlico, by the Rev. William Dodd (later notorious for his trial and execution for forgery). William Wilberforce was one of its early supporters. The Society was popularly known as the Thatched House Society' from its regular meeting place, The Thatched House Tavern in St James's Street.

The Society was at first concerned with London prisons only and the greatest number of debtors relieved came from them, but by the 1780s prisoners from gaols in other parts of the country were also being assisted. Neild was troubled about the bad state of the prisons and the minutes contain reports of visits of inspection as well as names and numbers of prisoners assisted.

The Society for Checking the Abuses of Public Advertising (SCAPA) was founded in 1893 by Mr. Richardson Evans with the object of focusing public opinion on the disfigurement caused by outdoor advertising. It promoted statutory and voluntary regulation and the former was partly secured by the society through the passing of the Advertisements Regulation Acts 1907 and 1925. As these Acts did not themselves restrict advertising but merely empowered local authorities to make bye-laws for that purpose, further campaigns were undertaken to ensure all local authorities used their power to the full.

The society also maintained an interest in the siting and design of petrol filling stations and the litter problem and expanded its title to the Society for Prevention of Disfigurement in Town and Country but continued to be known by its abbreviated title.

The Control of Advertisements Regulations Act 1948 brought advertisements for the first time under full planning control and it was felt that SCAPA's objects had been largely achieved and the society was eventually wound up 1952-1953.

The Surrey Dispensary was opened in 1777. It was originally situated on Union Street, Southwark (then in Surrey) although it subsequently moved to various addresses. The Dispensary aimed to provide medical care for the local poor.

Spitalfields Great Synagogue was situated on the corner of Brick Lane and Fournier Street in Spitalfields. The Synagogue occupied the site of a former church built by French speaking Huguenot refugees in 1843. The building was leased in 1809 to the London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews. In 1843 the French Church leased the building to a community of Methodists, it then became a Wesleyan Chapel and was known as Spitalfields Chapel. In 1898 the Trustees of the French Church leased the building to the London Hebrew Tamud Torah Classes who in turn sub-let it to the Jewish Machzikei Hadath community.

The Machzikei Hadath community were particularly concerned to preserve strict orthodox standards of religious worship and observance: the congregation was largely made up of newly arrived Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe who found the established practices of the Anglo-Jewish community did not match their standards of orthodoxy. Spitalfields Great Synagogue was consciously modelled on synagogues found in Eastern Europe. The congregation flourished in the early twentieth century and became known as an important centre for the local Jewish community. As the community moved from the area however attendance declined and the synagogue was closed in 1952: a new Machzikei Hadath Synagogue was opened in Golders Green in the 1980s.

The building was sold in the 1970s to a community of Muslims from Bangladesh and converted to use as a mosque.

Saint Mary, Newington Church of England School originated as a charity school for boys, founded in 1710. Girls were admitted from 1785. It became part of the United Parochial, National, Charity and Sunday Schools, Saint Mary, Newington, in 1816, with the addition of an infants' school in 1851. Branch schools were opened in the districts of Saint Peter in 1839 and Trinity in 1841, and managed by the general committee for Saint Mary's Schools until the creation of separate district managements in 1846.

The day schools' main income from endowments, subscriptions, donations and children's 'school-pence' was augmented by various grants from central government during the nineteenth century. When a fee grant was introduced under the Elementary Education Act 1891, the infants' school was made free. The school fees were abolished entirely in 1894.

In 1904, as a result of the Education Act of 1902 and the Education (London) Act of 1903, maintenance of the day schools was taken over by the London County Council (LCC), and management passed from the old committee of managers to a new body consisting of foundation managers and a representative of the metropolitan borough of Southwark. The schools continued as non-provided elementary day schools maintained by the Council.

In 1932, the boys', girls' and infants' schools were reorganised into infants' and senior mixed departments, juniors being accommodated in Newington Junior School, a temporary LCC elementary day school which was opened in that year in the adjacent Pastors' College. By 1947 Saint Mary's was both a primary and a secondary school. Aided status was awarded in 1951.

In 1953, the infants' department was closed and the school became purely a secondary modern. It was discontinued altogether in 1963 in the course of the reorganisation of voluntary schools in the area.

The Society for the Relief of Distress was founded in 1860 for the relief of distress in London and its suburbs.

The relief was administered by accredited visitors, later known as Almoners. Money was allocated to them to be spent at their discretion leaving the Committee to deal with exceptional cases or those in which more substantial relief was required. The Society is still active in providing assistance for people in the London area, particularly in cases which for one reason or another do not come within the scope of the Welfare Services. Funds are provided by bequests, donations and voluntary contributions.

The Streatham School Society were formed to manage the national school of Streatham. National schools were Church of England schools founded under the National Society (Church of England) for Promoting Religious Education.

County associations came into being under 7 Edw.VII, C.9, 1907 - 'An Act to provide for the reorganisation of his Majesty's military forces and to authorise the establishment of County Associations, and the raising and maintenance of a Territorial Force'. Such associations were to be in accordance with schemes made by the Army Council, through which they were to be financed. Each association was to organise and administer its local Territorial Force and, except during actual training or military service, to provide training facilities and horses, and accommodation for arms and equipment.

In 1873 Reverend Samuel Barnett and his wife Henrietta requested to be placed in a deprived parish so that they could participate in poor relief. The foundation of Toynbee Hall in 1884 was their solution to the poverty they witnessed. The Hall was a student's residence combined with a community centre. The Hall was open to young academics who were able to rent out rooms, on the condition that they contribute to the community work. The Hall was named after Arnold Toynbee, a social philosopher and economist and friend of the Barnetts, who had died the previous year aged 31, of meningitis caused by overwork.

Although the idea that those studying poverty and unemployment should live among the poorer classes was not new, Toynbee Hall was innovatory because the students lived together like a college. This 'University Settlement' was the first of its kind in the world and the model for many others both in Great Britain and abroad. Clement Atlee and William Beveridge were among several influential residents.

The Hall carried out varied work, offering legal advice, campaigning for the rights of immigrants, hosting lectures and providing adult education.

Toynbee Hall is still active, situated on Commercial Street, E1 and providing support for the local community.

See http://www.toynbeehall.org.uk/default.asp for more information (accessed August 2010).

Time and Talents was established in London in 1888 as a branch of the Young Women's Christian Association. It was run by young women of independent means, who directed their time and talents towards working for those less fortunate than themselves. They established settlements, such as that in Bermondsey to provide a home-life for young factory girls, and clubs such as the Dockhead Club House which opened in 1931. Their activities eventually spread to areas outside London with community centres in Harold Hill, Avely and South Ockendon. Branches were also established in places such as Scotland, Ireland, Gibraltar, Constantinople and Australia.

In 1920 Time and Talents amalgamated with the Guild of Helpers, another YWCA branch, and became the Time and Talents Guild. During 1946, the Time and Talents Guild became the Time and Talents Association. By 1975, they were affiliated to the British Association of Settlements.

There appears to have been a fluctuating system of internal administration until about 1950. The same personnel were instrumental in guiding administrative affairs but committee systems seem to shift and change for reasons that are not always readily apparent. Copies of aim and constitution from circa 1950 can be found in A/TT/13. By the 1970's, the activities of the Time and Talents Association were in decline with the closure of out-county centres at Harold Hill and South Ockendon. This altered the structure of the organisation yet again.

Since 1980, Time and Talents have been based at the Old Mortuary, St. Marychurch Street, Rotherhithe, where they run an active community centre.

The Union Club was founded in 1799-1800, in honour of the Acts of Union 1801 which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland. The first club-house was Cumberland House on Pall Mall. Early members included the Duke of Bedford, the Duke of Norfolk, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Charles James Fox and Sir Francis Burdett. The club moved several times, in 1824 to a custom built club-house on Trafalgar Square designed by Robert Smirke (now Canada House). It moved again in 1924-1925 to 10 and 11 Carlton House Terrace, and from there to 86 Saint James' Street in 1951. The club closed in 1964 and members were admitted to the United Service Club.

Information from The London Encyclopaedia, eds. Weinreb and Hibbert (LMA Library Reference 67.2 WEI).

The Women's Local Government Society (also called the Society for Promoting Women as County Councillors) was founded in the late 1880s by Annie Leigh Browne as a network of Liberals, suffragettes and other like-minded women who believed that women should be allowed to play a greater part in political life, and who wished to challenge confusion created by the Local Government Act, 1888, which gave women the right to vote in local council elections but not to stand in them. Women had been given the right to stand for election to Boards such as School Boards, but the 1888 Act absorbed these bodies into the new Councils, meaning that women lost their places on the Boards. The Society was founded in London but encouraged the formation of regional branches.

The Society was involved in campaign work, legal challenges and lobbying which resulted in the 1907 "Qualification of Women" Act which allowed women ratepayers to be elected to Borough and County Councils. Following the passing of the 1907 Act the Society gave practical support to women standing for election. In December 1907 Reina Emily Lawrence, London's first female councillor, was elected on to Hampstead Borough Council after winning a by-election with a majority of 319 votes. She was supported by the Hampstead branch of the Society.

The Society stopped operating during the First World War, although it was revived in 2006-07 to celebrate the centenary of the 1907 legislation.

Some information from the website of the Women's Local Government Society, http://www.womeninlocalgovernment.org.uk/index.php?action=background (accessed June 2010).

Whitelands College School, founded in 1842, was attached to Whitelands College, founded in 1841, as a training college for women teachers, and taken over in 1849 by the National Society. They were situated in King's Road, Chelsea, on the corner of Walpole Street. The buildings of college and school surrounded a quadrangle, which, like the chapel, was used by both college students and girls of the school.

In 1917 the college was obliged to extend its premises and so the school had to be closed. A new school, Lady Margaret School, was opened at Parsons Green, with Miss Moberly Bell, who had taught at Whitelands, as head, but this was under a different council. In 1931 the college itself left Chelsea for West Mill, Putney, and the Chelsea site was developed as flats.

In the early 1900's the pupils of the school were daughters of doctors, officers at the Royal Hospital, shopkeepers and so on, from Chelsea, Kensington, Westminster, Battersea and Wandsworth. There was a kindergarten for both girls and boys, and of girls leaving the upper school some went on to the college, others into a variety of posts (A/WSO/29). Junior County Scholarships offered by the LCC c 1907 were tenable at the school; at this time some of the London County Council's own new secondary schools were still in temporary premises.

From its inception in 1893 the Whitelands Rose Guild, its successor the Old Girls' Association, and also the Hebblethwaite Memorial Guild, had as secretary Miss Alice Denning who was secretary to the college from before 1906 until after the move in 1931. She retired as secretary of the OGA in 1949, and died in 1955. Since the school closed in 1917, the OGA could have no new members after this date, but continued to meet annually at the college in Chelsea, and latterly at Putney, until 1965. By then the numbers were so low that the 1966 meeting was held at the chairman's house. The OGA came to an end in 1967.

John Horne Tooke was born John Horne in 1736, the son of a successful poulterer. He was ordained a clergyman but also studied law and medicine. In 1764 he became a supporter of radical politician John Wilkes, anonymously publishing a pamphlet, The Petition of an Englishman, which defended Wilkes and criticised the government, particularly Lord Bute. He later met Wilkes in Paris where the latter had fled to escape prosecution.

In 1768 Horne became an enthusiastic campaigner for Wilkes who was standing for the Middlesex seat in the general elections. He hired two inns for use of Wilkes's supporters and travelled all over the constituency giving rousing speeches, using the motto "Wilkes and Liberty". Wilkes won the election but was arrested on outstanding charges and imprisoned. He was subsequently barred from taking up his seat in Parliament. Horne threw himself into pro-Wilkes activism. In 1769 he founded the Society of Gentleman Supporters of the Bill of Rights which aimed to defend the constitutional rights of the people, and to raise money to assist Wilkes. Horne also published on wider issues of political liberty and justice. In 1770-71, however, he had a dispute with Wilkes over finances and split away from the Gentleman Supporters, forming the Constitutional Society.

In 1773-74 Horne assisted his friend William Tooke in a property dispute. Tooke was grateful and giving Horne gifts and promising him an inheritance. In 1775 Horne raised money to assist Americans injured by British troops, publishing an annoucement that the Americans were "murdered by the King's troops". As a result Horne was arrested for libel and imprisoned in King's Bench for a year. In 1782 Horne added the name Tooke to his own, as an indication that he would be William Tooke's heir. In the 1780s Horne Tooke continued to actively campaign for political reform as a member of reform groups and as an author. In 1786 he published Epea Pteroenta, or, The Diversions of Purley, a philological study which attempted to democratize language.

In 1791-94 Horne Tooke's reform activities, in light of the French Revolution, were considered increasingly dangerous by the government, and his mail was opened by the authorities. In 1794 he was arrested on suspicion of planning an insurrection, placed in the Tower and tried for high treason. He was found not guilty.

The Dictionary of National Biography notes that in the general election of 1796 Horne Tooke "showed some renewed passion for politics, when he stood for Westminster against Fox and Sir Alan Gardner. He campaigned against war, taxation, economic depression, and repressive legislation, and held himself out to the electorate as a political martyr". He was not successful, although in 1801 he was given the pocket borough of Old Sarum by his friend Lord Camelford, finding it ironic that a reformer should get to Parliament using a rotten borough. After 1802, however, ill-health caused him to enter semi-retirement and he died in 1812.

Source: Michael T. Davis, 'Tooke, John Horne (1736-1812)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2009 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/27545, accessed 9 March 2011].

The manor of Isleworth or Isleworth Syon seems to have included land in Heston, Isleworth and Twickenham. In 1086 it belonged to Walter of Saint Valery, one of William the Conqueror's companions. The land subsequently passed into royal possession and was granted to Queen Isabel in 1327 and Queen Philippa in 1330. In 1421 the king granted Isleworth to the newly created abbey of Syon, in whose possession it remained until 1539. The Abbey was suppressed in 1539 and in 1547 the Duke of Somerset secured a grant of the estate to himself, which he held until his execution in 1552, although his widow continued to live at the manor until ordered to leave in 1554. The Crown leased the lands to various tenants until 1598 when Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, secured the tenancy rights. In 1604 he received a grant in fee of the house and manor with the park. The property descended to his heirs including Charles, Duke of Somerset (died 1748) and his son the Earl of Northumberland. Their descendants still owned Syon in 1958.

One notable event in the later history of the manor occurred in 1656. In that year articles of agreement were drawn up between Algernon, Earl of Northumberland, lord of the manor of Isleworth Syon, and Sir Thomas Ingram and other principal copyhold tenants. These articles established certain of the customs of the manor on a firm basis. Fines and heriots were to be certain and not arbitrary, at the will of the lord. The tenure of customary and was to be by Borough English, whereby the youngest son of a copy holder inherited on the death of his father. These articles were signed on 20 May 1656 and were confirmed by a decree in Chancery, 28 June 1656 (see ACC/1379/330 and partial transcript in History of Syon and Isleworth by G. Aungier, p.206). A printed tract called Isleworth Syon's Peace was to be published in 1657 and according to Aungier was to be placed in the Isleworth parish chest. London Metropolitan Archives possesses copies in ACC/0479 and ACC/1379.

Hayes manor was granted to Christ Church, Canterbury, in 832; and remained in the possession of the church until 1545 when it was taken over by the king. It was sold to the North family in 1546, who in turn sold it on in 1613. It subsequently passed through various owners. The estate was broken up in 1898.

Information from 'Hayes: Manors and other estates', 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. 26-29.

The Manor of Honeylands and Pentriches was situated near Enfield. It was named for Ellis of Honeyland who held land in the area in 1275. The manor was also called Capels after the later owner Sir William Capel. The manor passed through several hands before manorial rights were extinguished after 1901.

The manor of Worcesters was formed in 1298 by John of Enfield. The manor was named for the owner in 1470, John, earl of Worcester. In 1550 it was granted to Princess Elizabeth. As queen she granted it to Robert Cecil, although it was later sold and passed through various owners. The house and land were purchased by the Enfield Urban District Council in 1951.

Source of information: 'Enfield: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 224-229.

There is no unifying factor to these papers (e.g. that they relate to property owned by one estate or family or the legal work of one office), they were simply collected or preserved for their antiquarian interest before being passed to the archive.

In 1086 Stanwell Manor was held by William fitz Other and in the time of King Edward it had belonged to Azor. The estate recorded in Domesday Book probably comprises most of the ancient parish except the manor of West Bedfont, which was already separate. In 1796 there were 539 acres copyhold of the manor, nearly all lying east of Stanwellmoor. By 1844 the lord of the manor owned Hammonds farm, Merricks farm (later known as Southern farm), and Park farm (later Stanhope farm), as well as about 84 acres around his house and a few other small areas. The manorial rights, house, and lands were separated in 1933.

William fitz Other, the Domesday tenant, was constable of Windsor castle and his descendants took the name of Windsor. They held Stanwell of Windsor castle for over four centuries, together with lands principally in Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. In 1485 Thomas Windsor left a widow, Elizabeth, who held Stanwell with her second husband Sir Robert Lytton. Thomas's son Andrew was summoned to parliament as Lord Windsor from 1529. The story of his loss of Stanwell has often been told: in spite of Windsor's previous favours from the Crown, Henry VIII compelled him in 1542 to surrender Stanwell in exchange for monastic lands in Gloucestershire and elsewhere. Sir Philip Hobby was made chief steward of the manor in 1545. Sir Thomas Paston was granted a 50-year lease during Edward VI's reign, and Edward Fitzgarret in 1588 secured a lease to run for 30 years from the end of Paston's term. In fact Fitzgarret was in possession when he died before 1590. His estate was much embarrassed and after litigation Stanwell passed to his son Garret subject to certain rent-charges to his daughter. In 1603 the freehold was granted to Sir Thomas Knyvett, who became Lord Knyvett in 1607. Knyvett and his wife both died in 1622, leaving their property to be shared between John Cary, the grandson of one of Knyvett's sisters, and Elizabeth Leigh, the granddaughter of another. Elizabeth married Sir Humphrey Tracy, and she and Cary held Stanwell jointly until her death. In 1678 the Knyvett estates were divided between Cary and Sir Francis Leigh, who was apparently Elizabeth's heir. Cary retained Stanwell, which he left to his great-niece Elizabeth Willoughby on condition that she married Lord Guildford; otherwise it was to pass to Lord Falkland. After Elizabeth's marriage to James Bertie she held the manor under a chancery decree until her death in 1715.

It then passed to Lucius Cary, Viscount Falkland (d. 1730), who sold it in 1720 to John, Earl of Dunmore (d. 1752). His trustees sold it in 1754 to Sir John Gibbons. It descended in the Gibbons family with the baronetcy until 1933, when the manorial rights were sold to H. Scott Freeman, clerk of Staines urban district council, who still held them in 1956.

Source: 'Stanwell: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington (1962), pp. 36-41 (available online).

Matthew Robinson-Morris, second Baron Rokeby, was born in 1713 and pursued a career as a lawyer and politician. He died in 1800. His title was inherited by his nephew Morris Robinson-Morris, third Baron Rokeby, 1757-1829, who was a politician and pamphleteer.

James Brindley (1716-1772) was a civil engineer who initially trained as a millwright. He began to design improvements to machinery, moving on to drainage schemes and then to hydraulics and canal design and construction. He became a prominent designer of canals from the 1850s onwards, working on the Bridgewater Canal among others. In 1770 he surveyed the Thames and made suggestions for improvements to the river navigation.

Source of information: K. R. Fairclough, 'Brindley, James (1716-1772)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.

Monkey Island is a privately owned island in the River Thames, situated near Bray in Berkshire. From 1723 it was owned by Charles Spencer, the Duke of Marlborough, who used it as a base for fishing and constructed several notable Palladian-style buildings. In the 1840s it became a popular destination for day-trippers, who would pause there while on boating excursions. Notables including Edward VIII, Edward Elgar, HG Wells, Clara Butt and Nellie Melba visited the island. The name is probably derived from the original name Monks' Eyot, after the monks who first used the island; eyot being an Old English word meaning island.

Source of information: http://monkeyisland.co.uk/live/history

A 'tontine' was a financial scheme by which the subscribers to a loan or common fund each received an annuity during his life, which increased as the subscribers passed away, until the last survivor enjoyed the whole income. The word is also applied to the share or right of each subscriber. Such schemes were introduced first in France as a method of raising government loans. Afterwards tontines were formed for building houses, hotels, baths, bridges and so on.

Kew Bridge was first built in 1758-1759 by John Barnard. It had seven timber arches. This was replaced by a stone bridge in 1784-1789. The present bridge was constructed in 1903, designed by John Wolfe Barry. The bridge crosses the Thames River between Kew and Chiswick.

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.

An 'indenture' was a deed or agreement between two or more parties. Two or more copies were written out, usually on one piece of parchment or paper, and then cut in a jagged or curvy line, so that when brought together again at any time, the two edges exactly matched and showed that they were parts of one and the same original document. A 'right hand indenture' is therefore the copy of the document which was on the right hand side when the parchment was cut in two.

A 'fine' was a fee, separate from the rent, paid by the tenant or vassal to the landlord on some alteration of the tenancy, or a sum of money paid for the granting of a lease or for admission to a copyhold tenement.

A bargain and sale was an early form of conveyance often used by executors to convey land. The bargainee, or person to whom the land was bargained and sold, took possession, often referred to as becoming 'seised' of the land.

Source: British Records Association Guidelines 3: How to interpret deeds (available online).

Harrow Manor belonged to the archbishops of Canterbury from the early middle ages until 1545 when Henry VIII forced Cranmer to sell the manor to him. Henry sold the estate to Sir Edward North. The North family sold the manor to the Pitt family, whence it came to Alice Pitt and her husbands, Edward Palmer and then Sir James Rushout. The Rushouts acquired the barony of Northwick in 1797. Harrow stayed in the family until the death of the 3rd Baron, Sir George Rushout-Bowles, in 1887. His widow left the estate to her grandson Captain E. G. Spencer-Churchill. He sold the land in the 1920s.

Harrow Manor described both the manorial rights over the whole area and the chief demesne farm in the centre of the parish. This was known as Sudbury Manor or Sudbury Court. The ownership of Sudbury Manor followed that of Harrow, hence the name Harrow alias Sudbury.

From: 'Harrow, including Pinner : Manors', 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. 203-211 (available online).

The Manor of Harrow Rectory alias Harrow-on-the-Hill originated in land owned by priest Werhardt in the 9th century. From 1094-1845 Harrow Rectory was a peculiar of the archbishopric of Canterbury within the deanery of Croydon. The rector had sole manorial jurisdiction over Harrow-on-the-Hill and Roxborough, and collected tithes from a large area. This was a prized position which attracted ambitious and important men, and the rectory house was accordingly fine and spacious. In 1546 the rectory was impropriated to Christ Church, Oxford, but in 1547 the college alienated the rectory, the advowson of the vicarage, and (from 1550) the tithes to Sir Edward North, lord of Harrow alias Sudbury Manor. The grant was made in fee farm in perpetuity, North paying the College an annual fee. North sublet the rectory and tithes while retaining the manorial rights, and enjoyed the rights and profits of the rectory. In 1630 the rectory was conveyed to George Pitt and thereafter descended with Sudbury Court Manor until 1807, when the rectory house and 121 acres of land north of it were sold to James Edwards; the remaining land becoming part of Harrow Park.

'Harrow, including Pinner : Harrow church', 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. 249-255 (available online).

The Manor of Poplar was formed in 1200 when part of the lands of Bernard of Stepney were sold to Henry of Bedfont. In 1339 the manor was owned by Sir John Pulteney, the Mayor of London. From 1405 to 1538 the manor was the property of the abbey of Saint Mary Graces, who gave it to the Crown in 1539. It was subsequently broken up, the manor house and the lordship and lands being granted to different people.

Source of information: 'Stepney: Manors and Estates', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 19-52.