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Hornsey parish is situated between Finchley and Friern Barnet, bordered by Tottenham, Stoke Newington, Clissold Park, Islington, Saint Pancras and Hampstead. The parish included two detached sections situated in Stoke Newington and another detached section near Colney Hatch (transferred to Friern Barnet in 1891). Within the parish, land at Muswell Hill belonged to the parish of Clerkenwell until it was transferred to Hornsey in 1901. The parish measured 2,978 acres in 1881, which was reduced to 2,875 acres in 1901.

Hornsey Vestry was first mentioned in 1688, while churchwardens were appointed from 1421 and at first carried out the functions of the overseers, who were active from 1612. Other parish officers included surveyors of the highways, an apothecary for the poor, master of the workhouse, beadle, engine-keeper, collector of rates and public health inspector. A workhouse was established in 1730, supervised by a Vestry committee.

The original parish church of Saint Mary was demolished in 1831 as it was too small and needed many repairs. The tower was retained and a new church built alongside it, finished in 1833. This church in turn became unsuitable and was closed in 1888, although it was not demolished until 1927. The tower was spared and the site was made into a garden. For the new church a different site was chosen, on the corner of Hornsey High Street and Church Lane, and the building was completed by 1889. The church contained space for 1,200 and was considered to be the finest 19th century church in Middlesex. Unfortunately the subsoil was unstable and cracks began to appear, forcing the demolition of the building in 1969. Church services were held in the church hall.

Source of information: 'Hornsey, including Highgate: Churches', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6: Friern Barnet, Finchley, Hornsey with Highgate (1980), pp. 101-182.

Christ Church in Crouch End is situated on the corner of Crouch End Hill and Crescent Road. Services were held in Broadway Hall from 1833 until the church was constructed in 1862, when a district was assigned. The tower and spire were added in 1873 while room for extra seats was added in 1906.

The church of Saint Andrew was opened on Shepherd's Hill, Crouch End, in 1890. Attendance was not as high as expected and the church remained a chapel of ease to Christ Church until it was closed in 1907.

From: 'Hornsey, including Highgate: Churches', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6: Friern Barnet, Finchley, Hornsey with Highgate (1980), pp. 172-182. Available online.

The origins of the church at Heston are unclear. Heston was part of Isleworth and the church may have been founded from the church at Isleworth. In the 11th century both churches were given to the Abbey of Saint Valéry, who endowed a vicarage by 1310. By the 13th century the parishes were separated and remained unchanged until 1835 when new churches were built and new parishes were made, reducing Heston parish in size. The Bishop of London held the advowson of Heston church in 1570.

The 15th century church of Saint Leonard was considered too small and in poor repair, and was re-built in 1865. Some effort was made to incorporate earlier features and it seems that 13th and 15th century stonework was reused, while the 15th century tower remains intact. A mission church was opened at Broad Walk in 1953.

From: 'Heston and Isleworth: Churches', 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. 122-129. Available online.

The church of Saint Mary is situated on Church End, Hendon. It appears that a church has existed on the site since the 9th century. The church has been rebuilt, enlarged and restored several times, including in the 13th, 15th, and early 16th centuries, with restorations in 1783, 1827 and 1915. The church includes the monument of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore; while Charles Johnson (1679-1748), dramatist; Sir Joseph Ayloffe, Bt. (1709-81), antiquary; Nathaniel Hone (1718-84), portrait painter; George Carter (1737-94), painter; and Benjamin Travers (1783-1858), eye surgeon, are buried in the churchyard.

Source of information: 'Hendon: Churches', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 33-37 (available online).

Saint Peter's, Hornsey, was founded in 1884 as a chapel of ease to the parish church, Saint Mary's. At first the building was a temporary iron structure; a permament building was erected between 1897 and 1905. A consolidated chapelry was formed from Hornsey and part of Tottenham in 1898. In 1977 the parish was combined with the parish of Christ Church, West Green, Tottenham.

From: 'Hornsey, including Highgate: Churches', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6: Friern Barnet, Finchley, Hornsey with Highgate (1980), pp. 172-182. Available online.

The Archbishop of Canterbury held the medieval manor of Hayes, and the church was considered to be part of the Archbishop's peculiar deanery of Croydon (and remained part of this deanery unil 1845). The Archbishop granted the advowson of the vicarage and the manor to the Crown in 1545. The church of Saint Mary dates in part to the 13th century, with additions from the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. The churchyard was enlarged in the 1860s. Sir Gilbert Scott restored the church in 1873.

From: 'Hayes: Churches', 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. 33-36. Available online.

The church of Saint John the Evangelist was built between 1843 and 1846 to serve the southern part of Harrow parish. The land and money for the construction of the church was provided by sisters Anne and Frances Copland of Sudbury Lodge. The church building was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in a Gothic style. The church was given a separate parish in 1846, and the living was made a vicarage in 1872. The advowson is exercised by trustees.

From: 'Harrow, including Pinner : Modern churches', 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. 257-260. Available online.

Architects Cowell, Drewitt and Wheatley were based at The Mansion House,Truro, Devon.

The origins of the Justices of the Peace lie in the temporary appointments of 'conservators' or 'keepers' of the peace made at various times of unrest between the late twelfth century and the fourteenth century. In 1361 the 'Custodis Pacis' were merged with the Justices of Labourers, and given the title Justices of the Peace and a commission.

The Commission of the Peace gave them the power to try offences in their courts of Quarter Sessions which manorial courts were not able to be deal with (misdemeanours), but which were less serious than those which went to the Assize Judges (felonies). It appointed them to conserve the peace (within a stated area) and to enquire on the oaths of "good and lawfull men" into "all manner of poisonings, enchantments, forestallings, disturbances, abuses of weights and measures" and many other things, and to "chastise and punish" anyone who had offended against laws made in order to keep the peace.

Gradually the justices took over the work of the sheriff in the county. During the sixteenth century their powers and duties increased, as the Tudor monarchs found them a cheap and effective way of enforcing their will across the country. Likewise, the new middle classes saw the post as a means to gain local prestige and influence (despite the arduous and costly duties) and there was regular pressure 'from below' to increase numbers in the Commission. Consequently, at this time, the numbers on the commission rose from an average of 8 to around 30 to 40 by the middle of the sixteenth century. Not until the mid-nineteenth century did the post lose its desirability and numbers begin to drop off.

It was a system that recognised local social structures - the natural wish to regulate local law and order, and men wanting to be judged by other local men. The justices have often, aptly, been described as 'the rulers of the county', and the crown had to be careful to choose men whose standing would not turn them into faction leaders. Equally, the justices' unpaid status ensured that the crown could not take advantage of them and act despotically, and they retained some local independence. Justices needed to be of sufficient local status to exercise authority in a judicial and administrative capacity, and to supervise the parish officials who did so much of the actual law enforcement. Men were therefore appointed from the ranks of the local gentry, most without legal training. To some extent their unpaid status excluded men from the lower orders who had to work and earn a wage.

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

Patrick Colquhoun (1745-1820) was appointed a police magistrate in 1792 and posted to the office in Worship Street, Finsbury Square. In 1797 he was requested by the West India merchants to protect their property on the Thames from pillage. He put into operation a scheme projected by John Harriott, and in 1798 the marine police office was established at Wapping, with Harriott as resident magistrate and Colquhoun as receiver. The office was unpopular at first, and a riot took place at Wapping in October 1798. However, the establishment quickly proved effective in bringing law and order to the river.

The extracts for the most part come from Liber Customarium, Liber Horn and Liber Albus. From a note in the middle of the book the extracts appear to deal with early references to architectural matters and the names of localities and streets. Translations are provided for some Latin and French extracts.

The name of the compiler and the purpose for which the extracts were made are not known.

The Hall was constructed in 1894, with further improvements and additions in 1947-48.

The Gordon Riots took place in June 1780. On 2 June a 50,000 person crowd assembled in St George's Fields, Southwark, to protest against the repeal of anti-Roman Catholic laws. The march had been organised by Lord George Gordon, MP, leader of the Protestant Association, but he lost control of the crowds. Protestors broke away and began looting and burning Roman Catholic chapels. By 5 June the rioters lost interest in Roman Catholic targets and began general destruction, attacking prisons including Newgate, Clerkenwell, the Fleet, King's Bench and Borough Clink and setting the inmates free. Houses and businesses were attacked; including Downing Street. The crowd stormed the Bank of England but were repelled. On 6 June all was quiet again. Lord Gordon was arrested and tried for high treason but was acquitted. 21 ringleaders were hanged. An estimated 850 people died in the chaos.

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

Until 1945 Southall fell within the Uxbridge parliamentary division. In that year the new parliamentary borough of Southall was formed out of Southall municipal borough and Hayes and Harlington Urban district. Changes in 1948 excluded Hayes and Harlington and brought in the Hanwell North and Hanwell South Wards. After the London local government changes of 1965 Southall municipal borough became part of the London borough of Ealing. This did not affect the constituency which remained unchanged until 1971 when the new Ealing, Southall constituency was created.

Local Labour Parties: It has not been possible to establish exactly when the local Labour movement in the old Uxbridge division took on formal shape. The Southall and Norwood Trades Council and Labour Party were in existence by 1923 and were affiliated to the larger Uxbridge Divisional Labour Party - so much can be seen from the surviving records. In 1945 the Southall Constituency Labour Party was formed after the creation of the new Southall Constituency. Between 1948 and 1958 it was generally known as the Southall and Hanwell constituency.

Local party structure: This consisted basically of a general management committee and an executive committee formed from individual members of the local party and delegates representing affiliated bodies such as trades unions and co-operative societies. Day to day administration was in the hands of a secretary/agent who was at certain periods a paid officer.

The constituency was broken down into wards and committees created for each one, i.e., Hambrough, Waxlow Manor, Dormers Wells, Norwood Green, Hanwell North and Hanwell South.

Lady Jersey was born in 1753, only daughter of Rt. Rev. Philip Twysden, Bishop of Raphoe, and in 1770 married George Bussy Villiers, 4th Earl of Jersey. She was a friend of the Prince of Wales, and died on 23 July 1821, just four days after his coronation as George IV.

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

Lease and release was the most common method of conveying freehold property from the later seventeenth century onwards, before the introduction of the modern conveyance in the late nineteenth century. The lease was granted for a year (sometimes six months), then on the following day the lessor released their right of ownership in return for the consideration (the thing for which land was transferred from one party to another, usually, of course, a sum of money).

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

In 1929 the London County Council tramways, the Underground railways and the London General Omnibus Company proposed to coordinate their services. It was not until 1933, however, that the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) was established by law. During the Second World War the government assumed control of the LPTB, and remained in charge until 1947. In that year the Transport Act set up the British Transport Commission, which appointed executive bodies to deal with transport throughout the country. One of these took over the whole of road and rail transport in London, while the LPTB became the London Transport Executive in 1948.

Between 1970 and 1984 the Greater London Council (GLC) was responsible for the overall policy and finances of London Transport, while the London Tranport Executive was responsible for the day-to-day management and operation of services. On the abolition of the GLC in 1984, London Regional Transport was formed as a statutory corporation responsible to the government. It set up a number of wholly owned subsidiaries, including London Underground Limited and London Buses Limited. In 1990 London Regional Transport became known again as London Transport for all but legal purposes.

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 following companies are represented in this collection:

A1 Bus Company;
Acme Pullman Services (Buses);
Alberta Omnibus;
Amersham And District Motor Bus And Haulage Company;
Associated Omnibus Company;
Atlas Omnibus Company;
C W Batten And Company Limited (Buses);
Bracklin And Vandy Limited (Buses);
Britannia Traction Company;
Brixton Motor Omnibus Company;
Bucks Expresses (Buses);
Cambrian Coaching And Goods Transport Limited;
Cambrian Landray Coaching Limited;
Celtic Omnibus Company;
Central Omnibus Company;
Chesham And District Bus Company;
Cosgrove Omnibus Company;
Criterion Omnibus Company;
Dangerfield Limited (Buses);
Direct Omnibus Company;
District Omnibus Company;
Dominion Omnibus Company;
East Ham Omnibus Company;
Empress Omnibus Company;
Fleet Omnibus Company;
Florence Omnibus Company;
Gearless Motor Omnibus Company;
Grafton Omnibus Company;
Grangewood Omnibus Company;
Green Line Coaches Limited;
Haywood And Nowell Limited (Buses);
Horseshoe Traction Company;
Invicta Traction Company (Buses);
Jockey Omnibus Company;
Lea Valley Omnibus Company;
Legion Omnibus Company;
London Road Car Company;
Lonsdale Omnibus Company;
Loveland Omnibus Company;
Mcmahon Omnibus Company;
Marathon Omnibus Company;
Mason Omnibus Company;
Metropolitan Steam Omnibus Company;
New Central Omnibus Company;
Northern Omnibus Company;
Nulli Secundus Omnibus Company;
Olympic Traction Company;
Omnibus Proprietors Limited;
Overground Limited (Buses);
Edward Paul Limited (Buses);
Pc Omnibus Company;
Priest Brothers Limited;
Primrose Omnibus Company;
Ra Motor Services;
Charles Randall Limited (Buses);
Reburn's Motor Services;
Shamrock Traction Company;
Skylark Motor Coach Company;
Silver Star Omnibus Company;
Superbus Limited;
T And W Omnibus Company;
Tottenham Hotspur Omnibus Company;
Tower Carriers Limited;
Unique Omnibus Company;
Victoria Road Car Company;
Vivid Omnibus Company;
W And P Omnibus Company;
Watford Omnibus Company;
Wellington Omnibus Company;
Western Omnibus Company;
White Star Omnibus Company;
London And South Coast Transport Limited;
National Omnibus And Transport Company.

In June 1900 the Central London Railway (now the Central Line) opened its first section, running from Bank to Shepherd's Bush. The route was extremely busy but kept a flat fare of 2 pence a ticket, earning it the nickname 'Twopenny Tube'. Extensions were gradually added to the line: in 1920 the westward extension to Ealing Broadway was opened; while the extensions to Leyton and Ruislip were delayed by the Second World War, and finally completed in 1947. In 1948 surface lines were extended to West Ruislip and Epping, with a further shuttle running from Epping to Ongar. The total length of the line was then 52 miles.

The City of London and Southwark Subway Company was incorporated in July 1884 to carry out a scheme to construct a twin-tube cable-traction subway from King William Street [now Monument station] to Elephant and Castle. In 1889 it was decided to run the trains electrically instead of by a cable car method, thus making this the world's first electric tube railway. It was also decided to extend the line to Stockwell, where the electrical generating equipment was housed. In 1890 it was decided to extend the line south to Clapham Common and north to Moorgate and the Angel, Islington. The company name was also changed to the City and South London Railway. A further extension to Kings Cross and Euston stations was opened in 1907. An extension to Camden Town was opened in 1924 and to Morden in 1926.

The City and South London Railway was connected with the Charing Cross to Hampstead line (constructed between 1900 and 1924 as the Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway) in 1924 and by 1937 the two railways had been integrated into one system, and renamed the Northern Line. Between 1935 and 1940 the line was extended to High Barnet and Mill Hill East, bringing its total length to 40 miles.

The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway was formed in 1902, following a merger of the the Brompton and Piccadilly Circus Railway and the Great Northern and Strand Railway. The company was a subsidiary of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited. The underground line was opened in 1906, running between Hammersmith and Finsbury Park, today forming the central part of the Piccadilly line.

In 1929 the London County Council tramways, the Underground railways and the London General Omnibus Company proposed to coordinate their services. It was not until 1933, however, that the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) was established by law.

During the Second World War the government assumed control of the LPTB, and remained in charge until 1947. In that year the Transport Act set up the British Transport Commission, which appointed executive bodies to deal with transport throughout the country. One of these took over the whole of road and rail transport in London, while the LPTB became the London Transport Executive in 1948.

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

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

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

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 South Metropolitan Electric Tramways and Lighting Company Limited operated 52 tramcars and 13.08 miles of tramways in south London, Surrey and Kent. In 1912, along with London United Tramways and Metropolitan Electric Tramways, it was purchased by the London and Suburban Traction Company, a company owned jointly by British Electric Traction and the London Electric Railway Company (the London Underground Group). This Company became part of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933.

The Tramways M.E.T. Omnibus Company was founded in 1912 as a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Electric Tramways Company Limited, who were joint stockholders with the British Electric Traction Company. The aim of the company was to provide competition with buses which were taking trade away from trams. The company began operating in partnership with the London General Omnibus Company as early as October 1912, and by 1931 their operations had been almost entirely taken over by that company. In 1933 the remainder of the Tramways M.E.T. Omnibus Company was taken over by the London Passenger Transport Board.

Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited was founded in 1902 by American Charles Yerkes, who had made a substantial profits investing in public transport in the city of Chicago. The company bought existing railway companies involved in the construction of deep-level tube railway lines, including the Metropolitan District Railway; Baker Street and Waterloo Railway; Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway and the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway. The lines constructed by these companies now form the District Line, Bakerloo Line, Northern Line and Piccadilly Line.

The Underground Electric Railways Company began to act together with other railway companies, including the Central London Railway and the Great Northern and City Railway; representing themselves as the Underground Group and agreeing on fare structures. In 1909 the Underground Electric Railways Company applied for and was granted permission to merge the Metropolitan District Railway; Baker Street and Waterloo Railway; Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway and the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway companies into one company, the London Electric Railway Company. In 1913 the company purchased the City and South London Railway and the Central London Railway, bringing all but three of the exisiting underground lines into common ownership.

The Underground Electric Railways Company also purchased bus and tram service providers including the London General Omnibus Company; London and Suburban Traction Company; London United Tramways; Metropolitan Electric Tramways; and South Metropolitan Electric Tramways.

In the 1920s the group was struggling financially. Chairman Lord Ashfield lobbied for greater regulation of transport services in the London area - leading ultimately to the liquidation of the Underground Electric Railways Company when the London Passenger Transport Board was formed in 1933. This was a public corporation which took control of the company and several others within the London Passenger Transport Area.

The Union Construction Company based at Feltham were a subsidiary company of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London Ltd. They constructed tube and tram cars for the Company, including the classic 'Feltham' tramcar. They were taken over by the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933.

The Union Surplus Lands Company was a subsidiary of Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited. It appears that they managed premises owned by the parent company. The Union Surplus Lands Company was transferred to the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933.

The Watford and Edgware Railway Company was founded in the 1860s with the intention of constructing a railway line between Edgware and Watford, via Bushey Heath. The line was never constructed as the company were unable to raise the capital and met significant opposition from rival companies. In 1922 the company was purchased by the London Electric Railway Company who intended to use the rights of way obtained by the Watford and Edgware Railway Company to extend their Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway (the modern Northern Line). Work did not begin until 1935 but had not progressed beyond earthworks and tunnelling when the Second World War began and work ceased. It was not resumed after the war.

Richard Wright, M.C., F.L.A. (1890-1976) was a pioneer of the county library movement. His early library training and experience were gained in public and reference libraries in Croydon, Sunderland, Coventry and Wiltshire. In 1922 he was appointed County Librarian of Middlesex with the task of inaugurating a county library service, following the adoption by the County Council of the Public Libraries Acts of 1919. The service was founded on a Carnegie Trust grant of £1,500 and a budget estimate of £600 and was intended to provide for rural areas without district council libraries. The initial library service comprised collections of books at schools and other centres, open to the public for a few hours weekly and staffed by volunteers, chiefly teachers. From 1930 full-time branch libraries, with professional staff, were opened, and these gradually replaced the part-time library centres. Richard Wright built up a service that was regarded as one of the most comprehensive and efficient in the country. His great enthusiasm and organising ability were evident in the development of the County Library through the medium of local library centres, whole-time branch libraries and students' library services.

Richard Wright served in the Royal Garrison Artillery in the First World War and gained the Military Cross. Throughout the war of 1939-45 he gave encouragement and support to members of his staff on active service and the letters he received are a testimonial to the high regard in which he was held (see Acc/1312/1-60). At the same time he was a member of the Book Recovery Committee which was instrumental in saving books and manuscripts from salvage. He took a prominent part in the scheme for organising a Regional Library System in S.E. England, and, among other professional activities, served on the Council of the Library Association. He retired in 1952 after thirty years service with Middlesex County Libraries.

Probate (also called proving a will) is the process of establishing the validity of a will, which was recorded in the grant of probate.

Lease and release was the most common method of conveying freehold property from the later seventeenth century onwards, before the introduction of the modern conveyance in the late nineteenth century. The lease was granted for a year (sometimes six months), then on the following day the lessor released their right of ownership in return for the consideration (the thing for which land was transferred from one party to another, usually, of course, a sum of money).

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

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

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

Probate (also called proving a will) is the process of establishing the validity of a will, which was recorded in the grant of probate.

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

Upham Park Road is situated off King Road, Chiswick, near Acton Green Common.

Probate (also called proving a will) is the process of establishing the validity of a will, which was recorded in the grant of probate.

In 1914 the Brentford Gas Company proposed to erect gas works on part of Duke's Meadows but their application was rejected by Parliament. The company applied again to Parliament in 1918 for further land for manufacturing purposes, pointing out the suitability of the Chiswick site for their needs. There was much local opposition and the company's plans were refused again.

Chiswick Residents' Committee was succeeded in 1922 by the Chiswick Civic Association as an unofficial society of residents and rate payers formed to foster and promote local interest in good causes. One of its main objects was the preservation of Duke's Meadows from industrial development and their profitable use for sports grounds and public purposes.

In 1923 Duke's Meadows, over 150 acres of orchard land bordering the Thames, was purchased by Chiswick Urban District Council from the Duke of Devonshire.

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

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

An assignment of term, or assignment to attend the inheritance, was an assignment of the remaining term of years in a mortgage to a trustee after the mortgage itself has been redeemed. An assignment of a lease is the transfer of the rights laid out in the lease to another party, usually for a consideration (a sum of money).

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

The Ealing Horticultural Society was established in 1864 with the aim of encouraging the cultivation of allotment ground within the parish.

Cuthbert Coates Smith of Herne Hill, engineer, and Bernard Edgar Aylwn of West End Lane, then Middlesex, engineer, traded as The Vaal Motor and Launch Company and were based at Eel Pie Island, Twickenham.

Robert Wood (1672-1738) was the son of Thomas Wood of Littleton and his wife Dorothy. Educated at Eton and Wadham College, Oxford, Robert was admitted Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, on 17 April 1695. He became a Doctor of Laws at Doctors' Commons. His first wife, Eleanor Smith, whom he married in 1702, died in 1717, and in 1720 he married Jane Heaton by whom he had four daughters.

The insurance policy was taken out with The North China Insurance Company Limited, of 78 Cornhill, London.

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

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

A 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.

An exemplification was a formal copy of a court record issued with the court's seal.

A quitclaim was a deed renouncing any possible right to a property. The name comes from the Latin "Quietus Clamatus".

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

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

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

Probate (also called proving a will) is the process of establishing the validity of a will, which was recorded in the grant of probate.

If a person died intestate (without a valid will) their money, goods and possessions passed to their next of kin through an administration (or letters of administration) which had the same form in law as a will.

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

John Samuel Tanqueray was a gentleman resident in Hendon. It seems that he was a local magistrate or Justice of the Peace.

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

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

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

These deeds and settlements were passed to the Society of Genealogists, who in turn deposited them with the archive. There is no unifying factor to the deeds (e.g. that they relate to property owned by one estate or family), they were simply collected for their antiquarian interest and their relevance to Middlesex local history.

The last area developed before the First World War was around Sudbury station, where the railway crossed the Harrow road just west of Wembley. The Copland sisters contributed by building a church, vicarage, and school on their estate, just west of the station. By 1852 there were nine buildings on the Harrow road between the 'Swan' and Sudbury station. Although as early as 1866 land in Alperton was offered to builders as being near Sudbury station, it was not until the end of the century that the area around the station was sold for building. After the death of General Copland Crawford in 1895, the Copland estate, then called Harrowdene estate, was open to development, mainly by the Conservative Land Co., and by 1897 many roads had been laid out on both sides of the Harrow road.

From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 198-203 (available online).