The General Post Office was, until 1969, a government department, and its expenditure was controlled by the Treasury. Prior to 1969 the treasury supervised all GPO financial management, policy, planning and development.
The Receiver General was an independent appointment, designed to remove all responsibilities for cash from the hands of the Postmaster General. There was, however, another major financial position in the Post Office, the Accountant General, who was appointed by the Postmaster General to keep an account of all revenue. This produced duplication of records. The Receiver General took receipt of all money paid into the Department, and paid costs directly from these funds.
The sources of income are mainly payments received from inland letters; window money (postage due on letters handed in by the public to the clerk behind the window of a post office); postmasters; letter receivers; returned letters; charges levied on incoming foreign letters. Expenditure includes payments for salaries of postmasters, letter carriers, sorters, window men, clerks of the roads and of the inland and foreign offices, inspectors, watchmen and other employees; ship letters; returned letters; accommodation, furnishings and equipment; travelling expenses; allowances and pensions; local taxes; contractors and tradesmen; building, hire, wear and tear of packet ships; captains fees. The balance of cash was transferred to the Exchequer.
Dr Basil Hood, MRCS, LRCP, was the Medical Superintendent of the St Marylebone Infirmary, later St Charles' Hospital, from 1910 to 1941. Few further details of his career may be found in the Medical Directory.
Redwood College was formed in July 1993 by the merger of Roding and Romford Colleges of Nursing, Midwifery and Healthcare Studies. These Colleges were in turn formed by the amalgamation of several Schools of Nursing and Midwifery in Essex and London. Redwood College of Health Studies merged with South Bank University in 1994.
Records in this collection were created by several hospitals in Essex and London, which taught nursing but which no longer exist, with the exception of Whipps Cross Hospital.
William Pickles (1885-1969) general practitioner and epidemiologist practised medicine in Aylsgarth in Yorkshire between 1912 and 1964.
Pickles practiced as GP for over fifty years in Aysgarth, Yorkshire, until his retirement in 1964. Throughout this period he conducted extensive research into epidemiology, using the Aysgarth District and its inhabitants he worked tirelessly to investigate epidemiological trends in rural areas. He lectured throughout Britain and worlwide, in America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. He was appointed Cutter Lecturer, 1947-48 at Harvard University, America. Pickles was influential in the founding of the College of General Practitoners (later the Royal Collge of General Practitioners) and held the post of First President, 1953-1956.
Arthur Woodward (17 Mar 1917-5 Feb 2008) was born in Wigan, Lancashire, and was educated at Hindley Green Council School. At the age of 15 he began his career as an apprentice at Leyland Park, Hindley, maintaining the tennis courts and doing horticultural work when time permitted.
In 1935 Woodward was appointed gardener, at a level known as ‘improver’, on a private estate, Leggatt’s Park in Potters Bar, where he spent 18 months, and where in due course he was put in charge of the fruit and plant houses. In 1937 he moved to Cambridge University Botanic Garden, employed as student gardener in the glasshouses and propagating department. He left two years later as a trained gardener, to gain more experience in parks work and joined the Council Parks Department at Dudley, Worcestershire. His time at Dudley was interrupted by the war, which he spent in the Royal Air Force, during which time he continued to practice horticulture.
After demobilisation Woodward spent a year as a student gardener at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, before being appointed ‘technical assistant’ at Beckenham Parks Department, where he had a wide range of administrative responsibilities. Over time he gained a number of qualifications: the RHS junior and senior certificates in general horticulture, the RHS Teachers preliminary and advanced qualifications in school and cottage gardening, RHS National Diploma in Horticulture qualifications in general horticulture, and the Diploma of the Institute of Park Administration.
In 1947 he was appointed Deputy Parks Superintendent at the Borough of Richmond. In 1956, following the retirement of George Humphreys, Woodward was appointed Parks and Allotments Superintendent, a post he held until his retirement in 1982. During his time at Richmond he developed the Terrace Gardens, Richmond, improved tree care practices, opened up the parks by removing gates and fences, and created 200 acres of natural parkland from gravel pits near the river. He also established a central nursery at Ham and a nine-hole golf course at Twickenham.
After retirement Woodward joined a local group of architects as Landscape Consultant, and was variously President of the University Botanic Gardens Association, Kew Guild, Richmond Rotary Club and the Barnes Horticultural and Allotments Association.
Woodward married Adah Major in Lancashire in 1942, and they had two sons.
Source: The archive of Arthur Woodward
Great Ormond Street Hospital was founded in 1852 by Charles West on its current site in Bloomsbury as the Hospital for Sick Children. It was the first children's hospital in Britain. It became part of the NHS in 1948 and took over the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Sick Children in 1968. It went through several changes of name during this period and adopted its current name in 1994.
Sir Henry Enfield Roscoe (1833-1915) was the 17th President of the Chemical Society (1880-1882) and went to University College London in 1848 where Thomas Graham was the Professor of Chemistry. Roscoe was a student of German chemist Robert Bunsen at Heidelberg; they later became collaborators in research and lifelong friends.
Sir Pelham Francis Warner was born in The Hall, Port of Spain, Trinidad, on 2 October 1873. He was the son of Charles William Warner, Attorney General of Trinidad. He married Agnes Blyth in 1904 and they had three children, two boys Esmond and John and a daughter Elizabeth.
Warner was educated at Rugby School and Oxford University, where he played in the varsity match against Cambridge. He made his first-class debut for Middlesex in 1894 and in 1897 was called up to play for Lord Hawke's XI in the West Indies. He then made his debut for England vs. South Africa in Johannesburg in 1899.
In 1903 Warner had the honour of being the first captain of an MCC touring side following the decision to make MCC the governing body responsible for England cricket tours overseas. The tour was to Australia and England won the series 3-2, thus bringing back the Ashes. Warner was rewarded with a place on the MCC Committee, and captained the first ever MCC tour of South Africa. During the First World War, Warner served with the Inns of Court and the Ministry of Information at the Foreign Office. After the war he returned to play first-class cricket in Middlesex and helped them to win the championship in 1920, scoring 79 and being led off the pitch by spectators - a framed picture of which is included in this collection.
After he retired from cricket Warner remained active in the game. He became manager of the MCC touring team during the infamous Bodyline series of 1932-1933. Warner was knighted in 1937 and during the Second World War he became Deputy Secretary of MCC. In 1950-1951 Warner was President of MCC and celebrated his 80th birthday with a dinner in the Long Room - two events that make up the bulk of correspondence and telegrams included in this collection. Warner died at West Lavington, near Midhurst, Sussex, on January 30, 1963.
This collection was bequeathed to MCC by Marina Warner, Warner's granddaughter, in 2009. The collection focuses on Warner's achievements away from the game - his MBE, his knighthood, his election as MCC President in 1950-1951, the release of his book 'Lord's 1787-1945' and his 80th birthday. The collection also includes material acquired during the course of Warner's life, including poetry, menu cards, orders of service and certificates. The material was held in a Louis Vuitton trunk with one sticker with 'The Grand Hotel, Melbourne' written on it, and with the scarlet and gold colours of MCC. MCC has retained the trunk.
The first registers of voters were lists of those owing land tax, since the right to vote depended on the amount of property a man owned.
It was not until the 1832 Reform Act that the creation of electoral registers became a requirement. At first these were the responsibility of the Quarter Sessions, although from 1888 they were compiled by County Councils and from 1974 by District Councils. The registers mainly list those eligible to vote for parliamentary elections although they often double as lists for local government elections.
The administration of roads and bridges was one of the very earliest functions of County administration. In 1555 an Act of Parliament was passed which made parishes responsible for the maintenance of the roads running through it, including supply of materials and labour for repairs. In 1663 Parliament first authorised the erection of turnpikes or toll barriers to raise funds for the maintenance of roads. By 1770 there were 7800 toll gates, despite the system being so unpopular it caused riots.
Towards the end of the eighteenth century the Industrial Revolution led to a large increase in traffic. In 1808 a Parliamentary Committee to consider the administration of roads was established. This Committee appointed paid county surveyors to examine the roads and produced a plan for the consolidation of the turnpike system around London, which led to improvement to the Middlesex turnpikes in 1826. It was not until the Local Government Act of 1888 that responsibility for the maintenance and repair of main roads was passed to county councils, while the care of smaller roads was passed to the local councils.
The Standing Joint Committee of most counties was responsible for control of the local police force. However, Middlesex was within the Metropolitan Police Area controlled by the Home Office, so the Standing Joint Committee was given other duties. These included matters relating to the accommodation of the quarter sessions and all property, appointment and control of officers and the provision of petty sessional court houses.
Poor rates were administered by parishes, and were levied to assist the poor of that parish. The duty of relieving the poor was given to parish overseers. The 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act established Boards of Guardians which were responsible for the care of poor persons in a group of parishes, known as Poor Law Unions. Hendon Poor Law Union was formed in 1835, and comprised the parishes of Hendon, Harrow, Pinner, Edgware, Kingsbury, Great and Little Stanmore, and Willesden. A red-brick workhouse was built at Redhill, Edgware Road, in 1835 to hold 350 inmates; a union school for 150 children was erected near by in 1859 and the workhouse itself was extended in 1889.
The origins of the Staines Congregational Church, Thames Street, are in a small congregation of independents formed in 1789. A minister was appointed by the group in the same year, but no meeting house was constructed until 1802. This was situated on Tilley's Lane. In 1837 a new chapel was constructed at Thames Street. Designed by W Higgins, it was brick with an Ionic portico looking towards the High Street. In 1956 this chapel was demolished to allow road widening and a third constructed, designed by J P Blake. The present day church is situated on Stainash Crescent, off Kingston Road.
The Teddington Methodist Circuit comprises the churches at Teddington, Sunbury, East Molesey, Hampton and Hanworth. These were originally part of the Richmond Circuit, but in 1887 were removed to form the new Hampton Court Circuit. This became known as the Teddington Circuit in 1892. A circuit is normally a group of churches in a local area served by a team of ministers. A minister will have pastoral charge of one or more churches, but will preach and lead worship in different local churches in the circuit, along with local preachers. The arrangements for leading worship in a circuit are drawn up in a quarterly Plan.
The first known Baptist Church in Crouch End was formed in 1807 and met in what was called the Broadway Hall, once part of the outbuildings of Old Crouch Hall. It continued until 1837. From 1879-1889 a second Baptist congregation met in the Broadway Hall, until the increasing urbanisation of the area, bringing an increased population, led to the erection of a more permanent chapel and the formation of the Ferme Park Baptist Church in 1889, located on the corner of Ferme Park Road and Weston Park. Ever growing congregations resulted in a new chapel being built adjacent to the old, between 1897-1900. The Baptist Chapel merged with the United Reformed Church in 1973 and opened on the same site as the Union Church in 1980.
Once established, the church membership met as a whole at the Church Meeting and the leaders of the church met as the Deacons' Meetings. An unbroken series of minute books for both meetings survive.
A Primitive Methodist chapel was opened in Welldon Crescent, Greenhill, in 1904. The church has closed and the buildings are now used as a community centre.
Trinity church, Wood Green, had its origins in open-air services which had begun in 1864. In 1869 a site on the north side of Southgate (later Trinity) Road was purchased and a chapel was constructed, dedicated in 1872. The building was designed by the Reverend J. N. Johnson, a steward of the Highbury circuit; it was of greyish brick with stone dressings, in the Early English style. A new school was built to the rear of the chapel in 1880, and in 1900 three halls were opened. In 1903, with nearly 700 worshippers on Sunday morning and 800 in the evening, there was a larger attendance than at any other nonconformist church in Tottenham or Wood Green. The former Baptist chapel of Saint George, Bowes Park (Edmonton), was placed under the care of Trinity church, and was eventually purchased by the Methodists in 1901. Trinity church itself was sold to the Greek Orthodox Church in 1970.
Source: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5.
Highgate or Jackson's Lane Wesleyan Methodist church was opened in 1905, on a site at the corner of Archway Road. The building included a Sunday school and was designed by W. H. Boney of Highgate. The church seated 650 and the schoolroom 400. Jackson's Lane was well known during the 1960s for its counselling centre. The church was closed in 1976.
Acton Green Wesleyan Methodist church originated in meetings held in a house in Antrobus Road. In 1885 a chapel and school were constructed in Steele Road, Acton Green. This church was rebuilt in 1930 on the same site by Smee and Houchin in the style of the Methodist Central Halls at Westminster. The new building had two halls, classrooms, vestry, and others rooms split over two levels.
The College Park Primitive Methodist chapel was built in 1897 at the corner of Harrow Road and Victor Road, College Park. It was closed in 1958.
Harlesden United Methodist Church was founded in 1869. Since September 1932 it has been called Harlesden Methodist Church. It was damaged by enemy action in 1941, and rebuilt in the 1950s on its present site.
Willesden Green Primitive Methodist chapel was opened in the High Road, Willesden Green by 1897. The church was rebuilt in 1904 but closed in 1963.
The first Methodist Chapel in Harrow was established at London Hill, Roxeth, by 1809. A new chapel in Lower Road was opened in 1855. This building subsequently became the Welsh Church. In 1905 the Methodist congregation moved to larger premises in Bessborough Road, Harrow.
The London County Council, among its other powers taken over from the Board of Works, had the right to purchase the undertakings in London of the tramway companies. Between 1892 and 1903 the Council gradually acquired all the London undertakings. These were horse-drawn and not fully interconnected. The Council unified the whole into one system, converted it to electricity, reduced the fares to a half-penny for a two mile journey, introduced workmen's fares and other concessions and provided some all night services. As part of the system, the subway under Kingsway was constructed and the power station at Greenwich was built. Special powers were obtained to continue the tramways over certain bridges and along the Victoria Embankment.
In 1933 the whole tram network passed to the newly formed London Passenger Transport Board who entirely discontinued the trams.
The school which G Turner attended cannot be identified.
The Old Mahogany Bar Methodist Church was originally a music hall - Wilton's Music Hall, founded in 1858. The Reverend Peter Thompson bought the premises in 1888 and converted them into a Methodist Mission hall as part of the East End Mission. Various evangelical and social welfare activities were coordinated by the Church, including a Sunday School, Women's Meetings, clubs and a Guild. In 1956 the building was sold and became a rag warehouse. The building has been Grade II listed and is being restored by the Wilton's Music Hall Trust.
The Primitive Methodist Connexion chapel in Manchester Road was founded in 1862 as a two storey building, was a church above and a school below. It was part of the London Eighth Circuit. Primitive Methodist Connexion chapels were more laity led in contrast to Wesleyan Methodists where the Ministers had greater power.
Hampton Isolation Hospital was constructed between 1906 and 1908. It was originally to have 8 beds but was soon expanded to 10 beds and by 1929 it had 14 beds. It took infectious cases other than fever and smallpox. It was administered by Hampton Urban District Council, and was situated on Uxbridge Road, Hampton Hill. It appears to have closed in 1932 and the site was sold in 1937.
Wandsworth Circuit was created in 1864 out of the old Hammersmith Circuit. It comprised churches in Putney, Wandsworth High Street and Wandsworth Bridge Road. In 1951 it was renamed the Wandsworth and Fulham circuit and was joined by Methodist churches in Munster Park and Fulham. In 1968 a new church was opened in Roehampton. The circuit closed in 1969 and the constituent churches redistributed to the Hammersmith, Richmond and Hounslow, and Broomwood and Clapham circuits
Wandsworth Bridge Road Church, Fulham closed in 1968.
Goodwyn Avenue Wesleyan Methodist Church, a brick building in the Perpendicular style, was opened in Mill Hill in 1930. After the Second World War a hall was added at the rear. The Church is now closed.
Methodist services and a Sunday school were said to have been started in the coach-houses of Harefield Grove House, at that time belonging to Robert Barnes, a former Mayor of Manchester. Barnes built the church in 1864 and maintained a resident minister there. On his departure from Harefield in 1869 he offered the building to the Wesleyan Methodist authorities, whose property it became in 1871. The church hall was opened in 1906, but after the First World War the congregation declined in numbers. The Second World War brought evacuees to the village causing a slight increase, but in 1959 the chapel had no resident minister and was largely dependent on lay preachers. The Chapel is now closed.
From: 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. 256.
The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital (EGA) was originally founded in 1872 and moved to its Euston Road site in 1889. Its aim was to enable women doctors to practice medicine and to give women the right to be treated by doctors of their own sex.
The future of the hospital was first threatened in the early 1970's due to the General Nursing Council decision to stop training student nurses there. Without subsidised trainee staff, the hospital was hard pressed to keep within its budget. Subsequently the MP Barbara Castle, Secretary of State for Health and Social Services, agreed to the closure of the EGA but only on the condition that a suitable alternative was found. In March 1976 the hospital lifts and fire escapes were declared unsafe and unsuccessful attempts were made by the Area Health Authority to transfer the functions of the EGA to the Whittington Hospital.
It was against such a background that the Staff Action Committee was set up, with representatives from all sections of the hospital, in an attempt to keep the hospital open and to maintain its objectives.
Between 1975 and 1979 the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Appeal Trust lobbied to save the hospital and raised £900,000 from the public. After the general election in May 1979, the new government reversed the earlier decision and granted £2 million to convert the hospital into a small gynaecological unit, where women could be treated by women. The hospital reopened in 1984 with modern facilities, a new Well Women's service and good operating theatres. In 1982 the hospital came under the control of the Bloomsbury Health Authority, and since 1991, Bloomsbury and Islington Health Authority. Despite closing the Soho Hospital for Women in 1988, the health authority decided in 1992 to close the beds at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital and to use the hospital for day surgery only.
The New Chapel, or as it later became known, Wesley's Chapel, was opened for public worship on 1 November 1778. It stood as a successor to the old Foundery Chapel bought in 1739 which was situated a few hundred metres to the south east.
The Chapel is important as the "Mother Church of World Methodism", the scene of many famous events such as the Uniting Conference of Primitive Methodists, United Methodists and Wesleyan Methodists in 1932. It also acts as the focal point of the City Road Circuit, also known as London East Circuit (1807-1823) and the First London Circuit. There has been much reorganisation as chapels closed and circuits were altered; for further details and names and dates of circuits, contact the Society of Cirplanologists who collect Circuit plans.
Parkhill Chapel was built at number 17 Fleet Road, Hampstead, in 1960. It was used by the evangelical mission which had previously been based at Malden Hall, Malden Road, Kentish Town. In 1982 it was used by a Strict Baptist congregation.
The Church is now disused. It was originally a Wesleyan Methodist Church in the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell. From 1965 it was in the London Borough if Southwark. It was in the Registration District of Camberwell. From 26 June 1972 the Congregation moved to Red Post Hill, North Dulwich and was renamed St Faith's Anglican/Methodist Shared Church. Marriage ceremonies continued to be conducted according to the rites and ceremonies of the Methodist Church. The Anglican parish church of St Faith, Red Post Hill continues to hold its services, and its registers are in the care of the incumbent.
The Metropolitan Asylums Board was established by an Order of the Poor Law Board, 15 May 1867. This Order combined the London unions and parishes in to one 'Metropolitan Asylum District' to comply with the stipulations of the Metropolitan Poor Act of 29 March 1867 (30 and 31 Vict c 6). This Act provided for "the Establishment in the Metropolis of Asylums for the Sick, Insane, and other Classes of the Poor and of Dispensaries; and for the Distribution over the Metropolis of Portions of the Charge for Poor Relief; and for other Purposes relating to Poor Relief". The Metropolitan Asylum District was responsible for "the reception and relief of poor persons infected with or suffering from fever or the disease of smallpox or who may be insane".
Under the Local Government Act, 1929 the powers and duties of the Board were transferred to the London County Council.
The Denbigh Road Methodist Church was founded in 1823 and built in 1856. The Lancaster Road Methodist Church was built in 1879. The two institutions subsequently merged and are now called the Notting Hill Methodist Church. The Church is based on Lancaster Road while the old Denbigh Road premises are used by the church as the Etheline Holder Hall.
Methodist services and a Sunday school were said to have been started in the coach-houses of Harefield Grove House, at that time belonging to Robert Barnes, a former Mayor of Manchester. Barnes built the church in 1864 and maintained a resident minister there. On his departure from Harefield in 1869 he offered the building to the Wesleyan Methodist authorities, whose property it became in 1871. The church hall was opened in 1906, but after the First World War the congregation declined in numbers. The Second World War brought evacuees to the village causing a slight increase, but in 1959 the chapel had no resident minister and was largely dependent on lay preachers. The Chapel is now closed.
From: 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. 256.
Wesleyan Methodists registered a preaching hall in Upton Road (later part of Belsize Road) from 1861 to 1870. This may have been a forerunner of the Quex Road Methodist Church. The Church was built by Wesleyan Methodists on a site bought in 1868, and was registered in 1870. Attendance in 1886 was 356 for morning service and 400 for evening service; in 1903 attendance was 282 for morning service and 409 in the evening. A Church Hall was built in 1905. The Church was replaced in 1975 with small block of flats in Quex Road and a 2-storeyed church was built in Kingsgate Road.
From: 'Hampstead: Protestant Nonconformity', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9: Hampstead, Paddington (1989), pp. 153-158.
Christ Church at Whetstone United Reformed Church has its origins in independent meetings first held in Whetstone in 1788. In 1817 the meetings were moved to Totteridge where at first the congregation met in private houses. A permanent chapel with adjacent school room were constructed on Totteridge Lane in 1827, named the 'Totteridge Lane Chapel'. In 1884 it was agreed that the church should move to the developing residential area of Oakleigh Park, Whetstone, and a plot of land was duly purchased. A new church and school were built and opened in 1888, with the name 'Whetstone Congregational Church, Oakleigh Park'. In 1900 the church was gutted by a fire. It was decided to convert the damaged church into a hall, and build a new church and school room. In 1972 the Congregational Church merged with the Presbyterian Church to form the United Reformed Church, and the Whetstone church accordingly changed its name to 'The United Reformed Church, Whetstone'. Extensive rebuilding work was undertaken in 1975-1976, including the construction of a new church and a block of flats. In 1979 the name 'Christ Church at Whetstone United Reformed Church, Oakleigh Park' was adopted.
Park Baptist Chapel was situated at the corner of Boston Manor Road and Great West Road, Brentford. The chapel had its origins in meetings begun in 1799 by a minister at Hammersmith. Services took place in various houses and halls until 1855, when the Park Chapel opened, seating 500. Classrooms were added in 1869 but were replaced in 1936 by a hall, where services were held between 1940 and the 1950 reopening of the bomb-damaged church. The Chapel seated 400 in 1978. In 1994 the Park Baptist Chapel merged with Brentford United Reformed Church to form Brentford Free Church.
In the early nineteenth century, London's water supply and the River Thames were heavily polluted with sewage. This resulted in several cholera outbreaks during which up to 20,000 people died annually. In 1858, Parliament instructed the newly formed Metropolitan Board of Works to remedy this situation.
Joseph Bazalgette, the Engineer of the Metropolitan Board of Works, was charged with finding a solution to these problems. His answer consisted of the construction of intercepting sewers north and south of the Thames, and immediately adjacent to the river. These were to receive the sewage from the sewers and drains which up to now had connected directly into the Thames. Until this time, Thames-side in central London was not protected by an embankment, and consisted of mud, shingle and sewage, onto which these various drains, outlets and ditches had discharged. Between 1856 and 1859, 82 miles of brick intercepting sewers were built below London's streets, all flowing eastwards. These were connected to over 450 miles of main sewers, themselves receiving the contents of 13,000 miles of small local sewers, dealing daily with half a million gallons of waste.
The major pumping stations were located at Abbey Mills near West Ham, and at Crossness itself on the south bank. The southern system contained three levels of intercepting sewers. The Low Level Sewer from Putney to Deptford picked up the Bermondsey branch and was joined by the High Level Sewer from Balham and the higher Effra Branch from Crystal Palace and Norwood; these combined at Deptford, and there lifted some twenty feet to discharge directly into the Thames at Deptford Creek. By 1860, work was proceeding on the Southern Outfall Sewer, and this, when complete, took the effluent from Deptford via Plumstead, and thence to Crossness. Here the sewage was pumped up into a reservoir 6.5 acres in extent by 17 feet deep, holding 27 million gallons, and was released at high tide to flow out on the ebb, towards the sea.
There was no attempt to treat the raw sewage: Bazalgette's concern was to get rid of it. Since the success of the enterprise rested on the use of the tides - two in each 24 hours - it follows that the reservoir had to be emptied in six hours, in order to utilise all of the ebb tide. In fact, to give some margin of safety, emptying had to take place in less time than this. And as soon as the ebb tide began to turn, the outlet culverts from the reservoir were closed by penstocks, and pumping continued, raising the incoming sewage from the deep-level culverts into the reservoir. Just before high tide in the river, the sluices connecting the reservoir and the river would be opened.
The Southern Outfall Works, as the complex at Crossness was originally called, was officially opened on April 4th 1865, by HRH The Prince of Wales (later Edward VII). Following an address by Joseph Bazalgette, the Royal party toured the works and reservoirs, and the Prince then turned the wheel which started the engines. Following that, in the true Victorian spirit, the "Prince and five hundred guests sat down to an excellent dejeuner, in one of the ancillary sheds, beside the Engine House".
Source: http://www.crossness.org.uk/
There was a Baptist meeting house in Hounslow as early as 1818, and a chapel was constructed on the south side of the High Street. However, following controversy over the admission of the unbaptized into the church, membership dropped to a dozen by 1878. Broadway Baptist Church on the north side of the High Street was constructed in 1929 following a resurgence in congregation numbers. It was damaged by enemy action in 1941 and narrowly avoided demolition.
The Baptist church in Acton originated in 1856, and a church was established in Church Road in 1864. The South Acton Baptist Church was formed in 1894 when the congregation at Church Road split over a disagreement. They constructed a Chapel on Newton Avenue in 1895. The designation of the church altered several times as the ministers changed: Newton Avenue Baptist church in 1900-1901, the Evangelistic Free church in 1902-1908, and the Church of Christ in 1909-1911. It reverted to a Baptist church between 1912 and 1915, but withdrew from the London Baptist Association and the Baptist Union between 1924 and 1926. The church registered as a Baptist Free church in 1944, and was renamed the South Acton Baptist church in 1960. In 1977 the church rejoined the Church Road Baptists and the Newton Avenue building was sold, and was used by the Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox church.
Grange Park Baptist Church, Lansbury Drive, Hayes was founded in 1935 and still serves the local community.
A Baptist meeting house in Staines is first recorded in 1778, but the congregation declined and it was closed. A meeting house reopened in Church Street in 1824. This was replaced in 1837 by the Baptist Chapel in Bridge Street.
The North Road Baptist Church, Old Brentford, is thought to have its origins in an earlier chapel at Troy Town. By 1819 the meetings were established in an outhouse on the east side on North Road. A permanent chapel was opened on the west side of North Road in 1840. It was heavily bombed in 1940 but was restored in 1954.
Plumstead Methodist Central Hall opened in 1905 on Plumstead High Street.
The Air-Raid Precautions Act of 1937 required local authorities to make schemes for neutralising, reducing or repairing the effects of enemy action against the civilian population. The London County Council immediately set up a special Air Raid Precautions sub-committee to organise and supervise arrangements made under the Act. During 1938 and 1939 the Council developed plans and preparations for the fire and ambulance services, precautions to be taken in relation to mains drainage and at residential establishments, for the evacuation of children and for other measures to be taken in the event of national emergency.
A national system of marriage registration introduced in 1837 by the Registration of Births and Marriages Act. Local registration was managed by the Poor Law Boards of Guardians until 1929, after this date it was managed by local government. The General Registry Office was in overall charge of the collection and collation of the data.
Harrow Methodist Circuit is now Harrow and Hillingdon Methodist Circuit of 17 churches, covering the London Boroughs of Hillingdon and Harrow and stretching from West Drayton and Hayes in the South to Kenton and Wealdstone in the North. A Methodist circuit is normally a group of churches in a local area served by a team of ministers. A minister will have pastoral charge of one or more churches, but will preach and lead worship in different local churches in the circuit, along with local preachers. The arrangements for leading worship in a circuit are drawn up in a quarterly Plan.
For histories of the individual churches in ACC/3393 please see the sub-fonds record for each church (ACC/3393/BR, ACC/3393/CA and so on).
A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was first erected in 1810 on the eastern side of Lower Road, Roxeth, and accommodated 218 people. The chapel was registered in 1856, but was replaced in 1905 by a red brick Gothic building, with room for 650, in Bessborough Road. The chapel was closed in 1972 and the congregation joined theNorth Harrow Methodist Church.
Harrow Methodist Circuit is now Harrow and Hillingdon Methodist Circuit of 17 churches, covering the London Boroughs of Hillingdon and Harrow and stretching from West Drayton and Hayes in the South to Kenton and Wealdstone in the North. A Methodist circuit is normally a group of churches in a local area served by a team of ministers. A minister will have pastoral charge of one or more churches, but will preach and lead worship in different local churches in the circuit, along with local preachers. The arrangements for leading worship in a circuit are drawn up in a quarterly Plan.
The Local Government Act 1894 made provision for local self-government in England and Wales in the form of parish councils for every rural parish with a population of 300 and upwards. The existing rural and urban sanitary authorities became the new district councils. Further re-arrangement of districts was carried out by review, by county councils under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1929.
Rating remained in the hands of the parish overseers in 1894, although under the Public Health Act 1875 a general district rate was levied by the urban authorities. The Rating and Valuation Act 1925 abolished the rating powers of the overseers of the poor and named the new rating authorities as the councils of every county borough and urban and rural districts. A consolidated rate - 'the general rate' - replaced the confusion of various separate rates. In addition, a new valuation list was to be made for every rating area, to come into force on either 1 April 1928 or l April 1929, followed by a second list in 1932, 1933 or 1934. Instructions were given in the act for draft valuation lists and records of totals to be made.
Staines Urban District Council was formed in 1894 and comprised Staines and part of Stanwell. In it was expanded to include Ashford, Laleham, and all of Stanwell (including Stanwell Moor and Poyle). As a result of local government re-organisation in the Greater London area, Staines Urban District was transferred to the administrative county of Surrey with effect from 1 April 1965. Urban district councils were abolished in 1974.