The lease of the house in Gower Street featured in these records was assigned to Frances Wombwell and her daughters by a probate of 1809-10. Other Wombwells mentioned in the collection are Walter Wombwell, a stage coach proprietor and horse dealer, and his wife Martha.
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.
Abstract of title is a summary of prior ownership of a property, drawn up by solicitors. Such an abstract may go back several hundred years or just a few months, and was usually drawn up just prior to a sale.
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 marriage settlement was a legal agreement drawn up before a marriage by the two parties, setting out terms with respect to rights of property and succession.
Source: British Records Association Guidelines 3: How to interpret deeds (available online).
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.
Probate (also called proving a will) is the process of establishing the validity of a will, which was recorded in the grant of probate.
Abstract of title is a summary of prior ownership of a property, drawn up by solicitors. Such an abstract may go back several hundred years or just a few months, and was usually drawn up just prior to a sale.
Source: British Records Association Guidelines 3: How to interpret deeds (available online).
The Manor of Little Stanmore, also known as Canons, was sold to James Brydges in 1709. Brydges later became Lord Chandos, and in 1719 was made Duke of Chandos. However, Henry, Duke of Chandos, was forced to sell the manor and house in 1746, to pay off heavy debts. James Brydges also acquired the Manor of Great Stanmore which remained in the Chandos family until 1840.
Warren House, situated on Wood Lane, and its estates were originally part of the Manor of Great Stanmore and were leased out by the Chandos family. It was later owned by James Forbes of the East India Company. Forbes sold it in 1813, and by 1827 it was the property of the architect Sir Robert Smirke who also held 23 acres in Great Stanmore and 108 acres in Little Stanmore. It was then owned by Charles Keyser, banker Henry Bischoffsheim, and his grandson Major General Sir John Fitzgerald. In 1937 Fitzgerald sold 123 acres of land to Harrow Urban District Council as part of the Green Belt; and then in 1951 sold the house with 11 acres of land to the National Corporation for the Care of Old People.
Source: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), available online.
The Goldsmith's Company held estates in East Acton which they acquired in 1682. The estate comprised a house, farmhouses, cottages, and several acres of land. The Company leased out the house, as evidenced by document ACC/0455/001, a lease from the company to Charles Watson. In the twentieth century the Company sold off most of the land and demolished the house.
From: 'Acton: Manors and other estates', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 16-23 (available online).
An estate in Mill Hill known as Belmont Farm was acquired by Peter Hammond between 1768 and 1792. He left the estate to his daughter, wife of Somerset Davies. Davies coveyed 83 acres to Robert Anderson in 1801, but when Anderson went bankrupt in 1803 the estate was bought by Captain Robert Williams. He conveyed the estate to David Prior in 1812. Prior's widow sold the estate to Sir Charles Flower in 1820. Flower was a mill owner and had been Lord Mayor of London. He purchased more land from Robert Finch and Michael Coomes in 1821 and 1826, so that by 1828 his estate comprised 441 acres and stretched from the Hale to the Totteridge boundary, including Lawrence Street, Uphill and Bittacy farms. Flower left the estate to his son James, who died in 1850. By 1889 the estate had been split up.
From: 'Hendon: Other estates', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 21-23 (available online).
Albion Lodge was a large house, constructed in 1815, and situated in what was once the rural outskirts of Tottenham parish. In 1861 the new Saint Ann's church, with its schools and model cottages, brought development to the area. The area is now known as Fortis Green and the Lodge has been converted into a residential care home for the elderly.
Bentley Priory was a freehold estate in Harrow. It was originally owned by an Augustinian house but passed into private hands when the priory was dissolved in 1536. In 1788 the estate was sold to John James Hamilton, the Marquess of Abercorn, who died in 1818. In 1857 the estate was sold to builder and railway engineer Sir John Kelk who sold it in 1882.
Aylwards was a tenement of Great Stanmore Manor which later passed into private hands and thence into the ownership of the Marquess of Abercorn.
Source of information: '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 and 'Great Stanmore: Economic history', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 99-102 (available online).
Hillingdon parish included a number of freeholds outside of the local manor of Colham. In 1636 there were 35 freeholds in Colham manor, covering more than 300 acres, mostly on the edge of the heath. From the 17th century a number of these houses were owned by persons of importance, and were noted for pleasure gardens. Hillingdon House had the largest estate, which was owned by the Cox family after 1810. The estate was broken up in 1915 when it comprised over 500 acres including land in Harefield and Ruislip.
From: 'Hillingdon, including Uxbridge: 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. 69-75 (available online).
Lawn House was a large private home in Hanwell. From the mid-nineteenth century it was used as a private lunatic asylum. It was demolished in the early twentieth century.
These papers were collected for their general or antiquarian interest and relevance to the local history of Middlesex, rather than having a united provenance (that is, being produced by the same institution or business).
The Christmas cards are from Sir James Boyton, M.P. for Marylebone; Henry John Yeend-King, landscape painter and Royal Academician; and Adrian Jones, sculptor and Royal Academician.
Stanmore Hall, Great Stanmore, was purchased by Robert Hollond, MP, in 1847 and his wife Ellen Julia Hollond, authoress and founder of London's first créche.
From: 'Great Stanmore: Introduction', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 88-96.
In 1719 Henry Gough, M.P., a director of the East India Company, purchased a house in Enfield. His son Richard, an antiquary (1735-1809), recalled many pleasing hours of research in his native parish. The house, which became known as Gough Park, was demolished in 1899.
From: 'Enfield: Growth before 1850', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 212-218.
Old Oak Common in Acton had three wells which were said to have medicinal properties and were briefly fashionable in the eighteenth century.
Nicholas Abbott of Uxbridge was a malster, while his son William Abbott (fl. 1677-84) was a victualler. Edward Powell of Uxbridge (fl 1791) was a carpenter who had 6 children.
The Manor of West Drayton was owned by Saint Paul's Cathedral from around 1000. It was leased out or farmed for the common benefit of the canons. Henry VIII acquired the manor in 1546 and granted it to Sir William Paget (1506-1568). It remained in the Paget family until 1786 when Henry Paget, the first Earl of Uxbridge (1744-1812) sold it to Fysh Coppinger, a London merchant. Coppinger assumed his wife's surname of de Burgh and the manor stayed in the de Burgh family until 1939.
Information from: 'Hillingdon, including Uxbridge: 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. 69-75 (available online).
Chipping Barnet (also known as High Barnet) and South Mimms are situated in Hertfordshire, in a part which runs east, forming a sort of peninsula jutting into the former Middlesex.
The Barons Boston had their seat in Hedsor, Buckinghamshire. William Irby (1707-1775) the first Baron Boston, Frederick Irby (1749-1825) the second Baron and George Irby (1777-1856), the third Baron are all mentioned in the documents in this collection.
Oxgate Farm was part of the estates built up by the Roberts family in Willesden from 1295 onwards. Francis Roberts purchased Oxgate in 1587. The family sold Oxgate in 1700.
'Willesden: Other estates', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 216-220 (available online).
These papers relating to cultural events were collected for their general or antiquarian interest and relevance to the subject, rather than having a united provenance (that is, being produced by the same institution or business).
The Manor of Sunbury was held by John Alliston between 1825 and 1852. The estate was then sold to John Park, who died in 1887 leaving the manor to his widow. It was then left to their son C J Park who died in 1909, when the manor passed to the Chester family.
From: 'Sunbury: 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. 53-57 (available online).
The Commission (of the Peace) gave Justices of the Peace the power to try offences in their courts of Quarter Sessions, 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.
The Custos Rotulorum (Keeper of the Rolls) was responsible for the care of the county records. Appointed (since the fourteenth century) in the Commission of the Peace, he was a leading justice, unpaid and holding the post for life; and from the seventeenth century usually also holding the office of Lord Lieutenant of the county. His Deputy was the Clerk of the Peace who was in practice the actual keeper of the records, and who drew up, registered and oversaw the storage of the records.
The court case between the Duke of Westminster as Custos Rotulorum of the County of London and the Duke of Bedford as Custos Rotulorum of the County of Middlesex concerned the custody of quarter sessions records relating to those parts of Middlesex which were moved into the new County of London. The Local Government Act of 1888 had given the Middlesex Sessions House at Clerkenwell Green to the new County of London. As part of their vacating of the premises, the Middlesex Clerk of the Peace removed all court records to the Middlesex Guildhall in Westminster. The Duke of Westminster argued that the records should be divided between the two counties, so that records relating to those parts of Middlesex now in London should be handed over to the custody of London County Council. The judgement was that the records created in what was Middlesex at the time should stay in Middlesex, despite later changes of administrative boundary. A full report of the case and the reasoning behind the judgement can be found in The Times newspaper for December 19 1899.
An apprenticeship indenture is a legal document, signed by the apprentice and their master, which laid out the terms and conditions of the apprenticeship. The length of service is usually specified; while sometimes the obligations of the master are mentioned (e.g. to provide food, shelter and lodging) and any premiums paid are noted.
Sir Charles Howard (1696-1765), army officer, was the second son of Charles Howard, third earl of Carlisle. He entered the army in 1715, joining the Coldstream Guards. By 1738 he was colonel of the 19th foot, which became known as the Green Howards in 1744. Howard saw action in Flanders, being wounded four times, and in the Jacobite uprising in 1745-46. He was made KB in May 1749. He attained the rank of general in March 1765, but died in August of that year. He was unmarried, however, his will made provision for a natural son, William, who was also in the Army.
It is probable that the General Sir Charles Howard of ACC/0657/002 is the same man; and that the daughter Eleanor of ACC/0657/001, 003 and 004 is another illegitimate child of his.
Biographical information from H. M. Chichester, 'Howard, Sir Charles (c.1696-1765)', rev. Jonathan Spain, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2009.
Duncan Sinclair died in the 1840s.
These papers relating to the local history of Middlesex were collected for their general or antiquarian interest and relevance to the subject, rather than having a united provenance (that is, being produced by the same institution or business).
The privileges of the Freedom of the City of London were sought for centuries by those who wished to exercise a retail trade or handicraft within the City. Among the privileges were immunity from toll at markets and fairs throughout London, freedom from impressment into the armed forces and the right to vote at ward and parliamentary elections.
These papers relating to the local history of Middlesex and Westminster were collected for their general or antiquarian interest and relevance to the subject, rather than having a united provenance (that is, being produced by the same institution or business).
Wright's Buildings were cottages, numbered 1 to 14, situated on the east side of Crouch End Hill. They were constructed in the early 19th century.
Park Road leads from Crouch End to Muswell Hill. It was called Maynard Street from 1503 until 1854, after a prominent local family.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6: Friern Barnet, Finchley, Hornsey with Highgate (1980).
Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887 was marked by extensive public celebrations.
President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on the 14th April, 1865.
The manor of Little Stanmore was also referred to as the Manor of Canons. In 1709 the manor was purchased by James Brydges, Duke of Chandos, who built a luxurious house filled with exotic collectibles. The Duke's son inherited the estate but had to sell it and much of the collection and even architectural elements of the house. The land passed through various owners until 1860, when it was bought by Dr David Begg. On his death the estate stretched from Whitchurch Lane north beyond London Road, and from Edgware Road westward to Marsh Lane. Apart from the mansion it contained the farm-house which had belonged to Marsh farm, North and South lodges, at the Edgware gates, and Stone Grove House, Lodge, and Cottage, along Edgware Road; there were also four 'superior' houses at the corner of Dennis Lane and London Road and fields at the corner of Marsh Lane and London Road.
After Dr Begg's death a Morris Jenks bought the entire estate, amounting to some 479 acres, and sold it in 1896 to the Canons Park Estate Company, which in 1898 issued a prospectus of its plans for development. Arthur du Cros, founder of the Dunlop Rubber Co. and later a baronet, bought the mansion but in 1905 sold part of the estate. In 1919 he formed a trust, the Pards Estate, and in 1920 Canons itself was offered for sale, with lands that had been greatly reduced in the north, west, and south-east. Canons Park, formerly Marsh, farm-house and the other houses had been sold and 150 acres remained, almost corresponding to the present open space but still stretching eastward, along the north of the avenue, to reach as far as Edgware Road. In 1926 George Cross bought 85 acres and in 1928 the remainder was bought by Canons Limited and, on the west, by Harrow Urban District Council as a park. The mansion and 10 acres were sold in 1929 to the North London Collegiate school. More land was acquired by the school in 1936 and by the county council for playing fields, which were lent to the school.
Canons Park Estate is a housing estate built in the 1920s and 1930s. The housing estate incorporates 340 houses, gardens, open spaces and ponds.
From: 'Little Stanmore: 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. 113-117.
The Willis family were involved in the legal profession: the documents mention Richard Willis of Tokenhouse Yard, solicitor; James Willis of Lincoln's Inn, barrister-at-law; and George Willis, 449 West Strand.
The 1962 series Bucknell's House showed a 39-week BBC project led by Barry Bucknell, DIY presenter, to renovate a derelict house in Ealing.
Charles Bowles and his wife Mary lived in Ratcliffe. By 1792 they had moved to East Sheen, Surrey. Charles died before 1798.
Sir Edward Gould lived in Highgate with his wife Lady Frances. He died in 1728 leaving his estate to his closest male relative, his great nephew Edward Gould. Edward married Mary Thoroton and their son Edward Thoroton Gould later came into the Highgate estates.
The parishes of Feltham, Hanworth and Sunbury were all enclosed at the same date, in 1800. Until then the common land had formed part of Hounslow Heath.
These papers relating to the Uthwat family were collected for their general or antiquarian interest and relevance to the subject, rather than having a united provenance (that is, being produced by the same institution or business).
The Bodimead family were farmers, but also had interests in brick-making, tile-making and lime-burning. They held property pricipally around Harrow Weald Common, in the parish of Harrow-on-the-Hill, including Copse/Coppice Farm, and cottages further north in Bushey Heath, Hertfordshire. The Bodimead family have had their surname spelt in numerous ways throughout this collection of documents.
These papers relating to Middlesex local history were collected for their general or antiquarian interest and relevance to the subject, rather than having a united provenance (that is, being produced by the same institution or business).
James Charles lived at Kennet House, a large residence situated where Sudbury joins Harrow on the Hill. He was married to Julia Forrester. He was a Justice of the Peace.
Charles Brown was a builder. He lived in Old Ford, and then Edmonton and Enfield Highway.
Charles James Sanderson lived at No. 4, Hornsey Lane.
The Andrews and Weall families were united by the marriage of Dr James Andrews, originally of Pershore, Worcestershire, to Margaret Weall of Hampstead, in about 1872. Trust funds for Margaret were set up under the wills of her great-uncles John and Benjamin Weall. She was also to inherit the residue of the real estate of Benjamin Weall which consisted of houses in Watford, Hertfordshire, and Headstone Farm and land in Pinner, Middlesex. Litigation was started by Margaret Andrews (ne Weall) against her trustees arising out of a dispute over law costs charged by the trustees to her estate. This resulted in a test case tried in the High Court, Chancery Division, 1889, in which Mrs Andrews was successful. The report in The Times called it 'a judgement of great importance and interest to trustees and their cestuis que trustent'.
Burleigh House, Enfield, was built circa 1700 west of the market-place. It was replaced soon after 1913 by a cinema, with shops along the street frontage of the grounds.
From: 'Enfield: Growth before 1850', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 212-218 (available online).
'Mr. Ware' is probably Isaac Ware, the architect (d 1766), appointed clerk of works to His Majesty's palace in 1738. The King's River supplied Hampton Court Palace with irrigating and drinking water.
Richard Ford was senior magistrate at the Bow Street Office from 1800 to his death in 1806. John Cole Steele was murdered on Hounslow Heath 6 Nov. 1802. Possibly this case did not proceed beyond suspicion, for Devlin does not appear in the Middlesex Sessions books or Old Bailey Sessions register for this period.
A large house was built in Whitton in 1607, standing west of Hounslow Road, opposite the present church. It was rebuilt in 1724-25 for its owner, the Earl of Ilay, later that Duke of Argyll. In 1726 Ilay recieved permission to inclose more heath around the house, and laid out a park with a lake and a Gothic tower. The house was known as Whitton Place. A later owner sold Whitton Place to Sir William Chambers and constructed another house, Whitton Park, further north. Both houses are now demolished.
From: 'Twickenham: Introduction', 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. 139-147 (available online).
Robert Philip Baker-Byrne was born in Berlin in 1910. His father was the owner of the company, Modellhaus Becker, Berlin. In 1936 he and his parents, under increasing pressure from life under the Nazis, came to Great Britain as refugees. Some time later he married and had a daughter. From 1939 until 1944 he was a member of the Pioneer Corps. In 1944 he began working for the British Secret Service and made two lone parachute drops into enemy territory. Whilst on the last mission into the Lübeck area he was apparently captured.
Having survived the war, he worked as an investigator in the investigation section of War Crimes Group, North West Europe. After he left the military he went to Australia (presumably with his family). After a few years he returned to Great Britain where he worked as a sales manager in the 1950s. Nothing further is known about his life nor that of his family.
Max Sander was a German Jew, born in 1890, who apparently came to Great Britain in 1939. During World War One he was awarded the Iron Cross First Class and the Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer. He is described in various documents as a businessman and there is a photograph of a shop in Hamburg called Nebel und Sander. Sander died in London in 1979.
Julia Rahmer, a former member of the underground Leninist group Neu Beginnen, gives some insight into the activities of the group and the realities of life as a member. Julia Rahmer was recruited into the group in Berlin by a friend, Fritz Meyer, in April 1933. As a Jew, frustrated at no longer being able to continue her studies at university, she was attracted to the possibility of 'keeping socialist ideas alive' under the Nazi regime. By 1935 she had become disillusioned with the group and in 1936 emigrated to Prague and later London on account of the danger posed to members of subversive organisations.
The bulk of the material in this collection was collected on the initiative of the Wiener Library in 1939. Former rabbis of synagogues in Germany who had managed to escape to Great Britain were asked to supply information on the fate of their synagogues. 985/1 consists of these responses, most of which are dated November or December 1939. In addition, there is a list of respondents. The project's results comprised a set of statistics on the fate of Germany's synagogues.
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 for their antiquarian interest before being passed to the archive.
A demicastor was a hat made of inferior beaver fur, often mixed with other furs.
Morven Park is a Victorian house situated in Potters Bar. It was purchased by the National Trust in 1930. It is now (2010) a care home for the elderly.
The hundred of Gore comprised the parishes of Edgware, Hendon, Kingsbury, Little Stanmore, Great Stanmore, Harrow and Pinner.