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These papers were collected by J S Bumpus, antiquarian researcher, from a number of sources including the personal papers of Maria Hackett of 8 Crosby Square, Bishopsgate (1783-1874). Maria Hackett devoted much of her life to campaigning for various causes, notably the welfare and education of the choristers at St Paul's Cathedral and the preservation of Crosby Hall, Bishopsgate. Her interests and activities are described in "Miss Hackett of Crosby Square", by K I Garrett, in Guildhall Studies in London History, vol.1, no.3, (1974), pp.150-62.

Most of the letters were formerly in the possession of William Hawes, vicar choral, almoner and master of the choristers at St Paul's Cathedral, 1812-46, to whom some of the letters are addressed. The writers include Sir Andrew Barnard, Alfred Bunn, Lord Burghersh (John Fane), Joseph Grimaldi, Samuel Carter Hall, Rev Sydney Smith and many prominent organists and musicians of the late 18th and 19th centuries, including Adrien Boildieu, John Braham, G A P Bridgetower, Thomas Cooke, John Goss, William Jackson, Vincent Novello, Mary Paton, William Shield and Charles and Samuel Sebastian Wesley.

The Corporation of London is the local authority for the City of London or Square Mile, the financial and commercial centre at the heart of the metropolitan area. With its roots in medieval times, it is probably the oldest local authority in the United Kingdom and has an unusually wide range of responsibilities reflecting both its ancient role as a municipality and its modern-day role as the equivalent of a London Borough. The Corporation of London is also unique in local government as it has no charter of incorporation nor any specific date of establishment: it has evolved organically from earlier bodies. Most other councils in the United Kingdom were either created or substantially reformed in the 19th century or later.

Where "Corporation" is used in modern legislation such as City of London (Various Powers) Acts, its meaning is defined as "the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London". This latter title is one of the styles used in the charter dated 20 Sep 1608, which also lists the following titles or styles: Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London; Mayor, Citizens and Commonalty of the City of London; Mayor and Commonalty of the City of London; Citizens of the City of London; Barons of London; Barons of the City of London and indeed "any other name whatsoever, by reason or force of any letters patent, charters, or confirmations of any of our progenitors, Kings of England, which in any time or times had reasonably used or exercised". In 1690 an Act of Parliament confirming all the privileges of the Corporation of London declared that the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London should "remain continue, and be, and prescribe to be a body corporate and politick, in re, facto et nomine".

Another unusual feature of the Corporation of London is its ability to alter or amend its constitution when it benefits the Corporation of London and City of London to do so, under charters of Edward III (1341) and Richard II (1377 and 1383). This power is exercised by means of Acts of Common Council. Such Acts of the Corporation of London are authenticated by the City or Common Seal. Although the legal title of the Corporation of London remains 'the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London', statutory powers are usually conferred on the Court of Common Council, under the designation of 'the Mayor, Aldermen and Commons of the City of London in Common Council assembled'.

In 1682 - 1683 the King's Bench issued a writ of Quo Warranto against the City of London which led to the Charter of the City being forfeited and the Corporation of London being dissolved, reducing the city to the legal status of a small village. Quo Warranto writs had often been used to regulate liberties and franchises, such as the right to hold a fair or a market. It was claimed that the City of London had breached its Charter by allowing the collection of tolls at market and by publishing a seditious petition against the King and Government - these abuses of the ancient liberties of the City were enough to justify issuing the writ. The overall aim of the King, Charles II, was to control the personnel and the government of the Corporation of London. After the Charter was forfeited the King issued a new one giving him the right to appoint and remove officers, including the Mayor, Sheriffs, Recorder, Common Sergeant, Justices of the Peace and Coroner, thus allowing him direct control over the government of the City. Between 1683 and 1688 the City of London was governed by a Royal Commission. In October 1688 King James II issued a Proclamation restoring the City Liberties as fully as before the Quo Warranto judgement. In 1690 a Special Committee of the House of Commons declared the judgement illegal and an Act of Parliament was passed restoring the City to its ancient rights, enacting that the City might prescribe to be a corporation and declaring that the Charter of the City of London should never be forfeited for any cause whatsoever.

The Court of King's Bench (or Queen's Bench, depending on the monarch) was founded circa 1200 to hear common pleas, although it came to specialise in pleas of special interest and concern to the king, such as those which involved his own property interests, or breach of his peace, or an error of judgment by another royal court. By 1675 the King's Bench was the highest court of common law in England and Wales, with jurisdiction over both civil and criminal actions. Civil business was conducted on the 'Plea Side' and criminal business on the 'Crown Side'. It was absorbed into the High Court in 1875 (source of information: The National Archives Research Guides Legal Records Information 34 and Legal Records Information 36).

The Court of Exchequer originated after the Norman Conquest as a financial committee of the Curia Regis (the King's Court). By the reign of Henry II it had become separate, and was responsible for the collection of the king's revenue as well as for judging cases affecting the revenue. By the 13th century the court proper and the exchequer or treasury began to separate. The court's jurisdiction over common pleas now steadily increased, to include, for example, money disputes between private litigants. A second Court of Exchequer Chamber was set up in 1585 to amend errors of the Court of the King's Bench. These were amalgamated in 1830 when a single Court of Exchequer emerged as a court of appeal intermediate between the common-law courts and the House of Lords. In 1875 the Court of Exchequer became, by the Judicature Act of 1873, part of the High Court of Justice, and in 1880 was combined with the Court of Common Pleas (source of information: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008).

The Lord Chancellor and his deputies sat in the Court of Chancery to hear disputes about inheritance and wills, lands, trusts, debts, marriage settlements, apprenticeships and so on. As an equity court, Chancery was not bound by the stricter rules of common law courts. Please see The National Archives Research Guides Legal Records Information 22, Legal Records Information 42 and Legal Records Information 28 for more information (all available online).

The Star Chamber was a special court which sat in the Palace of Westminster. It was intended to ensure that prominent and powerful individuals could be tried. Sessions were held in secret with no jury or witnesses. The system was vulnerable to corruption.

The Diocese of Southwark was formed in 1905 and lies in the Church of England Province of Canterbury. The Diocese has jurisdiction over 317 square miles of London south of the River Thames, formerly in the ancient counties of Kent and Surrey, areas which had been in the Diocese of Rochester and vast Diocese of Winchester.

A British fleet took control of the Cape of Good Hope in 1795 and established a garrison in Cape Town.

Sir John Chapman was a mercer who held office as Alderman of London. He was a Sheriff 1678-79 and Lord Mayor 1688-89, dying while in office.

William Clapham of London was a Citizen and Grocer (d 1688), who owned Cox Key, Fresh Wharf and Gaunt's Key as well as warehouses in Thames Street. The properties were left in tail to his son William Clapham (d 1730). By 1764 William Skrine had gained the reversionary interest. Skrine may have been distantly related to the younger William Clapham through Clapham's wife, Mary Lem.

These documents have been placed together for convenience under one fonds due to their small size (most are only one document or volume) and their lack of provenance. They do not form a united collection from one source. They relate to a variety of institutions, such as the Houses of Parliament, Commissioners of Excise, Armed Forces, War Office, Royal London Militia, Tower of London, Commissioners of the Treasury, Exchequer, Privy Council, Comptroller of the Revels; and historical events, such as the abdication of James II and the accession to the throne of William of Orange.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is the trade body for insurance companies in the UK. It was formed in 1985 on the merger of the British Insurance Association, the Life Offices' Association, the Fire Offices Committee and the Accident Offices Association. The Association has around 400 companies in membership. The work of the ABI includes policy formulation, research and statistics, and public relations representing the insurance industry. It also organises conferences and seminars and publishes reports. The ABI is based at 51 Gresham Street in the City of London.

From: http://www.abi.org.uk/About_The_ABI/role.aspx

Buzzacott and Company is a firm of chartered accountants based at 12 Fetter Lane, formed out of numerous predecessor firms.

Down and Harper was formed from the partnership of A N Harper and H E Down in 1945, and became Down, Son and Harper on Down's son's qualification and entry into the partnership in 1952. They were based at 44 Bow Lane. Their successor firms merged with Watson, O'Regan and Company, Buzzacott, Lillywhite and Company and Vincent and Goodrich to form Buzzacott and Company in 1971.

No historical information has yet been found for the other companies represented in this collection.

The companies listed in this collection had several connections, such as shared premises and directors.

They had ceased trading or had become holding or investment companies by 1982 when those that survived became subsidiaries of the Caparo Group Limited.

Commercial Union Assurance Company Limited was based at 24-26 Cornhill (in 1901). Established in 1861, it transacted fire, life and marine insurance.

Commercial Union acquired the following companies (with the date of acquisition in brackets):-
Accident Insurance Company Ltd (1906);
Edinburgh Assurance Co Ltd (1918);
Guardian Plate Glass Insurance Company (1953);
Hand-in-Hand Fire and Life Insurance Society (1905);
Imperial Live Stock and General Insurance Company Ltd (1912);
Liverpool Victoria Insurance Corporation Ltd (1913);
North British and Mercantile Insurance Company Ltd (1959);
Northern Assurance Company Ltd (1968);
Ocean Accident and Guarantee Corporation Ltd (1910);
Palatine Insurance Company Ltd (1900);
Union Assurance Society (1907);
World Auxiliary Insurance Corporation Ltd (1971).

Globe Telegraph and Trust Company Limited was incorporated in 1873 by John Pender, a Liberal MP, who also founded the Eastern and Associated Telegraph Companies Group. Globe was formed in order to spread the short term risk of cable laying over a number of companies, and shares in Globe were offered in exchange for shares in submarine telegraph and associated companies. The Eastern and Associated Telegraph Companies Group, meanwhile, was built up by Pender over a number of years in the late 19th century, as described below.

MEDITERRANEAN AND INDIA. 1869: British Indian Submarine Telegraph Company Limited was formed to lay a cable from Bombay to Suez and thence to Alexandria and to Malta; and Falmouth, Gibraltar and Malta Telegraph Company Limited was formed to complete the chain to England with cables via Gibraltar and Portugal. 1872: British Indian Submarine; Falmouth, Gibraltar and Malta; Marseilles, Algiers and Malta (formed 1870); and Anglo-Mediterranean (formed 1868) telegraph companies were amalgamated by Pender to form Eastern Telegraph Company Limited.

THE FAR EAST. 1869: British Indian Extension Telegraph Company Limited was formed to lay a cable from Madras to Penang and on to Singapore. 1870: British Australian Telegraph Company Limited was formed to bring Australia within the ambit of submarine telegraph communication with Britain and laid a cable from Singapore to Java and on to Australia. 1869: Pender had meantime formed China Submarine Telegraph Company Limited to extend the cable from Singapore to Hong Kong via Saigon. 1873: Pender amalgamated the above three far eastern companies into Eastern Extension, Australasia and China Telegraph Company Limited which, with Eastern Telegraph Company Limited, formed the nucleus of the Eastern and Associated Telegraph Companies Group.

SOUTH AMERICA. 1865: River Plate Telegraph Company Limited was formed, with a head office in Scotland, to lay a cable across the mouth of the River Plate and operate a telegraph service between Argentina and Uruguay. 1872: Companhia Telegrafica Platino Brasileira was incorporated in Brazil, but reformed in England in 1878, as London Platino Brazilian Telegraph Company Limited and became part of the Eastern Group. 1892: Pacific and European Telegraph Company Limited was formed to compete with South American telegraph companies which connected the main Brazilian ports with each other and with Europe.

AFRICA: 1879: Eastern and South African Telegraph Company Limited was formed to lay cables up the east coast of Africa from Durban to Aden where they would join Eastern Telegraph Company's main line system. 1885: West African Telegraph Company Limited was formed to lay cables along the west coast of Africa and connect them with, in the main, foreign government systems. 1885: African Direct Telegraph Company Limited was formed to link the main British ports on the west coast of Africa with each other and with England. 1889: Eastern and South African, West African and African Direct all became part of the Eastern and Associated Telegraph Companies Group.

AZORES. 1893: Europe and Azores Telegraph Company Limited was formed under the aegis of the Eastern Group to lay a cable from Lisbon to the Azores.

By the turn of the century, therefore, the Eastern and Associated Telegraph Companies Group possessed a virtual monopoly of worldwide communication by telegraph cable. However, from this time on, cable communication came increasingly into competition with wireless telegraphy, chiefly in the form of Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Company Limited.

In 1928 the Imperial Wireless and Cable Conference recommended that the overseas cable and wireless resources of the British Empire be merged into one system. As a result Cable and Wireless Limited (known from 1934 as Cable and Wireless (Holding) Limited) was formed in 1929 to acquire the shares of both the Eastern Group and the Marconi company, and Imperial and International Communications Limited (known from 1934 as Cable and Wireless Limited) was formed also in 1929 to acquire the communications assets of both the Eastern Group and the Marconi company.

In 1935 Globe Telegraph and Trust Company Limited acquired Cables Investment Trust Limited as a subsidiary. In 1946, when Cable and Wireless was nationalised, Globe owned a third of Cable and Wireless (Holding) Limited which was converted into an investment trust. It was renamed in 1971 as Cable Trust Limited. Since 1948 Globe and its associates have been concerned chiefly with general investment business, and in 1969 Globe was renamed as Globe Investment Trust Limited. In 1977 it merged with Cable Trust Limited.

Globe and the associated telegraph companies had offices at Winchester House, Old Broad Street until 1902; Electra House, Moorgate, until 1933; then Electra House, Temple Place, Victoria Embankment (more recently known as Globe House). Cable and Wireless shared accommodation with Globe until 1955 when Cable and Wireless moved to Mercury House, Theobalds Road, WC1.

The Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA) was founded in 1971 when the London Corn Trade Association merged with the London Cattle Food Trade Association. GAFTA is a trade association for those working in the international grain trade. It defines standards, acts as a regulatory body and handles problems for its members.

For historical information about the predecessor bodies whose records comprise this collection, please see the sub-fonds entry for each organisation (listed in the 'arrangement' section).

Gresham House, in Old Broad Street, was the home of Sir Thomas Gresham (1519-79), Lord Mayor of London, and was the site of Gresham College until 1768 when the house was demolished and HM Excise Office was built. This was sold in 1853 by the Government to six partners and, in 1857, the Gresham House Estate Company Limited was formed by them to manage the property. Other property was purchased in 1936 and 1955 in Bishopsgate (nos 25-27 and 31-33 respectively). Gresham House was sold in 1959.

In 1921 Broad Street Estates Limited (incorporated 1913), which owned a freehold building in Old Broad Street opposite Gresham House, was acquired. This property was sold in 1953. An "island" site between London Wall and Great Winchester Street, comprising approximately 1 acre, was purchased in 1928 and a subsidiary, Great Winchester Street Estates Limited, was formed to hold it. This company went into voluntary liquidation in 1958 and the site was sold in 1960. Since the late 1950's, Gresham House Estate Company Limited and its subsidiary, Broad Street Estates Limited, have been concerned mainly with investment business.

The Guardian Fire and Life Assurance Company was established in 1821 and renamed as Guardian Assurance in 1902. It was founded by a group of private bankers for UK and overseas fire and life insurance and expanded into employers' liability from 1897.

Royal Exchange Assurance was established by royal charter in 1720. Its business comprised marine, fire and life insurance, and general accident insurance in Britain and overseas.

In 1968 Royal Exchange Assurance combined with the Guardian Assurance Company Limited to form Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance. The company had offices at the Royal Exchange from 1720 until ca. 1999 when Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance was taken over by AXA.

Henry Barber traded as a salmon factor from 1841. By 1855 he had a stand in Billingsgate market and by 1880 had leased shop 7 where the business remained until it went into voluntary liquidation in 1979. The limited company was formed in April 1925. It specialised in salmon, but also dealt in eels through subsidiaries.

Subsidiaries of H Barber and Son Limited included:

• D and J Barber (Eels) Limited, formerly John and Paul (Eels) Limited, eel merchants, trading from 13b Lovat Lane (they were taken over and renamed in 1960);
  • Braddan Fishing Co Limited, formed in 1952 to manage salmon fishings;
  • Cahill and Young Limited, a defunct Irish company which was acquired ca. 1954 and used to purchase the Galway fishery;
  • John T Clark Limited, a Billingsgate company taken over ca. 1960;
  • UC Farmer Limited, a Billingsgate company formed in 1965;
  • A Langley and Co Limited, cooked eel merchants, trading from 28 Monument Street;
  • EF Marchant Limited, a Billingsgate company taken over in 1964.

Sir Richard Holford of Lincoln's Inn and Weston Birt, Gloucestershire (d 1718), to whom the majority of these papers relate, was called to the bench in 1689, made a master in Chancery 1694, and knighted in 1695.

Of the other members of the Holford family mentioned, Robert Holford senior (1686-1753), son of Sir Richard, was called to the bench in 1715, having already become a master in Chancery in 1712, and his two sons, Peter (b 1719), and Robert junior, followed the family tradition, the former becoming a master in Chancery in 1750 and the latter being admitted to Grays Inn in 1742.

The London Fish Trade Association was formed in 1880 as the London Fish Salesman's Association to protect the interests of Billingsgate merchants. It changed its name to the London Fish Trade Association in 1881. From 1884 it occupied the subscription rooms in Billingsgate Market. From 1934 the Association operated coastal advice and bulking schemes for the benefit of members; various other schemes were undertaken later.

The Association was incorporated in 1946 as the London Fish Merchants' Association (Billingsgate) Ltd (see CLC/B/151-01), and a trading company, London Wholesale Fish Trade (Billingsgate) Ltd (see CLC/B/151-05), was formed at the same time to take over the operation of the various schemes.

The church of Saint Philip was situated on Granville Square, Clerkenwell. It was designed by Edward Buckton Lamb between 1831 and 1833. After only 25 years the church had been undermined by the building of the Metropolitan Railway and had to be repaired, re-opening in 1860. The last marriage register was closed in 1936 on the union of the parish with the Church of the Holy Redeemer, Exmouth Market.

The church of Holy Trinity on Grays Inn Road was designed by Sir James Pennethorne and erected in 1837. It seated 1500 people. Restored in 1880, it reopened in 1881. It was closed during the 1914-1918 war but was in use again by 1921; before finally closing in 1928. Holy Trinity parish was created from the parish of Saint Andrew, Holborn in 1839. The parish and benefice were united with Saint George the Martyr, Queen Square in 1931. Holy Trinity church was closed with the intention of demolishing the church and selling the site.

St Mary's Church, Greenwich, was demolished in 1936.

These papers relating to properties were collected for their general or antiquarian interest rather than having a united provenance (that is, being produced by the same institution or business).

Cleopatra's Needle was made of pink granite at the time of Thothmes (Tuthmose) III, circa 1500 BC, with later inscriptions added by Ramesses II. It was later removed to Alexandria. It was brought to London in the container ship Cleopatra, towed by the steam ships Olga and Anglia, in 1877. It was erected on the Victoria Embankment between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge by the engineer John Dixon in 1879, with two sphinxes added to the base.

Crystal Palace was constructed in 1851 in Hyde Park, to house the Great Exhibition. After the Exhbition it was dismantled and re-erected in Sydenham where it was used as an amusement park, holding exhbitions, concerts, theatrical productions, firework displays and sports events. It had a small zoo, fountains and a statue park. The Palace burned down in 1936 and was destroyed.

These papers relating to businesses were collected for their general or antiquarian interest rather than having a united provenance (that is, being produced by the same institution or business).

No biographical detail has been found for George Pepper.

Vauxhall Bridge was begun in 1811 to a design by Rennie, but two years later the Vauxhall Bridge Company decided to adopt James Walker's cast iron design as it was cheaper. The bridge was opened in 1816 and was at first called Regent's Bridge. It was the first iron bridge over the Thames. In 1895 to 1906 a new bridge was constructed designed by Sir Alexander Binnie.

These papers relating to property ownership were collected for their general or antiquarian interest rather than having a united provenance (that is, being produced by the same institution or business).

This collection of photographs had its origins in the Greater London Council (GLC) Architect's Department.

The Department of Education and Science was created in 1964. These plans were created by the Department and its predecessors in the course of their work.

Henry Vane was born about 1705. He was Member of Parliament for Launceston 1726-1727, St. Mawes 1727-1741, Ripon 1741-1747 and for County Durham 1747-1753. Vane was Vice Treasurer and Paymaster General from 1742-1744, a Lord of the Treasury 1749-1755 and Lord Lieutenant of County Durham 1753-1758. He succeeded his father in the Peerage as 3rd Baron Barnard on 27 April 1753. He was created Viscount Barnard of Barnards Castle and Earl of Darlington 3 April 1754. Vane died on 6 March 1758.

Born, 1869; educated, Farnborough School, 1879-1882 and Sandhurst, 1882-1889; Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, 1893-1901; Scots Guards, 1899; served in Somaliland and Abyssinia, 1894; Foreign Office, Uganda, 1894-1895; took part in Ungoro, Nile and Nandi expeditions where he undertook surveying; awarded the Murchison Grant, 1897; served in West Africa, 1896-1897; Egypt, 1897-1899; Deputy Assistant Adjutant General, South Africa, [1900]-1901; died, 1901.

Publications: Campaigning on the Upper Nile and Niger (1898)

Born 1914; educated at Aysgarth School, Winchester College and Royal Military Academy Sandhurst; commissioned into Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, Aug 1934; served in France, 1939-1940; participated in Operation DYNAMO, the evacuation of the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) from Dunkirk, May-June 1940; attended Staff College, Camberley, 1941; served as Brigade Maj with 126 Infantry Bde and 11 Armoured (Tank) Bde, UK, 1941-1943; Lt Col, 1943; 10 Armoured Div, Middle East, 1943-1944; 12 Royal Tank Regt, Italy, 1944-1945; 1 Div, Palestine, 1945-1946; School of Land/Air Operations, Old Sarum, 1947; War Office, 1948; Staff College, Camberley, 1949-1950; served with 11 Armoured Div in Germany, 1950-1953; Military Assistant to Chief of the Imperial General Staff, 1953-1956; Officer commanding 4/7 Royal Dragoon Guards, 1956-1957; retired 1957; worked for WH Smith, 1957-1977; Managing Director of WH Smith, 1968; died 2002.

Phs. van Ommeren N.V., Rotterdam, was founded in 1839 by Philippus van Ommeren, primarily to act as shipbroker and agent to the then Rotterdam/London Line. Other agencies followed. The firm expanded into other trades and developed a variety of services. Gradually related companies were established in other cities and the London company began operations in January 1914. The outbreak of the First World War caused the cancellation of the early contracts, but in 1915 the company was appointed general agent in the United Kingdom for the Holland-America Line. During the Second World War the Netherlands Shipping and Trading Committee took control of the Dutch merchant ships on behalf of the government in exile and these were placed on time charter to the British government. With the end of the war, the company resumed its Dutch connections and agencies; they also became agents for other companies in many parts of the world.

During the Second World War the Wellcome Foundation laboratories at Frant, East Sussex, were engaged in work for the Ministry of Supply, producing scrub typhus vaccine for the armed forces. The project was given the wartime codename of 'Tyburn' after Tyburn Farm, the farm at the Wellcome Veterinary Research Station there. The project was organised by the bacteriologist Marinus van den Ende (1912-1957), serving with the RAMC: his obituary in the Lancet states that "his greatest achievement in England was the organisation of the laboratory at Frant for the large-scale production of scrub typhus vaccine, exacting and dangerous work which he carried out with great speed and precision"

In 1947 the London and Provincial Wine Company Limited of Aylesbury changed their name to Valentine Charles Limited and moved their registered offices to Bilbao House, New Broad Street, EC2. Two of the original shareholders were Charles Henry Jarvis and Valentine Harry Jarvis. The company owned several wine shops in south England. Company number: 292900.

J William Valantines of Doncaster. Unknown.

Henry Cline: born, London, 1750; educated, Merchant Taylors' School; apprenticed to Mr Thomas Smith, surgeon to St Thomas's Hospital, 1767; diploma from Surgeons' Hall, 1774; Lecturer on anatomy, St Thomas's Hospital, 1781-1811; Surgeon, St Thomas's Hospital, 1784-1811; examiner at the College of Surgeons, 1810; master of the College of Surgeons, 1815, president, 1823; delivered the Hunterian oration, 1816, 1824; died, 1827. Publications: On the Form of Animals (Bulmer and Co, London, 1805).

Wilfrid Bernard Vaillant was born at Meadowleigh, Weybridge, on 23 September 1864, son of Major Albert Vaillant. He was educated at Clewer Hill School from 1874-78, and then Radley College from 1878-83, where he won several sports prizes. He entered Christ Church College, Oxford, in 1883 and graduated BA in 1890 and MA in 1891.

Between 1885-90 he worked at the recently established Oxford House, Bethnal Green, East London. Oxford House was built to be a home to graduates, tutors and those intending to enter the church so that they might learn at first hand the problems of the city poor, through social, educational and religious work with them.

Vaillant attended Ely Theological College between 1890 and 1891. He was ordained Deacon on 20 September 1891 in Ely Cathedral, and Priest in St Paul's Cathedral on 18 February 1894. He became Curate at the Christ Church Oxford Mission, St Frideswide's, East London.

Born 1852; published Les Surprises du Coeur in 1881; wrote an article in 1894: "The End of Books", which predicted that books would eventually become overtaken by other media. He founded the magazine The Book.

Poor relief was based on the Act for the Relief of the Poor of 1601 which obliged parishes to take care of the aged and needy in their area. Parish overseers were empowered to collect a local income tax known as the poor-rate which would be put towards the relief of the poor. This evolved into the rating system, where the amount of poor-rate charged was based on the value of a person's property. Early workhouses were constructed and managed by the parish. However, this process was expensive and various schemes were devised where groups of parishes could act together and pool their resources. As early as 1647 towns were setting up 'Corporations' of parishes. An Act of 1782, promoted by Thomas Gilbert, allowed adjacent parishes to combine into Unions and provide workhouses. These were known as 'Gilbert's Unions' and were managed by a board of Guardians.

Under the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, the Poor Law Commission was given the power to unite parishes in England and Wales into Poor Law Unions. Each Union was to be administered by a local Board of Guardians. Relief was to be provided through the provision of a workhouse. An amendment to the 1834 Act allowed already existing 'Gilbert's Unions' or Corporations of parishes to remain in existence, although they were encouraged to convert themselves into Poor Law Unions. Although there was some reorganisation of union boundaries, particularly in London, the majority of Unions created under the 1834 Act remained in operation until 1930. In March 1930 a new Local Government Bill abolished the Poor Law Unions and the Board of Guardians. Responsibility for their institutions passed to Public Assistance Committees managed by the county councils - in the metropolis either the London County Council or the Middlesex County Council.

Fostering - that is the arrangement whereby one person pays another for the care of a child - has always existed in one form or another. It had its abuses, the grossest of which was baby farming, the scandal of which necessitated legislation in the form of the Infant Life Protection Act 1872 which made it compulsory for persons taking for hire two or more infants less than a year old to register with the local authorities, who were the Councils in the care of the boroughs and the Justices in the case of counties. Child life protection as a whole was transferred to the Poor Law authorities, whose duties comprised the receiving of notice where a person undertook for reward the nursing and maintenance of an infant under the age of 7; the appointment of visitors to inspect such children; the limitation of the number in a dwelling; the removal of such infants improperly kept; and the receiving of fines imposed from offences.

Uxbridge Poor Law Union was founded in June 1836, comprised of the following parishes: Cowley, West Drayton, Harefield, Hayes, Hillingdon, Ickenham, Northolt, Norwood, Ruislip and Uxbridge. Yiewsley parish was added in 1896. The Union bought the existing Hillingdon parish workhouse site, together with a further four acres of land, and constructed a new workhouse on the site.

Source of information: Peter Higginbotham at The Workhouse website.

An Act of 1792 established seven 'Public Offices' (later Police offices and Police courts) in the central Metropolitan area. The aim was to establish fixed locations where 'fit and able magistrates' would attend at fixed times to deal with an increasing number of criminal offences.

Offices were opened in St Margaret Westminster, St James Westminster, Clerkenwell, Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Shadwell and Southwark. An office in Bow Street, Covent Garden, originally the home of the local magistrate, had been operating for almost 50 years and was largely the model for the new offices.

In 1800 the Marine Police Office or Thames Police Office, opened by 'private enterprise' in 1798, was incorporated into the statutory system. In 1821 an office was opened in Marylebone, apparently replacing the one in Shadwell.

Each office was assigned three Justices of the Peace. They were to receive a salary of £400 per annum. These were the first stipendiary magistrates. Later they were expected to be highly qualified in the law, indeed, to be experienced barristers. This distinguished them from the local lay justices who after the setting up of Police Offices were largely confined, in the Metropolitan area, to the licensing of innkeepers. In addition each office could appoint up to six constables to be attached to it.

The commonly used term of 'Police Court' was found to be misleading. The word 'police' gave the impression that the Metropolitan Police controlled and administered the courts. This was never the case, the word 'police' was being used in its original meaning of 'pertaining to civil administration', 'regulating', etc.

In April 1965 (following the Administration of Justice Act 1964) the London Police Courts with their stipendiary magistrates were integrated with the lay magistrates to form the modern Inner London Magistrates' Courts.

The police courts dealt with a wide range of business coming under the general heading of 'summary jurisdiction', i.e. trial without a jury. The cases heard were largely criminal and of the less serious kind. Over the years statutes created many offences that the courts could deal with in addition to Common Law offences. Examples include: drunk and disorderly conduct, assault, theft, begging, possessing stolen goods, cruelty to animals, desertion from the armed forces, betting, soliciting, loitering with intent, obstructing highways, and motoring offences. Non-criminal matters included small debts concerning income tax and local rates, landlord and tenant matters, matrimonial problems and bastardy.

Offences beyond the powers of the Court would normally be passed to the Sessions of the Peace or Gaol Delivery Sessions in the Old Bailey (from 1835 called the Central Criminal Court). From the late 19th century such cases would be the subject of preliminary hearings or committal proceedings in the magistrates' courts.

Outside the London Police Court Area but within the administrative county of Middlesex lay justices continued to deal with both criminal offences and administrative matters such as the licensing of innkeepers.

The exact area covered by a Court at any particular time can be found in the Kelly's Post Office London Directories, available on microfilm at LMA. The entries are based on the original Orders-in-Council establishing police court districts. A map showing police court districts is kept in the Information Area of LMA with other reference maps. Please ask a member of staff for assistance.

In 1939 J R Thonger was asked to arrange a concert in aid of the Uxbridge and District Supply Depot of the British Red Cross. He approached choirmasters and organists of local churches, and gathered support from six of the churches. Although there was not a large audience for this concert, the singers were all very enthusiastic and met again the following January to prepare for an Easter concert. The first general meeting of the Uxbridge and District United Choirs was held in April 1940 and from that point concerts were held frequently, always in aid of charity.

In 1946 the society's name was changed to the Uxbridge and District Choral Society and again in 1978 to the Uxbridge Choral Society.

The Strategic Bombing Survey was established in the US War Department as a civilian activity, 3 Nov 1944, pursuant to Presidential directive, 9 Sep 1944. During its existence it studied the effects of Allied aerial attacks on Germany and German-occupied Europe (European Survey) and on Japan (Pacific Survey), to establish a basis for evaluating the importance and potential of air power as an instrument of military strategy and for planning the future development of the armed forces. It was abolished in 8 Oct 1947, with discontinuance of operations.

Through its embassies, missions, consulates, and foreign service personnel, the US State Department was entrusted by the US Government to gather and disseminate information about the political, economic, and social stability of nations. From 1950 to 1957, the US State Department relayed telegrams and reports about Korea back to the United States Executive Branch for action. Following World War Two, US State Department missions in Southeast Asia had forewarned the US Presidency of political instability with the removal of Japanese occupation forces. In 1950, foreign service personnel began to send urgent messages regarding the movement of scattered communist guerrilla forces southward. During the Korean War, 1950 to 1953, the US State Department maintained a steady flow of messages to President Harry S Truman concerning civil, political, and military actions in Korea and, following the armistice in 1953, continued to inform the Executive Branch of Korean economic and social stability programmes.

The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the approximate US counterpart of the British Secret Intelligence Service, MI6, and Special Operations Executive (SOE), with which it co-operated throughout World War Two and its immediate aftermath. The OSS was created by Presidential Military Order on 13 Jun 1942 and it functioned as the principal US intelligence organisation in all operational theatres during the war. Its primary function was to obtain information about enemy nations and to sabotage their war potential and morale. The OSS was terminated by Executive Order 9620 on 20 Sep 1945, its functions later assumed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and, more principally, the US State Department. One of the US State Department's primary functions immediately following World War Two was to provide the US President and the US Joint Chiefs of Staff with intelligence relating to the civil structure of foreign states and the impact of communism on post-colonial countries. In the Far East, the State Department provided the US Executive Branch with key intelligence concerning the economic and civil stability of nations weakened by Japanese occupation during World War Two and subsequently engaged in civil economic, political, and social crises. This enabled US policy planners to formulate long-term strategic goals in the Far East. During the war, the US State Department relied on OSS intelligence to prepare summary research reports concerning the social structure, strategic interests, resources, government, and economic stability of countries in the Far East. After the war, US embassies, State Department field offices, and US foreign service personnel provided the White House with the majority of strategic intelligence relating to the civil structure of nations in the Far East.

The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War Two. It was the wartime intelligence agency and was the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency.

The National Security Act of 1947 and the Reorganization Plan of 1949 defined the composition and function of the National Security Council (NSC). Chaired by the President of the United States, the NSC consists of statutory members (the Vice President and the Secretaries of State and Defense), statutory advisers (the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency), the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and professional staff members who are on temporary assignment from the armed forces, the Central Intelligence Agency, elsewhere in the government, or who have been recruited from universities and think tanks. The statutory function of the NSC is to advise the President with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to national security. Since 1947 the NSC has evolved as a key foreign policy making arm of the president. Minutes of the Meetings of the National Security Council: First Supplement contains three separate types of materials: minutes of meetings, document associated with such meetings, and summaries and discussions held during the meetings. This collection relates to a period during the administrations of Presidents Harry S Truman and Dwight David Eisenhower (1947-1956), during which the National Security Council (NSC) met on a regular weekly basis. The NSC met more frequently during times of foreign crisis, less frequently when the president was travelling or pre- occupied with domestic issues. During the administrations of Harry S Truman and Dwight David Eisenhower, the NSC produced a series of formal policy papers whose purpose it was to analyse current and potential national security issues and make policy recommendations to deal with those issues. These policy papers were prepared by the NSC staff and occasionally by members of the NSC in response to requests by the NSC to study specific issues. When completed, these policy papers (NSCPP) were distributed to the NSC for study and comment. If the NSC decided to alter a policy paper, a revised draft would be produced. Once approved, the paper became the official (and usually secret) policy of the United States government. In contrast to Truman and Eisenhower, Presidents John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson held few NSC meetings, relying less on the formally structured NSC and more on ad hoc committees to discuss national security policy.

From 1918 to 1941, the US military attaché, US Military Intelligence Division (MID), Japan, produced reports relating to Japanese military, political, social, and economic development. During this period the Japanese Empire consisted of the home islands, the former Kingdom of Korea, which was annexed in 1908, portions of Siberia, the former German Pacific island possessions seized by Japan following World War One, the dependent Kingdom of Manchukuo (Manchuria), and the occupied territories of northern China seized after 1931. The major function of the MID was the collection of military information about foreign nations. Military attachés and observers assigned to foreign countries were the principal means by which the MID collected such information. The main duties of the military attaché were to observe and report on the training, organisation, equipment, doctrine, and operations of foreign armed forces. Although the US first dispatched military attaches to foreign countries in 1889, it did not accredit an attaché to Japan until the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1894. Two years later a second military attaché was sent out, but the Spanish-American War cut short his tenure. A permanent military attaché was finally assigned in 1901 when the US and Japan were co-operating closely in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion in China. For the subsequent forty years, until the Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, a US military attaché was assigned to Japan. During the period 1918-1941, the military attaché's office in Tokyo usually had two assistants and a number of 'language officers'. The latter were assigned specifically to learn Japanese whilst attached to Japanese Imperial Army regiments as observers. While the military attaché advised the US Ambassador to Japan on military matters, acted as a liaison between US Army and the Japanese Imperial Army Headquarters, and gathered and disseminated intelligence, the 'language officers' translated training and technical manuals and reported on conditions in Japanese military units.

Terrorism: Special Studies, 1975-1991 is a collection of studies commissioned by the US government concerning international terrorism, 1975-1991. The US government contracted American universities, colleges, corporations, non-partisan policy centres, and individuals to provide data and analyses relating to terrorist threats to US foreign policy. University Publications of America then compiled the existing texts, which were available in US armed forces reports, US defence policy journals, non-partisan policy journals, academic journals, and academic symposia and conference proceedings, 1974-1991.

In Apr 1968 political and military representatives from the United States, South Vietnam and North Vietnam began negotiations in Paris, France, to end the Vietnam War. Two months later, the talks were stalled over the inclusion of representatives from the Vietnamese National Liberation Front (Viet Cong), considered by the US an illegitimate political entity. In 1969, US Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (later US Secretary of State), Dr Henry Alfred Kissinger, once again began conversations with North Vietnamese officials. Backed by intensive US bombing of North Vietnam, and particularly its capital city Hanoi, Kissinger eventually persuaded North Vietnamese officials to negotiate the terms of a cease-fire. Throughout the lengthy negotiations, representatives from all sides sought what they considered an precipitous escape from the war. Finally, in 1972 Deputy Assistant to the President, Gen Alexander Meigs Haig Jr, met with South Vietnamese president Nguyen Van Thieu to discuss the final terms of 'Vietnamization', the process by which the American military presence in South Vietnam would be replaced with troops from the Republic of Vietnam. Also, the Viet Cong military adviser, Le Duc Tho, completed talks with Kissinger relating to the terms of a general cease-fire. On 27 Jan 1973, five years after the commencement of negotiations, a permanent cease-fire was signed between representatives from North Vietnam, the Viet Cong, South Vietnam, and the United States. Transcripts and Files of the Paris Peace Talks on Vietnam, 1968-1973 are the official transcripts of the Paris Peace Talks between political and military officials from the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Viet Cong and the United States, 31 Mar 1968-26 Feb 1973.