Born 1832; educated at Merchant Taylor's School 1840-1847. Unable to attend university due to his father's small income, he joined the Electric Telegraph Company 1847, founded by Sir William Fothergill Cooke 1845; was in charge of the Birmingham telegraph station by 1851. He joined the Magnetic Telegraph Company (an amalgamation), in 1852, of which his brother became the manager. For this company he laid many telegraph lines between and within London, Manchester, Liverpool, and other cities, showing much initiative in organizing the mechanical work that was needed; also laid a six-wire cable between Port Patrick, Scotland, and Donaghadee, Ireland. This was only the third sea cable laid, and the first in deep water. With Cyrus Field and John Brett he founded the Atlantic Telegraph Company in 1856 which aimed to lay a telegraph cable between Ireland and Newfoundland; this was finally achieved 5 August 1858 and Bright was knighted a month later. However, this cable failed shortly afterwards, and Bright turned his attention to improving the insulation of submarine cables. Resigned from the Magnetic Telegraph Company 1860; founded an independent consultancy with Josiah Latimer Clark, with whom he invented a bituminous cable insulation. Laid a telegraph cable to India 1862; made a further attempt to lay a transatlantic cable using Brunel's steamship Great Eastern 1865. The cable broke during laying, but a second attempt was successful 1866 and cable was retrieved and repaired 1865. Bright laid other cables in the Mediterranean and the West Indies, and with his brother invented a system of neighbourhood fire alarms and an automatic fire alarm system. Bright was an important figure in the movement for electrical standards. Liberal MP for Greenwich 1865-1868; President of the IEE 1886-1887; assisted with the preparations for the Paris Exhibition of 1881. Died 1888.
The Company was founded as bankers and bill brokers in 1860 by G Brightwen (previously a manager of the London Discount Company), operating from 8 Finch Lane, London. Brightwen was joined in partnership by William Gillett in 1861, and T. H. Loveless in 1864, the firm becoming styled Brightwen, Gillett and Company. Gillett left the firm in August 1867 to assist his brothers Alfred and George Gillett in their partnership of Gillett Bros and Company. Although taking business away from his previous firm, now restyled Brightwen and Company, William Gillett did not formally join his brothers in partnership. Brightwen and Company traded from 8 Finch Lane from 1860 until 1906, and at 34 Nicholas Lane, London, from 1907-39. In 1939 it merged with Cater and Company, discount bankers of 5 Bishopsgate London.
Born 1892; educated at Royal Naval College, Osborne and Royal Naval College, Dartmouth; served in World War One, 1914-1918 in HMS EXCELLENT, 1914-1915, HMS MALAYA, 1916-1918, HMS SIR JOHN MOORE, 1918 and HMS FORGE, near Crowborough, Sussex; Lt Cdr, 1922; served as Gunnery Officer on HMS CARDIFF, 1921-1924; Cdr, 1927; HMS EXCELLENT, Gunnery School, Portsmouth, 1932-1933; Capt, 1933; Tactical Division, Admiralty, 1934-1936; Capt of HMS BIRMINGHAM, 5 Cruiser Sqn, China, 1938-1939; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; Chief of Staff to Commander-in-Chief Home Fleet, 1940-1942; awarded CBE, 1941; R Adm, 1942; Assistant Chief of Naval Staff, 1942-1944; awarded CB, 1944; V Adm, 1945; commanded cruisers in Pacific Fleet, 1945; created KCB, 1946; President of Royal Naval College, Greenwich, 1946-1948; Adm, 1949; Commander-in-Chief, Far East Station, HMS TERROR, 1949-1951; appointed GBE, 1951; Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Northern Europe, 1951-1953; retired list, 1953; died 1963.
James Brindley (1716-1772) was a civil engineer who initially trained as a millwright. He began to design improvements to machinery, moving on to drainage schemes and then to hydraulics and canal design and construction. He became a prominent designer of canals from the 1850s onwards, working on the Bridgewater Canal among others. In 1770 he surveyed the Thames and made suggestions for improvements to the river navigation.
Source of information: K. R. Fairclough, 'Brindley, James (1716-1772)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
Monkey Island is a privately owned island in the River Thames, situated near Bray in Berkshire. From 1723 it was owned by Charles Spencer, the Duke of Marlborough, who used it as a base for fishing and constructed several notable Palladian-style buildings. In the 1840s it became a popular destination for day-trippers, who would pause there while on boating excursions. Notables including Edward VIII, Edward Elgar, HG Wells, Clara Butt and Nellie Melba visited the island. The name is probably derived from the original name Monks' Eyot, after the monks who first used the island; eyot being an Old English word meaning island.
Source of information: http://monkeyisland.co.uk/live/history
John Ivatt Briscoe was MP for East Surrey from 1832 to 1835, and the owner of Radnor House, Twickenham, Middlesex, and Foxhills, Ottenshaw, Surrey. The politician Sir Joseph Mawbey was his father-in-law.
When Parliament gave permission for the Great Western Railway in 1835, Bristol merchants began to argue for an extension of the proposed line to Exeter. Permission was granted in 1836 and Isambard Brunel (1806-1859) was appointed engineer. The line was completed in 1844. Over the next nine years branches were opened to Clevedon, Tiverton and Yeovil. Other branches followed in the 1860s (Chard, Portishead, Wells, Barnstaple and Minehead). The Bristol & Exeter Railway was considered to be a reasonable financial success and between 1844 and 1874 the annual dividend was 4.5 per cent.
Bristol and West of England Society for Women's Suffrage (1868-1914) was founded in 1868. After the failure of JS Mills' amendment to the Reform Bill in 1867 which was to have given women equal voting rights with men, individuals interested in suffrage began to organise their efforts. With this in mind, the earliest societies in Edinburgh, London, Manchester and Dublin affiliated to a new organisation, the National Society for Women's Suffrage in 1867. The following year, this parent body helped establish a Bristol and Clifton branch with committee status. The name was changed the next year to the Bristol and West of England Society for Women's Suffrage, retaining the original executive committee of Agnes Beddoe, Mrs Alfred Brittain, Rev. J Estlin Carpenter, Mary Estlin, Florence Davenport Hill, Prof. FW Newman, J F Norris, Mrs Mill Colman (sister of JS Mill) and Lilias Ashworth (from 1869). Anna Priestman joined the following year. The National Society suffered from a lack of co-ordination between constituent branches and was replaced by the Central Committee of the National Society for Women's Suffrage in 1872. This contained members who were closely associated with the campaign to repeal the Contagious Diseases Acts that caused splits in the organisation. However, the Bristol branch chose to affiliate to it in 1872.
By 1875, the committee had been enlarged to twenty members to reflect the size of the group. It was active in the area and this effort culminated in a 'Grand Demonstration' at the local Colston Hall in Nov 1880. At this event, a deputation was appointed to wait on the Prime Minister, but this was indefinitely postponed due to the known hostility of ministers. Despite this, there was great support for the Liberal Party in the ranks of members and two of those, Anna Priestman and Emily Sturge themselves founded the first Women's Liberal Association in England. In 1898, the BWESWS affiliated to the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies in the West of England Federation. However, when the NUWSS' Election Fighting Fund policy began to urge support for Labour candidates in 1912's general election, a number of the most strongly Liberal members resigned. On the outbreak of the First World War, the political activities of the group were suspended and action was concentrated on ventures such as the Scottish Women's Hospitals supported by the NUWSS and the opening of clubs for women.
The Old Porter Brewery, Bath Street, Bristol, was built in 1730 by Isaac Hobhouse and later sold to James Grimes. In 1788 it was bought by Philip George and became Philip George and the Bristol Porter Brewery. In 1816 it became Georges, Rickettses and Company, and by 1888 it was known as Georges and Company. The business was incorporated in 1888 as Bristol Brewery Georges and Company Limited.
Took over Bedminster Brewery 1889; Walton Brewery Co. Ltd. (date not known); R.W. Millet and Co. Ltd., Bristol, 1911; W. Hall and Sons, Lodway Brewery, Pill, 1912; Edgar Thatcher and Co., Heath Brewery, Nailsea, 1917; John Arnold and Sons, High Street, Wickwar, 1917; Bath Brewery Ltd., Westgate Street, Bath, 1923; Geo. Biggs and Sons, Crown Brewery, New Orchard Street, Bath, 1924; Ashton Gate Brewery Co. Ltd., Bedminster, 1931.
The company merged with Bristol United Breweries in 1956 and was taken over by Courage, Barclay and Simonds in 1961.
Bristol United Breweries Limited, Lewins Mead, Bristol was formed in 1888 from the amalgamation of Bowley and Bristow, St. Paul's Brewery Bishop and Butt Ltd., Redcliffe Mead Brewery, J.H. Lockley and Sons, Lewins Mead Brewery, and M. Reynolds and Company.
The company was incorporated in 1889. It took over Daniel Sykes and Co. Ltd., Redcliffe Brewery, Redcliffe Street (est. 1753) in 1897; the Oakhill Brewery, Ashwick, in 1925; and the Charlton Brewery, Shepton Mallet, in 1937.
Bristol United Breweries Limited merged with Bristol Brewery Georges in 1956 and with them was taken over by Courage, Barclay and Simonds in 1961. In voluntary liquidation 1962.
The manor of 'Stebunheath alias Stepney' devolved from the bishop of London's Domesday manor or vill of Stepney. The Domesday manor was assessed at 32 hides and included most of Stepney parish as constituted in the 13th century, Hackney, a small part of Shoreditch, and large parts of Islington, Hornsey, and Clerkenwell; the 14 hides held in demesne later formed the demesnes of Stepney, Hackney, Harringay, Muswell, and possibly Brownswood manors.
The bishops held Stepney until 1550; when Nicholas Ridley surrendered the manors of Stepney and Hackney to the king, who immediately granted them to the Lord Chamberlain Sir Thomas Wentworth, Baron Wentworth (d. 1551). The grant included the marshes of Stepney, waters, fishing, wastes, mills, and the liberties, including free warren and view of frankpledge, that the bishops had enjoyed.
The manor subsequently changed hands several times until 1926 when the remaining copyholds were converted into freeholds under the Law of Property Act, 1922. They remained subject to such manorial incidents as quitrents, fines on change of ownership, and the lord's right to timber, until 1 January 1936.
From: 'Stepney: Manors and Estates', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 19-52 (available online).
Born at Camberwell on 19 Jan 1827, the son of John Syer Bristowe, a medical practitioner in Camberwell, and Mary Chesshyre his wife. He was educated at Enfield and King's College schools, and entered at St. Thomas's Hospital as a medical student in 1846. A distinguished student, he took the Treasurer's gold medal, in 1848, and in the same year he obtained the gold medal of the Apothecaries' Society for botany. In 1849 he was admitted a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and on 2 Aug. 1849 he received the licence of the Society of Apothecaries. In 1850 he took the degree of M.B. of the University of London, gaining the scholarship and medal in surgery and the medals in anatomy and materia medica; in 1852 he was admitted M.D. of the London University.
In 1849 he was house surgeon at St. Thomas's Hospital, and in the following year he was appointed curator of the museum and pathologist to the hospital. He was elected assistant physician in 1854, and during the next few years he held several teaching posts, being appointed lecturer on botany in 1859, on materia medica in 1860, on general anatomy and physiology in 1865, on pathology in 1870. In 1860 he was elected full physician, and in 1876 he became lecturer on medicine, a post which he held until his retirement in 1892, when he became consulting physician to the hospital.
He served many important offices at the Royal College of Physicians. Elected a fellow in 1858, he was an examiner in medicine in 1869 and 1870. In 1872 he was Croonian lecturer, choosing for his subject 'Disease and its Medical Treatment;' in 1879 he was Lumleian lecturer on 'The Pathological Relations of Voice and Speech.' He was censor in 1876, 1886, 1887, 1888, and senior censor in 1889. He was examiner in medicine at the universities of Oxford and London, at the Royal College of Surgeons, and at the war office. He was also medical officer of health for Camberwell (1856-95), physician to the Commercial Union Assurance Company, and to Westminster School.
In 1881 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society, and the honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him at the tercentenary of the Edinburgh University in 1884. He was president of the Pathological Society of London in 1885, of the Neurological Society in 1891, and of the Medical Society of London in 1893. In this year he delivered the Lettsomian lectures on 'Syphilitic Affections of the Nervous System.' He was also president of the Society of Medical Officers of Health, of the Hospitals Association, and of the metropolitan counties' branch of the British Medical Association. In 1887 his term of office as physician to St. Thomas's Hospital having expired, he was appointed for a further term of five years at the unanimous request of his colleagues.
Bristowe married, on 9 Oct. 1856, Miriam Isabelle Stearns of Dulwich. He died on 20 Aug. 1895 at Monmouth. A three-quarter-length portrait by his daughter, Miss Beatrice M. Bristowe, hangs in the committee-room at St. Thomas's Hospital.
He presented to the Public Health Department of the Privy Council a series of important reports 'On Phosphorus Poisoning in Match Manufacture' (1862), 'On Infection by Rags and Paper Works' (1865), 'On the Cattle Plague' (1866) in conjunction with Professor (Sir) J. Burdon Sanderson, and 'On the Hospitals of the United Kingdom' jointly with Mr. Timothy Holmes. He had considerable skill as a draughtsman, and many of the microscopical drawings to be found in his books were the work of his own hand. In particular his figures of trichina spiralis, a parasitic worm in the muscles of man, have been copied into many textbooks.
Publications: Poems, London, 1850; A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Medicine, London, 1876; Clinical Lectures and Essays on Diseases of the Nervous System, 1888; Annual Reports of the Medical Officer of Health to the Vestry of St. Giles, Camberwell, Surrey, L
The Britain Australia Bicentennial Committee (BABC) was set up in 1984 by the British Government through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to supervise the British involvement in the Australian Bicentennial. It was chaired by Sir Peter Gadsden. Initially a steering committee was set up, which later became the BABC. In 1985 the Britain Australia Bicentennial Trust was set up to deal with the public money raised, at this time the BABC also set up a number of National Task subcommittees and regional subcommittees.
One of the tasks of the BABC was to make a recommendation for the UK gift to Australia for the Bicentennial. Several ideas were put forward for consideration, notably a re-enactment of the voyage of the First Fleet under Admiral Arthur Philip, This was decided against, although the re-enactment fleet did sail from the Isle of Wight, 13 May 1987 and arrived in Australia 26 Jan 1988, without the support of the BABC. The UK gift to Australia was eventually decided on as the sail training schooner STS Young Endeavour, proposed by Arthur Weller. The building of STS Young Endeavour, was supervised by the Schooner Trust, supervised by Weller. The Bicentennial events in the UK were widespread including balls, banquets and church services, notably at Westminster Abbey led by Archbishop Robert Runcie, 14 Jul 1988.
On 17th November 1967 the British Airports Authority unveiled a plaque at Heathrow Airport to commemorate the start of scientific mapping of Great Britain in 1784, the first baseline of the triangulation of Great Britain being situated close by.
The Association of the Mission Homes for English and American Women in Paris, later known (from 1924) as the British and American Ada Leigh Homes and Hostels in Paris, were set up by Miss Ada Leigh (Mrs Travers Lewis) in 1876. The aims of the Association were to provide homes, free of charge, for women and children of, and connected with, the United Kingdom and its colonies, and the United States of America. The first hostel was at 77 Avenue Wagram, Paris, with others later being provided at Bineau Avenue and Washington House, Rue de Milan. The Association also built an Anglican church called Christchurch at Neuilly-sur-Seine, and actively promoted Anglicanism. During the German occupation of Paris during World War Two, Ada Leigh Homes was forced to cease operations, the Chaplain fled to Britain and the hostels were closed. After the war, activities were resumed, though on a smaller scale.
The British and European Insurance Company Limited was based successively at 13 Sherborne Lane, King William Street; and 66 Cheapside. It was acquired in 1918 by the British General Insurance Company Limited, which was purchased in 1926 by the Commercial Union Assurance Company Limited.
The Congregational minister Edward Miall was a campaigner for the disestablishment of the Church of England, that is, the withdrawl of special state patronage and control from the church. In 1844 he organised a national dissenting convention for like-minded individuals, as a result of which the British Anti-State Church Association was founded. The Association urged the withdrawal of all state support for religion, believing that it was wrong for the church to be controlled by outside influences and for politics to influence spiritual worship. They also protested against church rates, discrimination against non-church members and the legal disabilities faced by non-conformists.
In 1853 the Association changed its name to the Society for the Liberation of Religion from State-Patronage and Control, which was usually shortened to the Liberation Society. The Society was politically active and tried to infuence the selection of Parliamentary candidates who shared their opinions. Miall himself was elected to Parliament and several times from 1871 onwards proposed English disestablishment, with no success. Although the Liberation Society did not achieve its goals, they contributed to the dismantling of some of the legal challenges facing non-conformists.
In 1888 the education sub-committee of the Liberation Society, which protested against church involvement in education, became the National Education Association.
Produced by the British Army as guides to various aspects of warfare.
The Chin Hills Battalion was formed in 1894.
The first conference of Societies Registered for Adoption was held in 1949 and the Standing Conference of Societies Registered for Adoption was formed in 1950. In 1958 the Adoption Act transformed the legal framework for adoption services giving local authorities the power to act as adoption agencies. In 1965 the British Adoption Project was launched, a four year project to help find new families for non-white children and stemming from this the Adoption Resource Exchange was set up in 1968. In 1969 the Standing Conference of Societies Registered for Adoption was represented on the Houghton Committee to consider legal policy and procedure on adoption. In 1970 the Standing Conference of Societies Registered for Adoption became ABAA (Association of British Adoption Agencies), and in 1975 ABAA became ABAFA (Association of British Adoption and Fostering Agencies). In 1978 Adoption Resource Exchange was formed by: Lucy Faithfull, M M Carriline, Louise Hancock, R Hughes, Mary Sugden, Anna Martin and Joan Lawton, with registered offices at 40 Brunswick Square, London, WC1N 1AZ. ABAFA and ARE began to share premises at Southwark Street in March 1980, and in November 1980 they merged to form the British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering. The company changed its name from British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering to British Association for Adoption and Fostering in 2001. A full account of the history and development of BAAF and its predecessor bodies can be found in file BAAF/120
The British Association for Labour Legislation was a small group of people who were attached to the London School of Economics. The association dealt with issues such as the health and welfare of workers, education and the implementation of a National Health Service.
In 1917 when the Cambridge University diploma in Medical Radiology and Electrology was proposed there was no medical body to inaugurate and sponsor the teaching in London, so a medical society - the British Association for the Advancement of Radiology and Physiotherapy (BARP) - was formed. It was composed chiefly of medical members of the Röntgen Society and members of the Electro-therapeutic Section of the Royal Society of Medicine.
In 1921, BARP was incorporated, and in 1922, acquired premises at 32 Welbeck St. In 1924 it changed its name to the British Institute of Radiology (BIR). It worked in collaboration with the Röntgen Society whose meetings were held at the same premises, until 1927 when the two societies amalgamated to form The British Institute of Radiology incorporated with the Röntgen Society. The Society of Radiographers (founded in 1920) also became affiliated with the Institute at this time. The BIR received its Royal Charter of Incorporation in 1958.
The Committee on Scientific Research on Human Institutions was set up by the Division of the Social and International Relations of Science of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in order to consider how the results of scientific research on human institutions and human needs and their interrelations could be co-ordinated and brought to bear on the formation of public policy. The Association is a nation-wide organisation and holds an annual festival of science. It is also involved in running activities for young people and science communication projects. It has an open membership policy and currently has approximately 2,100 members. It produces a monthly newsletter "The Banter" which provides details of forthcoming events, and "Science & Public Affairs".
The Committee on the economic effects of the legislation regulating women's labour was set up in 1900 and presented its final report in 1903. Its function was to investigate the operative effects of nineteenth century protective legislation on factory and workshop employment and on some aspects of outwork, and does not touch on any aspect of agricultural work or domestic service.
Section F of the British Association for the Advancement of Science was founded in 1833 by the British Association, which had itself been founded in 1831. The idea of a section of the British Association which could concentrate on economic and social problems was developed principally by Charles Babbage, Thomas Malthus and Adam Sidgwick. The first meeting was held in 1834 under the presidency of Sir Charles Lemmon.
At its inception the Section became known as the Statistical Section, and became known in addition as Section F in 1835. In 1856 its title was changed from the Statistical Section to the Section of Economic Science and Statistics. Finally in 1948 Section F became the Economics Section of the British Association.
The principal focus of Section F was the annual conference of the British Association and, from 1966 onwards, the publication of its proceedings at these conferences, although it has in the past run its own research projects through standing committees.
Section F is currently still extant. The principal officers in Section F are the President, the Vice President and the Recorder. The president is appointed annually by the Council of the British Association and is not eligible for re-election. The president has been the editor of the proceedings of Section F at the annual conferences of the British Association since they began to be published.
Following the launch of the British Holistic Medical Association in September 1983, which restricted membership to doctors, a number of health care practitioners from other disciplines, including nursing, social work and physiotherapy as well as other forms of alternative practice such as osteopathy, acupuncture and homeopathy, interested in and seeking to work with a more holistic approach, proposed to set up an association representing these groups, to work in partnership with the BHMA. A working party of health care practitioners organised a founding conference in November 1984, at which the British Holistic Health Association was established.
A Scottish Association for Occupational Therapy was established in 1932, and the Association of Occupational Therapists in England in 1936. A Joint Council was formed in 1952, and final merger took place in 1974 under the title the British Association of Occupational Therapists.
The BAOT is the only professional, educational and trade union organisation for occupational therapists and support staff in the UK, and is a member of the Committee for Occupational Therapists in the European Communities (COTEC) and the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT). It acts to validate and monitor pre-registration courses, guide continuing professional development and to initiate and support research and development into professional practice. It also sets standards of ethical and professional conduct and acts to represent and promote the profession's views and needs to central government, other professional bodies and consumers. Its members have full membership of UNISON, which serves to promote employment rights and conditions.
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.
The British Australian Telegraph Company Limited was formed in 1870 by John Pender to bring Australia within the scope of telegraph communication with Britain. In 1873 it merged with the China Submarine Telegraph Company Limited and the British Indian Extension Telegraph Company Limited to form the Eastern Extension, Australasia and China Telegraph Company Limited.
The British Bankers' Association was established in 1919 as a result of the merger of the Central Association of Bankers and the Association of English Country Bankers. Its object was to better promote the interests of the banking community by having just one responsible association.
The British Bankers' Association was established in 1919 as a result of the merger of the Central Association of Bankers and the Association of English Country Bankers. Its object was to better promote the interests of the banking community by having just one responsible association.
The Central Association had been established in 1895 by representatives of the London Clearing House, the West End banks and the Association of English Country Bankers to "safeguard the interests of bankers as a whole ... without in any way interfering with the work of the older societies". From the start, the Central Association was a channel for consultation, information and defence of banks. It was not concerned with the interests of bank officials which were cared for by the Institute of Bankers, although it shared the Institute's premises at 34 St Clements Lane.
The Association of English Country Bankers had been formed in 1874 to defend the interests of country banks.
Until 1972, membership of the British Bankers' Association was open only to British (including Dominion and Colonial) banks. After 1972, it was enlarged to include representatives of all recognised banks operating in the United Kingdom.
In 1991, the Committee of London and Scottish Bankers, formerly the Committee of London Clearing Bankers, was subsumed into the Association.
The British Bankers' Association archive also includes records of a number of other organisations including the London Clearing House, later known as the Bankers' Clearing House Limited, and the Committee of London Clearing Bankers which oversaw it.
The series 'Plain Tales from the Raj' was produced by Michael Mason for BBC Radio 4 and first broadcast in 1974. The British interviews were largely conducted by Charles Allen, with further interviews conducted in India by Prakash Mirchandani and Mark Tully.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
The Russia Company was the patron of Anglican churches in Moscow, St Petersburg, Cronstadt and Archangel. The first chapel in Moscow was established in 1706 but was closed down when the British Factory left Moscow in 1717, initially for Archangel; its headquarters moved to St Petersburg in 1723.
In 1825 a chapel was opened in Princess Prozorowski's House at 259 Twerskoy, known as the British Chapel, Moscow, and a chaplain appointed. Land for a permanent church was purchased in 1828 and building was completed at the end of 1829/beginning of 1830.
A new church was consecrated in January 1885 when its official designation became the British Church of St Andrew, Moscow. The title deeds were drawn up in the name of the Russia Company who held the land, buildings and furniture in trust for the British residents. The chaplain was appointed by the Russia Company subject to the approval of a meeting of subscribers of annual contributions to the chaplaincy. The Russia Company also paid part of the chaplain's stipend.
The church was seized by the Bolsheviks in 1920, the chaplaincy terminated and the chaplain withdrawn. A new chaplaincy was established in Helsinki and the chaplain paid visits to Russia. Services in Moscow are held in the British Embassy.
British Chemical Prohects (Iridion) Limited was set up in 1929 by business partners Hubert Atwood King and Joseph George Tatham Firth. They were based at Seabourne Wharf, Richmond Road, Isleworth. The company principally manufactured a liquid detergent called "Iridion".
British Chrome and Chemicals Limited was incorporated in 1960 to manufacture and sell chemicals. It was based at Eaglescliffe near Stockton. In 1973 it was bought by Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112), and in 1988 it became part of Harcros Chemicals Group.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
A chaplaincy in Riga was first established in the early nineteenth century to serve the many British sailors passing through the port. The church of Saint Saviour was constructed in 1859. Services were suspended in 1940 but resumed in 1991.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
The Russia Company was the patron of Anglican churches in Moscow, St Petersburg, Cronstadt and Archangel. The first chapel in Moscow was established in 1706 but was closed down when the British Factory left Moscow in 1717, initially for Archangel; its headquarters moved to St Petersburg in 1723. An Anglican church was constructed but forced to close in 1917. Worship was continued in 1993, sharing a Lutheran church.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
The Russia Company was the patron of Anglican churches in Moscow, St Petersburg, Cronstadt and Archangel. The first chapel in Moscow was established in 1706 but was closed down when the British Factory left Moscow in 1717, initially for Archangel; its headquarters moved to St Petersburg in 1723.
In 1825 a chapel was opened in Princess Prozorowski's House at 259 Twerskoy, known as the British Chapel, Moscow, and a chaplain appointed. Land for a permanent church was purchased in 1828 and building was completed at the end of 1829/beginning of 1830.
A new church was consecrated in January 1885 when its official designation became the British Church of St Andrew, Moscow. The title deeds were drawn up in the name of the Russia Company who held the land, buildings and furniture in trust for the British residents. The chaplain was appointed by the Russia Company subject to the approval of a meeting of subscribers of annual contributions to the chaplaincy. The Russia Company also paid part of the chaplain's stipend.
The church was seized by the Bolsheviks in 1920, the chaplaincy terminated and the chaplain withdrawn. A new chaplaincy was established in Helsinki and the chaplain paid visits to Russia. Services in Moscow are held in the British Embassy.
The Bishop of London was held to exercise responsibility for Anglican churches overseas where no other bishop had been appointed. He retained responsibility for churches in northern and central Europe until 1980, but his jurisdiction in southern Europe ceased in 1842 on the creation of the diocese of Gibraltar. In 1980, the Bishop of London divested himself of all overseas jurisdiction and a new diocese of 'Gibraltar in Europe' was established.
In Oporto, Anglican chaplains were appointed to the British Factory until the early 19th century when foreign Factories in Portugal were abolished. It was also at this time, following the legalizing of building of Anglican churches in some Roman Catholic countries, that a decision was made to build a church in Oporto. The church was completed at the end of 1818, but was not consecrated until August 1843, being dedicated to St James.
The British Commercial Fire Insurance Company was established in 1908, with offices intially at 16 Bedford Chambers, Covent Garden. Its registered offices moved frequently, and were rarely listed in the directories. It was wound up in 1959.
The British Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon (Elgin) Marbles, (BCRPM) was founded following the UNESCO International Conference of Ministers of Culture in Mexico, Aug 1982, when Melina Mercouri appealed for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens. The idea to set up a British Committee for the Restitution of the Parthenon Marbles came from architect James Cubitt. The Committee was set up in 1983 under the chairmanship of Robert Browning, Emeritus Professor of Greek at the University of London. Eleni Cubitt, film producer and wife of James Cubitt (who died shortly after the Committee was established) became, and continues to be, the Secretary. The aims of the Committee are as follows:
'To secure the restitution of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece in accordance with the resolution of the UNESCO Conference of Ministers of Culture held in Mexico on 4 August 1982. To this end - we intend to present the case as fully as possible to the British public and to bring the most effective pressure on the Trustees of the British Museum and the British Government.'
The British Committee of the Continental and General Federation for Abolition of Government Regulation of Prostitution (fl 1880) was founded sometime c 1880. In the 1840s there was an upsurge in concern about prostitution in the United Kingdom. However, only after the 1857 Royal Commission report on the health of the army, and a follow-up report on the level of venereal disease in the military five years later did official tolerance of prostitution came to an end as the question became fused with contemporary concerns over public health. The result was three successive decrees in 1864, 1866 and 1869 known as the Contagious Diseases (CD) Acts. By these, in certain towns containing military bases, any woman suspected of being a prostitute could be stopped and forced to undergo a genital inspection to discover if she had a venereal disease. If she did not submit willingly, she could be arrested and brought before a magistrate. If she was found to be infected, she could be effectively imprisoned in a 'lock' hospital. At a medical Conference in Vienna in 1874, the principle of state regulation of prostitution which the CD Acts embodied was accepted as a valuable contribution to promoting public health and it was proposed that a worldwide league led by Great Britain should be created to achieve this end. The response of those in the United Kingdom who were engaged in anti-Contagious Diseases Acts activity was to try to forestall this, initially by publicising their opinions through European lecture tours by Josephine Butler and other leaders, and then through the creation of a pan-European organisation to support the repeal movement. In Mar 1875 this was formed at a meeting in Liverpool with the name of the British, Continental and General Federation for the Abolition of Government Regulation of Prostitution. The first president of the organisation was James Stansfeld MP, the honorary secretary, Josephine Butler and the corresponding secretary, Henry Joseph Wilson. William Crosfield was later appointed treasurer, while Wilson's place was taken six months later by Professor James Stuart.
When the final constitution was passed in 1878, it set out the final shape of the organisation: it was to consist of a General Meeting, a General Council and an Executive Committee. A General Council had been established since 1876 and contained representatives of the main repeal organisations in the United Kingdom, over thirty private individuals and representatives from India, the Cape of Good Hope, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and the United States. Each country involved maintained its own national branch that worked in its own area while maintaining close links with the other branches. Other representatives were added as more countries became concerned with the issue. Aim Humber was appointed Principle Continental Correspondent and later General Secretary for the Continent after the organisation grew. The Federation established its own journal in Dec 1875, Le Bulletin Continental. The Executive Committee of the British branch of the federation acted for some time as the actual executive committee of the whole organisation. However, when the CD Acts were repealed in the United Kingdom, the British Branch (as it was known) was left in difficulties as supporting organisations such as the National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts dissolved themselves. However, others such as the Ladies National Association decided to continue in their work with enlarged area of interest and this was also the path that the British Branch followed. It changed its title in 1890 to the British Commission for the Abolition of the State Regulation of Vice in India and throughout the British Dominions due to the failure of parliament to repeal the Acts in the sub-continent and the introduction of the Cantonments Act. In this incarnation it continued as the British element of the Federation. In 1897 it revived the journal The Shield to publicise their work. The work of the overall Federation itself continued and in 1898 it was decided to rename the body the International Federation for the Abolition of State Regulation of Prostitution, with the subtitle which as at 1994 continued to be used, the International Abolitionist Federation.
The British Commonwealth Insurance Company was based at 21 Bury Street, then 5-6 Lime Street and 14 Walbrook. It was founded in 1946 and was taken over in 1960 by Legal and General Assurance Society Limited.
Established in 1979 as the British Comparative Education Society, an offshoot of the Comparative Education Society in Europe, its main aims were to encourage the growth of comparative and international studies by organising conferences, visits and publications. In 1997 it merged with the British Association of Teachers and Researchers in Overseas Education to form the British Association for International and Comparative Education.
In 1955, Lord Halsbury, the Managing Director of the National Research Development Corporation , opened a summer school at the then Northampton College of Advanced Technology on the application of electronic digital computers and calculaters to accountancy and management. The success of this initiative led Lord Halsbury to arrange for one of the earliest Ferranti Pegasus computers to be installed on permanent loan to the College in 1957, and it also played an important part in the formation of the London Computer Group and the British Computer Society (BCS) in the same year. L T G Clarke, the Senior Lecturer in the Mathematics Department of the College was also a founder member of the BCS and was instrumental in organising the growth of this computing function in the College. The College's Governing Body was keen to support the BCS by granting it free use of rooms at the College for meetings. Clarke later became Manager of the City University Computer Unit in 1967, and also Chairman of the BCS Library Committee. The BCS library was housed in the Skinners' Library of City University from 1967 until financial circumstances dictated that the Library could no longer undertake to manage the BCS holdings. In 1977, therefore, the BCS moved its library to the Institution of Electrical Engineers, London.
The British Empire Cancer Campaign (BECC or the Campaign') was founded in 1923 "to attack and defeat the disease of cancer in all its forms, to investigate its causes, distribution, symptoms, pathology and treatment and to promote its cure" [Memorandum and Articles of Association]. It was founded amidst rivalry and even hostility from the well-established Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF orthe Fund') and the Medical Research Council (MRC). The ICRF felt that the Campaign would jeopardize its existence and the standing of other well-known cancer research institutions, especially regarding fund-raising; the MRC was concerned that the Campaign would challenge its supremacy within the scientific hierarchy and its control of the direction of biomedical research. Despite this controversial beginning, the Campaign became a very successful and powerful grant-giving body, allocating funds (obtained on an entirely voluntary basis), to universities, hospitals, research institutions and individuals, for a wide range of both clinical and biomedical cancer research. In 1963 the words for Research' were added to the Campaign's title, partly to strengthen its legal position with regard to doubtfully worded legacies tocancer research'. However, this title was found to be rather cumbersome for everyday use and the words British Empire' tended to cause confusion with the wordImperial' in the minds of the public. In 1970, the title Cancer Research Campaign (CRC) was adopted. For details of the early history of the Campaign and its relationship with the ICRF and MRC see A history of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund 1902-1986, Dr Joan Austoker (OUP: 1988). Some information on the Campaign's origins and development of its regional organization can be found in Appendix I of the hard-copy list. Current information on the Campaign can be found on their website: http://www.crc.org.uk.
The British Empire Exhibition was an exhibition held at Wembley, Middlesex in 1924 and 1925. Its official aim was " to stimulate trade, to strengthen the bonds that bind the Mother Country to her Sister States and Daughter Nations, to bring all into closer touch, the one with the other, to enable all who owe allegiance to the British Flag to meet on common ground, and to learn to know each other. It is a family party, to which every member of the Empire is invited, and at which every part of the Empire is represented". It was opened by King George V 23 April 1924. Of the 58 members of the British Empire only Gambia and Gibraltar did not take part.
The British Equitable Assurance Company was established in 1854 at 47 King William Street, for the conduct of life business. It moved offices to 4 Queen Street Place (later numbers 1-3) in 1867, and, from 1933 was located at Royal Exchange. It expanded into fire and general business from 1905. It became a subsidiary of the Royal Exchange Assurance (CLC/B/107-02) in 1924.
A 'factory' in this context is an establishment for traders carrying on business in a foreign country or a merchant company's trading station. Leghorn or Livorno is a port city in Tuscany which was important for trade with the Levant and the population included many foreign merchants. There was a thriving and wealthy British community there which used the British Factory chapel and chaplain for Protestant services. The Factory closed in 1825 and the community dwindled.
A 'factory' in this context is an establishment for traders carrying on business in a foreign country or a merchant company's trading station. A chaplaincy attached to the Factory was established in the mid 17th century, with the first chaplain being appointed in 1654.
A 'factory' in this context is an establishment for traders carrying on business in a foreign country or a merchant company's trading station. The Factory often included a chapel and chaplain so that merchants could attend English language, Protestant worship.
The British Federation of Business and Professional Women (1933-1969) was formed as the British Federation of Business and Professional Women Clubs in 1933 through the efforts of the Women's Advertising Club of London and the Women's Engineering Society. However, a meeting was called by the International Federation of Business and Professional Women in Jan 1935 to discuss the Federation's future status. It was decided to disband the group and set up an ad-hoc committee to draft a constitution for a new British Federation of Business and Professional Women (BFBPW) which was established a few months later. The object of the new Federation was to promote and safeguard the interests of business and professional women, to establish closer co-operation between them, to secure affective and consistent co-ordination of action on matters affecting their mutual interests and also to promote their professional standards and training. In addition to the core Executive committee and subcommittees, the group also had a Bridge Committee established to co-ordinate the relationships between the British and International Federations and the separate British Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs. The BFBPW contributed to discussions on women's status in the pre-war period, but its most intense period of activity occurred during the Second World War. When in Feb 1940 it became clear that female workers were not being employed in areas where labour shortages were evident, the group approached several women MP's to engage the government on this matter. One month later, the Woman Power Committee was established as a result of talks between Lady Astor and Caroline Haslett, Chair of the BFBPW, to protect the interests of British women during the war. Subsequently, the group became involved in the issues of unequal compensation payments for men and women offered by 1941's Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme to those rendered unable to work. This scheme was opposed by women's organisations and action was jointly co-ordinated by the National Association of Women Civil Servants and the British Federation of Business and Professional Women. A committee was instituted, firstly on an ad-hoc and then a permanent basis, with representatives from the Women Power Committee, The National Association of Women Civil Servants, the British Federation of Business and Professional Women, the National Council of Women, the Women's Publicity Planning Association and later the Women's Freedom League. A select committee was subsequently instituted which overturned the existing legislation and resulted in equal compensation rates being paid in 1943. With this achieved, attention was extending the work to equal pay more generally and the Federation took a leading part in the Equal Pay Campaign and sent representatives to sit on both the central and the advisory committee of that organisation. After the Second World War, the federation had an important role in the work of the International Federation of Business & Professional Women. It had equal representation at the international conferences with the National Federation of Business & Professional Women's Clubs as well as contributing to the work of the United Nations. It continued its campaign for equal pay for civil servants and teachers throughout the Fifties. When this objective was achieved, it turned its attention to the more general issue of the status of women. However, financial difficulties had led a number of groups to leave the Federation in 1956 that in turn led the parent group itself to feel new financial pressures. This eventually led to its dissolution in 1969.