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The Port of London comprised a stretch of the River Thames from Teddington Lock in Surrey to the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, including all streams, channels, creeks, harbours and docks within these limits. The Port Health Authority was concerned with the health and hygiene of ship's crews and passengers; the control of infectious diseases; the running of the Port Isolation Hospital at Denton, Gravesend, Kent; the disinfection of vessels and control of onboard rodents and pests; the inspection of imported foodstuffs, particularly shellfish; the registration and inspection of canal boats and rodent control at docks.

The Cleansing Department handles the disposal of all household and commercial waste generated within the City.

The City of London runs the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre (HARC) to carry out its main statutory responsibilities under the Animal Health Act, 1981, this legislation incorporates Rabies controls and the Welfare of Animals During Transport Order 1997. The Heathrow Animal Reception Centre, formerly known as the Animal Quarantine Station, is part of the Veterinary Sector of the City of London's Environmental Services Directorate and has over the past 25 years established itself as a world leader in the care of animals during transport. Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year receiving and caring for literally millions of animals of all types, including everything from tarantulas, cobras, race horses, tigers, cattle, cats and dogs and even baby elephants, the HARC has the facilities to cope with almost any animal.

The Guildhall has had a library since 1425, founded as part of a bequest by Mayor Richard Whittington. However, in 1550 the books were removed by the Duke of Somerset for his palace in the Strand and all but one of the original books is now lost. The survivor is a late 13th century Latin Bible. In 1828 a new Guildhall Library was established with the remit to collect material relating to the history and topography of the City of London, Southwark and Middlesex, including prints and drawings. This library was quite small and was rebuilt in 1873. In 1940 the library was hit by enemy action and 25,000 volumes were lost to the subsequent fire, with thousands more affected by water damage.

The collection is now of designated national and international importance and strengths include works on the history of London, English law reports, wine and food (including the Elizabeth David Collection), clocks and clockmakers (including the library of the Clockmaker's Guild), business history, marine history (material deposited by Lloyds of London), The Gardeners' Company collection (historic books on gardening), The Fletchers' Company collection (books on archery), the Gresham College collection (17th and 18th century music and early travel and exploration), the Cock Collection (material on Sir Thomas More), the Charles Lamb Society collection, the Chapman Bequest (19th century plays), the Hamilton Bequest (18th and 19th century plays), the Pepys Collection (Samuel Pepys) and a collection of 18th, 19th and 20th century books on shorthand.

The first recorded Mayor of London was Henry Fitz-Ailwyn in 1189. Since then, some 700 men and one woman have over the centuries held the position of chief officer of the City of London. The most famous of them all is Dick Whittington, who held office three times, in 1397, 1406 and 1419. Contrary to popular belief, Dick Whittington was not a poor, ill-treated orphan who managed against all the odds to work his way up to Lord Mayor. Coming from a wealthy family, Richard Whittington had a successful business and civic career before he became Lord Mayor. As for the black cat which supposedly helped him found his fortune, no-one is quite sure how this part of the myth grew up! The fact is that Dick Whittington carved out a successful business career in a very practical way as a mercer (dealer in costly fabrics such as silk), wool merchant and royal financier.

The Lord Mayor has throughout the centuries played a vital role in the life of the City of London and continues to do so today. In the City, the Lord Mayor ranks immediately after the sovereign and acts as the capital's host in Guildhall and Mansion House, his official residence. On behalf of the City and the nation he carries out numerous engagements at home and abroad. Although in former years a person could become Lord Mayor as many times as the electorate would vote him in - Dick Whittington being such an example - nowadays one year of such demanding activity is considered enough.

The right of citizens to elect their own Mayor dates from the Charter granted by King John to the City in 1215. The election of Lord Mayor is held at the end of September each year in Guildhall. The assembly, known as Common Hall, consists of all liverymen of at least one year's standing together with certain high officers of the City. All aldermen who have served the office of sheriff and who have not already been Lord Mayor are eligible.

Mansion House is unique as the only purpose-built home of the Lord Mayor of the City of London, providing not only living and working space for the Lord Mayor and his household but also room for large ceremonial entertainments and banquets.

The building of Mansion House was first considered after the Great Fire of London in 1666, but the first stone was not laid until 1739 after much discussion over the selection of the site, the design and the architect. Sir Crispin Gascoigne was the first Lord Mayor to take up residence, in 1752. A fashionable Palladian style with a large classical portico was chosen by the City's Clerk of Works, George Dance the Elder. Built around a central courtyard it contained a cellar, a ground floor for the servants and the kitchen, a grand first floor of offices, dining and reception rooms, including the Egyptian Hall where banquets were held, a second floor with a gallery for dancing and chambers for the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, and a third floor of bedchambers.

The Egyptian Hall is so named because its form was thought to replicate the dining halls used in Egypt during the Roman period, with giant columns supporting a narrower attic area. Reconstructions of such became very fashionable in the 18th century. However, there is nothing Egyptian about the decoration, which is classical in style. Although Mansion House retains much of its original character, there have been changes - one of the most important of which was the covering of the internal courtyard to form what is now known as the Saloon to provide a large reception area.

During its life the house has undergone a number of extensive repair programmes. The most recent was the refurbishment work of 1991-3, when structural repair, careful conservation and complete redecoration were carried out. The result was well received and won a number of conservation awards. Mansion House was originally intended to enable the Lord Mayor to represent the City in appropriate style, and it continues to fulfil this function more than two centuries later.

The City Surveyor is responsible for the construction and management of various City non-residential properties, including those properties belonging to Bridge House estates and City Lands estates.

The Surveyor's Approval Plans are a series of folders containing plans, and sometimes supporting correspondence and specifications of works associated with the Corporation's role as landlord to the City Lands and Bridge House Estates. The plans mostly relate to alterations or new building on the Bridge House and City Lands Estates which were submitted to the Bridge House and City Lands Committees respectively for approval and very occasionally to property adjoining the Corporation's estate over which the Corporation enjoyed certain rights such as the right to light. The plans were drawn by the leasee's own architects and usually submitted with a covering letter to the relevant committee as part of their application for permission to redevelop or alter Corporation property. The application was studied by the City Architect who made a recommendation in a report to the committee to accept or reject the application. The report can usually be found in the relevant file of committee papers and the subsequent decision in the appropriate committee minutes. Occasionally the City Architect would recommend conditions and modifications to be imposed on the leasee's proposal and such conditions can sometimes found in the committee papers and in the committee files after 1958. Most of the plans submitted were for relatively minor alterations such as new room partitions, however many plans related to completely new buildings or major reconstructions of existing buildings. Most of the plans are signed and dated by the leasee's architects. Not all the proposed new building and alterations contained in the plans were carried out and sometimes this was annotated on the folder or on the plans themselves as well other facts such as the subsequent demolition or sale of the site.

By the mid 19th century churchyards within London were becoming overcrowded, unsanitary and unfit to be used for further burials. Local government therefore looked for suitable unused land outside the spread of the city. The Corporation of London, for example, bought land at Ilford, Essex, for a large cemetery and crematorium. The City of London and Tower Hamlets Company opened its ground to the south of Mile End Road, Stepney, in 1841; the last burial took place in 1966.

The cemetery ground was acquired by the Greater London Council in 1966 and was thereafter managed by the Greater London Council Parks Department; in 1967 and early 1968 the records kept in the cemetery office were transferred to the Greater London Record Office (now the London Metropolian Archives).

The Central Unemployed Body for London was set up under the Unemployed Workmen Act of 1905 (5 Edw. VII c.18) to replace the semi-official organisation known as the London Unemployed Fund established in October 1904 to alleviate some of the distress caused by unemployment. The Act provided for the establishment of a Distress Committee of the Council of every metropolitan borough, by order of the Local Government Board. The Act also provided for the foundation of a Central Body for the administrative county of London, consisting partly of members of and selected by the Distress Committees of the London County Council and partly of coopted members. At least one member of each committee and of the Central Body was to be a woman. The Act also provided for the setting up of Distress Committees in boroughs and urban districts outside London, but the Central Body with its federated structure was unique.

The Central Body derived its funds partly from voluntary subscriptions (mainly provided by the "Queens Unemployment Fund") and partly from rates; expenditure from the latter source being strictly circumscribed. The function of the Distress Committees was to inquire into the conditions of labour in their districts and to receive and sift applications for assistance. The Central Body was empowered to supervise and co-ordinate the work of the Distress Committees, to establish, take over or assist employment exchanges and to help applicants recommended by the Distress Committees by aiding their emigration or migration or by providing or contributing towards the provision of temporary work.

By 1909 the Central Body had 25 employment exchanges distributed throughout London, but these were transferred in 1910 to the Board of Trade under the Labour Exchanges Act 1909 (9 Edw.VII c.7). Work was provided in and around London mainly in parks and open spaces and emigrants were granted loans. Several temporary working colonies were established but the only permanent colony was at Hollesley Bay, Suffolk, which was established by the London Unemployed Fund with the help of Joseph Fells in February 1905 and was taken over by the Central Body. With the outbreak of the 1914 war the Central Body became largely redundant and after the war, owing to lack of funds and support from the government, its work was much reduced. The Unemployed Workmen Organization (London) (Revocation) Order of 1930, made by the Minister of Health, abolished both the Distress Committees and the Central Body and the property, debts and liabilities of the latter were transferred to the London County Council. The Hollesley Bay Colony was administered by the Council in much the same way as by the Central Body until its purchase by the Ministry of Labour in 1937.

In October 1949 the London County Council approved an agreement by which 37 acres of Battersea Park were to be used as Festival Gardens and Fun Fair in connection with the Festival of Britain 1951. The Gardens were to be managed by a limited liability company and the Council was to be represented on the Board of Directors. The company had to rely for capital on loans from the Treasury (maximum £570,000) and from the Council (maximum £200,000). It was guaranteed that the maximum possible loss to the Council would be £40,000.

Attractions included a water-garden, fountains, Tree-Walk (wooden walkways suspended in branches), the Guiness Clock, the Far Tottering and Oyster Creek Branch Railway (a miniature railway), a dance pavilion, and fun fair rides including the Sky Wheel, Water Splash, Bubble-Bounce and a rollercoaster called 'The Big Dipper'. The intention of the Gardens was to recreate the eighteenth century pleasure garden such as those at Vauxhall.

The original Board of Directors for the Festival Gardens Company was appointed by the Festival of Britain Council. The Chairman was Sir Henry French who had been Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Food, and had later worked in the public entertainment world as Director General of the Film Producers' Association. The final Board had only four civil servants from the Festival of Britain Office. In addition there were three representatives of the London County Council, the Chairman of London Transport, one (later three), members of the amusement industry, an eminent horticulturist and a representative of the entertainments world.

Under the Festival Pleasure Gardens Act, 1952, the Council had the right to ask the Minister of Works to exercise his power to discontinue the Gardens after the 1953 season and this was done. In November 1953 the Council agreed that it would accept a transfer of the fixed assets of Festival Gardens, Ltd., together with a payment of £100,000 (subject to adjustment if necessary in respect of the disposal of Festival Gardens Pier) in discharge of the company's liability for the reinstatement of the park. The records of the company were handed over in 1954 and were kept intact until March 1962 when all vouchers, duplicates, and so on were destroyed.

The 1834 Poor Law Act led to improvements in the arrangements made for the education of pauper children. Poor Law Unions, and parishes regulated by local acts, were persuaded to establish schools and to appoint schoolmasters. The policy of separating the children from their parents (who were generally considered to be a bad influence on their children) and sending them, if possible, to the country was continued and in 1866 several Middlesex metropolitan authorities were sending children to schools outside London. The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1844 made possible a further development in this field which was of significance for the metropolitan area. Unions and parishes were empowered to unite and to form a School District which then set up a large separate school for the education of all the indoor pauper children of the constituents of the district. These were usually industrial schools where both boys and girls were taught the basics of a useful trade which, it was hoped, would provide them with better prospects in future.

The Finsbury School District existed only for a few years, between 1868 and 1869. It did not go so far as to construct a school although plans were approved and a site purchased at Upton.

Source of information: Peter Higginbotham at The Workhouse website.

The school and library were founded by Archbishop Tenison in 1697, and were housed in Castle Street, Saint Martin in the Fields. After moving to various temporary premises in Castle Street in 1871, the school occupied its new building in Leicester Square in 1872. The school at Kennington Oval was opened officially in 1928.

Anne, Lady Belasyse was the daughter of John (Pawlet) 5th Marquess of Winchester, and his wife Honora. She was the third wife of John, Baron Belasyse of Worlaby, Lincolnshire. Lord Belasyse died 10 September, 1689, aged 75. Lady Belasyse died in September 1694 and was buried at St. Giles in the Fields.

From information taken from the London County Council's Survey of London, Volume V; The Parish of St. Giles in the Fields (Part II) 1914, the house in Great Queen Street which was known at one time as Bristol House and had been the home of the second Earl of Bristol from the Restoration until about 1671, was purchased by Lord Belasyse in 1684. Shortly afterwards the house was divided into two, to be numbered respectively 55-56 and 57-58 Great Queen Street. The first four occupants of the eastern half (nos. 57-58) were the Earl of Wiltshire, the Earl of Stamford, Henry, Viscount Montagu and the Portuguese envoy. It later was demolished and the site became part of the Freemason's Hall.

The Survey of London, quoting the will of Lord Belasyse, that "prior to 1689" the portion of Bristol House which became nos. 55-56 Great Queen Street had been occupied by Henry Howard, 7th Duke of Norfolk: "His residence {there} must have fallen in the period 1684-1689. Subsequently it was occupied by Thomas Stonor who had married the Hon. Isabella Belasyse, daughter of Lord Belasyse, to whom her father had bequeathed this portion of the original house; Stonor is shown in occupation in 1698 ..." Lady Belasyse must have occupied the house from her husband's death in 1689 until her own death in 1694.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bittacy House stood at the southeastern end of the Ridgeway, at the top of Bittacy Hill. It was a plain stuccoed villa, which was demolished in 1950.

John Barton (1789-1852) was a Quaker merchant of Chichester, Sussex, who, in 1811, married Ann the daughter of Thomas Woodrouffe Smith of Stockwell Park, Lambeth. On his marriage he was made a trustee of Thomas Woodrouffe Smith's estate under his will and subsequent settlement {ACC/1246/048}.

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

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

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

Watney, Combe, Reid and Co Ltd was formed in 1898 when a merger was negotiated between Watney and Co Ltd of the Stag Brewery, Pimlico; Combe and Co Ltd of the Wood Yard Brewery, Long Acre and Reid's Brewery Co Ltd, of the Griffin Brewery, Clerkenwell. Following the merger the company was the largest brewing concern in the United Kingdom, and was based at Watney's Stag Brewery in Pimlico.

In 1953 Watney purchased (jointly with Beecham Group Ltd) the franchise for Coca-Cola in south and northwest England, setting up Coca-Cola Southern Bottlers Ltd in 1956.

In 1956 it was decided that the Stag Brewery offered no further scope for expansion. Mann, Crossman and Paulin Ltd of Whitechapel was acquired to provide a new London brewery, and its name was changed to Watney Mann Ltd.

In 1962 the trading assets of Watney Mann Ltd were transferred to Watney, Combe, Reid and Co Ltd and it became a holding company. In 1972 Watney Mann was acquired by Grand Metropolitan Hotels and was merged with Truman, Hanbury, Buxton and Co Ltd in 1974. In the 1990s it was Watney Mann and Truman (Holdings) Ltd.

On 23rd December 1306 Edward I granted a market and fair to the prioress and nuns of Saint Helen's London. Both priory and market came into the hands of the Crown at the dissolution and King James VI and I ordered the extinguishment of the market and fair. However, for some years Jerome Hawley and then James Hawley carried on the market illegally on a parcel of ground in West Brentford, situated between a messuage belonging to James Hawley called the Three Pigeons and another messuage owned by William Payne and occupied by Richard Bodicot. Both men went to great expense to erect stalls and market buildings much to the benefit of inhabitants.

The Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway Company was incorporated on 6 August 1860, and the line opened on 23 September 1868. It ran between Aylesbury and Verney Junction. A planned extension to Buckingham was never completed.

In 1891 the Metropolitan Railway Company acquired the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway Company and used its line as a northern extension of the Metropolitan Railway.

The Baker Street and Waterloo Railway was constructed by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited. The line opened in March 1906 running between Baker Street and Lambeth North, and was later extended to Elephant and Castle. The line was soon given the nickname 'Bakerloo', a contraction of Baker and Waterloo; which became so popular that the official name of the line was changed in 1906. By 1913 the line was extended to interchange with Marylebone, Paddington and Edgware Road stations.

The area of Earls Court was largely rural hamlet until the construction of the railway station of the same name. What had been farmland became waste-ground between four separate railways lines. In 1887 an entrepreneur called John Robinson Whitley had the idea of transforming this derelict ground into an entertainment venue, establishing spectaculars such as Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, a Great Wheel similar to the London Eye, and annual exhibitions. The managing company was known as Earls Court Limited.

After war broke out in 1914 the grounds were closed; Earls Court Limited surrendered their lease and went into liquidation. Earls Court Grounds Limited was incorporated in December 1914 and entered into agreements with the liquidated Earls Court Limited and the Metropolitan District Railway Company for taking over the lease of the grounds. The chair of the company was Mr Murray Griffith, a member of the board of the Metropolitan District Railway Company, and the registered office was the Earls Court Administration Offices on Lillie Road. One of the first items noted in the mintues is that the land had been let to the Local Government Board for the erection of temporary housing for Belgian war refugees. After 1919 the London General Omnibus Company used the area as a depot. In 1934 a notice in the minute book states that the company were surrendering the premises to the lessors - "the Metropolitan District Railway Company, now vested in the London Passenger Transport Board" - and as the LPTB were taking over the business of the company it was now defunct.

It was not until 1935 that a suggestion was made to use the space for an exhibition and event centre. A new company, also called Earls Court Limited was established under the chairmanship of Sir Ralph Glyn, director of the London Midland and Scottish Railway Company. The prospectus for the company states that it was formed to acquire from the London Passenger Transport Board a 99 year lease of the Earls Court Exhibition Grounds, for the purpose of erecting modern buildings designed for letting to producers of entertainments and exhibitions (see The Times, Monday, Jul 22, 1935; pg. 20; Issue 47122; col A). The centre was opened in 1937 - the first show was the Chocolate and Confectionery exhibition.

For more information and photographs of development see http://www.eco.co.uk/p/earls-court/21 (accessed Sept 2011).

The Hounslow and Metropolitan Railway Company was formed in 1880, operating a railway between the Metropolitan District Railway's Mill Hill Park Station (near Acton) and Hounslow. The line was later incorporated into the District Line, and in 1933 became part of the Piccadilly Line.

The Kingston and London Railway Company were established in 1881 with the authority to construct a line running between the Metropolitan District Railway Company's Fulham Station to Wimbledon. In 1882 the undertaking and liabilities of the Company were transferred to a joint committee of the London and South Western Railway and the Metropolitan District Railway. The branch is now part of the District Line.

The East Surrey Traction Company was incepted in 1911 by Arthur Henry Hawkins. The first service ran between Reigate and Redhill but operations expanded rapidly and by 1914 twelve vehicles were serving destinations between Sevenoaks and Caterham. An association was formed with the London General Omnibus Company Limited {LGOC} and by 1923 East Surrey was working more LGOC buses than its own and had changed its company livery from blue to LGOC red.

Throughout its time East Surrey kept careful control of its territory - rival operators were quickly bought out or allowed to fail and the company became the most significant operator in the whole of the area that came to be termed 'London country'.

On 12 June 1929 the LGOC secured control of East Surrey. In its new guise as London General Country Services, the company took over operation of country services north of London as well on 1 March 1932. However, the East Surrey livery virtually disappeared when the London Passenger Transport Board came into being on 1 July 1933.

The Compagnie General des Omnibus de Londres was an Anglo-French company founded in 1855 to operate horse drawn bus services in London. In 1859 the company changed its name to the London General Omnibus Company (LGOC), using the fleet name 'General'. Before the LGOC bus services in London consisted of hundreds of independently owned buses; which the company proceeded to buy out. By the end of their first year of operations the LGOC owned 600 of 810 buses operating in London.

Between 1902 and 1905 the company began to use motorized vehicles. Horse drawn bus services ended in 1911. In 1912 the Company was bought by the London Underground group, and with them became part of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933.

When the companies operating underground railways began to electrify them it was necessary for them to generate their own power as there was no National Grid. In 1897 the Metropolitan District Railway obtained permission to build a coal fuelled power station at Lots Road, at the junction of the Thames and Chelsea Creek. The station was completed by 1905. It provided most of the electricity needed by the London Underground and the tram networks, but was closed in 2002 when it became cheaper to purchase electricity than generate it.

In 1929 the London County Council tramways, the Underground railways and the London General Omnibus Company proposed to coordinate their services. It was not until 1933, however, that the London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) was established by law. During the Second World War the government assumed control of the LPTB, and remained in charge until 1947.

The LPTB became the London Transport Executive (LTE) in 1948, under the Transport Act 1947. The LTE was publicy owned and was part of the British Transport Commission, which also ran British Rail. In 1963, under the 1962 Transport Act, the London Transport Executive became the London Transport Board, reporting to the Minister of Transport. The company continued to use the name "London Transport" in public, as it had done since 1933.

The LTE was mainly responsible for the repair and reconstruction of Tube stations and lines damaged during the Second World War. The Central line was completed and the entire Tube network fully electrified during this period. The LTE also oversaw the removal of all trams and trolleybuses from London and the introduction of the "Routemaster" bus.

The Northern Line extension to Morden and the station there were constructed in 1926 by the City and South London Railway. The company obtained permission to open a garage opposite the station where commuters could leave their cars and then contine their journey by tube. They also offered minor repairs and sold petrol. The right of the company to establish such undertakings was debated in Parliament - while the need to encourage measures to reduce traffic congestion in London was acknowledged, running garages was considered too far outside the remit of the company and a threat to local small business and futher such undertakings were discouraged.

The Watford Joint Railway Committee was a joint undertaking of the Metropolitan Railway Company and the London North Eastern Railway Company. It was formed to construct a branch of the Metropolitan Railway to Watford, now part of the London Underground Metropolitan Line.

The Metropolitan Railway Company was responsible for the construction of the world's first underground passenger railway. Work began on the line in 1860, running from Paddington to King's Cross and then on to Farringdon Street. The first trial journey was held in 1862, with the line opened to the public in January 1863. The railway proved popular and extensions were constructed, the first being to Hammersmith by 1864 and Moorgate by 1865. In 1905 an electric service was introduced. In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway was taken over by the London Passenger Transport Board.

A brewery is said to have existed in Isleworth since the early eighteenth century. The brewery, situated on St John's Road, Isleworth, passed through various owners until it was acquired by William Farnell in 1800, thereafter it remained in the Farnell family. In 1866 William, son of William Farnell Watson, changed the company name to Isleworth Brewery Limited. In 1920 the company amalgamated with Sich and Co. (brewers) and in 1924 the enlarged company was taken over by Watney, Combe, Reid and Co Ltd.

Abstract of title is a summary of prior ownership of a property, drawn up by solicitors. Such an abstract may go back several hundred years or just a few months, and was usually drawn up just prior to a sale.

A debenture was a certificate or voucher certifying that a sum of money is owing to the person designated in it.

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

Constituency changes: The county of Middlesex formerly returned two members of parliament for the undivided county. In 1885 seven parliamentary divisions were formed for the county. One of these was the parliamentary division of Ealing. The MP elected to represent the new division was Lord George Hamilton, who had previously been one of the two county MP's. In 1918 the parliamentary borough of Ealing was formed (the municipal borough had come into existence in 1901) and remained relatively unchanged until 1915 when the Ealing East and Ealing West constituencies were carved out of it. Further changes in 1948 replaced these with Ealing North and Ealing South. Later constituency changes are outside the period covered by the records. From 1906-1931 Ealing was represented in parliament by Herbert (later Sir Herbert) Nield, a Conservative. He was followed by Sir Frank Anderson, likewise Conservative, who represented Ealing until 1945 and Ealing East until 1950, and Angus Maude, Conservative, who represented Ealing South from 1950.

Local Conservative Association: It has not been possible to discover the date of the foundation of a Conservative Association in Ealing, but the evidence of the first surviving minute book {ACC/1338/1} shows that the District Conservative and Unionist Association was well established by 1915. The changes in constituencies caused changes in the name of the association. The association, before 1919, was known as the Ealing District Conservative and Unionist Association which endured until 1945. Ealing East Conservative and Unionist Association and then Ealing South Conservative and Unionist Association followed the changes in constituency boundaries of the post war years. The main work of the association was carried out by an executive committee meeting monthly. A general committee later known as the council met infrequently, usually immediately before the Annual General Meeting. A variety of minor or sub-committees dealt with finance, social matters, politics and propaganda, all reporting back to the executive committee.

The constituency was divided into wards, which over the period covered by the records, varied in number from six to nine, i.e. Drayton Ward, Castlebar Ward, Mount Park Ward, Brent Valley Ward, Lammas Ward, Manor Ward, Grange Ward, Greenford and Perivale Ward and Grosvenor Ward. Each ward had its committee usually meeting monthly. Two of these wards are represented in the records. Young people over the age of 16 were catered for politically by the Junior Imperial League, a national body founded in 1906. A junior branch of the Ealing Association replaced this in 1945 and was itself replaced by the Young Conservatives formed in 1948. The women's section of the association were responsible in the 1930's for organising groups on a ward basis, known as Young Britons. Children under the age of 16 made up the membership of these groups and many moved on later to become Junior Imperialists.

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

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

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

David Brown died in Delhi, India, on the 11th of February 1887.

Tower Hamlets consisted of certain parishes, hamlets and liberties which were outside the jurisdiction of the City of London, but within the liberties of the Tower of London and its Constable or Lieutenant, and included Hackney, Norton Folgate, Shoreditch, Spitalfields, Whitechapel, East Smithfield, St. Katherine's, Wapping, Ratcliffe, Shadwell, Limehouse, Poplar, Blackwall, Bromley, Old Ford, Mile End, and Bethnal Green.

The Duke of Wellington was Lord Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets and Constable of the Tower from 1826 to 1852. James Whiskin was made a J.P. for Middlesex, 16 Nov 1835, at which time he was living in Ashby Street, Clerkenwell and owned property in Conington, Cambridgeshire by which he qualified. He later lived in St Mary's Road, Canonbury Park, Islington. Nothing further is known about him.

Mrs Parnel Seaton was a widow at the time these papers were made, and lived for a time on the island of St Christopher, West Indies before returning to England. One of the letters concerns the winding up of her affairs in St Christopher, including the selling of her slaves.

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

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

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

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

A marriage settlement was a legal agreement drawn up before a marriage by the two parties, setting out terms with respect to rights of property and succession.

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

The Manor of Isleworth Syon has always been considered as coterminous with the hundred of Isleworth and included the parishes of Isleworth, Twickenham and Heston. At the time of the Domesday survey, in 1086, the manor was in the hands of Walter de St Valery, having been granted to him by William the Conqueror as a reward for his support during the conquest of England. The family retained possession of the manor until 1227 when it escheated to the crown.

In 1229 a full grant of the manor was made by Henry III to his brother, Richard, Earl of Cornwall, whose son Edward inherited it in 1272. In 1301, Edward's widow Margaret was assigned the manor by Edward I as part of her dower, but it reverted to the crown on her death in 1312.

The manor was eventually granted for life by Edward III to his wife Queen Philippa in 1330. The reversion was included in a grant of lands to Edward, Duke of Cornwall, in 1337. In 1390 Queen Anne the wife of Richard II was given a life interest in the manor. Henry V held the manor, as Prince of Wales, but when king, separated the manor from the duchy of Cornwall by Act of Parliament in 1421 in order to bestow it upon his newly founded convent of Syon. It remained as part of the convent's possessions until the dissolution in 1539 when it fell into the hands of the Crown and was added to the Honour of Hampton Court. In 1604 James I granted the manor to Henry, Earl of Northumberland, in whose family it remained.

One notable event in the later history of the manor occurred in 1656. In that year articles of agreement were drawn up between Algernon, Earl of Northumberland, lord of the manor of Isleworth Syon, and Sir Thomas Ingram and other principal copyhold tenants. These articles established certain of the customs of the manor on a firm basis. Fines and heriots were to be certain and not arbitrary, at the will of the lord. The tenure of customary and was to be by Borough English, whereby the youngest son of a copy holder inherited on the death of his father. These articles were signed on 20 May 1656 and were confirmed by a decree in Chancery, 28 June 1656. (see ACC/1379/330 and partial transcript in History of Syon and Isleworth by G. Aungier p.206) A printed tract called Isleworth Syon's Peace was to be published in 1657 and according to Aungier was to be placed in the Isleworth parish chest. He also refers to a copy in the British Museum. London Metropolitan Archives possesses a copy amongst the archives of the Earl of Jersey.

The manors of Worton and Aystones referred to in ACC/1379/12 originated in two freehold estates in the manor of Isleworth and were both connected with the Eyston Family. Together with other lands they were granted by Henry V to the Abbess and convent of Syon. (see Aungier, p. 212)

In the medieval period the manor of East Bedfont was held by the de Windsor family. From 1542 it was held by the Crown as part of the lands they owned around Windsor. The manor was customarily leased by both the de Windsors and the Crown. Tenants included the Trinitarian Priory at Hounslow, Lord Berkeley, and from 1656 the Earls of Northumberland.

The Mayfield Athletic Club was founded in 1925, and included both cricket and football sections. Events were held at the neighbouring Hazelwood sports ground, Edmonton. Tennis, netball and social sections were developed later. In 1954, the club boasted a membership of around two hundred drawn mainly from Edmonton, Enfield and Tottenham. In 1947 the club was self-supported enough to contemplate purchasing the freehold of the club house and grounds at Kenmare Gardens. However, in 1955, due to later mortgage difficulties, the premises were purchased by Edmonton Borough Council who granted the club a twenty-one year lease.

The collection relates to the land holdings of Benjamin Eager of Old Brentford, a gardener, and his wife Mary.

The collection includes the will of Alexander Macmillan, brother of David Macmillan (1813-1857), bookseller and publisher. In 1843 David opened a shop in Aldersgate Street, City of London and soon after took over an established business in Trinity Street, Cambridge. The two brothers were partners and for a time Alexander ran the shop in Aldersgate Street.

The collection also includes the will of Sir James Thomas Knowles, K.C.V.O., knighted in 1903, editor of the very successful Nineteenth Century, a literary periodical review which started in 1877. He also founded the Metaphysical Society, 1869-1881, and edited the Contemporary Review from 1870 to 1877. As a result of his achievements in the literary world he gained the friendship of Tennyson. By profession an architect, he designed the Thatched House Club, St. James, 1865 and laid out Leicester Square for Albert Grant in 1874.

Watney, Combe, Reid and Co Ltd was formed in 1898 when a merger was negotiated between Watney and Co Ltd of the Stag Brewery, Pimlico; Combe and Co Ltd of the Wood Yard Brewery, Long Acre and Reid's Brewery Co Ltd, of the Griffin Brewery, Clerkenwell. Following the merger the company was the largest brewing concern in the United Kingdom, and was based at Watney's Stag Brewery in Pimlico.

The Stag Brewhouse and Brewery, Pimlico, was founded in 1636 by John Greene and his son Sir William Greene. In 1837 James Watney, a miller, bought a quarter share in the Stag Brewery, alongside John Elliot. From 1849 the firm was known as Elliot, Watney and Co. John Elliot withdrew from the business in 1850, remaining a partner in name only until 1858 when he retired. The firm became known as James Watney and Co. In 1885 Watney and Co Ltd was registered as a limited liability company.

Combe and Co Ltd was founded in 1722 by John Shackley in a former timber yard off Long Acre, London. In 1739 the business was acquired by William Gyfford who enlarged the premises, trading as Gyfford and Co. In 1787 the brewery was purchased by Harvey Christian Combe, a malt factor, but it was not until 1839 that the firm began to trade as Combe and Co. The Wood Yard Brewery closed in 1905 but the Combe family continued to take a major role in the management of Watney, Combe, Reid and Co Ltd.

In 1757 Richard Meux and Mungo Murray acquired the Jackson's Brewery in Mercer Street. When this was damaged in a major fire they constructed new premises at Liquorpond Street (now Clerkenwell Road). In 1793 Andrew Reid joined the business which became known as Meux, Reid and Co. In 1816 the Meux family left the business which changed its name to Reid and Co. The company was registered in 1888 as Reid's Brewery Co Ltd. On the merger with Watney and Combe it ceased to brew.

In 1956 Watney, Combe, Reid and Co Ltd decided that the Stag Brewery offered no further scope for expansion. Mann, Crossman and Paulin Ltd of Whitechapel was acquired to provide a new London brewery, and the company name was changed to Watney Mann Ltd.

The Isleworth Brewery, St John's Road, Isleworth, passed through various owners until it was acquired by William Farnell in 1800, thereafter it remained in the Farnell family. In 1886 it was incorporated as a limited liability company; and acquired Sich and Co Ltd of Chiswick. In 1923 it was acquired by Watney, Combe, Reid and Co Ltd.

The Sessions Book for 13 February 1798 (MJ/SB/B/0456) confirms that a Sarah Evans was indicted, tried and found guilty of petty larceny and sentenced to transportation. Unfortunately the corresponding Sessions Roll is incomplete, containing no trace of her indictment. A Sarah Evans was also involved with Thomas Aris, keeper of the House of Correction, Cold Bath Fields, in an enquiry relating to her child by him (MA/G/GEN.458).

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

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

Edgware Boys manor originates in a grant to the Order of St John of Jerusalem. The order are recorded as holding lands as tenants of the Manor of Edgware in 1277. In 1397 the first mention of a separate manor of Boys appears in a terrier document. After the Dissolution the manor was granted to Sir John Williams and Anthony Stringer, but they alienated it to Henry Page of Harrow. Henry's son sold it to John Scudamore in 1631, and it was then sold to Lord Coventry in 1637. The Coventry family sold it to William Lee of Totteridge Park in 1762. It remained in the Lee family until 1866, thereafter the descent is unclear.

From: 'Edgware: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 155-157 (available online).

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

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

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

Abstract of title is a summary of prior ownership of a property, drawn up by solicitors. Such an abstract may go back several hundred years or just a few months, and was usually drawn up just prior to a sale.

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

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

William George Lobjoit, 1859-1939, was owner of Osterley Park Farm and chairman of W.J. Lobjoit and Son, Ltd., (market gardeners). He represented Heston Electoral Division from 1907 until his election as County Alderman in 1919, remaining in office until his death. He was also chairman and/or member of various committees.

Members of the Pyne family mentioned in these documents include Francis Pyne of Codham Hall, Essex; Reverend William Masters Pyne, rector of Oxted, Surrey, and his sons; and Jasper Richard Masters Pyne of Ballyvolane, Ireland.

An 'indenture' was a deed or agreement between two or more parties. Two or more copies were written out, usually on one piece of parchment or paper, and then cut in a jagged or curvy line, so that when brought together again at any time, the two edges exactly matched and showed that they were parts of one and the same original document. A 'right hand indenture' is therefore the copy of the document which was on the right hand side when the parchment was cut in two.

A bargain and sale was an early form of conveyance often used by executors to convey land. The bargainee, or person to whom the land was bargained and sold, took possession, often referred to as becoming 'seised' of the land.

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