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The company existed from at least 1333 when it produced a book of ordinances, a copy of which is held by The National Archives. Further ordinances were drawn up in 1455, 1487 and 1607 (the Manuscripts Section of Guildhall Library has a copy of the 1607 ordinances, the original of which is retained by the company). The company received a grant of arms in 1466 (again the Manuscripts Section has a copy of the original at Carpenters' Hall) and charters in 1477, 1558, 1560, 1607, 1640, 1674, 1686 and 1944 (the Section has copies of the charters of 1560, 1607, 1674 and 1686, while the charters from 1607 are held at the Hall).

The Company's activities include management of the Building Crafts Training School, providing bursaries for carpentry education, and the running of almshouses in Godalming and Rustington Convalescent Home.

The company has used a hall on London Wall from 1429, which was bequeathed to the company in 1481. The hall was rebuilt in 1876-80 and 1960. The company, from 1622 until ca. 1625, also leased a timber wharf at Whitefriars (see Mss 4328 and 4333).

A Carman was a man a carter or carrier. In 1514 the Fraternity of St Katherine the Virgin and Martyr was formed giving the Carmen a monopoly of plying for hire in the City. They became an independent fellowship in 1668 by an act of Common Council and in 1946 received their charter from George VI. The Carmen were originally carriers of goods, but are now concerned with all aspects of the transport industry. The Company maintains a special relationship with the Royal Corps of Transport.

A guild of butchers was first mentioned in 1179/80, but no reference definitely links this guild with the later mediaeval mistery of butchers. Entries in the City of London Corporation's Letter Book D (held with the records of the City of London Corporation) show binding of apprentices and admission of freemen (both named) for 1309-11. Despite its early existence, the Butchers' Company is 24th in livery company precedence. The Butchers' Company's first charter was granted in 1605. A further charter in 1637 gave the court power to fine any person trading as a butcher in the City and within 2 miles of it, who was not free of the company.

The predominant membership of the company has continued to be persons connected with the butchery trade. The first hall was the parsonage house of St Nicholas Shambles which was destroyed in the Great Fire. Thereafter the company decided to build on their freehold land in Pudding Lane. The second hall, built there in 1668, was destroyed by fire in 1829 and replaced by a hall in Eastcheap whose site was bought by the Metropolitan and District Railways in 1883. The company then bought new premises in Bartholomew Close near Smithfield Market. The hall there was bombed in 1944 and a new hall opened in 1960.

The makers of brown bread, known as brown bakers, were members of the Bakers' Company until they were granted their own charter, in 1621. They had been meeting in the basement of Founders' Hall, in Lothbury, since 1594 and only ended this arrangement in 1654, when it appears that they were being drawn back into the orbit of the Bakers' Company. This reunion was formally recognised in the charter of 1685.

The company was in existence from at least the 14th century, although no records of the company, other than title deeds, exist before the early 16th century. The company's first charter was granted by Elizabeth I in 1562 and a grant of arms was made in 1558. The company received further charters in 1609 and 1686, as well as ordinances in 1562, 1582, 1609 and 1710. In the 14th century the company had absorbed the Tapissers', or tapestry makers', Company, although no original records of this company survive.

The company's hall was at Gutter Lane, off Cheapside, in the City of London and appears to have been used from the early 16th century. The Hall was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, rebuilt and again totally destroyed inthe Second World War. In 1957 the company sold the Hall under a compulsory purchase order. The modern Company supports the Royal School of Needlework.

The Company was incorporated by royal charter in 1437/8, although it appears to have existed in some form from the 13th century. The Company received a grant of arms in 1469. The Company certainly had a hall in Addle Street in the City of London (leased from the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral) from at least 1403. This building was destroyed in the Great Fire, and the Company's Second Hall built in 1673 was destroyed in World War Two. The present hall in Aldermanbury Square was completed in 1960.

Records of Dame Alice Owen's Charity: In 1609 Dame Alice Owen conveyed almshouses, situated by St John Street (which she had founded for ten poor widows of Islington) to the Brewers' Company. Four years later she founded a school for 30 boys in Islington next to the almshouses. Again, she entrusted the administration of the school to the Brewers' Company, which still retains close links. The almshouses were taken down in 1879-80 to make way for a new playground for the expanding school. A girls' school was added in 1886, and the two combined on its present site in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire in 1973.

Records of John Baker's almshouses: The charity established by the will of John Baker (d. 1818) provided for the establishment of six almshouses, which were built on Mile End Road.

Records of Richard Platt's charity: In 1596 Richard Platt, proprietor of the Old Swan brewery in the parish of St James Garlickhithe and twice Master of the Brewers' Company, obtained letters patent of Elizabeth I to found six almshouses and a grammar school in Aldenham, Hertfordshire. In 1599, the year before Platt's death, they were conveyed to the Brewers' Company. The school was for two centuries just a local village school with very few pupils, based in the master's house. It grew considerably in the 19th century. The Brewers' Company still plays an active role in the running of the school. For further information see R J Evans, The History and Register of Aldenham School, Aylesbury 1969.

The earliest reference to the company is in 1371 when an agreement with the Fletchers established the two crafts (of bow making and arrow making) as independent. In 1488 they received a grant of arms. The Bowyers were granted a charter on 25 May 1621. Although the trade of bow making has disappeared, the Company continues to support archery. The company had a hall in Noble Street until the 1630s.

The Blacksmiths' Company derived from the medieval Fraternity of St Eligius (alias Eloy). In 1571, the Company united with the Spurriers' Company and was granted its first charter. Their jurisdiction encompassed not only the blacksmiths' trade but also the manufacture of spurs and the pulling of teeth. In the 1620s, the Company struggled to exercise its powers over the clockmakers who had emerged from its ranks and eventually set out to found their own Company. The Hall stood in Lambeth Hill between 1494 and 1666. It was rebuilt after the Great Fire and the lease was eventually surrendered in 1785.

The Fraternity of St Eligius (alias St Loye) was established in April 1424 by members of the crafts of blacksmiths, farriers and loriners, and its first masters were representatives from each of the founding crafts. All three were by then well established: the loriners had first obtained ordinances in 1260/1, the farriers in 1356 and the blacksmiths in 1372. The ordinances of the Fraternity of St Eligius [in GL Ms 5535] indicate that it was predominantly a social and religious body with less emphasis on trade control. The Fraternity met at Grey Friars (the Franciscan monastery on Newgate Street) on the feast of St John the Baptist, and again at the church of St Thomas Apostle on St Andrew's day. Members were expected to offer a penny on each occasion. There was a 'common box' into which brethren paid 2d per quarter and sisters 1d. Foreigners had to pay 6s 8d to join the brotherhood. Members received the clothing after two years and were exhorted to keep it honestly 'and give it not away'. Impoverished members might receive a weekly allowance, and deaths were marked with a dirge and a mass. New masters and wardens were chosen at a feast on the Sunday following St Eligius' day (1 December). They had power to resolve disputes and correct defaults, and were required to keep accounts and care for the goods of the Fraternity.

The Worshipful Company of Basketmakers of the City of London was constituted by the Court of Aldermen in 1569 to regulate and control basketmaking in the City of London, although there are earlier references to the craft. A grant of a livery of thirty was obtained in 1825, and a Royal Charter was granted by King George VI in 1937.

The Company received their first charter in 1462. Its members practised barbery (hair cutting and shaving), surgery, bone setting, tooth drawing, bleeding, and the cure of minor maladies. In the 18th century, in accordance with the fashion of the day, barbers also became skilled wig makers. The Fellowship of Surgeons joined with the Company under the provisions of an act of Parliament of 1540 and separated from it again in 1745. Thus the Company was unusual in being governed by both charter and act of Parliament.

Until 1745, the Company took an active part in the development of the surgeon's profession. An anatomy theatre was established at the Hall and the Company was allowed to appoint lecturers in surgery. The Hall is situated in Monkwell Street and the most recent building on the site was opened in 1969.

A fraternity of bakers has existed since the 12th century (first mentioned in 1155) and was first granted a charter in 1486. Its members included the bakers of bread, cakes and confectionery. For a brief period in the 17th century, the makers of brown bread, known as brown bakers, attained a separate corporate identity. They were again recognised as part of the Company under the terms of the charter of 1685. Until 1805 the Company had powers to punish bakers who did not meeting trading standards.

The Company had a Hall for a few years in Dowgate, before moving to a site in Harp Lane. The Hall in Harp Lane was destroyed in 1666 and again in 1940; on the last occasion it was rebuilt and reopened in 1963. The Bakers' Company almshouses were funded by contributions from the Court and livery. A site was purchased on the Hackney Road in 1828. The almshouses were demolished in 1931.

The Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers was incorporated by royal charter in 1453 as the "Fraternity or Guild of St George of the Men of the Mystery of Armourers of our City of London", although it was certainly in existence from the early 14th century. Various other Companies were absorbed during their history, including helmet makers (the Heamers Company), armour repairers (the Fourters Company), the Bladesmiths Company and workers in copper and brass.

The Company leased a hall in Coleman Street in the City of London from 1346 and purchased this site in 1428. This hall survived the Great Fire, was rebuilt in 1840 and again survived damage during World War Two. The Armourers and Brasiers' Company had almshouses in Camden Avenue, Camberwell.

The Worshipful Company of Actuaries was formed on 6 March 1979. Its members are qualified actuaries who deal with problems involving finance and probabilities. They are involved in all forms of insurance, pensions arrangements and investment.

Worship Street runs between City Road and Bishopsgate in the City of London. There was a Baptist Church on Worship Street which might have run this Sunday School.

Thomas Wormald was born in Pentonville, in 1802. He was educated at Batley Grammar School in Yorkshire, and afterwards by the Rev W Heald, Vicar of Bristol. He was apprenticed to John Abernethy in 1818. He visited schools in Paris and saw the surgical practice of Dupuytren, Roux, Larrey, Cloquet, Cruveithier, and Velpeau. He became House Surgeon to William Lawrence in 1824. He became Demonstrator of Anatomy in 1826, and held the post for fifteen years. He was elected Assistant Surgeon to St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1838, and spent the next 23 years teaching in the out-patient department. He became full Surgeon in 1861, and was obliged to resign under the age rule in 1867, when he was elected Consulting Surgeon. He was Consulting Surgeon to the Foundling Hospital from 1843-1864, where his kindness to the children was so highly appreciated that he received the special thanks of the Court of Management and was complimented by being elected a Governor. At the Royal College of Surgeons he was a Member of Council from 1840-1867; Hunterian Orator in 1857; a Member of the Court of Examiners from1858-1868; Chairman of the Midwifery Board in 1864; Vice-President in 1863 and 1864; and was elected President in 1865. He died in 1873.

Born 1947; educated Eton College, Balliol College Oxford (matriculated 1966); studied under the supervision of the leading medievalist, Professor Michael Wallace Hadrill; elected to All Soul's Oxford, 1969; Lecturer in Medieval History at Glasgow University, 1974-1988; Fellow of Christ Church, Oxford, 1988-2000; studied Venerable Bede and later and most significantly, King Alfred and his law codes; died 2004.
Publications include: The making of English law: King Alfred to the twelfth century (Oxford, 1999); Bede and the conversion of England (Jarrow, 1984).

Francis Wormald was born on 1 June 1904. He was educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge. From 1927 to 1949 he served as Assistant Keeper at the Department of Manuscripts at the British Museum. During the Second World War Wormald served in the Ministry of Home Security, producing Civil Defence training films. He was Professor of Paleography at the University of London between 1950 and 1960. In 1960 he was appointed Professor of History and Director of the Institute of Historical Research (IHR). Wormald was a member of the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton University, USA, from 1955 until 1956; the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments in 1957; the Advisory Council on Public Records from 1965 to 1967 and President of the Society of Antiquaries from 1965 to 1970. In 1967 he became a Trustee of the British Museum and Governor of the London Museum in 1971. His major publications include English Kalendars before AD 1100 (1934); English Benedictine Kalendars after 1100 (2 volumes, 1939 and 1946) and English Drawings of the 10th and 11th Centuries (1952). He also contributed articles to Archaelogia, Antiquaries Journal and the Walpole Society. He was appointed Honorary Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1961 and awarded a CBE in 1969. He died on 11 January 1972.

Born, 1904; educated Eton School, 1918-1922, Magdalene College, Cambridge, 1922-1925; Assistant Keeper in the Department of Manuscripts, British Museum, 1927; first Professor of Palaeography at King's College London, 1949-1960; Fellow of King's College London, 1964; Director of the Institute of Historical Research, 1960-1968; Fellow of the British Academy, 1948; President of the Society of Antiquaries, 1965-1970; helped set up the Palaeography reading room at the University of London Senate House; married cousin Honoria Mary Rosamund Yeo in 1935; died 1972.

Francis Wormald was born on 1 June 1904. He was educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge. From 1927 to 1949 he served as Assistant Keeper at the Department of Manuscripts at the British Museum. During the Second World War Wormald served in the Ministry of Home Security, producing Civil Defence training films. He was Professor of Paleography at the University of London between 1950 and1960. In 1960 he was appointed Professor of History and Director of the Institute of Historical Research (IHR). Wormald was a member of the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton University, USA, from 1955 until 1956; the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments in 1957; the Advisory Council on Public Records from 1965 to 1967 and President of the Society of Antiquaries from 1965 to 1970. In 1967 he became a Trustee of the British Museum and Governor of the London Museum in 1971. His major publications include English Kalendars before AD 1100 (1934); English Benedictine Kalendars after 1100 (2 volumes, 1939 and 1946) and English Drawings of the 10th and 11th Centuries (1952). He also contributed articles to Archaelogia, Antiquaries Journal and the Walpole Society. He was appointed Honorary Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1961 and awarded a CBE in 1969. He died on 11 January 1972.

The Organisation originated as the International Society of Gastroenterology, founded at the First International Congress of Gasteroenterology in Brussels, 1935; the Society was reconstituted as the Organisation Mondiale de Gastroentérologie or World Organisation of Gastroenterology at a joint meeting with various related American Societies in Washington DC, 1958.

World Media Forum is a platform for the discussion of a variety of international news topics attended by members of the world's media and held (annually ?) in different parts of the world. This particular event was held in Zurich in 1999.

The World Markets Company (also known as the WM Company) provide investment administration and pension fund performance measurement services, based in Edinburgh. Established in 1967 within the computer division of Wood, Mackenzie and Company, who initially operated as stockbrokers but now provide research services about the energy industry, it became a separate company in 1984. It became a subsidiary of Banker's Trust in 1987.

Source of information: http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/edinburgh-firm-is-coy-about-identity-of-investor-worth-several-billion-pounds-wm-company-lands-big-fish-1.425820 and http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-4805160.html [accessed 18 May 2010].

This company was established as the World Marine Insurance Company in 1894, at 21 Finch Lane, for the business of marine, fire and accident insurance in London. It changed its name in 1914 by which time its offices were at 3-4 Royal Exchange Buildings. It became a subsidiary of Northern Assurance Company in 1920 which in turn merged with Commercial Union in 1968.

The World Jewish Congress (WJC), is an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. Its headquarters are in New York City, USA; its research institute is located in Jerusalem. It maintains international offices in Paris, France, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Geneva, Switzerland and most recently, Miami, Florida.

The WJC includes Jewish organizations from across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Israel and the Pacific. It attempts to build consensus between different Jewish groups of varying political and religious orientations; it works to act as a diplomatic envoy for the worldwide Jewish community. It is a Zionist organization, strongly supporting the State of Israel.

In 1951, Nahum Goldmann, then president of the WJC, cofounded the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany -the Claims Conference, as a body to engage the German government in negotiations for material compensation for Jewish victims of Nazi persecution. The World Jewish Congress designate two members to the Board of Directors of the Conference.

In 1992 the WJC established the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) as an organization for the restitution of Jewish property in the rest of Europe (outside Germany). It has been active in the claims against Swiss banks.

In 2000 the World Jewish Congress shaped the policy debate about looted art by criticizing museums for waiting for artworks to be claimed by Holocaust victims instead of publicly announcing that they have suspect items.

The WJC is involved in inter-faith dialogue with Christian and Muslim groups. One of its major new programmes is concerned with the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab lands.

According to their own constitution, the World Jewish Congress is a voluntary association of representative Jewish bodies, communities and organisations throughout the world, organised to assure the survival and to foster the unity of the Jewish people. Its origins lie in the immediate aftermath of World War I in the cooperative efforts by Jewish communities around the world in religious, legal, political and relief matters. In the aftermath of World War II the World Jewish Congress played a central role in the creation of Jewish policies with regard to peace treaties, the prosecution and trial of Nazi war criminals and reparations for Holocaust survivors.

Founded in 1921 as the New Education Fellowship by a small group of progressive educationists and liberal thinkers who were heavily involved with the British Theosophical Society and the Theosophical Educational Trust, this organisation grew into a national and then international organisation, with local sections in many countries worldwide, and was re-named the World Education Fellowship in 1966. Although the Fellowship has embraced a wide range of individual philosophies, the central focus has been on child-centred education, social reform through education, democracy, world citizenship, international understanding and the promulgation of world peace. Many famous thinkers and educationists have been involved with the Fellowship and it has forged close links with academic institutions, including the Institute of Education, University of London, and with international organisations, especially UNESCO. An English Section of the Fellowship was founded in 1927 and has included amongst its prominent members, Sir Michael Sadler, Sir Percy Nunn, Sir Fred Clarke, R.H. Tawney and J.A. Lauwerys. The English Section was also instrumental in the establishment of the Home and School Council and the English Association of New Schools.

This company was established in 1919, at 3-4 Royal Exchange Buildings, for non-life insurance business in the United Kingdom and overseas. It was taken over by Vehicle and General Insurance Company in 1968 and sold to Commercial Union Assurance in 1971.

The World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship through the Churches was founded at Constance in 1914 with the help of the Church Peace Union, with which it remained closely associated. It was supported by church leaders in Europe and America and national groups from a number of different countries were federated to it. It was an ecumenical movement working for peace. After World War Two attempts to re-establish the Alliance were unsuccessful and, as the World Council of Churches and International Missionary Council set up the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, the World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship through the Churches was formally dissolved in 1948.

In January 1874 the majority of the council of the Working Women's College, then in Queen's Square, London, resolved to throw open the college to men as well as women. Some members of the council 'unwilling to see the only institution in London, devoted exclusively to the improvement and culture of working women, closed to many of them', resolved to establish a separate college where they could continue to carry out the aim of supplying to working women higher education than had been generally within their reach. The appeal they launched met with such a warm response that in October 1874 the college for working women was opened at 5 Fitzroy Street under the chairmanship of Dr John Storrar. Here the college remained until 1879 when it moved to number 7, which was to be its home for the next 78 years.

In very great measure the foundation of the College for Working Women was due to the inspiration of Miss Frances Martin who served it as one of its honorary secretaries from 1874 until 1920, and then as president for the remaining 2 years of her life. She died in 1922 aged 93. In order to perpetuate the memory of its foundress the college was renamed in 1927 the Frances Martin College.

In 1957 the lease of 7 Fitzroy Street expired and, the search for suitable alternative premises having proved unavailing, the working men's college came to the rescue, offering accommodation in their own building in Crowndale Road, NW1. The offer was gladly accepted.

At the Geological Society's Council meeting on 1 November 1972 it was decided to set up a working party to study the feasibility of maintaining a professional register of geologists. The Society's Council established a 14-strong Working Party on Professional Recognition which first met on 2 January 1973 and reported to Council in March 1974. Their report recognized that professional bodies carried out important functions in regulating the professions, however no existing professional body was deemed an appropriate institution for all geologists to become members. Consequently, the Working Party recommended that a professional body should be established for all geologists.

The Association for the Promotion of an Institution of Professional Geologists, more usually known by its initial letters APIPG, was established by the members of the Working Party, by now acting independently of the Society's Council but with its support. The first meeting of APIPG was a regional meeting held in Plymouth on 3 January 1975. It was followed by a series of eight more regional meetings held in locations around the country. The formal Inaugural Meeting of the Association took place on 24 March 1975 at the Scientific Society's Lecture Theatre in Savile Row, London. At this meeting, a Committee was formally elected to serve for two years with the sole objective of forming an Institution for Professional Geologists. In the event the process took a little longer with the new professional body being created 35 months after the Savile Row meeting. Over that period support from the geological community grew steadily from 620 members in mid-1975 to 963 in mid-1976, and by the end of APIPG's existence there were 1146 members.

By the end of 1977 the Institution of Geologists was fully established in embryonic form. The Institution of Geologists registered as a company limited by guarantee without share capital, a form of organization shared by a number of other professional institutions. It was incorporated in August 1977 with the subscribers being the APIPG Committee. The membership of APIPG voted for the organization to be disbanded and replaced by the Institution of Geologists at a meeting held in the Midland Hotel Birmingham on 24 February 1978.

The highest grade of membership in most professional institutions is termed "Fellow". Initially, IG had only one grade of corporate member (that of Member). By June 1985 however, Council decided to initiate a higher grade of corporate and nominated the former Presidents and Chairmen of Council as six Founding Fellows. A further fourteen members of IG were nominated by this group to form a Founding Fellows "college" of twenty. A Trust Fund was established in 1986 to commemorate the memory of three distinguished geologists who were also Founding Fellows of the Institution and died within a relatively short time of each other. The fund, known as the Distinguished Fellows Memorial Trust, was used to assist young geologists, particularly those in industrial employment, in their professional development by contributing towards travel costs to attend conferences or to gain experience in other appropriate ways.

In 1983, the IG Council decided to enquire of its members what they expected from the Institution in order to establish priorities in planning the development of IG. A questionnaire was sent to the regional groups to ask them to canvas opinion and provide a response to Council. The unanimous answer was that the prime objective should be the acquisition of a Royal Charter which would bestow on the Institution the ability to create the title Chartered Geologist. In January 1984 a committee was established under the chairmanship of Howard Headworth, to investigate how this goal could be achieved. In January 1986 a draft charter was sent to the Privy Council for informal comment. As the document referred to the possibility of a future unification between the IG and the Geological Society, the Privy Council refused to consider the petition as the Geological Society already had its own Royal Charter. Instead they recommended that the petition should be placed on hold until the possibility of any merger between the two organizations was resolved.

The Institution approached the Geological Society to explore a possible merger. A joint Co-operation Committee was established, comprising three senior members of each organization and chaired by Professor Howel Francis as someone seen as neutral by both sides. The first meeting of the joint Co-operation Committee was held in January 1987 and agreed that the unification of the Geological Society and the Institution of Geologists was the proper goal for the two organizations, both in their own interests and that of the geological community in Britain. Negotiations between the IG and GS even included the concept that the new body should have a new name but that was not possible without changing the Society's Royal Charter. In the end, the IG merged with the Society losing some of its identity in the process and with its name disappearing altogether.

With the reunification 259 members of the Institution who had not been Fellows of the Society applied for and were granted fellowship, and some 586 corporate members of the Institution became the first Chartered Geologists even before the reunification process was completed. The total membership of IG at the time of the reunification was 1745, comprising 32 Fellows, 731 Corporate Members, 674 Associate Members, 9 Technician Geologists, 6 Technical Associates, 42 Affiliates and 251 Students.

A vote at IG's AGM on 10 March 1990 at the University of Birmingham saw the demise of IG as a separate organization, and at the beginning of 1991 the Institution of Geologists formally unified with the Geological Society.

The Working Men's College was founded in 1854. The activities of the College grew out of the Workers Association, which in turn, had its foundations in the Christian Socialist movement. F D Maurice, the first principal of the College, is generally credited as the ideologue of Christian Socialism.

Maurice attracted a group of young men including Charles Kingsley [author of the Water Babies], Tom Hughes [author of Tom Brown's School Days] and R B Litchfield. Many of Maurice's followers came from the Association and subsequently became teachers at the College. Once the College had been established the founders managed to attract a number of other high profile teachers including Ruskin, Rossetti and Lowes Dickinson.

In contrast to the Mechanics' Institutes, which had been judged a failure by the mid-nineteenth century, the College syllabus emphasised the a liberal rather than practical eduction. For example the art classes concentrated upon fine art rather than technical drawing. The founders and the other teachers moulded the curriculum and ethos of the College according to their own experiences as Oxbridge graduates.

As well as the formal classes the College encouraged extra-cirricular activities and the records of the student groups form a significant portion of the archive. The Common Room, in particluar, provided a forum for student involvement.

Women were admitted to the College in 1966 after almost 10 years of debate. In 1957 Frances Martin College (formally the Working Women's College) moved in with the Working Men's College premises and after 1965 a formal agreement was made to join the administrations of the two colleges.

The College premises were orginally in 31 Red Lion Square. They moved to 45 Great Ormond Street in 1856 and subsequently to the current, purpose built, building on Crowndale Road in 1904.

By the mid 1930s there was a general interest throughout the labour movement in film propaganda. A Joint Film Committee from the Labour Party, the TUC and the Co-operative Movement first met in January 1938. The Committee recommended the establishment of a joint film organization, to be known as the Workers' Film Association (WFA). Joseph Reeves was appointed Secretary-Organizer, and the organization seems to have started its operations in October 1938. At an early stage contacts were made with Labour organizations, and the WFA decided to assist the Labour Party with election propaganda. A free film service was to be provided to marginal constituencies, together with short films of the party leaders. The Association developed an extensive library and distribution service, films were produced, distributed and exhibited, and film equipment was sold. During World War Two, the activities of the Association continued, but were were seriously curtailed. In 1946 the Association merged with the Co-Operative Movement's National Film Service, to form the National Film Association.

The Central Joint Committee was formed after a Conference held by the Workers' Educational Association and Oxford University in1907 which produced a report Oxford and Working Class Education in the following year. The Joint Committee comprised 7 people nominated by the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University and 7 by the WEA Executive Committee. It was dissolved in 1957.

The Workers' Educational Association (WEA) was founded in 1903 under the title Association to Promote the Higher Education of Working Men and in 1905 the name was changed to the Workers' Educational Association. Although the WEA is a single national organisation, locally it is organised into 13 English Districts and a Scottish Association.

The Workers' Education Trade Union Committee (WETUC) was founded in 1919 by the Workers' Educational Association (WEA) and the Iron and Steel Trade Union Confederation to strengthen and give cohesion to the WEA's education work with the trade unions. WEA provided the secretariat at district and national level whilst trade union representatives formed the majority of the Committee.

The British Sociological Association was founded in 1951 as the professional association for sociologists in Britain. It operates a network of subject-based study groups, and gives information on professional standards. Founded in [1987], Work, Employment and Society is a BSA journal published quarterly by Cambridge University Press, which deals with, and encourages the further exploration of, the complex interrelations of all divisions of labour.

William Wordsworth was born in the Lake District in 1770. An orphan by the age of 13, he was sent to be educated at Hawkshead grammar school. He then moved on to St John's College, Cambridge University, where he achieved only a pass in his degree. In 1791 Wordsworth travelled to France, where he formed a romantic attachment to a woman named Marie Vallon. Before their child was born in December 1792, Wordsworth had to return to England and was cut off by the outbreak of war between England and France. He did not meet his daughter Caroline until she was nine years old.
For the next few years he remained in London, associating with radicals such as William Godwin. In 1795, a legacy from a friend enabled him to be reunited with his sister Dorothy, and the pair moved into Alfoxden House near Bristol, where they met Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey. Wordsworth and Southey embarked on a partnership which was to change the former's style of poetry from long poems of social protest the short lyrical and dramatic poems for which he is best known. In 1798 Coleridge and Wordsworth published Lyrical Ballads. It is at this point that Wordsworth began work on The Prelude, a poem which was finally published in 1850.
Following a tour of the Lake District, the Wordsworths and Coleridge moved to the Lake District, the former two moving into Dove Cottage in Ambleside. In 1802, William married his childhood companion, Mary Hutchinson. As their family grew, the Wordsworths moved several times, finally settling at Rydal Mount in 1813. During this time, Wordsworth wrote and published some of his best known work, including Poems in two volumes (1807), Poems (1815), The excursion (1814), The White Doe of Rylstone (1815), Thanksgiving ode (1816), Peter Bell (1819), The Waggonier (1819) and Ecclesiastical sketches (1822).Wordsworth was made Poet Laureate in 1843, a post which he held until his death in 1850.

William Wordsworth was born in the Lake District in 1770. He was educated at Hawkshead grammar school, and St John's College, Cambridge University. In 1795 he moved, with his sister Dorothy, to Alfoxden House near Bristol, where they met Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey. Wordsworth and Southey embarked on a partnership which was to change the former's style of poetry from long poems of social protest to the short lyrical and dramatic poems for which he is best known. In 1798 Coleridge and Wordsworth published Lyrical Ballads. The Wordsworths and Coleridge moved to the Lake District, the former two moving into Dove Cottage in Ambleside. William married his childhood companion, Mary Hutchinson in 1802. He was made Poet Laureate in 1843, a post which he held until his death in 1850.

Born at Harrow, 1843; educated at Winchester, New College Oxford (MA), graduated with 1st class Moderations (Oxford), 1863 and 2nd class Literae Humaniores (Classics), 1865; Assistant Master, Wellington College, 1866; Fellow of Brasenose College Oxford, 1867; Craven Scholar, 1867; ordained, 1867; MA 1868; Prebendary of Lincoln, 1870; Select Preacher, 1876, 1888; Grinfield Lecturer, 1876-1878; Whitehall Preacher, 1879; Bampton Lecturer, 1881; Oriel Professor of Interpretation of Holy Scripture, Fellow of Oriel College, and Canon of Rochester, 1883-1885; Bishop of Salisbury, 1885-1911; died, 1911. Publications: include: Fragments and Specimens of Early Latin (Clarendon Press Series, 1866); University Sermons on Gospel Subjects (James Parker & Co, Oxford and London, 1878); The One Religion: truth, holiness and peace desired by the nations, and revealed by Jesus Christ. Eight lectures [the Bampton Lectures] (Parker & Co, Oxford, 1881); The Gospel according to St Matthew. From the St Germain MS, g, now numbered Lat. 11553 in the National Library at Paris editor (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1883); Portions of the Gospels according to St Mark and St Matthew from the Bobbio MS, k, now numbered G VII 15 in the National Library at Turin. Together with other fragments of the Gospels edited with William Sanday and Henry Julian White (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1886); Prayers for Use in College 2nd edition (1890); The Holy Communion. Four visitation addresses (Parker & Co, Oxford & London, 1891); Some recent Teachings concerning the Eucharistic Sacrifice (Elliot Stock, London, [1892]); Novum Testamentum Latine, secundum editionem S Hieronymi with Rev Henry Julian White; The Four Gospels (1898); The Episcopate of Charles Wordsworth, Bishop of St Andrews (Longmans & Co, London, 1899); Bishop Sarapion's Prayer-Book, an Egyptian Pontifical dated probably about AD 350-356 Translated from the edition of Dr G Wobbermin, with introduction, notes and indices (1899); Some Points in the teaching of the Church of England, set forth for the information of Orthodox Christians of the East, in the form of an answer to questions (Christian Knowledge Society, London, 1900); The Ministry of Grace. Studies in early Church History with reference to present problems (Longmans & Co, London, 1901); The Te Deum, its structure and meaning, and its musical setting and rendering; together with a revised Latin text, notes and translation (Christian Knowledge Society, London, 1902); Family Prayers (Brown & Co, Salisbury, 1903); The Acts (1904); The Law of the Church as to Marriage of a Man with his Deceased Wife's Sister (Christian Knowledge Society, London, 1908); The Invocation of Saints and the Twenty-second Article (Christian Knowledge Society, London, 1908); Ordination Problems (Christian Knowledge Society, London, 1909); Unity and Fellowship. Diocesan addresses delivered in the year 1909 (Christian Knowledge Society, London, Brighton, 1910).

Woolwich Polytechnic founded a number of day schools and junior technical schools, partly in response to the fact that much of its premises was left empty during the day as much of the teaching and activities took place in the evenings. In 1895 a School of Domestic Economy for Girls was opened with a class of 45. The School closed in 1920 as the number of girls declined. In September 1897 a day school for boys was opened, Woolwich Polytechnic Boys Secondary School. It was the first secondary school in Woolwich, and started with 72 boys, rising to 102 by 1897. In September 1899 girls were admitted to the Woolwich Polytechnic Girls Secondary School and a mistress and a headmaster, T F Bowers, were appointed. At first the school was divided into two sections, technical and commercial, but the commercial side proved more popular and the Governors planned to expand this. The school was registered as a Science School so it would qualify for the Technical Education Board's grants. These two schools operated as Woolwich Polytechnic Day Secondary School Department, with one Headmaster assisted by a Senior Master and Senior Mistress. The headmaster was still responsible to the Principal of Woolwich Polytechnic, but had considerable powers, including the right to dismiss students. In 1912 the girls moved out to their own school in Plumstead, which became known as the County School, Plumstead, and subsequently Kings Warren and then Plumstead Manor School. The Boys School moved to a new building in 1928 as the Shooters Hill County Secondary School. A third secondary school, the Junior Art School, was also established in the 1920s, and transferred to London County Council in 1956.

Two technical schools were established in 1906 for 15-19 year olds to train apprentices, one of science and engineering (closed in 1908), and one of commerce. In 1913 the Commercial School stopped admitting boys, and in 1918 the school closed as the numbers of girls applying dropped. A trade school in dressmaking was also established, with 50 girls starting initially. From 1904 'trade lads' from the Arsenal were sent to the Polytechnic for an afternoon a week, as well as evenings. The scheme was the first 'day release' system in the country. A daytime Engineering Trade School, Woolwich Polytechnic Junior Technical School for Boys, was established in 1912 to train boys for jobs at engineering works. The School became the responsibility of London County Council in 1956, as Woolwich Polytechnic Boys School. Woolwich Polytechnic Junior Technical School for Girls opened in April 1906 and became part of Kidbrooke Comprehensive in 1954.

Woolwich Polytechnic opened on 28 September 1891, at 47 William Street, London. It was the second Polytechnic in the country to be opened after Regent Street Polytechnic. Men and women were admitted to study 38 subjects, although women were prohibited from studying a few subjects, including engineering and English Language. Classes were held in the evenings, and after five weeks 504 students had attended.

Quintin Hogg, a central figure in the polytechnic movement, had founded the Young Men's Christian Institute (later Regent Street Polytechnic) in 1873. Francis (Frank) Dibben, a former student at the Institute, moved to Woolwich in 1884 to become a fitter at the Royal Arsenal, and began to work on founding a similar institution there. Dibben gained local support for his scheme, and in 1888 the Polytechnic Athletics Club was formed. After several failed attempts to raise money for the planned Polytechnic, T A Denny, an enthusiastic supporter, purchased a house and grounds in William Street in 1890. A gymnasium was built in the garden and several clubs formed, including a Cycling Club and Christian Workers' Union.

A Council was formed in 1891, comprising representatives from each of the sections of the Institute and trustees' representatives. Quintin Hogg was Chairman. An Education Committee was also established to choose subjects for study, and included Dibben, Hogg and those who were to become teachers at the Polytechnic. For the 1892-3 session classes were offered in 80 subjects, with music and dressmaking for women among the subjects added. In 1892-3 new chemistry laboratories were built, and the adjacent house purchased for the Polytechnic. A new hall was built and a library established. The City Parochial Foundation (CPF) and Technical Education Board (TEB) of the London County Council both gave Woolwich Polytechnic grants for the first time in 1893, but the Polytechnic closed in July 1894, having run out of money. The Technical Education Board took over the management of the institute and the Polytechnic re-opened in September.

The Polytechnic was given a new charter in 1895, stating that 'the object of this institution is the promotion of the industrial skill, general knowledge, health and well-being of young men and women belonging to the poorer classes'. Despite the financial and management difficulties of the Polytechnic, during the 1894-5 session 518 men and 199 women attended classes in science, technical and commercial subjects and in the Art department. Chronically short of space, the Polytechnic began to expand, with new chemical and physical laboratories, an engineering laboratory, art room and two large classrooms built by 1898, doubling the floor area. By 1899 subjects offered included book-keeping, typewriting and elocution, and 1,111 students attended the Polytechnic. The teaching of engineering was expanded under the principals of the Polytechnic, who believed that Woolwich should aim to excel in the subject as the Arsenal was the main employer in the district. Until 1904 Woolwich struggled to achieve Hogg's and Dibben's unified vision of Polytechnic education and combine the educational side, which dealt with students and the organisation of classes, and the social side, which organised social, sporting and religious activities. In 1904 the Head of the Social Side and pivotal figure in the founding of the Polytechnic, Frank Dibben, was dismissed and the Polytechnic concentrated on the provision of education, particularly in engineering and technical subjects.

In 1901 the Woolwich University Education Association was absorbed into the Polytechnic by forming classes to carry on the association's work, and members were granted equal privileges with Polytechnic students. In 1902-1903 compound courses were offered to encourage students to take three or four subjects, a trend which the Polytechnic fostered. From 1904 'trade lads' from the Arsenal were sent to the Polytechnic for an afternoon a week, as well as evenings. The scheme was the first 'day release' system in the country, and by 1912 the apprentices spend a day a week at Woolwich Polytechnic.

During the First World War the engineering workshops of the Polytechnic were kept open for the production of munitions, and war economy cooking classes and lectures in war time cookery were held by the Bread and Food Reform League. Major building works took place between 1914 and 1917, with older buildings demolished and a new school of Domestic Economy built, new rooms and workshops for the Engineering Department, School of Art, and Physics Department and rooms for clubs and societies of the Polytechnic. By 1919-20 numbers of students taking evening classes had risen to 2,032 and numbers were rising in the Polytechnic's three trade schools in engineering, dressmaking and ladies tailoring. By the 1920s there was a large increase in the number of students taking integrated courses, with 75% of all students by 1923.

The Academic Board was established in 1932 to advise on all aspects of the teaching of students taking internal degrees at the University of London, whilst the Technical Board acted in the same capacity for work at lower levels. In 1933 the Polytechnic gained full recognition by the University of London for the preparation of students for internal degrees. Part time day courses, some of which led to degrees, were offered for the first time in a variety of subjects and an electrical engineering department was established. In 1934 sandwich courses in engineering were launched, with local factories sponsoring employees to become students. The course lasted 2 years and students then sat the University of London BSc degree examinations. During the 1930s there were several extensions made to the Polytechnic, a new hall was opened in 1936, and new workshops, laboratories and lecture rooms built on newly purchased sites in 1936-1939. A new library was built in 1938-1939.

During the Second World War the technical schools and Junior Art School were evacuated to villages in Kent. When the expected bombing failed to materialise the schools were re-opened in London, but were then evacuated again to Gainsborough, Trowbridge and Northampton. At Woolwich officers and men of the Queen's Own Regiment were billeted in the gymnasium, and a barrage balloon unit established on the sports ground. Part-time day classes and sandwich courses continued, but the numbers of students dropped dramatically.

After the Second World War there was a rapid expansion of students, with a great demand for courses leading to degrees. New full-time courses were started for University of London general degrees and in physics, chemistry, mathematics, as well as the existing engineering courses. An Economics and Management Department was also established. By 1950 the majority of students were attending evening or part-time day courses, and of the full-time students the main studies were mathematics, the sciences and engineering. About a quarter of all students and two thirds of the full-time students were taking degree courses. Woolwich continued to develop its sandwich courses in the 1950s, offering the new Diploma of Technology in mechanical and electrical engineering, a four year course with at least one year of industrial training.

The Government's White Paper on advanced technological training was published in 1956, and proposed to nominate selected colleges as colleges of advanced technology, to receive funding to improve facilities. The large amount of lower level work at Woolwich meant that it was designated a regional college rather than a college of advanced technology. The governors had already started to remove some of the lower level work by discarding the Girls' Technical School and concentrate on science and technical subjects, and this policy was continued. The School of Art, which appeared in the prospectus in 1891, transferred to London County Council Evening Institute in 1962. Some courses of the School of Domestic Economy, which had opened in September 1894, were transferred to Woolwich College in 1957, and the school was closed in 1961. By 1962 lower-level courses (GCEs and ONC work) had been transferred to nearby colleges, and the Polytechnic had started postgraduate and external degree courses for the University of London. By 1965 all lower-level work had been transferred to other institutions. By the late 1960s the transformation of departments to having full-time students working for degrees or equivalent, and to part-time students working for Higher National Certificates or above, was completed. The establishment of the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) in 1964 (replacing the National Council for Technological Awards) allowed the scope of degree subjects offered by Woolwich and similar institutions to be extended to include the social sciences and the arts.

After the publication of the Government's White Paper in 1966 on polytechnics and colleges Woolwich continued to work towards more degree courses, reshape its Governing Body and also considered sub-degree work, in line with Government policy on the new polytechnics. Woolwich decided to gradually reduce its University of London courses and concentrate on its four year CNAA courses, preferable to students because they were sandwich courses and could be industry-sponsored. Three faculties of Science, Engineering and Business Studies, Management and Humanities were established for the 1969-70 session. In 1968 three departments of Hammersmith College of Art and Building, Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Surveying amalgamated with Woolwich Polytechnic as part of the Ministry's policy for the expansion of most of the new polytechnics. Woolwich Polytechnic and the Hammersmith departments were designated Thames Polytechnic in 1970.

For a detailed administrative history please see the separate entries for the individual institutions that make up this group of hospitals.

The use of the site of the Woolwich Memorial Hospital for healthcare can be traced back to December 1888 when land was leased from the Secretary of State for War for the purpose of establishing the Woolwich and Plumstead Cottage Hospital. In November 1890, the first patients were admitted, and in 1913 the hospital became incorporated under the Companies Act.

Thoughts about replacing the Woolwich and Plumstead Cottage hospital with a more modern hospital had had to be put on hold with the advent of World War One. Almost before the end of the war these plans were renewed with a notable difference. It was felt that the new hospital should also serve as a memorial to the local war dead. The Hospital Fund was set up and an appeal was made to the local people to raise fifty thousand pounds - the anticipated cost of a 110-bedded modern hospital. The appeal received tremendous local response. In April 1919 a Peace Fair raised five thousand pounds towards the fund. In September 1919 a 13 and a half acre site was purchased from Major and Mrs. Phillips for the building of a hospital which would eventually accommodate 300 beds.

In March 1920 events ranged from a popular dance at Plumstead baths (admission 1/6d) through a select dance at the Town Hall (admission 2/-) to a super concert at the Tabernacle (admission 2/4d to 5/-). Fairs, bazaars and regular voluntary contributions from the weekly pay-packets from the people of the district helped to swell the fund for the hospital. The first sod was cut in February 1923 on Telegraph Field which had been used as a semaphore station during the Napoleonic wars. The excavations, levelling of the site and laying down of the foundations were carried out as an Unemployment Relief Scheme. In July 1925 the Duke of Connaught laid the Foundation Stone. The hospital was opened on 2 November 1927 by HRH The Duke of York accompanied by the Duchess of York (later to become George Vl and Queen Elizabeth) in memory of those killed in World War One. In 1928 when George V visited the hospital he stated "This is the best equipped and most beautiful hospital I have ever seen." The King planted a cedar tree on the lawn in front of the hospital.

At the heart of the hospital was the Hall of Remembrance - a small permanently lighted hall panelled in different coloured marbles from Derbyshire, Cornwall, Sicily, Norway, Denmark and Italy. It housed a beautifully bound book in which were written 6,230 names of local people. These were mainly men who had died in the Great War but also included 100 people who had died in munition explosions at the Arsenal and 14 local people who had been killed by enemy air-raids. A second book was placed there after the second World War and contained the names of people from the district who had been killed during hostilities. From the day that each book was placed there, a page had been turned every morning. On either side of the books hang flags representing the Army, Navy, R.A.F. and British Merchant Service. Let into the marble floor was the word "Silence". Although it was not possible to raise the funds to add two more wings as originally planned, in order to raise the number of beds from 112 to 300, twenty-four thousand pounds was collected to build the Nurses' home. This was opened in 1939 by HRH The Duke of Kent.

During the Second World War the hospital provided back-up facilities for the Royal Herbert Hospital. In 1953 a new out-patient department was opened by HRH Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, Patron of the hospital. In 1955 the x-ray department was completely refurbished and two new major units installed. In 1948 it was a general hospital but by 1965 it was specialising in surgery. In the early 1960's it was felt the facilities at the Memorial Hospital were too limited to deal with the growing number of domestic and particularly road casualties in the area and in 1969 a new Accident Centre was opened at the nearby Brook Hospital. The casualty department at the Memorial hospital closed and its acute wards were transferred to The Brook Hospital and St. Nicholas' Hospital, Plumstead. In 1986 the role of the Memorial Hospital was 'to provide comfortable and cheerful surroundings for nearly 100 elderly ladies'. Facilities included a Day House built in 1975 for pastimes and therapy work. Saint Nicholas Chapel was opened in 1986 on the closure of Saint Nicholas Hospital. The Chapel's 'Golden Window' was transferred from Goldie Leigh Hospital and fittings were brought over from Saint Nicholas Hospital.

The Memorial Homes later became part of Oxleas NHS Trust. In 2004 the Trust, based at Pinewood House, Pinewood Place, Dartford, Kent DA2 7WG, ran:

• General mental health services, for adults and older people, in the boroughs of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich; Child and adolescent mental health services in Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich; Forensic psychiatry and challenging behaviour services for the boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lewisham and North Southwark; Learning disability services in the boroughs of Bexley and Greenwich.

Woolwich Magistrates Court:
In 1841 police courts for Woolwich and Greenwich were opened. They were jointly administered, with one set of magistrates serving them. Greenwich sat in the mornings (10am-1.30pm), Woolwich in the afternoon (2.30pm-5pm). The Woolwich court was probably in its present location in Market Street.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Woolwich Group Hospital Management Committee was set up in 1948 with the creation of the National Health Service, to administer various hospitals including Bexley and Welling Hospital, Brook General Hospital, Eltham and Mottingham Hospital, Erith and District Hospital, the Woolwich Memorial Hospital, Saint Nicholas' Hospital, Bexley Maternity Hospital, Hainault Maternity Hospital, the Russell Stoneham Hospital, Goldie Leigh Hospital and the British Hospital for Mothers and Babies (Woolwich). It was dissolved during 1974 as part of the National Health Service reorganisation.

The Woolwich Group Hospital Management Committee was set up in 1948 with the creation of the National Health Service, to administer the Woolwich Memorial Hospital and the British Hospital for Mothers and Babies (Woolwich). It was dissolved during 1974 as part of the National Health Service reorganisation.

Woolwich Equitable Gas Light and Coke Company was formed in 1832. It was incorporated by Act of Parliament, 18 and 19 Vict., cxxvi, 1855. Amalgamated with the South Metropolitan Gas Light and Coke Company by Order in council, 9 Sep 1884, under 39 and 40 vict., c.ccxxix, South Metropolitan Gas Light and Coke Company Act 1876.

The County Courts as they now exist have their origins in the County Courts Act 1846 with modifications etc under the County Courts Acts of 1888 and 1934. The area of jurisdiction of each court is set from time to time by the Lord Chancellor.

The original jurisdiction of the courts included claims of debt or for damages (except for libel, slander, seduction and breach of promise) not exceeding £400; claims for recovery of land (less than £100 rateable value); claims for the administration of estates, execution of trusts, foreclosure, redemption of mortgages; matters regarding the maintenance of infants, dissolution of partnerships, relief against fraud or mistake where the value of the estates or property etc was not more than £500; contentious business in probate and administration matters where the estate was less than £1000.

The courts have had varied and extensive jurisdictions under numerous Acts including questions between husband and wife under the Married Women's Property Act 1882 and compensation for injured workmen by employers under the Workmen's Compensation Acts 1897 and 1925.

More recent decisions and judgements of County Courts can be found at the Registrar for County Court Judgements, Cleveland Street, London W1.

Address of Woolwich County Court: Powis Street, SE18.

District of the Court: Woolwich, Greenwich, and parts of Deptford. Please see Post Office Directories (available in the LMA History Library) for lists of County Courts existing at any one time together with an account of the area covered by each court.

The Woolwich Equitable Gas Company was formed in 1832. Dissension about the price of gas in Woolwich led in March 1844 to the formation of the Woolwich Consumers Protective Gas Company with gasworks fronting the River Thames at Hog Lane. The company was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1855 (18 and 19 Victc.ii) as the Woolwich, Plumstead and Charlton Consumers Gas Company. Around 1862 it moved to new works in Glass Yard, Woolwich. In 1884 both the Woolwich, Plumstead and Charlton Consumers Gas Company and the Woolwich Equitable Gas Light and Coke Company were amalgamated with the South Metropolitan Gas Light and Coke Company.

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

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

The Woolwich Poor Law Union was founded in 1868 when the Lewisham Poor Law Union (parishes of Charlton, Kidbrooke and Plumstead) and the Greenwich Poor Law Union (parish of Woolwich) were merged. A workhouse was constructed in 1870 on Tewson Road on the south side of Plumstead High Street. It was first called the "Woolwich Union Workhouse", then in the 1920s the "Woolwich Institution", while the infirmary was renamed the "Plumstead and District Hospital". From 1899 the Union also managed the Goldie Leigh Children's Homes at Bostall Heath. This later became a hospital for skin conditions and a home for mentally disabled children.

Source of information: Peter Higginbotham at The Workhouse website.