Langkon North Borneo Rubber Limited was registered in 1906 to acquire estates in Marudu Bay, British North Borneo. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) became secretaries of the company in 1942. In 1958 Harrisons and Crosfield sold its stock in the company and ceased to act as secretaries.
Cluny Rubber Estates Limited was registered in 1910 to acquire estates in Perak, Malaya, and to take over the firm of the same name registered in Singapore. In 1947 Cluny Rubber Estates Limited was acquired by Lanadron Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-105), which in turn was acquired by London Asiatic Rubber and Produce Company (CLC/B/112-103) in 1960.
Lanadron Rubber Estates Limited: This company was registered in 1907 to acquire land in Johore, Malaya, and to take over the Lanadron and Jementah estates run by the Lanadron Estate Limited and Jementah Rubber Company Limited. In 1947 it acquired Cluny Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-104), Ledbury Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-106) and Rubber Estates of Johore Limited (CLC/B/112-107).
Lanadron Rubber Estates Limited was purchased by London Asiatic Rubber and Produce Company (CLC/B/112-103) in 1960, and in 1968/9 it went into voluntary liquidation.
Tangkah Rubber Estates Limited: This company was registered in 1909 to acquire estates in Johore, Malaya. In 1923 it was acquired by London Asiatic Rubber and Produce Company (CLC/B/112-103).
Meppadi Wynaad Tea Company Limited was registered in 1910 to acquire the Arrapetta-Kardoora, Neddikarna, Nedimballi-Meppadi, Moopenaad, and Sentinel Rock estates in the Wynaad district of southern India. In 1923 it was acquired by Malayalam Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-113).
Nalek Rubber Estate Limited was registered in 1964 to acquire Kelan estate in Johore, Malaya. It was a subsidiary of London Sumatra Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-110). In 1984 it was acquired by Harrisons Malaysian Plantations Berhad (CLC/B/112-080).
Namoe Tongan Rubber Estates Limited was registered in 1926 to acquire the Namoe Tongan and Soengei Roembija estates on the east coast of Sumatra. In 1961 it was acquired by London Sumatra Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-110). In 1982 it became a private company.
Bikam Rubber Estate Limited: This company was registered in 1909 to acquire the Bikam (tea and rubber) estate in Perak, Malaysia. It acquired Victoria (Malaya) Rubber Estates Limited (in 1927), North Labis (Johore) Rubber and Produce Company (1934), Sungkai Chumor Estates Limited (1935) and Tebolang Rubber Estates Limited (1935). In 1952 it was taken over by Pataling Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-124).
Strathisla (Perak) Rubber Estates Limited: This company was registered in 1910 to acquire estates in the Kinta district of Perak, Malaya. In 1959 it was taken over by Pataling Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-124).
R J Spargo (Proprietary) Limited was registered in around 1933 (no exact date is given in the memorandum and articles of association) in Johannesburg, South Africa, to deal in rubber. The relation of the company to Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) is not known.
Rubber Securities Limited was registered in 1909 as a rubber plantation investment company. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) replaced Bright and Galbraith as secretaries and agents of Rubber Securities Limited in 1952. In 1953 Rubber Securities Limited was acquired by G.T.S. Syndicate Limited (CLC/B/112-052) and in 1981 it became a private company.
This company was registered in 1961 as Borneo Plantations Limited, for production of palm oil, kernels and cocoa on land offered by the Borneo Government to the British Borneo Timber Company at Kalunpang, North Borneo, formerly leased by Darvel Tobacco Company (see CLC/B/112/MS38170). In April 1962 the name was changed to Sabah Plantations Limited. Harrisons and Crosfield acted as secretaries and eastern agents until 1982 when they were replaced by Harrisons Malaysian Plantations Berhad (CLC/B/112-080). From 1977-83 Harrisons Malaysian Estates (CLC/B/112-079) held 48% of the capital of Sabah Plantations Limited; from 1984 it held 100%. From 1982 the company was resident in Malaysia for tax purposes.
Sabah Timber Company Limited was registered in 1920 as British Borneo Timber Company Limited, on an agreement between Harrisons and Crosfield Limited and British North Borneo (Chartered) Company. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited transferred the property and assets of China Borneo Company Limited to British Borneo Timber Company Limited. The company received timber cutting licences. Harrisons and Crosfield acted as secretaries and agents for British Borneo Timber Company Limited from 1920.
British Borneo Timber Company Limited supplied logs to Borneo Veneers Limited (established in 1959), which was half owned by British Borneo Timber Company Limited and half by Plywoods Limited.
In 1963 British Borneo Timber Company Limited was renamed Sabah Timber Company Limited. (It already controlled a company named Sabah Timber Company, registered in March 1963. The name of this company was changed in October 1963 to Sabah Trading Company Limited, see CLC/B/112-138). In the same year the name of Borneo Veneers Limited was changed to Sabah Veneers Limited (see CLC/B/112-139).
In 1972/3 Harrisons and Crosfield Limited acquired 50% of the shareholding in Sabah Timber Company Limited which became a subsidiary company. It became a wholly owned subsidiary in 1978.
Sabah Timber Company Limited acquired a number of other timber supplying companies including John Wright and Son (Redditch) Limited in 1969, William T Storer and Company Limited in 1970, Robinson, David and Company in 1969 and Pattinson and Company Limited in 1982.
In 1982 the last logging agreement ended and Sabah Timber Company developed an extensive timber and building supplies network in the UK and Ireland. In 1988 the timber and building supplies operations of Harrisons and Crosfield Limited were consolidated into a single corporate identity: Harcros Timber and Building Supplies Limited.
For historical notes on Sabah Timber Company see CLC/B/112/MS37392.
Sabah Trading Company Limited, timber growers and merchants, was registered in March 1963 as Sabah Timber Company Limited. The name was changed to Sabah Trading Company Limited in October 1963 at the same time as British Borneo Timber Company Limited was re-named Sabah Timber Company Limited; see CLC/B/112-137.
Sandac Rubber Estates Limited was registered in 1935 to acquire Sandakan Estates Limited (registered in Borneo in 1928), and Tabanac estate in British North Borneo. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited acted as secretaries for the company, 1935-1969. In 1969 Sandac Rubber Estates Limited went into voluntary liquidation. For historical notes on Harrisons and Crosfield's shareholdings in the company see CLC/B/112/MS37392.
Seaport (Selangor) Rubber Estate Limited was registered in 1910 to acquire land on the railway between Klang and Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malaya. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited acted as secretaries for the company 1910-1965. In 1965/6 Seport (Selangor) Rubber Estate Limited went into voluntary liquidation and its estates were sold.
Sialang Rubber Estates Limited was registered in 1909 to acquire the Sialang, Batoe Gingging and Tebing Tinggi estates on the east coast of Sumatra. In 1961 it was acquired by London Sumatra Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-110). In April 1982 it became a private company.
Sungei Bahru Rubber Estates Limited was registered in 1932 to re-constitute a firm of the same name (registered in 1909) and to acquire estates in Negri Sembilan and Malacca. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) took over from Taylor, Noble and Company as secretaries of Sungei Bahru Rubber Estates Limited in 1972. It had a wholly owned subsidiary: New Crescent (Holdings) Limited (CLC/B/112-120). In 1982 it became a PLC and in 1984 it was acquired by Harrisons Malaysian Plantations Berhad (CLC/B/112-080).
This company was registered in 1910 in Batavia [now Jakarta], with its business at Buitenzorg in Java, Indonesia. It became a limited company in 1912. In December 1915 it was acquired by the Harrisons and Crosfield branch in Batavia (see CLC/B/112-013). In 1924 it went into voluntary liquidation.
This company was registered in 1926 in Kuala Lumpur to produce linatex and other crepe rubber. It had a factory in Batu Caves, Selangor, Malaya. It was partly owned by Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112-001-016), and Harrisons and Crosfield (Malaya) Limited (CLC/B/112-071) acted as secretaries for the company.
Harrisons and Crosfield Limited and, from 1930, Wilkinson Rubber Linatex Limited (CLC/B/112-166) acted as sole concessionaires in Europe of the company's products.
In 1966 its name was changed to Wilkinson Process Rubber Company Berhad, and from 1990 it was known as Linatex Process Rubber Berhad. In 1989 Harrisons and Crosfield became the majority shareholder.
For staff lists see CLC/B/112/MS37341.
Charles Hobson, born circa 1897, was a clock restorer of Portland Road, Hove, Sussex. He carried out repairs on many clocks made by notable clockmakers.
The Imperial Continental Gas Association was constituted in 1826 to 'manufacture and produce inflammable air or gas from coal, oil and other materials ... and to supply Cities and Towns .... in foreign countries'. It was not concerned with the British market. Its founder Major-General Sir William Congreve Bt, MP, FRS (1772-1828) had toured the continent since 1824 promoting the adoption by municipal authorities of lighting by coal gas and concluding early contracts to supply such cities as Ghent, Rotterdam, Hanover and Berlin. From its London headquarters, the Association expanded its operations abroad in succeeding decades. It negotiated contracts in Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Prussia and the Netherlands, took over or built gas works in foreign cities and directed production and supply through a network of British and foreign agents and engineers. Its concern initially was with the lighting by gas of public places, but by the second half of the 19th century it was also supplying domestic consumers. Towards the end of the century, it branched out into production and supply of electricity.
Many of the Association's works and premises were damaged during the First World War. In addition, in 1916-17 its holdings in Germany and Austria-Hungary suffered compulsory liquidation by the German and Austrian governments. In consequence, after 1918, there was restructuring so that operations were increasingly restricted to Belgium and France and direct supervision transferred to locally constituted subsidiary companies. In 1928-9, the following allied and subsidiary companies were formed in Belgium: Antwerpsche Gasmaatschappij (A. G.M.), formed to take over the Association's interests in the Antwerp area; Societe Electricite et Gaz de l'Agglomeration Bruxelloise (Electrogaz) and Societe Provinciale du Gaz et de l'Electricite (Provinciale), formed to serve the suburbs and outlying communes of Brussels and the rural areas of the province of Brabant; Les Cokeries du Brabant, formed to produce coke and gas; Societe de Distribution de Gaz (Distrigaz), formed to create a long-distance gas grid throughout Belgium; and Union Intercommunale des Centrales Electriques du Brabant (Interbrabant), formed to produce and transmit electricity. In 1933 a Belgian holding company, Compagnie Belge et Continentale du Gaz (Contibel), was formed to administer the subsidiaries. In France, the Association's main interest lay in the Compagnie Continentale du Gaz, formed in 1907. This remained in Association hands until 1946 when the energy industries of France were nationalised.
The role of the Association in the affairs of its subsidiaries diminished progressively after 1945. In April 1987, in the course of company restructuring, the Association went into voluntary liquidation.
The Association operated from a succession of addresses in the City of London: 29 Swithin's Lane (1824-31); Levant House, St Helen's Place (1831-35); 7 White Hart Court, Lombard Street, (1835-1864); 30-31 Clement's Lane (1864-1891); 21 Austin Friars (1891-1920); 6 London Wall (1921-27); 2 Devonshire Square (1927-79); 14 Moorfields Highwalk (1979-1987).
The origins of this firm may be traced to Liverpool and the formation, in 1834, of the partnership Gillanders, Ewart and Company to open a trading house in Bombay concerned with shipping, piece goods and general agency business. In 1836, the Bombay House took the name Ewart, Lyon and Company. The name of the Liverpool firm was changed in 1842 to Arbuthnot, Ewart and Company. By the mid 1850s, business was dominated by the export from India of rice, cotton, sugar and wool and the import of consumer goods. A Karachi partnership, Ewart, Ryrie and Company, was established at this time to deal in wool from north west India. The Bombay firm was redesignated Ewart, Latham and Company in 1883.
The timber trade connections of W. M. Macaulay, a partner in Ewart, Latham and Company from 1883, turned attention to the possibility of obtaining teak from Siam at lower prices than that supplied by the Bombay Burmah Trading Company. Consequently, in 1885, the Siam Forest Company Limited was set up in Bombay to take on the lease of teak forest in the Me Ngow river valley, northern Siam. Its shareholders included partners of the English and Indian firms. Ewart, Latham and Company acted as agents and secretaries of the new company.
In 1897, the Siam Forest Company Limited was reformed in London to acquire the Bombay-registered company and also the saw mill and timber business of Clarke and Company of Bangkok. General trading and agency work was also significant over the next two decades. In view of this, the company was redesignated the Anglo Siam Corporation in 1917. The entire businesses of Arbuthnot, Ewart and Company, Ewart, Latham and Company and Ewart, Ryrie and Company were acquired in 1920. Thereafter, they continued to trade as branches of the corporation. The firm was restyled again in 1939, becoming the Anglo Thai Corporation. After the Second World War, trading interests continued to expand into Malaysia, India, Thailand, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and Indonesia.
The corporation was acquired by the Inchcape Group of trading companies in 1975. The firm had offices at 67 Cornhill, 1897-1908; 2 Fenchurch Avenue, 1909-23; 5 and 7 St Helen's Place, 1924-44; 80 Bishopsgate, 1945-55; Gerrard House, 31/45 Gresham Street, 1956-68; Lee House, London Wall, 1969-?82; and 40 St Mary Axe, 1983-8.
Assam and African Investments Limited was part of the Inchcape Group. It operated in Assam (India) and Kenya and Tanzania (East Africa).
This company provided passenger transport, mail carrying and shipping services in Australia.
Child, Macfarland and Company Limited were export agents. The company was part of the Inchcape Group of companies.
This company carried on business as merchant traders and agents in Canton, China, and was part of the Inchcape Group of companies.
Gray, Dawes and Company, London agents of the British India Steam Navigation Company Limited, established Gray, MacKenzie and Company as a partnership in Basra, Iraq, in 1869. In common with its associated firm, Gray, Paul and Company (launched by Gray, Dawes in Bushire, Persia, in 1865), Gray, MacKenzie and Company acted as shipping agent for British India steamers plying between India, the Gulf ports and Europe. In fact, the two partnerships acted as one company, maintaining one set of accounts and a close correspondence.
Their business quickly expanded into the import of British and Indian goods (including cotton, coffee, guns and rice) and the export of silk, wood, specie, oilseeds and, especially, dates. They also operated as insurance agents, lighterage contractors and ship repairers. From the 1860s onwards, branches of Gray, Paul and Company opened at Lingah, Bander Abbas (both in Persia) and Bahrein, while Gray, MacKenzie and Company established an off-shoot at Mohammerah (modern Khorramshahr) in Iraq.
In 1920, it was decided to continue more closely earlier cooperation with the shipping agents Lynch Brothers Limited, by combining the resources of all three firms (Gray, MacKenzie and Company, Gray, Paul and Company, and Lynch Brothers Limited) as the Mesopotamia Persia Corporation Limited. Earlier joint activity had included the formation of the Persian Transport Company to operate a concession on the River Karun in Persia and proposals to launch the Ottoman River Navigation Company on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq. The new corporation took over the entire operations of Lynch Brothers Limited and secured a monopoly of navigation rights on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers from the Imperial Ottoman government.
Mutual cooperation ended in 1936 when the component firms reverted to their separate identities. Gray, MacKenzie and Company and Gray, Paul and Company were thereupon transformed into one limited liability company registered in Britain: Gray, MacKenzie and Company Limited.The new firm increased the number of its branches and its dealings in local produce and mail. It was also heavily involved in the expanding oil industry of the region. An appreciation at this time that existing dock facilities were inadaquate prompted the establishment of 2 subsidiaries: Busreh Slipway Company Limited and Bahrein Slipway Company Limited.
In July 1957, in the period of company restructuring engineered by the third Earl Inchcape prior to the launch of Inchcape and Company Limited (see the Inchcape Group introductory note in CLC/B/123), Gray, Dawes and Company Limited increased its shareholding in the firm to 50.42%. Gray, MacKenzie developed as an important port manager and operator in the Gulf into the 1970s, providing technical engineering services for oil field supply bases.
In London, the firm shared the offices of Gray, Dawes and Company: 122 Leadenhall Street (1936-61) and 40 St. Mary Axe (1961-88).
This company, operating in Assam, India, in the 19th and 20th centuries, was part of the Inchcape Group.
The firm was incorporated in Calcutta in 1949, formed by the merger of the partnerships Macneill and Company and Barry and Company.
MACNEILL AND COMPANY: established in Calcutta in 1872 by Duncan Macneill and John MacKinnon, nephews of William MacKinnon (for details of the shipping, trading and agency firms established by MacKinnon, see the Inchcape Group introductory note at CLC/B/123), the firm operated as an agency house for shipping, coal, tea and jute companies. Among the most important businesses represented were Rivers Steam Navigation Company Limited (see CLC/B/123-47), Equitable Coal Company Limited, Kalline Tea Company (see CLC/B/123-36) and Ganges Manufacturing Company Limited. An associated partnership, Duncan Macneill and Company (see CLC/B/123-23), was established in the 1870s to manage the London end of affairs.
BARRY AND COMPANY: this firm was also based in Calcutta and had been set up in the 1860s by Dr J B Barry, a tea garden doctor (or horticulturist) from Assam. Its managerial and agency interests were broadly complementary to those of Macneill and Company: jute and tea. Barry's son established a London office at this time, J B Barry and Son, to handle the firm's tea exports.
In 1915 Lord Inchcape, as commercial successor to Sir William MacKinnon (for bibliographical details of both men see the Inchcape Group introductory note at CLC/B/123), took over the Macneill and Barry partnerships in England and India. During the 1920s and 1930s, there was considerable expansion of business into commerce and industry.
Two years after incorporation in 1949 as Macneill and Barry Limited, the company acquired a minority interest in Kilburn and Company, a trading and agency house which acted, inter alia, for a further tea company, the Assam Company (see CLC/B/123-05), and for India General Steam Navigation Company Limited.
Following the partition of India, it became necessary to establish wholly-owned subsidiaries to manage Pakistani affairs locally. Thereafter, the management of the tea companies and of the 'Joint Steamer Companies' (Rivers Steam Navigation Company and India General Steam Navigation Company had operated jointly since 1889) was in the hands of Macneill and Barry (Pakistan) Limited and Kilburn and Company (Pakistan) Limited. Remaining equity in the parent company, Kilburn and Company, was bought out by Macneill and Barry Limited in 1956, thereafter the two subsidiaries merged to form Macneill and Kilburn Limited.
Macneill and Barry Limited was brought into the Inchcape Group in 1960. In 1975 it merged with the Calcutta agency house Williamson Magor Limited to form Macneill and Magor Limited.
This company was part of the Inchcape Group of companies.
This company of ship brokers and agents was part of the Inchcape Group of companies.
The company was founded in 1862 as New Rivers Company by Captain J H Williamson, a tea merchant, to transport passengers and goods on the River Ganges, expanding shortly afterwards into Assam, where the tea industry was in need of improved communications. The name changed to River Steamer Company when Williamson left in 1865.
In 1872 the management of the Company was assumed by MacNeill and Company, and in 1873 it was incorporated in London as Rivers Steam Navigation Company Limited. The MacNeill and MacKinnon families were prominent shareholders in the new company.
From the 1870s onwards, the company faced much competition from India General Steam Navigation Company (which became, in 1899, India General Navigation and Railway Company Limited, whose records are also held as part of the Inchcape Group archives, see CLC/B/123-33). As a result, various working agreements between the two companies were reached in the 1880s. As a result of one such agreement, made in 1889, the two companies came generally to be known as the Joint steamer companies, operating many joint services but maintaining separate management.
During both world wars, vessels of the Joint steamer companies were impressed for military use in India, and also in Iraq during the First World War.
After the Second World War the partition of India caused difficulties in the transport of commodities from Assam to Calcutta for export, as they had to pass through Pakistan as well as India. As a result, the fleets of the Joint companies were divided and separate repair workshops set up to service the Pakistan fleet (in addition to those set up by RSN in Garden Reach, Calcutta).
In 1959 Pakistan River Steamers Limited. was formed to manage the Pakistani fleets of the Joint companies, as the government of Pakistan would only Company-operate with a company incorporated in Pakistan. The company was not effective, however, until 1961, when the Pakistani fleets of the Joint companies were actually transferred to it.
While Pakistan River Steamers was being set up, the financial position of the Joint companies in India was deteriorating, despite a substantial loan from the Indian government. In 1962 a prolonged strike by crews in Pakistan nearly caused the collapse of India General, but R.S.N. bought out its Indian assets and liabilities, I.G. retaining its Pakistani interests.
Pakistan River Steamers, however, had in the meantime established itself fairly stably, and it therefore seemed desirable to hive off RSN's Pakistani interests. Rivers Steam Navigation Company (Holdings) Limited was formed for this purpose in 1962.
By 1965, the position in India had become so much worse that the whole of the Indian assets of the company were sold to the Indian government for 1. The business of Pakistan River Steamers was also deteriorating by this time, partly because of the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965, and in 1966 PRS curtailed its passenger services. Some difficulties could have been overcome with government help, but political considerations prevented this.
In 1972 Pakistan River Steamers (by this time renamed Bangladesh River Steamers Limited) was nationalised by the government of Bangladesh
Rivers Steam Navigation's Indian and Pakistani business was managed by MacNeill and Barry Limited, whose records are also held as part of the Inchcape Group archives (see CLC/B/123-42). London business was managed by Duncan MacNeill and Company Limited (CLC/B/123-23), and many of their records relating strictly to the management of R.S.N. have been catalogued as part of RSN's records. The records listed as R.S.N.'s also include much material of or relating to the Joint steamer companies.
RSN had offices successively in Lothbury, Old Broad Street, Leadenhall Street and Mincing Lane.
This tea company, operating in Assam, India, 1885-1978, was part of the Inchcape Group of companies.
John Thomas Hart, butcher, began trading at 275 Bethnal Green Road about 1850. The company moved to 96 Upper Whitecross Street (1852-63), Leadenhall Market (1864-9), and finally to the Central Meat Market, at 120 Avenue East 1869-89), eventually occupying 301-7 Central Markets (307 as a meat store) as their main premises between 1889 and 1979. There were also some suburban shops prior to 1927, and a stall in Caledonian Market.
The company had a factory at 516-18 Central Markets, employing about 35 staff, preparing sausages and cooked meats. It sold meat in retail shops and to the catering trade, including restaurants, hotels, hospitals, and the canteens of City offices, and also dealt in poultry and game and a small amount of provisions. After the war, 341 Central Markets was opened as a separate poultry department and 335-8, later extended with a cash and carry section in 333-4, as a provisions and grocery shop. There was also a fruit and vegetable shop at 304 Central Markets until 1974. The company acted as the City agent for Saxby Bros. from circa 1940 to 1979.
Harts was acquired by Leonard Chalk in about 1930. The Chalk family sold it in 1969 to Matthew (Butchers) Ltd although Derek Chalk remained managing director until his retirement in 1978. The sausage and cooked meat preparation was taken over by Matthews' central factory, and the factory in Central Markets closed in 1973-4. In July 1979 the provision shops were closed, 341 Central Markets became a delicatessen, and 301-6 retained as a retail butchers with a catering department and a limited delivery service. The separate limited company was terminated in September 1979.
The above information was derived from London directories and from internal information, with additional information from Mr R Harman and Mr. Luff of Matthews (Butchers) Ltd, January 1980.
James Capel and Company are stockbrokers of Winchester House, 100 Old Broad Street. The company was previously based at 31 Throgmorton Street (1897-1901); 7, 9 and 11 Moorgate (1902-1926); 10 Old Broad Street (1927-1958) and 1 London Wall Buildings (1959-1965).
The Company originated as Antrobus and Wood, 1799-1816; then was known as Thomas Brown and Co., 1816-1822, and afterwards Marjoribanks, Capel and Co., 1822-1837, of 2 North Piazza, Royal Exchange to 1824 and then 5 Throgmorton Street. In 1837 the name changed again to James Capel, Norbury, Trotter and Company, which it was called until 1864, and was based at 5 Throgmorton Street, to 1896, and 9 Throgmorton Street, 1843-1850 only.
Cruikshank and Company, a firm of stockbrokers, was formed in 1929. In 1936 its partners consisted of RG Cruikshank, J C Bonnar, ACH Bull, and VS Butler. They were based at Pinners Hall, Austin Friars. In 1946 the firm merged with James Capel and Company.
This company began trading as wine and spirit merchants, spirit distillers, and isinglass manufacturers and rectifiers, specialising later on in the manufacture of isinglass and wine filtration aids. The company began trading in 1841 from 11 Mark Lane. By 1842 it had moved to premises at 6 Devonshire Square which housed a distillery, a warehouse and one of the family homes. The family remained there until 1940. The company then moved to Coggeshall, Essex. The company also had premises at 23 Little Britain, 1851-79, and 74 Aldersgate Street, 1856-80. James Vickers appears to have been a substantial City business man. In addition to his business premises, he also owned or rented the following private addresses: 52 Parliament Street, Westminster; 41 Holland Park; and Woodlands, Tooting
James Vickers and his brother Edward were partners between circa 1841 and 1863 when the partnership was legally dissolved. Upon James Vickers' death (30 April 1877), Edward Vickers was once more actively involved with the company for a short time, primarily with the premises at 74 Aldersgate Street. Some of the Vickers papers are family and household papers relating to the division of James Vickers' estate and the provisions he had made for his children. His widow, Mrs Frances Vickers, became a partner with John Watney and oversaw the company as executors of James Vickers' estate until October 1887 when their partnership was legally dissolved. In 1887 John Watney retired from his position in favour of S.F. Vickers.
Incorporated in Bermuda on 30 January 1957 as an open-ended Investment Company.
Investment Department of Kleinwort Sons and Company Limited had a contract with Signet Fund (Bermunda) Limited, an open end fund managed by Bank of Bermuda, mainly for UK residents to invest in the USA and Canada. Kleinwort Benson Limited and later Kleinwort Benson Investment Management Limited acted as their investment advisor.
A subsidiary of Rood Lane Properties Limited, engaged in the business of letting office accommodation at 13 Rood Lane, City of London.
The company has its origins in the formation of Lambert, Ridley and Company, coal factors and ship and insurance brokers in 1845. By 1869 the name had changed to Lambert Brothers and Scott, with a head office at 85, Gracechurch Street, London. The company expanded and moved into other areas of business including: the merchanting and exporting of coal; ownership of carrying vessels; insurance of ship and cargo and purchase and sale of ships.
Newton Dunn joined the company in 1876, became a partner in 1892, and the first chairman of Lambert Brothers Limited in 1902. The newly formed public company continued as coal depot proprietors, coal exporters, foreign coaling agents, and shipowners and ship and insurance brokers. Coal remained the mainstream of the business, but the company moved increasingly to more diverse areas, like ship and aircraft brokering. Later years saw the expansion of overseas business, notably with the installation of a subsidiary, Ybarrola Depositos de Aceite Combustible S.A., at Bilboa to meet bunkering and agency needs of ships involved in the export of iron ore.
Lambert Brothers Limited was bought by Hill Samuel in 1968, who were in turn acquired by TSB Group Plc. In May 1992 the shipping business was purchased by Inchcape Group, although the company is still owned by TSB and called Endeavour Marine Services.
The firm was established by six lawyers in 1836 as Legal and General Life Assurance Society with offices at 10 Fleet Street, City of London. It changed its name to Legal and General Assurance Society in 1919. Its head office moved to Temple Court, Queen Victoria Street in 1962. The company initially dealt with life assurance business, but grew to become a major financial services company also providing pensions, investments and general insurance plans.
Glanfield Securities Limited was founded in 1853 as G Glanfield and Son, clothiers. The company was incorporated in 1916 and was taken over by Legal and General, circa 1960.
The Company had several addresses: 32 Dempsey Street, Stepney (1852-5), 247 Bethnal Green Road (1855-89), Eldon Street (1889-90), 462 Bethnal Green Road (1890-1908), 1,3,5 Brick Lane (1908-40), Harrow (1941-3), Benfleet (1943-56) and Leeds.
The Levant Company was founded in 1581 to regulate trade between England and Turkey.
This company of Africa merchants had premises at 5 New City Chambers, Bishopsgate. It was associated with River Gambia Trading Company Limited and William Goddard and Company.
The first recorded meeting of the Liverpool Independent Legal Victoria Burial Society took place on 3 March 1843. From as early as 1845, the Society did not confine its activities to the city of Liverpool, and in 1845 collectors were established in Runcorn, Chester, Warrington, Ormskirk and Northwich. By 1863, its operations had extended to Scotland, Ireland and Wales, and in England as far north as Newcastle and as far west as Plymouth, with outposts in London. Prior to the Friendly Societies Act of 1875, the society was governed by a committee of management (general committee) and a sub-committee. The decisions of the sub-committee, which met weekly, were ratified at the quarterly meetings of the management committee. From 1875, Liverpool Victoria was governed by a single body called the committee of management or general committee which consisted of two officers, eight district managers or agents and ten employees. In 1906 it was proposed that the society should be converted to a limited liability company. This move was opposed by some members, who formed a Members' Defence Committee, and published a number of anti-conversion leaflets. The dispute was put to external arbitration, which decided that although the conversion could not take place, the society could form a subsidiary to promote its interests. As a result, the Liverpool Victoria Insurance Corporation was established in 1907.
Under the National Insurance Act of 1911 a system of compulsory health insurance for the working-class was established, to be administered by "approved societies". In 1912 the Liverpool Victoria Approved Society was constituted. By the end of that year it had over 350,000 members and later became one of the largest and most successful of the Approved Societies. Between 1843 and 1861 the society was known variably as the Liverpool Victoria Burial Society, Victoria Legal Burial Society or Liverpool Victoria Legal Burial Society. From about 1861, it was called the Liverpool Victoria Legal Friendly Society. In 1918 the name was changed to the Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society.
The society was based in Liverpool at 37 Blake Street (1843-51), 49 Great Newton Street (1851-67), 32 Great Newton Street (1868), 23 Islington (1870-80) and 144 Islington (1881-5). In 1885 the society moved its chief office to London and was based at 18 St Andrew Street (1885-1926), "Victoria House", Southampton Row (1926-97). In around 1998 the chief office was moved to County Gates in Bournemouth.
In the late seventeenth century, Edward Lloyd opened a coffee house in Tower Street, and later Lombard Street, where merchants and bankers were accustomed to meet to write insurance on ships and cargoes. In 1769, a group of such underwriters, who wished to distance themselves from a reputation for speculation, set up a New Lloyd's coffee house, at 5 Pope's Head Alley. Lloyd's first took on a collective identity when, two years later, the underwriters paid a subscription and elected a Committee, with the intention of establishing themselves in more suitable quarters and regulating the conduct of their business.
Lloyd's was governed by the Committee according to a constitution defined by a trust deed of 1811 and redefined by an Act of Parliament of 1871, which incorporated Lloyd's, and later Acts of 1888, 1911, 1925 and 1951. The management structure was revised under the terms of the Lloyd's Act of 1982 which established the Council of Lloyd's as the new governing body with powers to regulate the business of insurance at Lloyd's. The Committee of Lloyd's continued in existence with reduced powers.
Lloyd's remains a market for marine insurance, although, in the twentieth century, its business has expanded into other areas of insurance. Lloyd's was established at the Royal Exchange in 1774, and remained there until 1928, with only a brief interruption between the years 1838-44, following a fire. From 1928, Lloyd's occupied a site on the corner of Lime Street and Leadenhall Street; subsequently opening a new building, on the other side of Lime Street, in 1957, and another new building, on the original site, in 1986.
The London Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1882. There had been various previous attempts in 1823-4 and in the 1860s-1870s to establish a similar body which had met with hostility from the City. An organising committee was set up by the Lord Mayor in January 1881. It applied for incorporation under the Companies Act and had its first general meeting on 25 January 1882. From its foundation, the Chamber published the Chamber of Commerce Journal (copies are held by Guildhall Library Printed Books Section 1882-1961) which became accepted as a mouthpiece for the British business community. Within two years of its formation, the London Chamber was the largest in the UK and had been given prominence in the Association of British Chambers of Commerce. By 1892 it had a membership of over 3000. The Chamber's role was to develop international trade and represent the interests of the London trading community, a community which was intended to encompass all of the metropolis of London, not just the City of London. It also assisted members in resolving more day to day trading concerns.
The Chamber's name changed in 1971 to the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, to reflect the growing industrial membership. The records have been catalogued as records of the London Chamber of Commerce as this was the name used for most of the organisation's existence. The Printed Books Section holds many printed items under the present name.
According to Steven R B Smith's article on the early years of the Chamber, "The Centenary of the London Chamber of Commerce: its origins and early policy" in London Journal 8 (2) Winter 1982, pp.156-70, the London Chamber of Commerce advocated the consolidation of colonial markets and the expansion of the British empire with the active help of the British government. The early years of the Chamber are also covered by Charles E Musgrave The London Chamber of Commerce from 1881 to 1914, published in 1914.
The London Chamber of Commerce's offices were at 26 Nicholas Lane EC4 1881-2; King William Street EC4 1882-6; Botolph House, 10 and 12 Eastcheap EC3 1887-1903; 1-3 Oxford Court, Cannon Street EC4 1903-34; 69-75 Cannon Street EC4 1935-92 and 33 Queen Street EC4 1992 to date.
The inland section of the Federation of British Wholesale Fish Merchants' Associations was formed in 1936 to represent the concerns of inland wholesalers. It resigned from the federation in 1938 over differences with the coastal section.
London Wholesale Fish Trade (Billingsgate) Limited was a trading company formed in 1946 at the incorporation of the London Fish Trade Association (see CLC/B/151-04). The new company was established to deal in, export/import and act as broker and agent for fish. It also took over the various schemes formerly run by the association.