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

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

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

Ronald Francis Woolmer was born in 1908. He was educated at Rugby School; University College, Oxford; and St Thomas's Hospital where he attained B M, B Ch in 1932. He took up anaesthetics and became Senior Resident Anaesthetist at St Thomas's in 1934. He then became Resident Medical Officer and St Thomas's Home from 1936-1938 and then became Anaesthetic Registrar at Westminster Hospital in 1939. During World War Two, he served in the Royal Navy, attaining the rank of Surgeon Commander. After the War, Woolmer obtained an appointment as Senior Lecturer and then Reader in Anaesthetics in Bristol University. During this time he helped with the foundation of the South Western Society of Anaesthetics. He took over the Research Department of the Faculty of Anaesthetists in the Royal College of Surgeons in 1957, becoming Professor in 1959. He was founder and first President of the Biological Engineering Society, a Vice-President of the International Federation for Medical Electronics, and a founder member of the Anaesthetic Research group. He became the first medical man to deliver the Kelvin lecture to the Institute of Electrical Engineers in 1961. He published a book, The Conquest of Pain (1961), which was aimed at lay audiences, and was also awarded the Henry Hill Hickman medal of the Royal Society of Medicine in 1962. He died in 1962.

John Thomas Woolhouse was born in Halstead, Essex, in 1666. Son of Thomas Woolhouse, royal oculist and of the third generation, according to Woolhouse, to have followed that profession. He was educated at Westminster School and matriculated in 1684 at Trinity College, Cambridge, on a scholarship. He graduated in 1686/7 and then travelled throughout Europe to familiarise himself with the various methods of treating diseases of the eye. He started a practice in London, and served for a time as Groom of the Chamber to King James II. He was working in Paris from before 1700 to about 1730. He served as surgeon to the Hospice des Quinze-Vingts in 1711. He originated the operation of iridectomy to restore sight in cases of occluded pupil, and he was the first to describe the complete and systematic extirpation of the lachrymeal sac when the duct was blocked. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Surgeons of England, in 1721, being at that time oculist to the French King. He was also a member of the Royal Academy of Berlin and of the Institute of Sciences of Bologna. He died in 1734.

Born in 1880, Leonard Woolf worked for the Ceylon Civil Service from 1904-1911. He was the editor of the International Review, 1919, the literary editor of The Nation, 1923-1930, and joint editor of the Political Quarterly, 1931-1959. He was a member of the National Whitley Council for Administrative and Legal Departments of the Civil Service, 1938-1955. He was married to Virginia Stephen in 1912, and they founded the Hogarth Press in 1917. The Press published many of the works of the Bloomsbury group, including those of Virginia herself. To the Lighthouse, which was written in 1927, examined the life of an upper middle class British family, portraying the fragility of human relationships and the collapse of social values.

Adeline Virginia Stephen (always known by her middle name) was born in London in 1882, and educated at home. The deaths of her parents and two elder siblings before Virginia was 25 had a profound effect on her work. She wrote from an early age and, as young women, she and her sister Vanessa were founders of the Bloomsbury Group of young writers and artists. She married fellow writer Leonard Woolf in 1912. Woolf's novels include Mrs Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927) and Orlando (1928), the latter partly inspired by her relationship with the writer Vita Sackville-West; she was also a prolific essayist, diarist and correspondent. She drowned herself in 1941, fearing another collapse in her often-fragile mental health. Her writing prefigured several later developments in 20th century fiction and is still acclaimed by many critics.

Born, 1900; educated Glendale County School, Wood Green; BSc in Geology King's College London, 1921; MSc, 1923; DSc, 1927; Lecturer in Geography at King's, 1927-1942; Reader, 1942-1947; Professor of Geography, Birkbeck College, 1944; Professor of Geography at King's, 1947; Founder member of the Institute of British Geographers, 1931; Fellow of King's College, 1956; Fellow of the Royal Society, 1959, died, 1963. Publications, either as author or co-author, include: The physical basis of geography. An outline of geomorphology (London, 1937); The spirit and purpose of geography (London, 1951); The Weald (London, 1953); Structure, surface and drainage in South-East England (London, 1955); The geographer as scientist. Essays on the scope and nature of geography (London, 1956); London's countryside. Geographical field work for students and teachers of geography (London, 1957).

Robert Woody (1770-1823), son of Robert Woody, Apothecary, born in Old Bond Street, 13 Sep 1770; admitted House Surgeon at the Salop Infirmary on the recommendation of John Hunter; left June 20th 1800; doctor on board the Hon. East India Company's ships; went to Tamworth early in 1800; died 6 Aug 1823.

Arthur Smith Woodward was born in Macclesfield on 23 May 1864 and educated in Macclesfield and at Owens College Manchester. He entered the British Museum in 1882, became Assistant Keeper of Geology in 1892, and was Keeper of the Geological Department from 1901 to 1924. He became occupied with researches into extinct vertebrata, especially fish, and travelled extensively to South America and Greece. He co-operated with Charles Dawson in the discovery and interpretation of the Piltdown skull, 1912-1914. Throughout his life, he received many medals from various societies. He was Secretary of the Palaeontographical Society, 1900-1934, President of the Geologists Association, 1904-1906, and President of the Geological Society, 1914-1916. He wrote many papers, mainly about fish and geological surveys. He was knighted in 1924 and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1901. Smith Woodward died on 2 September 1944.

Arthur Woodward (17 Mar 1917-5 Feb 2008) was born in Wigan, Lancashire, and was educated at Hindley Green Council School. At the age of 15 he began his career as an apprentice at Leyland Park, Hindley, maintaining the tennis courts and doing horticultural work when time permitted.

In 1935 Woodward was appointed gardener, at a level known as ‘improver’, on a private estate, Leggatt’s Park in Potters Bar, where he spent 18 months, and where in due course he was put in charge of the fruit and plant houses. In 1937 he moved to Cambridge University Botanic Garden, employed as student gardener in the glasshouses and propagating department. He left two years later as a trained gardener, to gain more experience in parks work and joined the Council Parks Department at Dudley, Worcestershire. His time at Dudley was interrupted by the war, which he spent in the Royal Air Force, during which time he continued to practice horticulture.

After demobilisation Woodward spent a year as a student gardener at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, before being appointed ‘technical assistant’ at Beckenham Parks Department, where he had a wide range of administrative responsibilities. Over time he gained a number of qualifications: the RHS junior and senior certificates in general horticulture, the RHS Teachers preliminary and advanced qualifications in school and cottage gardening, RHS National Diploma in Horticulture qualifications in general horticulture, and the Diploma of the Institute of Park Administration.

In 1947 he was appointed Deputy Parks Superintendent at the Borough of Richmond. In 1956, following the retirement of George Humphreys, Woodward was appointed Parks and Allotments Superintendent, a post he held until his retirement in 1982. During his time at Richmond he developed the Terrace Gardens, Richmond, improved tree care practices, opened up the parks by removing gates and fences, and created 200 acres of natural parkland from gravel pits near the river. He also established a central nursery at Ham and a nine-hole golf course at Twickenham.

After retirement Woodward joined a local group of architects as Landscape Consultant, and was variously President of the University Botanic Gardens Association, Kew Guild, Richmond Rotary Club and the Barnes Horticultural and Allotments Association.

Woodward married Adah Major in Lancashire in 1942, and they had two sons.

Source: The archive of Arthur Woodward

Woodside , Moya , b 1907

Moya Woodside was born in 1907. She was Honorary Secretary of the Belfast Branch of the Society for Constructive Birth Control when it was established in 1938, which she wrote a pamphlet on the history of family planning for the Edinburgh Brook Centre in 1984. Mrs Woodside is also noted for the collaboration with Dr Eliot Slater which resulted in the publication of Patterns of Marriage (Cassell and Co, London, 1951).

Born 1881; educated at Harrow and Sandhurst; served in the Grenadier Guards; travelled extensively in the Balkans and Asia Minor as special correspondent for several newspapers; Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society,1905-1939; died, 1939.

Ethel Gertrude Woods was born 1865; educated, Newham College, Cambridge, 1891; research studentship in Munich; science teacher, 1898-1910; worked in the Censorship Department during World War One; Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, 1927-1939; died 1939.

JR Woodriff, second son of Daniel Woodriff, entered the Navy in 1802, became a lieutenant in 1811 and served on the Channel and Cape Stations between 1812 and 1814. From 1836 until 1848, when he was promoted to commander, he was attached to the Weymouth District of the Coast Guard.

Woodriff became a lieutenant in 1782. In 1789 he commanded the troopship ENDYMION, which was wrecked in 1790 at Jamaica; he was honourably acquitted at the subsequent court-martial. On his return to England in 1794 he was appointed Principal Agent for Transports, and was involved in the evacuation of troops from the Low Countries. He became a commander in 1795. He was promoted to captain in 1802, the year he took command of the CALCUTTA. After survey work in the Bass Straits, the ship returned to Spithead, 1804, was converted into a warship for convoy duties and went to St. Helena. On the return journey the CALCUTTA was attacked by the French and captured. In 1808, a year after his release, Woodriff became Superintendent of Prisoners of War at Forton, near Gosport, until in 1814 he went to Jamaica as Resident Commissioner at Port Royal. Returning to England in 1822, he was offered, in 1837, either flag-rank or an appointment to Greenwich Hospital; he chose the latter.

A R Woodriff, son of Commander John Robert Woodriff and grandson of Captain Daniel Woodriff, served on the North America and West Indies Station from 1868 to 1871, when he became a lieutenant. After a period in China, 1873 to 1874, he returned to England and was drowned in 1876.

Born 1885; commenced nursing training at Lambeth Workhouse Infirmary in 1906, gaining her certificate in 1909 and passing her CMB (midwifery) in 1911. She held various posts at Lambeth including Sister, Night-Sister and Sister of Linen Store until August 1914. Between August and December 1914 she was Matron of a Home for Destitute Areas, St. Giles, Endell Street, London, which was run by the MAB and closed by the military. Subsequently Norah Woodman was transferred as Assistant Matron, to a war Refugees Camp at Earl's Court in Decemebr 1914, being promoted to Matron in 1915. In April 1919 she was elected Matron at the Lambeth Hospital, a position held until March 1945. Woodman received the MBE and a Belgian medal in 1918.

Born 1917; educated at Winchester and New College, Oxford; Gray's Inn, 1939; enlisted in the Royal Artillery, 1939; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; commissioned, 1940; service with the British Mission, Athens, Greece, 1940-1941; served with the Special Operations Executive (SOE), Greece, 1941-1945; service on clandestine mission in German occupied Crete, 1941-1942; Maj [1942]; Second in Command to Col Edmund Charles Wolf Myers, Head of British Military Mission to Greek guerrillas in German occupied Greece, 1942-1943; participated in operation to demolish the Gorgopotamos viaduct, Greece, Nov 1942; awarded DSO, 1943; Col [1943]; commanded British (later Allied) Military Mission to Greek guerrillas in German occupied Greece, 1943-1945; awarded OBE, 1944; served as Second Secretary, HM Embassy, Athens, Greece, 1945; Secretary General, Allied Mission for Observing Greek Elections (AMFOGE), 1946; worked in industry, 1946-1948; Master of Arts, Oxford, 1947; Assistant Secretary, Nuffield Foundation, 1948-1950; Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, 1950; served in HM Embassy, Teheran, Iran, 1951-1952; Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, 1951; Foreign Office, 1952; Director General, Royal Institute of International Affairs, and Director of Studies, 1955-1959; Visiting Fellow, Nuffield College, Oxford, 1956; Conservative MP for Oxford, 1959-1966 and 1970-1974; Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, 1961-1962; Joint Under Secretary of State, Home Office, 1962-1964; Director, Education and Training, Confederation of British Industry, 1966-1970; President, Classical Association, 1968; Chairman, Council, Royal Society of Literature, 1977-1986; Visiting Professor of Modern Greek History, King's College London, 1978; Special Member, Academy of Athens, 1980; succeeded brother, 4th Baron Terrington, 1998. His last years were spent completing the translation into English of Panagiōtēs Kanellopoulos's History of the European Spirit; died 2001.

Publications: A translation of Pope's Sappho to Phaon (Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1938); Apple of discord. A survey of recent Greek politics in their international setting (Hutchinson, London, 1948); One omen (Hutchinson, London, 1950); Dostoievsky (Arthur Barker, London, 1951); The Greek War of Independence: its historical setting (Hutchinson, London, 1952); translation of The buried people: a study of the Etruscan world by Sibylle von Cles-Reden (Rupert Hart-Davis, London, 1955); translation of The last sortie: the story of the Cauldron by Herbert Zand (Rupert Hart-Davis, London, 1955); translation of Child of the revolution by Wolfgang Leonhard (Collins, London, 1957); Britain and the Middle East (Librairie Minard, Paris, France, 1959); British Foreign Policy since the Second World War (Hutchinson, London, 1961); Rhodes, with John Gilbert Lockhart (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1963); The new concert of nations (Bodley Head, London, 1964); The Battle of Navarino (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1965); A short history of Greece from early times to 1964, with Walter Abel Heurtley, Henry Clifford Darby, and Charles William Crawley (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1965); El Neuvo concierto de las naciones (Mexico, 1965); Post war Britain (Bodley Head, London, 1966); The story of modern Greece (Faber and Faber, London, 1968); The Philhellenes (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1969); The modern environment of classical studies: presidential address delivered to the Classical Association at Royal Holloway College, 9 April 1969 (Murray, London, 1969); Capodistria: the founder of Greek independence (Oxford University Press, London, 1973); The struggle for Greece, 1941-1949 (Hart-Davis, MacGibbon, London, 1976); Modern Greece, a short history (Faber, London, 1977); Something ventured (Granada, London, 1982); Karamanlis: the restorer of Greek democracy (Clarendon, Oxford, 1982); British reports on Greece, 1943-1944, with Col Sir John Melior Stevens and David John Wallace, edited by Lars Baerentzen (Museum Tusculanum, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1982); The rise and fall of the Greek Colonels (Granada, London, 1985); George Gemistos Plethon: the last of the Hellenes (Clarendon, Oxford, 1986); Rhigas Velestinlis [1995].

Descriptions of Greek resistance groups (Greek: αντάρτες, andartes) related to this collection:

ΕΑΜ: The National Liberation Front (Greek: Εθνικό Απελευθερωτικό Μέτωπο, Ethniko Apeleftherōtiko Metōpo) led by Geōrgēs Siados (Greek: Γιώργης Σιάντος) was a Communist group affiliated with the KKE - the Communist Party of Greece (Greek: Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas).

The military arm of EAM was ELAS, The National People's Liberation Army, (Greek: Εθνικός Λαϊκός Απελευθερωτικός Στρατός (ΕΛΑΣ), Ethnikos Laikos Apeleftherōtikos Stratos), led by Arēs Velouchiōtis (Greek: Άρης Βελουχιώτης) (real name Athanasios (Thanasis) Klaras).

EDES: The National Republican Greek League (Greek: Εθνικός Δημοκρατικός Ελληνικός Σύνδεσμος, (ΕΔΕΣ), Ethnikos Dēmokratikos Ellēnikos Syndesmos), was an anti-Communist, Republican group, led by political leader Nikolaos Plastēras (Greek: Νικόλαος Πλαστήρας), and military leader Gen Napoleōn Zervas (Greek: Ναπολέων Ζέρβας).

EKKA: National and Social Liberation (Greek: Εθνική και Κοινωνική Απελευθέρωσις, Ethnikē kai Koinonikē Apeleftherōsis), led by Dēmētrios Psarros (Greek: Δημήτριος Ψαρρός) was a liberal, anti-Communist, Republican group.

Woodger was born on 2 May 1894 and was educated at Felsted School in Essex, showing an early interest in biology. He went to University College London (UCL) in 1911 to read zoology. He served during the First World War. In 1919 he resumed his scholarship at UCL and carried out research there until 1922. He then went to the Department of Biology at the University of London Middlesex Hospital Medical School as a Reader, where he lectured. He wrote a text-book for his biology students in which he drew most of the illustrations himself. In 1926 he went to Vienna to study for a term under Przibram. He became interested in the philosophy of science and on his return to England continued to study it. He became Professor of Biology at the Medical School in 1947. He retired in 1959. Woodger published many writings on the biological sciences. He died on 8 March 1981.

Woodford , Thomas

The cartulary is from the collection of the antiquary Thomas Martin (1697-1771) of Palgrave, Suffolk.

Charles Henry Lardner Woodd was elected a Fellow on 20 May 1846 but despite being a member until his death in 1893, never submitted a geological paper to the Society. However he was a gifted artist and the eight drawings in this series show the geological features around Cromarty and Assynt in Scotland which were recorded throughout the month of August 1847 when he appears to have been following in the footsteps of the famous Scottish geologist Hugh Miller (1802-1856). At least two of the drawings make reference to 'Miss Allardyce' who is likely to be Catherine Allardyce, one of Miller's social circle in the town of Cromarty.

Woodcraft Folk

The Woodcraft Folk broke away from the Kibbo Kift and founded their own group in 1925. They were mainly composed of the South London Co-operative Groups who withdrew from the Kibbo Kift Kindred in 1924. Although they continued with the same principles of woodcraft training and recapitulation they were a more democratic group with an international outlook. They were closely associated with the Co-operative Movement and a member of the International Falcon Movement and the Socialist Educational International. The group is still in existence.

The firm of Woodbridge and Sons, formerly Riches and Woodbridge, seems to have been, if not the sole firm of solicitors in Uxbridge in the 19th century, then certainly the most prominent, and many of the leading Uxbridge families are well represented in the collection. Riches and Woodbridge is listed in the Post Office Directory of 1847 as situated on the High Street, Uxbridge. By 1853 the solicitors is listed as Riches, Woodbridge and Son and by 1859 as Charles Woodbridge and Sons.

In Kelly's Directory of Essex, Hertfordshire and Middlesex of 1908 the important role of the family in local government is revealed. Woodbridge and Sons are listed as "solicitors, and solicitors to Uxbridge Permanent Building Society, 38 High Street". Charles Woodbridge is described as "solicitor, commissioner for oaths, clerk to the magistrates for Uxbridge division, clerk to the commissioners of taxes, to the Joint Hospital Board, Uxbridge Rural District Council, clerk to the guardians and assessment committee of Uxbridge Union and superintendent registrar of Uxbridge district and joint registrar of county court"; his son Algernon Rivers Woodbridge, is listed as a solicitor and deputy superintendent registrar of Uxbridge Union, while Francis Charles Woodbridge is a solicitor and clerk to Uxbridge United Charities and Thomas Hurry Riches Woodbridge is a solicitor and joint registrar of county court. Edgar Thomas Woodbridge is simply listed as 'solicitor'.

The business subsequently expanded. In the 1937 Kelly's Directory of Middlesex their offices are listed at 38 High Street, Uxbridge and 7 New Square, Lincoln's Inn, London. Algernon Rivers Woodbridge is described as a solicitor, clerk to the magistrates for Uxbridge division, clerk to commissioners of taxes and superintendent registrar of Uxbridge district; while Edgar Thomas Woodbridge is listed as deputy superintendent registrar and clerk to the Joint Hospital Board. Francis Charles Woodbridge is listed as clerk to the Uxbridge United Charities.

Although centred on Uxbridge, the firm's business spread over the neighbouring Middlesex and Buckinghamshire parishes, particularly Harlington, Hayes, Hillingdon and Denham.

John Emmett Woodall was born on 1 January 1904. He attended Hyde County School between 1915 and 1922. From 1922 to 1927 he attended Manchester University, graduating in 1926 with a BA in French, geography and history. In 1927 he took a Teacher's Diploma course. In the same year he was appointed to the staff of Tientsin Grammar School (TGS), where he became Assistant Master in charge of geography and sports. From 1934 until 1937 he was Assistant Headmaster, and in 1937 he took the post of Headmaster of TGS. When the Japanese occupied the School in December 1941, Woodall continued classes in various locations around Tientsin, in what he termed the 'Catacombs School'. In 1943, he and his family were interned at Lung Hwa Internment Camp. In September 1945, they were repatriated and returned to England. In 1946, Woodall went to Sudan as a Lecturer at the Institute of Education at Duiem, and he later became Head Master of Atar School. Following the country's independence and a mutiny in the South, he escaped with his family into Uganda in 1955. He worked at a teacher training college at Katshina, Northern Nigeria, 1956-1960. Following Nigerian independence, Woodall went to Uganda as Education Secretary to the Church of Buganda. He returned to Guernsey in 1962, following illness (cancer). In 1977, he attended the first re-union of former TGS pupils, in Vancouver. In the following years he attended many such gatherings in London, Australia and America. In 1981 he re-visited Tientsin with a group of former pupils. He died on 5 January 1987. He was married to Daphne Payne, a former student at the TGS. They had two sons and a daughter.

The Tientsin School was founded by the Tientsin School Association in 1905. Its object was 'to promote the education, through the medium of the English language, of those children of Tientsin and the country dependent on Tientsin for whom English is the native language'. In spring 1918, the Tientsin School Association transferred the school to the British Municipal Council, at which point it became known as the Tientsin Grammar School (TGS). In 1930, control of the school was placed in the hands of the Trustees for Foreign Education, and responsibility for administration fell to a Committee of Management, elected annually by the ratepayers.

The school offered an education to fit pupils for the large public schools in England, and for business careers in the Far East. TGS became the North China Centre for the Cambridge Local Examinations. The first Cambridge Local Examinations were held in 1924. The first Head Master of TGS was H J Turner. In 1926, Alec Hay took up the post, with S Yeates as Assistant Head Master. Yeates became Head Master in 1927, and in 1937 John Emmett Woodall took up the post.

On 8 December 1941, the Japanese occupied the British Concession of Tientsin. On the same day, Japanese soldiers entered the school building and the pupils were dismissed. TGS ceased to be a school for English speaking Tientsiners, and within a few weeks had been converted to a Japanese girls' school. Classes continued for some time under Woodall, in what he termed the 'Catacombs School', in a church hall, dining rooms and garages. However, within three months, the Japanese had ordered Woodall to cease all educational activities. Classes for school children did continue within the internment camps. The School building and grounds were given to Chiang Kai Shek in the Anglo Chinese Treaty of 1943; the Chinese Nationalists took possession after VJ Day, and four years later Mao Tse Tung took control of Tientsin.

A fine was a fee, separate from the rent, paid by the tenant or vassal to the landlord on some alteration of the tenancy, or a sum of money paid for the granting of a lease or for admission to a copyhold tenement.

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

Terrier refers to a register of landed property, formerly including lists of vassals and tenants, with particulars of their holdings, services, and rents. It can also refer to a rent-roll; or, in later use, a book in which the lands of a private person or corporation, are described by their site, boundaries, acreage, and so on. It can also mean an inventory of property or goods.

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

The parliamentary constituency of Tottenham is situated in the borough of Haringey. It was established in 1885 when it also included the Wood Green area. Between 1885 and 1918 the area returned Liberal candidates.

In 1918 the seat was divided into Tottenham North and Tottenham South, while Wood Green became a separate constituency. Between 1918 and 1950 the Tottenham seats were held by a mix of Conservative and Labour candidates. In 1950 the seats were reunited into the current Tottenham constituency, covering Tottenham, Tottenham Hale, Haringay, West Green, Seven Sisters, Bruce Grove, Northumberland Park and Finsbury Park. Since 1950 the seat has been held by Labour candidates.

The Wood Green constituency returned Conservative Members of Parliament between 1918 and 1950. Between 1950 and 1983 it returned Labour politicians. The constituency was abolished in 1983 and merged with Hornsey to form the parliamentary constitutency of Hornsey and Wood Green, comprising half of the borough of Haringey, covering Wood Green, Noel Park, Alexandra Palace, Muswell Hill, Crouch End, Cranley Gardens and Highgate. The new seat was held by the Conservatives until 1992 when a Labour candidate was successful. In 2005 and 2010 the seat was taken by the Liberal Democrats.

Thomas Wood (fl 1705-1746) citizen and carpenter, was a builder, of Beech Lane, Red Cross Street in the parish of St Giles Cripplegate. Wood was from 1717 carpenter to the Draper's Company and tenant of their estate in Cripplegate Without Ward (source: Drapers' records).

Searles Valentine Wood jnr, was born on February 1830 at Hasketon, Suffolk. His father, Searles Valentine Wood senior (1798-1880), was a keen geologist and his only child followed in his footsteps, working with him on fossiliferous Eocene deposits Hordle cliff, Hampshire, as early as 1843.

Wood attended King's College School (the grammar school which was once attached to King's College London) between 1839-1843 and continued his education in France until 1845. He was admitted as a solicitor in 1851, but after practising law in Woodbridge, Suffolk for a number of years, gave it up to purse geology full-time.

Wood's main focus of interest was on tertiary and post-tertiary geology, and is best known for his study of glacial beds and deposits on which he published nearly sixty papers, many in conjunction with his friend Frederic William Harmer. Although a virtual invalid for the last ten years of his life, he continued to study and to submit papers for publication right up to his death on 14 December 1884.

Robert Wood: born Riverstown Castle, Co. Meath, Ireland, c 1717; travelled extensively in Europe and the Middle East, 1738-1755; under-secretary to William Pitt, 1756; elected MP, 1761; elected member of the Society of Dilettanti, 1763; died 1771. Publications: The Ruins of Palmyra, London, 1753 and The Ruins of Baalbek, 1757.
James Dawkins: born Jamaica, eldest son of Henry Dawkins of Laverstoke, Hampshire; educated at St John's College, Oxford; succeeded to his father's estates, 1744; travelled extensively in Europe and the Middle East, 1742-1751; MP, 1754; died Jamaica, 1757.
John Bouverie: born c 1722, son of Sir Christopher Des Bouveries of London; educated at New College, Oxford; made 3 visits to Italy between 1741 and 1751, and assembed a considerable collection of prints, drawings, engravings, cameos and medals; died at Guzel Hissar, Turkey, 1750, and buried at Smyrna.
Giovanni Battista Borra (1712-1786) was an artist, architect, landscape designer and draughtsman.

Robert Wood (1672-1738) was the son of Thomas Wood of Littleton and his wife Dorothy. Educated at Eton and Wadham College, Oxford, Robert was admitted Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, on 17 April 1695. He became a Doctor of Laws at Doctors' Commons. His first wife, Eleanor Smith, whom he married in 1702, died in 1717, and in 1720 he married Jane Heaton by whom he had four daughters.

Christopher 'Kit' Wood was born in 1901. He was educated at Marlborough College and studied architecture at Liverpool University. In 1921 he enrolled at the Academie Julian in Paris, then at the Grande Chaumire. He met a number of European artists, including Jean Cocteau (with whom he shared a studio) and Picasso, whilst in Paris and during visits to Europe and north Africa. In 1926 he met Ben and Winifred Nicholson in London and stayed with them in Cornwall, where he and Ben Nicholson discovered the work of the naive painter Alfred Wallis (in 1928). A member of the Seven and Five Society, he also exhibited with the London Group. His best work was completed in Brittany in the final two years of his life. He was killed by a train at Salisbury railway station in 1930. Frosca Munster, a Russian emigre, met Wood in Paris in 1928. They began a relationship and she stayed with him and the Nicholsons in Cornwall.

The first monograph on Wood was Eric Newton's Christopher Wood, 1901-30 (1938). The most recent biography is Richard Ingleby's Christopher Wood: An English Painter (1995).

John Wood was born in Bradford in 1793. He was apprenticed to a worsted manufacturer at the age of 15. A few years later he became a master spinner in his own right; his factory came to be considered exemplary in its treatment of both adult and child workers. Wood became an exponent of (and reluctant agitator for) factory reform during the 1820s, but he broke with the reform movement in the late 1830s, feeling it was too militant. He retired from business early, and died in 1871.

G B Wood trained at Edinburgh and Manchester, later becoming senior house surgeon at Huddersfield Infirmary and practising on the Isle of Wight. MCh, MO at Jersey General Dispensary and Infirmary.

Wood , family , of Littleton

The Wood family settled at Littleton in Middlesex c 1663 and remained there until 1873/4, when the original mansion (built by Edward Wood 1663-5) was largely burnt down and Thomas Wood built a new one at Gwernyfed, Brecon, Wales. The present mansion was partially rebuilt on the same site by Richard Burbidge, who purchased the property from the Wood family.

A manuscript Pedigree Book of the Wood family was drawn up in the nineteenth century and this traces the family back to the fifteenth century, when they were living in Fulbourne, Cambridgeshire. Sir John Wood (1536-1633) sold the family estates in Fulbourne and settled in Beeston, Yorkshire, while his brother Nicholas settled in Norfolk.

Nicholas' son, Edward Wood, (c 1604-1667), was born in Suffolk and moved to London some time before 1634. The baptisms of several children are recorded in the registers of St. Dunstan's in the East, but only Thomas (1641-1723) survived infancy. Edward Wood described himself as a "Citizen and Grocer", and it seems that he had a house in Thames Street. He moved to Littleton around 1663 and set up as a gentleman farmer, while continuing to run his London business through his agent John Pack. Collection ACC/0262 includes many letters from Edward Wood to his agents discussing business matters.

Edward's son Thomas Wood married Dorothy Dicer in June 1666 at Saint Dunstan's in the East, and moved into the house at Littleton. Edward Wood died in March, 1667 and was buried at St. Dunstan's in the East on March 20th. Thomas and Dorothy had two sons, Robert and Edward, who both went to Eton and Oxford.

When Thomas died in 1723 Robert took over the Littleton house. He extended the family land holdings in the area, but it was his son, Thomas, who finally purchased the Manor of Littleton itself from Gilbert Lambell in 1749. It then remained in the hands of the Wood family until 1873.

Wood , family , of Littleton

The long-standing connection between the Wood family and the parish of Littleton began in the middle of the seventeenth century when Edward Wood, citizen and grocer of London, built his mansion house there. This remained the principal seat of the family until the house was destroyed by fire in December 1874, and Captain Thomas Wood removed permanently to the family estate at Gwernyfed, Brecknockshire, Wales.

The Woods were substantial landowners with property in a number of counties. The Middleham estate in Yorkshire was purchased in the seventeenth century and the estate at Gwernyfed was acquired in 1776 upon the marriage of Thomas Wood to Mary, daughter and heiress of Sir Edward Williams of Langoid Castle. In Middlesex the lordships of Astlam and Littleton were held by the family, and Captain Thomas Wood was lord of the manor of Littleton in 1906 (The Victoria History of the County of Middlesex, Vol. 2., 1911). The Littleton estate, comprising over 1250 acres in Littleton, Shepperton, Ashford and Laleham, was broken up and sold from 1892, although Captain Thomas Wood still owned much of the land in Littleton parish in the early twentieth century.

Members of the family followed careers, for the most part, in law, government, and the armed forces. The first Thomas Wood to live at Littleton (d.1723) continued his father's merchant business and held the appointment of Ranger of Hampton Court. His son Robert was a scholar and Doctor of Laws and, in the next generation, Thomas (1708-99) was Treasurer of the Inner Temple. His descendants entered the government, at home and overseas, often preceding this by military careers. Colonel Thomas Wood (1777-1860), Member of Parliament for Brecon for forty years, commanded the Royal East Middlesex Regiment of Militia for fifty six years and encamped with them at Aldershot in his eightieth year. His son Thomas (1804-72) commanded the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards in the early stages of the Crimean War, Prior to this he represented the County of Middlesex in Parliament, Thomas his son (b.1853) followed his father into the Grenadiers and saw action in the Sudan. Upon leaving the regular army he became a colonel in the Brecknockshire Rifle Volunteers and entered local government. Famous soldiers in the family include Charles Wood (1790-1877) who fought in the Peninsula, and at Waterloo, and his nephew General Sir David Wood (1812-94) an officer in the Crimean campaign and the Indian Mutiny.

Throughout the nineteenth century the family consolidated its position among the landed gentry by contracting alliances with the aristocracy. In successive generations three Thomas Woods married, respectively, the daughter of 1st Marquess of Londonderry, the grand-daughter of 4th Duke of Grafton, and the daughter of 1st. Lord Tollemache. Colonel Thomas Wood and his wife enjoyed the friendship of William IV and Queen Adelaide and the King. nominated Wood to be one of his executors. Colonel Wood was host to George IV at Gwernyfed, and members of the royal family visited Littleton.

Wood , family , of Littleton

The Wood family settled at Littleton in Middlesex c 1663 and remained there until 1873/4, when the original mansion (built by Edward Wood 1663-5) was largely burnt down and Thomas Wood built a new one at Gwernyfed, Brecon, Wales. The present mansion was partially rebuilt on the same site by Richard Burbidge, who purchased the property from the Wood family.

A manuscript Pedigree Book of the Wood family was drawn up in the nineteenth century and this traces the family back to the fifteenth century, when they were living in Fulbourne, Cambridgeshire. Sir John Wood (1536-1633) sold the family estates in Fulbourne and settled in Beeston, Yorkshire, while his brother Nicholas settled in Norfolk.

The material catalogued in this collection relates to the Norfolk branch of the family, and in particular to Nicholas' son, Edward Wood, (c 1604-1667), Edward's son, Thomas Wood (1641-1723), and Thomas' family. Edward Wood was born in Suffolk c 1604 (Will: PCC.Carr 83) and came to London some time before 1634 when the Burial Register of St. Dunstan's in the East has an entry for an unbaptised child of his.

From 1636 onwards there is a steady flow of entries for the baptisms and burials of his children, Susanna, Edward, John, Nicholas and Thomas. Of these, only Thomas survived infancy. Further evidence of Edward's early years in London is sparse. According to The Inhabitants of London in 1638 (an edition of MS 272 at Lambeth Palace Library), he was living in Thames Street in 1638. Then there have survived among the family papers two account sheets for money collected by Edward Wood for Fairfax's army 1647- 9 in the St. Dunstan's in the East and Billingsgate area. In 1657 he was an Alderman for Billingsgate Ward, and he was on the Committee of the East India Company 1655-7 (Beaven: The Alderman of London).

In his will, dated 1658, Edward describes himself as Citizen and Grocer of London (PCC.CARR 83). It seems probable that Edward Wood's London residence was the house in Thames Street, later occupied by his business partners and agents, John Pack and Joseph Stapley. He was certainly familiar with the house in 1663, and still stayed there on his visits to London. In a letter dated 5th September, 1665, instructing Pack to shut up the house and flee from the plague he wrote, "remove my two trunkes, the one goinge into my chamber and the other by my beds side. In my Closet are the Keyes of all the Chests. In the Cyprus chest in my Chamber is a Long Guilt Cupp." (262/43/58).

Many of the surviving letters sent by Edward Wood to John Pack are endorsed with an address. The earliest, dated 4th September, 1663, has "For Mr John Pack, these, in Thames St." Another, dated 18th October, 1663, gives more information: "For Mr John Pack at the Signe of the Shipp over against beare key in Thames St." (262/43/7), and on a letter dated 26th October: "For Mr John Pack at the signe of the shipp in Thames (sic) neere the Costome house." (262/43/8). It might be supposed that Pack merely collected the letters from the Ship Inn and did not necessarily live close at hand. However, some Assessments at the LMA clearly show that the house was in Tower Ward in "Bear Key Precinct", off Thames Street. In the 1663 subsidy list there is the name of Edward Wood alone. In the 1663/4 Militia Tax there are the names of Edward Wood, Joseph (sic) Pack and Joseph "Stapli", bracketed together as "Partners". In the 1671 subsidy the names of John Pack and Joseph Stapley appear alone.

The latest reference to the house before the Fire of London in October, 1666, is in a letter dated 22nd March, 1665/6 where the endorsement reads..."over against Bare Key neere the Custom House" (262/43/104). Unfortunately there is a long gap in the correspondence at this point, and the first reference to the house after the fire is the 1671 subsidy as above.

The house must have been rebuilt, since the whole of that area of Thames Street was destroyed, but it was obviously rebuilt on the same site. Later references to the house indicate that the Inn was also rebuilt but was renamed as the Cross Keys (September 18th, 1684) or the Porter and Key (March 31st, 1689). In his will, dated 10th January, 1695/6, John Pack bequeathed to Thomas Wood "all my terme and interest in those two messuages or houses situate and being in Thame Street in the said parish of St. Dunstan's in the East, and all my right and title in and to the same being three and twenty years yett to come." (PCC Bond 238). Edward Wood was still living in London in December 1659, since in the negotiations with Nicholas Townley the elder for the purchase of property called "Ipwells" in Littleton he was doubtful about a clause leasing back the house to Townley for four years, saying, "for anything I know, may be forced to hyer a house my selfe for have thoughts of leaving London" (262/43/17). He was still in London in April, 1662 when a bond includes a clause for the repayment of the loan to Edward "att his now dwelling house in Thames Street in London" (262/43/113). In all the surviving deeds of his earliest purchases in Littleton and Laleham his name appears as "Edward Wood of London" from 1660 until as late as April 1664. (928/15/2,4,& 5; 262/34/30).

The earliest reference to Edward Wood actually living in the Littleton area is a Gamekeeper's Licence dated 2nd May, 1663. The first surviving letter written from Edward Wood at Littleton to John Pack is dated 4th September, 1663 (262/43/1). This is in fact the beginning of a good series of letters. Between 4th September, 1663 and 26th March, 1665/6 a total of 112 letters sent by Edward Wood to Pack have survived. (262/43/1-105; 262/35/22-24). There are also two letters within this period sent by Edward's son, Thomas Wood, to John Pack, dated October 12th, 1663 and 10th July, 1665. A further two letters sent by John Pack to Edward Wood have survived dated 28th June, 1666 and 15th June, 1665. All these letters were between Littleton and London, and concerned both business matters in London and domestic requirements at Littleton. They were often conveyed by John Loton's barge. The correspondence was apparently quite regular and it seems that both Edward Wood and John Pack sent two letters each per week.

In 1665, when this was disrupted by the plague, Edward wrote that two of his letters had been returned although he had received Pack's "Tuesday letter" and "Frydayes letter" (262/43/47). Pack frequently sent domestic goods down to Littleton by John Loton and on occasion quite valuable pieces of plate, sums of cash, etc. On at least one occasion, one of Edward's sisters travelled down to Littleton by Loton's barge (262/43/39). It is clear from the letters that Edward Wood was engaged in building at Littleton during the period approximately October, 1663 to June, 1665. In a letter dated 3rd December he specifically mentioned that he was building (262/43/12), and his other letters include orders for building materials such as timber, nails, pantiles, lime, etc. On 28th March, 1664 he requests "scaffolding ropes" (262/43/32 & 3) and on 29th December, 1663 instructs Pack to pay the Wharfinger of Bear Key 5 "for the plummer for work donn at Litleton." (262/43/16). On 14th April, 1664 he asks Pack to enquire "the honest price of Slit deales such as ar fitt to board the out side of a stable or barne." (262/43/34). In May, 1665 he asks Pack to send down the Glazier and Joiner "for I would fayne have my house finished". (262/43/38). He obviously felt bound to supervise the building himself and gave this as his reason for not coming up to London in June, 1665 (262/34/21). In another letter in the same month he writes, "I have men and women at worke three or four and twenty at least", and requests some Suffolk cheese "for breakfast meale for my workmen". (262/43/41). As late as November, 1665 Wood mentions in a letter to Robert Dicer that his house is "a ruinous place in respect of the times that I could not finish nor furnish it". (262/34/134).

In addition to this information derived from Edward's letters to John Pack there have survived depositions by Aron Dies of Clerkenwell, Bricklayer, and Thomas Laurence of St. Brides, London, Labourer, that they were employed by Edward Wood in bricklaying work at Littleton and Laleham from the beginning of August to the end of October, 1663. (262/34/28). There has also survived an Award, dated 1st May, 1661 by which Edward Wood agreed to pay quitrents on his property in Littleton, and in return was allowed by Gilbert Lambell, the Lord of the Manor, "soe much brick earth upon that part of the common of Littleton...as may make five hundred thousand of bricks", and the right to have a kiln there. (262/34/5 and 928/9/1). These bricks may well have been used to build Edward Wood's mansion at Littleton. It was apparently quite a large house. There are several later references to it as a "mansion" and the 1664 Hearth Tax for Littleton shows that Edward Wood was assessed for sixteen fire hearths.

It seems, therefore, that Edward Wood moved down to Littleton during 1663, possibly as early as August, but certainly by the beginning of September. There he built a large new mansion for himself and his family. It is tempting to think that the first letters that have survived from Edward Wood to John Pack were in fact the first letters sent, and were occasioned by Edward's removal from London.

Edward apparently started to farm his land at Littleton immediately on arrival. In one of the first letters to Pack that have survived, dated 14th October, 1663 he asks him to get "a brand to marke sheepe E.W. (262/43/1), and on 28th October, enough iron to "shoe a payre of Cart Wheeles." (262/43/4). On 2nd November he requested "20 fathum of white rope of this size of the straw in the letter, for plowraces." (262/43/5). Orders for oats and "pease" are a recurrent item in the letters, and were used for fodder for cattle. On 29th February, 1663/4 Edward requested "50 or 60 cash "as I have much business here as cowes, horses, and seeds, barley and teares to buy besids my building." (262/43/27). In March, 1663/4 he says "my sowing of pease and tares is soe that I cannot be absent." (262/43/29). In the following summer he asked Pack to send down 10 cash to pay the harvest men (262/43/48).

Edward Wood, Citizen and Merchant of London had apparently decided to become a gentleman farmer. He still retained, however, his business connections in London. Probably between 1660 and 1663 he came to some arrangement with John Pack and Joseph Stapley that they should occupy his London house after he left for Littleton, and should act as his partners and agents in London. In his will, written in January, 1658/9, Edward describes John Pack as "my late servant" (i.e. former servant) and appoints him as one of his executors. Probably Pack was already an occupant of the house in Thames Street at the date that Edward moved to Littleton, and simply took over the management of all Edward Wood's affairs in London. There are several references in the letters to "the partable account" which was the joint account of John Pack, Joseph Stapley and Edward Wood.

In a letter dated 8th February, 1663/4 Edward writes with regard to a loan to a Dr. Turner, "if you and Joseph thinke fitt to let him have it out of the partable account I am contented to adventure my halfe part." (262/43/24). From this it seems that Edward had a half share, and Pack and Stapley a quarter share each in the account. In another letter dated 7th August, 1665 he suggested that the penalty clause in an indenture should be "double what our Stock is, which you and Joseph knowes best what it is, which I leave to you to put in the wrightinge." (262/43/52). Edward Wood also had an account of his own, which was kept at London in the care of John Pack.

In a letter dated 5th September, 1665 he urged Pack to shut up the house and flee the plague. Among his other instructions he wrote, "pray putt upp all my wrightings in my closett and all them in your closett below and all my bookes and the bookes which belong to the partable account into a sack and seale them upp and leave them at my Cozen alsoe. As for what moneys you have in the house which concern the partable account I pray dispose of it as you shall thinke fitt." (262/43/58) It is difficult to tell from the letters what was the purpose of the joint account. Loans and mortgages to friends and acquaintances both from the joint account and Wood's own account seem to have been very frequent, but a remark in one of Edward Wood's letters suggests that this was not regarded as desirable. Concerning Nicholas Townley he said, "I thinke I shall never be quitt of hime and others for borrowing money." (262/43/38). He must have profited considerably from the loans he made, however, since he charged high interest rates. On one occasion at least he charged 6% interest on a bond for repayment in twelve months. (262/43/88). There are also clear indications that some of the capital was invested, as for example, with the East India Company. (262/43/54 and 61). It seems also that the three partners may well have been concerned in some sort of rope business. The house in Thames Street was either attached to or very near a warehouse and shop.

In September, 1665 Edward Wood advised Pack to "keepe the shopp dores shutt" and "tis better to loose the warehouse rent than to hazard your health." (262/43/63). In August 1665 Edward refers to "the spinning upp the hempe at ould Gravell Lane" and suggests that for safety's sake Pack should lock it up together with the yarn. (262/43/52). There is also a reference to "our workemen" (262/43/52). Other evidence is supplied by a letter from J.S. (Joseph Stapley) to Henry Leigh of Boston with regard to a shipment of "Marline" or double stranded rope, and another letter from William Greene dated 24th August, 1665. Finally, an undated letter from Mr Dingley to Thomas Wood is endorsed, "To be left at Mr Pack's a rope shop."

Edward Wood died in March, 1666/7 and was buried at St. Dunstan's in the East on March 20 th. (Parish Register). Among the family papers has survived a printed invitation to the funeral: "by Eight or Nine of the Clock in the Morning, by reason that the Corps is to be carried to London that day". There is also a list of 102 names, written in John Pack's handwriting, headed, "The names of those that are to be invited to the funerall on 20th March, 1666." This is endorsed with a further list of twenty-three names headed, "Ringes to be provided for the persons hereunder mentioned." This list includes both John Pack and Joseph Stapley. It seems surprising that Edward Wood was buried in London at St. Dunstan's, when this church had been partly destroyed by the Fire of London, and when Edward's last years had been devoted to building a new mansion in the country and acquiring land in that area. In his will, however, he shows that his main motive was a desire to be buried with his wife who had died in 1652. He left £50 to the poor of the parish of St Dunstan's provided "that I may have at an indifferent vallue the same vault for a burying place for my selfe and family where my late deceased wife lyeth interred." He mentions elsewhere that this was "the new vault in the South Chappell" but it is important to note that this will was drawn up in 1658, before the Fire.

The relationship between John Pack and Edward Wood is difficult to assess. Edward's letters are definitely businesslike in character and usually consist almost entirely of orders for goods to be sent and errands to be done. Pack may have been a "partner" but to Edward he was still the former servant, as he described him in his will of 1658. On the other hand, Pack was obviously trusted completely by Wood. All his money and deeds were kept in chests in the London house, and probably also the "plate and jewells" mentioned in his will. One definitely gets the impression from the letters that Edward Wood was a rather hard man, close-fisted and dominated by the profit motive. In his letters to Pack no small detail of weight or price is too trivial for his attention. Every penny is accounted for; every half per cent interest a matter of vital concern. His loans to friends were never made purely out of the goodness of his heart. He charged his cousin William Bowyer, for example, an interest rate of 5%. Charity was given to the poor, but only moderately. At the height of the plague in 1663 he instructed Pack to relieve the workmen, giving 2/6d., 2/- or 1/6d. each, and later he told Pack to give 5 to the parish of St. Dunstan's. (262/43/60 and 66). This seems to have been the sum total of his charity during the plague, and compared with these sums it is interesting to note that Edward purchased property in Littleton in 1660 for 6,800, and property in Middleham, Yorkshire, in 1661 for 7,500. During the plague too, he expressed fears for Pack's health and safety on many occasions, but still asked him to get various commodities to be sent down to Littleton; for example, on 14th August, 1665, tobacco "if these houses be clere" (262/43/53) and vinegar and candles on 21st September (262/43/62). He invited Pack and Stapley to stay over Christmas 1665, but made it clear that both should not come at once . . . "I shal be glad to see you here, one of you may come and stay one weeke, an d Joseph another." (262/43/80). This was presumably so that the shop need not be closed. On another occasion Edward commented on the death of a friend, William Chambers "whoe it hath pleased God to call out of this world so soone after he had setled his business." (8th Jan. 1665/6. 262/43/85). Edward was a merchant, heart and soul. One can only admire John Pack for his accuracy and efficiency to please such a demanding partner.

Thomas Wood, Edward's son, seems to have been on closer terms with Pack. In a letter dated 10th July, 1665, Thomas agreed to be his Executor but said "at the Reading of thy letter and writeing to the now my tears stand in my eyes." Thomas also asked Pack to stand as Godfather to his son, born in 1683 (April 30th). In his reply Pack wrote: "were it onely your request I should not deny it you, therefore for want or in stead of a better I shall, God permittinge, stand a wittenes to answer for your younge sonne, be it of what name so ever that you please to give him." This reply seems again to be that of a servant rather than an equal, and this is underlined by Pack's own note, added to an Account Sheet, August 1683, sent to Thomas Wood: "This first Account sent to my Master." John Pack remains a rather elusive figure. In the 1695 Marriage Assessment he was listed as a Bachelor with more than 600. He died in January, 1695/6 and in his will described himself as Citizen and Skinner of London. His body, he said, was to be "decently but privately buried in the vault in the churchyard in the parish of St. Dunstan's in the East . . . adjoining to the South side . . . where my late deceased freind Mr Joseph Stapley was buryed." (PCC. Bond 238). He left substantial bequests to Thomas Wood himself, including property in Wetheringsett cum Brockford in Suffolk; and his stock with the East India Company. He also left a total of 370 to Thomas Wood's children. The most interesting feature of his will, however, is the reference to another John Pack and his children. No clue is given as to relationships.

John Pack of London left property in Mickfield, Suffolk, to his kinsman, Thomas Watts, with the provise that he pay an annuity of 16 to Elias Cooper of Hingham, Norfolk "or to such other person or persons as shall have the Guardianshipp or tuition of the two youngest children, (being a son and a daughter) of John Pack late of Marche Ganger deceased, during their minority", and also of the two eldest children of "John Pack late Ganger deceased." He also bequeathed a moiety of all the money owed to him from Sir Robert Viner and Edward Backwell to Thomas Wood, provided he pay the other half "to and amongst my Relations as the said Thomas Wood the Elder shall think stand most in need thereof." Thomas was also the sole Executor of the will. This was clearly no light task. Among the family papers there is a receipt dated March 5th, 1714/15 for 10 paid by Thomas Wood to Francis Pack "being part of the money left by Mr John Pack's will to be distributed to his poor relations."

There is also a rather pathetic letter from Elias Cooper to Thomas Wood dated February 8th, 1702/3, concerning the legacy due to Thomas Pack, son of John Pack the Younger, deceased. Elias said, "but how I shall come in for my owne money that I disboursed for these children when nobody would doe for them in their Minority I know not." In addition, as late as January, 1720/21 there is an entry in an Account Sheet sent to Thomas Wood "Paid your order to the three Packs...10." (262/43/147). It is interesting to note that John Pack held land in Suffolk. Is it mere coincidence that Edward Wood was himself born in Suffolk, and that both Edward Wood's and John Pack's families seem to have been living in Norfolk at the beginning of the seventeenth century? There is also an Apprenticeship Indenture dated 1st June, 1632 among the Littleton Park Records (928/29/4) for the apprenticeship of a John Pack, son of Thomas Pack of Ockwood, Suffolk, Gent., to Thomas Frere, Citizen and Skinner of London. The date of this seems very early, since John Pack, Wood's agent, did not die until 1695. However, he described himself in his will as a skinner and he certainly held land in Suffolk at that date, so that it seems that this indenture may well refer to John Pack, Wood's agent.

The other occupant of the house in Thames Street was Joseph Stapley, who appears in the Assessments of 1663/4, 1671 and 1673/4. He died in July, 1685 and was buried at St. Dunstan's in the East. His will has been preserved (262/44/20) and in this he describes himself as Citizen and Ironmonger of London. He appointed his "trusty and well beloved friends", Thomas Wood and Daniel Proctor, as his Executors and bequeathed to each of them 40. Other bequests included 50 to each of his cousins, Tomson Stapley and Jane Stapley, who figure prominently in the Littleton Park Records (Acc/0928/22 - 24). To John Pack he left 10. It seems from the letters that probably two of Edward's elderly sisters lived near or with Pack and Stapley in London. In a letter dated 4th February, 1663/4 Edward writes, "I understand that my sister Ann is a trouble to the house with her base and scurrulus language, pray tell her from me that if she doe not behave herselfe better I will with-draw my hand and allow her nothing." (262/43/22). In the letter dated September, 1665 Wood invites "all three of you" to escape the plague, so presumably this includes Ann. (262/43/58). Edward's sister Katherine was living with a Cousin, Robert Thurkettle, at the time Edward wrote his will in 1658. Presumably this was fairly close at hand since both Edward and Thomas commission Pack with messages for her. For example, in March, 1665/6 Pack was to ask her to knit a pair of fine hose for her brother. (262/43/102). Both sisters are among the persons listed to receive memorial rings in 1666/7. It is also interesting to note that Joseph Stapley in his will, dated 1685, left 50 to Mrs Katherine Smith, widow. (262/44/20). Possibly Ann was already dead or living permanently at Littleton by this date.

The family letters and papers also reveal much of Thomas Wood, son of Edward Wood. In 1663 when he first appears in the letters, he was only aged twenty-one, and in fact his father made provision for his minority in his will dated 1658. The negotiations for his marriage to Dorothy Dicer in 1666 are clearly reflected. (262/43/44 - 7). Apparently both sides endeavoured to strike a good bargain, and this caused some bitterness. In a letter dated 15th June, 1665 Edward wrote, "my son's affections are much towards Sir Robert Dicer's daughter" but by July the question of a settlement was already in dispute. In a letter dated 17th July, Edward protested indignantly to Pack, "you do wright that Sir Robert Dicer thinkes I keepe my sonn too hardly to it. I know not what he meanes by it unles he thinkes tis I stand for soe much money for his daughter's portion. Tell him I ever gave my sonn that liberty to please himselfe both as to person and portion." (262/43/47) The marriage actually took place on 3rd June, 1666 at St. Dunstan's. (Parish Register). The couple seem to have lived at Littleton with Edward Wood from the beginning. Considerable care was taken over some tapestry hangings purchased from Mr Cox the Upholsterer, who made a visit to Littleton and apparently gave his advice. When it came to the point, however, Edward was unwilling to pay the bill and asked Pack to suggest to Lady Dicer that she pay for them. "You may tell her that I have and must lay out uppon the house soe much money that I am unwilling to lay out 100 uppon the hangings". (262/43/101). Glimpses of the household at Littleton from 1666 until 1704 when Dorothy Dicer died are revealed in various family letters and papers, but particularly in the letters of Stephen Penton, Principal of Wadham College, Oxford, and a close friend of Thomas Wood.

In a letter dated September, 19th, 1689 he wrote, "of all places in the world I guess I could bee most Easy att your house where a man hath leav to love and bee beloved in his own way, where Curtesy is not starch'd and stiffened with Formality and a man is not forc'd to go to Dancinge Schoole a month before he Enters the threshold." The material also provides an interesting picture of the domestic requirements at Littleton. Coal, sugar, wine and tobacco were regularly sent down from London. Other items are only mentioned once or twice, such as mace, cloves, ginger, Sugar Candy, "Licoras" and items of equipment such as "a copper pot to warme drinkes in," and "a warming pan".

There are fairly frequent references to family ailments, and medicines and drugs were sent from London, as, for example, diascordium, methridatum, a "bitter draught", pills for purging, and steel powder "for one of the maids, a stirring wench which hath the green sicknes" (262/43/92). Wigs are also mentioned in various letters. One of the chief problems in the management of the house-hold was undoubtedly that of servants. John Pack knew someone called "Dutch Sarah" who provided several maids and servants for Littleton. Pack wrote in a letter dated February 3rd, 1681/2, "Dutch Sarah saith she hath now a Couple of little prittey likely Chamber maids...and they say they can doe well as to dressinge, raisinge paste etc." A rather desperate letter has survived written from Dorothy Wood to John Pack, undated: "I woold desier you to speke to the Duch wooman to helpe me to a cook maid for I think that wich shee helped me to last hath ben mad." Other cook maids also presented a problem. In a letter dated 30th June, 1684 Thomas Wood wrote, "The Cook Maid came here on Saturday night but she hath got a great Cough" and "appeares to be very infirme and sickly." John Westley, a friend, wrote to Dorothy Wood, in another undated letter, "I make it my business to enquire oute a Silent Cooke maid which I suppose is a rarity in the house." (WFP.H) It seems as though other friends also helped to find servants. Dorothy Spencer, for example, wrote in a letter of 3rd February, 1681/2 recommencing a housekeeper, "a stayed sivell well conditioned body that hath knowledge in all things that pertaine to a good huswife ...and one that can preserve, conserve etc. and is well skilled in making all manner of sweetmeats and the like for pastery."

There are also a number of letters sent to Thomas Wood from his sons Robert and Edward at Eton, and subsequently at Oxford. The earliest of these is dated 21st July, 1687 when Edward was seventeen and Robert fifteen years old. On August 18th Robert wrote home requesting a study ... "it is an ungrateful object to me to have my books lye in a confused manner upon my Chamber table." His request was apparently satisfied, since in a letter dated 1687 Edward explained that their candle consumption has risen since my Brother has had a study." Edward went up to Oxford in 1680 and his tutor there, Charles Whiting, made several reports on his progress. On Christmas Eve, 1688 he wrote, "he has shown himself publickly in the Hall since he came by a speech made before the whole house and he quitted himself very handsomely." A letter from Edward dated March, 31st, 1689 gives an interesting account of his current debts, including payments to a Bedmaker 6/-; Tutor 2 guineas; 31/6d "for a new set of maps"; chamber rent 16/6d. and books and shoes 20/-. At this date Edward was receiving an allowance of 80 per annum. Robert also sent accounts to his father later, and it must be presumed that Thomas kept a close check on the expenditure of both his sons. Robert was always a more enthusiastic scholar than Edward. At Eton Charles Roderick commented to their father that "the elder is coming off a little lazinesse that he was fallen into" and Edward's tutor at Oxford wrote in a letter dated July 6th, 1690, "I cannot say he is idle, as on the other hand I will not tell you he studies very hard."

Some honour was nevertheless conferred on Edward in March, 1689 when he was chosen to speak some verses entitled Legis Restitutae in the Theatre on Coronation Day. Robert stayed at Oxford for a longer period and became a Fellow of All Souls in April, 1695, on the basis of kinship with the founder, Thomas Chicheley. A large number of the letters preserved at this date reflect the negotiations and difficulties involved. One side effect of the Fellowship was to rouse the interest of Thomas and Robert in their own family history. The College of Arms was consulted for a pedigree, and someone was also sent to study the monuments in Fulburn Church, Cambridgeshire, for Wood ancestors. (April 21st, 1694.) Robert eventually became a Doctor of Laws.

Edward, as the elder son, moved from his house at Hampton, where he had been living since his marriage in 1695, into the mansion at Littleton on his father's death in 1723. He did much to extend the family holdings in the Littleton area, purchasing, for example, the Chantry House and the Malthouse in Littleton. (928/5 & 7) His son, Thomas, was the one who finally purchased the Manor of Littleton itself from Gilbert Lambell in 1749. (928/2/7) It then remained in the hands of the Wood family until 1873.

Wood , family , of Littleton

The long-standing connection between the Wood family and the parish of Littleton began in the middle of the seventeenth century when Edward Wood, citizen and grocer of London, built his mansion house there. This remained the principal seat of the family until the house was destroyed by fire in December 1874, and Captain Thomas Wood removed permanently to the family estate at Gwernyfed, Brecknockshire, Wales.

The Woods were substantial landowners with property in a number of counties. The Middleham estate in Yorkshire was purchased in the seventeenth century and the estate at Gwernyfed was acquired in 1776 upon the marriage of Thomas Wood to Mary, daughter and heiress of Sir Edward Williams of Langoid Castle. In Middlesex the lordships of Astlam and Littleton were held by the family, and Captain Thomas Wood was lord of the manor of Littleton in 1906 (The Victoria History of the County of Middlesex, Vol. 2., 1911). The Littleton estate, comprising over 1250 acres in Littleton, Shepperton, Ashford and Laleham, was broken up and sold from 1892, although Captain Thomas Wood still owned much of the land in Littleton parish in the early twentieth century.

Members of the family followed careers, for the most part, in law, government, and the armed forces. The first Thomas Wood to live at Littleton (d.1723) continued his father's merchant business and held the appointment of Ranger of Hampton Court. His son Robert was a scholar and Doctor of Laws and, in the next generation, Thomas (1708-99) was Treasurer of the Inner Temple. His descendants entered the government, at home and overseas, often preceding this by military careers. Colonel Thomas Wood (1777-1860), Member of Parliament for Brecon for forty years, commanded the Royal East Middlesex Regiment of Militia for fifty six years and encamped with them at Aldershot in his eightieth year. His son Thomas (1804-72) commanded the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards in the early stages of the Crimean War, prior to this he represented the County of Middlesex in Parliament. Thomas his son (b 1853) followed his father into the Grenadiers and saw action in the Sudan. Upon leaving the regular army he became a colonel in the Brecknockshire Rifle Volunteers and entered local government. Famous soldiers in the family include Charles Wood (1790-1877) who fought in the Peninsula, and at Waterloo, and his nephew General Sir David Wood (1812-94) an officer in the Crimean campaign and the Indian Mutiny.

Throughout the nineteenth century the family consolidated its position among the landed gentry by contracting alliances with the aristocracy. In successive generations three Thomas Woods married, respectively, the daughter of 1st Marquess of Londonderry, the grand-daughter of 4th Duke of Grafton, and the daughter of 1st. Lord Tollemache. Colonel Thomas Wood and his wife enjoyed the friendship of William IV and Queen Adelaide and the King nominated Wood to be one of his executors.

Colonel Wood was host to George IV at Gwernyfed, and members of the royal family visited Littleton. The fire which destroyed the Littleton mansion in 1874 also consumed a fine collection of paintings. The most famous of these was Hogarth's Strolling Actors, which had been purchased in 1745 by Thomas Wood. The artist's signed receipt for the purchase money is among the documents in this collection (ACC.1302/91). It was preserved carefully by the family and is mentioned by James Thorne in his Handbook to the Environs of London, published in 1876.

Wood , family , of Littleton

Edward Wood was a merchant living in the City of London. Around 1663 he purchased an estate at Littleton in Middlesex, which passed on to his son Thomas. Thomas Wood's son Edward did much to extend the family holdings in the Littleton area, purchasing, for example, the Chantry House and the Malthouse in Littleton. His son, Thomas, was the one who finally purchased the Manor of Littleton itself from Gilbert Lambell in 1749. It then remained in the hands of the Wood family until 1873, when the original mansion (built by Edward Wood 1663-5) was largely burnt down and Thomas Wood built a new one at Gwernyfed, Brecon, Wales.

The Woods were substantial landowners with property in a number of counties. The Middleham estate in Yorkshire was purchased in the seventeenth century and the estate at Gwernyfed was acquired in 1776 upon the marriage of Thomas Wood to Mary, daughter and heiress of Sir Edward Williams of Langoid Castle. In Middlesex the lordships of Astlam and Littleton were held by the family, and Captain Thomas Wood was lord of the manor of Littleton in 1906 (The Victoria History of the County of Middlesex, Vol. 2., 1911). The Littleton estate, comprising over 1250 acres in Littleton, Shepperton, Ashford and Laleham, was broken up and sold from 1892, although Captain Thomas Wood still owned much of the land in Littleton parish in the early twentieth century.

Members of the family followed careers, for the most part, in law, government, and the armed forces. The first Thomas Wood to live at Littleton (d 1723) continued his father's merchant business and held the appointment of Ranger of Hampton Court. His son Robert was a scholar and Doctor of Laws and, in the next generation, Thomas (1708-99) was Treasurer of the Inner Temple. His descendants entered the government, at home and overseas, often preceding this by military careers. Colonel Thomas Wood (1777-1860), Member of Parliament for Brecon for forty years, commanded the Royal East Middlesex Regiment of Militia for fifty six years and encamped with them at Aldershot in his eightieth year. His son Thomas (1804-72) commanded the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards in the early stages of the Crimean War, Prior to this he represented the County of Middlesex in Parliament, Thomas his son (b.1853) followed his father into the Grenadiers and saw action in the Sudan. Upon leaving the regular army he became a colonel in the Brecknockshire Rifle Volunteers and entered local government. Famous soldiers in the family include Charles Wood (1790-1877) who fought in the Peninsula, and at Waterloo, and his nephew General Sir David Wood (1812-94) an officer in the Crimean campaign and the Indian Mutiny.

Throughout the nineteenth century the family consolidated its position among the landed gentry by contracting alliances with the aristocracy. In successive generations three Thomas Woods married, respectively, the daughter of 1st Marquess of Londonderry, the grand-daughter of 4th Duke of Grafton, and the daughter of 1st. Lord Tollemache. Colonel Thomas Wood and his wife enjoyed the friendship of William IV and Queen Adelaide and the King nominated Wood to be one of his executors. Colonel Wood was host to George IV at Gwernyfed, and members of the royal family visited Littleton.

Wood , family , of Littleton

The long-standing connection between the Wood family and the parish of Littleton began in the middle of the seventeenth century when Edward Wood, citizen and grocer of London, built his mansion house there. This remained the principal seat of the family until the house was destroyed by fire in December 1874, and Captain Thomas Wood removed permanently to the family estate at Gwernyfed, Brecknockshire, Wales.

The Woods were substantial landowners with property in a number of counties. The Middleham estate in Yorkshire was purchased in the seventeenth century and the estate at Gwernyfed was acquired in 1776 upon the marriage of Thomas Wood to Mary, daughter and heiress of Sir Edward Williams of Langoid Castle. In Middlesex the lordships of Astlam and Littleton were held by the family, and Captain Thomas Wood was lord of the manor of Littleton in 1906 (The Victoria History of the County of Middlesex, Vol. 2., 1911). The Littleton estate, comprising over 1250 acres in Littleton, Shepperton, Ashford and Laleham, was broken up and sold from 1892, although Captain Thomas Wood still owned much of the land in Littleton parish in the early twentieth century.

Members of the family followed careers, for the most part, in law, government, and the armed forces. The first Thomas Wood to live at Littleton (d 1723) continued his father's merchant business and held the appointment of Ranger of Hampton Court. His son Robert was a scholar and Doctor of Laws and, in the next generation, Thomas (1708-99) was Treasurer of the Inner Temple. His descendants entered the government, at home and overseas, often preceding this by military careers. Colonel Thomas Wood (1777-1860), Member of Parliament for Brecon for forty years, commanded the Royal East Middlesex Regiment of Militia for fifty six years and encamped with them at Aldershot in his eightieth year. His son Thomas (1804-72) commanded the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards in the early stages of the Crimean War, Prior to this he represented the County of Middlesex in Parliament, Thomas his son (b 1853) followed his father into the Grenadiers and saw action in the Sudan. Upon leaving the regular army he became a colonel in the Brecknockshire Rifle Volunteers and entered local government. Famous soldiers in the family include Charles Wood (1790-1877) who fought in the Peninsula, and at Waterloo, and his nephew General Sir David Wood (1812-94) an officer in the Crimean campaign and the Indian Mutiny.

Throughout the nineteenth century the family consolidated its position among the landed gentry by contracting alliances with the aristocracy. In successive generations three Thomas Woods married, respectively, the daughter of 1st Marquess of Londonderry, the grand-daughter of 4th Duke of Grafton, and the daughter of 1st Lord Tollemache. Colonel Thomas Wood and his wife enjoyed the friendship of William IV and Queen Adelaide and the King. nominated Wood to be one of his executors. Colonel Wood was host to George IV at Gwernyfed, and members of the royal family visited Littleton.

Wood , family , of Littleton

The long-standing connection between the Wood family and the parish of Littleton began in the middle of the seventeenth century when Edward Wood, citizen and grocer of London, built his mansion house there. This remained the principal seat of the family until the house was destroyed by fire in December 1874, and Captain Thomas Wood removed permanently to the family estate at Gwernyfed, Brecknockshire, Wales.

The Woods were substantial landowners with property in a number of counties. The Middleham estate in Yorkshire was purchased in the seventeenth century and the estate at Gwernyfed was acquired in 1776 upon the marriage of Thomas Wood to Mary, daughter and heiress of Sir Edward Williams of Langoid Castle. In Middlesex the lordships of Astlam and Littleton were held by the family, and Captain Thomas Wood was lord of the manor of Littleton in 1906 (The Victoria History of the County of Middlesex, Vol. 2., 1911). The Littleton estate, comprising over 1250 acres in Littleton, Shepperton, Ashford and Laleham, was broken up and sold from 1892, although Captain Thomas Wood still owned much of the land in Littleton parish in the early twentieth century.

Members of the family followed careers, for the most part, in law, government, and the armed forces. The first Thomas Wood to live at Littleton (d 1723) continued his father's merchant business and held the appointment of Ranger of Hampton Court. His son Robert was a scholar and Doctor of Laws and, in the next generation, Thomas (1708-99) was Treasurer of the Inner Temple. His descendants entered the government, at home and overseas, often preceding this by military careers. Colonel Thomas Wood (1777-1860), Member of Parliament for Brecon for forty years, commanded the Royal East Middlesex Regiment of Militia for fifty six years and encamped with them at Aldershot in his eightieth year. His son Thomas (1804-72) commanded the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards in the early stages of the Crimean War, Prior to this he represented the County of Middlesex in Parliament, Thomas his son (b 1853) followed his father into the Grenadiers and saw action in the Sudan. Upon leaving the regular army he became a colonel in the Brecknockshire Rifle Volunteers and entered local government. Famous soldiers in the family include Charles Wood (1790-1877) who fought in the Peninsula, and at Waterloo, and his nephew General Sir David Wood (1812-94) an officer in the Crimean campaign and the Indian Mutiny.

Throughout the nineteenth century the family consolidated its position among the landed gentry by contracting alliances with the aristocracy. In successive generations three Thomas Woods married, respectively, the daughter of 1st Marquess of Londonderry, the grand-daughter of 4th Duke of Grafton, and the daughter of 1st. Lord Tollemache. Colonel Thomas Wood and his wife enjoyed the friendship of William IV and Queen Adelaide and the King. nominated Wood to be one of his executors.

Colonel Wood was host to George IV at Gwernyfed, and members of the royal family visited Littleton. The fire which destroyed the Littleton mansion in 1874 also consumed a fine collection of paintings. The most famous of these was Hogarth's ""Strolling Actors"", which had been purchased in 1745 by Thomas Wood. The artist's signed receipt for the purchase money is among the documents in this collection (ACC.1302/91). It was preserved carefully by the family and is mentioned by James Thorne in his Handbook to the Environs of London, published in 1876.

Wood , family , of Littleton

The long-standing connection between the Wood family and the parish of Littleton began in the middle of the seventeenth century when Edward Wood, citizen and grocer of London, built his mansion house there. This remained the principal seat of the family until the house was destroyed by fire in December 1874, and Captain Thomas Wood removed permanently to the family estate at Gwernyfed, Brecknockshire, Wales.

The Woods were substantial landowners with property in a number of counties. The Middleham estate in Yorkshire was purchased in the seventeenth century and the estate at Gwernyfed was acquired in 1776 upon the marriage of Thomas Wood to Mary, daughter and heiress of Sir Edward Williams of Langoid Castle. In Middlesex the lordships of Astlam and Littleton were held by the family, and Captain Thomas Wood was lord of the manor of Littleton in 1906 (The Victoria History of the County of Middlesex, Vol. 2., 1911). The Littleton estate, comprising over 1250 acres in Littleton, Shepperton, Ashford and Laleham, was broken up and sold from 1892, although Captain Thomas Wood still owned much of the land in Littleton parish in the early twentieth century.

Members of the family followed careers, for the most part, in law, government, and the armed forces. The first Thomas Wood to live at Littleton (d 1723) continued his father's merchant business and held the appointment of Ranger of Hampton Court. His son Robert was a scholar and Doctor of Laws and, in the next generation, Thomas (1708-99) was Treasurer of the Inner Temple. His descendants entered the government, at home and overseas, often preceding this by military careers. Colonel Thomas Wood (1777-1860), Member of Parliament for Brecon for forty years, commanded the Royal East Middlesex Regiment of Militia for fifty six years and encamped with them at Aldershot in his eightieth year. His son Thomas (1804-72) commanded the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards in the early stages of the Crimean War, Prior to this he represented the County of Middlesex in Parliament, Thomas his son (b.1853) followed his father into the Grenadiers and saw action in the Sudan. Upon leaving the regular army he became a colonel in the Brecknockshire Rifle Volunteers and entered local government. Famous soldiers in the family include Charles Wood (1790-1877) who fought in the Peninsula, and at Waterloo, and his nephew General Sir David Wood (1812-94) an officer in the Crimean campaign and the Indian Mutiny.

Throughout the nineteenth century the family consolidated its position among the landed gentry by contracting alliances with the aristocracy. In successive generations three Thomas Woods married, respectively, the daughter of 1st Marquess of Londonderry, the grand-daughter of 4th Duke of Grafton, and the daughter of 1st Lord Tollemache. Colonel Thomas Wood and his wife enjoyed the friendship of William IV and Queen Adelaide and the King. Colonel Wood was host to George IV at Gwernyfed, and members of the royal family visited Littleton.