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The first City Solicitor was appointed in 1544 and the first Comptroller in 1311. The two posts were amalgamated in 1945.

The Comptroller and City Solicitor is responsible for providing all legal services required by the City. This includes providing legal advice to Committees, Departments of the City, to the Commissioner of Police for the City, and to other organisations for whom the Comptroller and City Solicitor is required to act as legal adviser (e.g., the Museum of London). The office deals with important high profile matters such as City Academies, the Temple Bar project, several major City property developments schemes, the Small and Medium Enterprises initiatives and issues relating to the City's Markets and Open Spaces.

The main areas of law covered by the Comptroller and City Solicitor include commercial property and land law, housing, litigation, employment law, contract law, planning, trusts and company law.

The first City Solicitor was appointed in 1544 and the first Comptroller in 1311. The two posts were amalgamated in 1945.

The Comptroller and City Solicitor is responsible for providing all legal services required by the City. This includes providing legal advice to Committees, Departments of the City, to the Commissioner of Police for the City, and to other organisations for whom the Comptroller and City Solicitor is required to act as legal adviser. The office deals with important high profile matters such as City Academies, the Temple Bar project, several major City property developments schemes, the Small and Medium Enterprises initiatives and issues relating to the City's Markets and Open Spaces.

The main areas of law covered by the Comptroller and City Solicitor include commercial property and land law, housing, litigation, employment law, contract law, planning, trusts and company law.

The Chamber of a city is the place where the funds of the corporation are kept and where moneys due are received - a kind of treasury. The Chamber is run by the Chamberlain, an officer who receives the rents and revenues owed to the corporation. The origin of the Chamber of London is obscure, but as soon as the citizens were sufficiently united to hold lands and tenements in common an officer must have been appointed to collect rents and disburse income for public welfare. The Chamber is first mentioned in 1275 and in the following year Stephen de Mundene is named as City Chamberlain. At first the Chamberlain was chosen by the Mayor and Aldermen, but by 1319 elections were introduced and the officer was chosen by the liverymen in Common Hall.

The Chamberlain's duties combined municipal finance with public banking. His main duty was as treasurer or banker of the City of London with custody of the monies of the Corporation, called the City's Cash, and other funds. Former Chamberlains were able to keep for themselves profits derived from interest on the cash! The Chamberlain also collects the rents of all Corporation properties and makes payments on behalf of the Corporation including salaries and pensions. He also invests money, is responsible for insurance, the preparation of tax returns and production of reports and statistics.

Additionally, the Chamberlain was the Accountant General of the Court of Orphans (see CLA/002) and held all money belonging to the orphans on which he allowed interest. For this purpose the Chamberlain held a Common Seal, first mentioned in 1396. He was also the occasional collector of taxes for the London area, particularly those granted to the City by the monarchy in return for loans. The Coal Duty for reconstruction of public buildings after the Great Fire was paid into the Chamber, as was any money borrowed by the City. The Chamberlain was also treasurer of any charitable funds organised by the City.

The Chamberlain's Court administers applications and admissions to the City Freedom, liaises with the City Livery Companies and advises the Corporation, Livery Companies and correspondents on various aspects of the City Freedom, including precedent and custom. The Court was also responsible for the admission of apprentices, see COL/CHD/AP.

The City of London was unique in evolving Common Hall as a separate electoral assembly for the choice of important municipal officers, including the Lord Mayor. At one time all freemen were entitled to attend but now only liverymen of the City Livery Companies or Guilds are present and only those liverymen of more than one year's standing are entitled to vote. No specific date can be supplied for the establishment of Common Hall, although its existence can be traced back to at least the 13th century. In 2008 Common Hall continues to meet on a regular basis.

The Livery Consultative Committee was formed to promote better communication between the Livery Companies and the City and to find a method of increasing the involvement of Liverymen in City affairs, with the hope of thus increasing the general welfare of the City.

The City of London was unique in evolving Common Hall as a separate electoral assembly for the choice of important municipal officers, including the Lord Mayor. At one time all freemen were entitled to attend but now only liverymen of the City Livery Companies or Guilds are present and only those liverymen of more than one year's standing are entitled to vote. No specific date can be supplied for the establishment of Common Hall, although its existence can be traced back to at least the 13th century. In 2008 Common Hall continues to meet on a regular basis.

The Livery Committee of 1782 had the terms of reference 'to take the most effectual Methods for obtaining a more equal Representation of the People in Parliament and a frequent Election of the Representatives, according to ancient usage, and for these purposes to confer and correspond with other Committees throughout the Kingdom', that is, to correspond with the Committees of several counties on the topic of economy, reform and Parliament.

The Livery Committee of 1864 was established to regulate the admission of liverymen to Common Hall.

Custumals are collections of the customs, laws, liberties, statutes and regulations of a manor, city or province, brought together in one volume from a variety of sources. They would have been used as reference books by the City Clerks.

The acceleration of population growth in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries coupled with the Industrial Revolution massively increased the number of people living in urban areas - in 1891 a quarter of the country's population lived in London. Accommodation for the urban poor was usually crowded tenements with poor sanitation and no amenities. This state of affairs gradually attracted press attention, with observers expressing moral indignation at the conditions in which people were forced to live as well as fear that such slums would spread disease and social uprisings might occur. Various Acts of Parliament were introduced in an attempt to control the problem, such as the Lodging Houses Act of 1851 which permitted local authorities to erect and repair lodging houses, the Labouring Classes Dwelling Houses Act of 1866 which extended local authority powers to provide housing for the labouring classes, and the Artisans and Labourers Dwellings Acts of 1868 and 1875 which permitted local authorities to close, demolish and improve unfit dwellings. Unfortunately none of these Acts provided any subsidy for the local authorities and few acted on them. It was still not widely accepted that the local authority had any part to play in housing provision. Additionally, the new housing built to replace slums was often for the artisan class meaning that the poorest inhabitants of the demolished slum were displaced with nowhere to live. Nevertheless, the Corporation of London embarked on several housing projects: the Corporation Buildings on Farringdon Street, built in 1865, were the earliest council housing scheme.

In 1884 the Royal Commission on the Housing of the Poor examined sanitary conditions, public health, the availability of accommodation, rents, the cost of living and building costs. The Commission produced evidence showing that slums were not inhabited only by the criminal or destitute but by hard working, otherwise respectable families forced to live in such conditions by high rents and lack of housing. The Commission recommended legislation and the Housing of the Working Classes Act of 1885 was passed, enabling municipal bodies to provide and improve housing for the working population and providing low interest loans to encourage construction. An addition to the Act in 1890 gave local authorities the power of compulsory purchase of land, allowing them to provide housing other than on a replacement basis following slum clearance.

After the First World War it was acknowledged that there was a housing shortage, and that the housing provided had to be suitable for returning soldiers - 'Homes for Heroes' became a popular slogan. Local authorities were the obvious vehicle for that provision and subsidies were provided to encourage the building of half a million homes in three years. The Housing and Town Planning Act of 1919 encouraged revolutionary new standards of building including indoor toilets, a bathroom, separate cooking areas, hot water, gas and open spaces around the homes. Unfortunately this proved too expensive and the subsidies were withdrawn: in the 1923 Housing Act standards of building were lowered. The 1930 Housing Act encouraged local authorities to focus on more slum clearance but made it a requirement to re-house everyone displaced by the clearance.

A similar crisis in housing occurred after the Second World War, when nearly four million homes were destroyed or damaged by enemy action. Local authorities were again used as instruments for housing provision. The Government set local targets and used administrative controls to ensure that their plans were followed. Housing provision by local authorities only increased in the 1950s and by the 1970s local authorities accounted for the building of over 100,000 dwellings a year, as well as continuing slum clearance projects.

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

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

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

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

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

The Guildhall Museum was founded in 1826 by the Corporation of London when the Common Council instructed the Library Committee to provide a suitable place for the reception of antiquities relating to the City of London. No adequate space was provided for display until 1873 when the new Library building was constructed with provision for a museum space. During the Second World War the collections were evacuated. After the war a small room was allocated for the display of museum objects. Most of the objects in the museum came from archaeological excavations within the City, including Roman and Medieval finds. Other objects relevant to the history of the City were also displayed such as livery companies' plate, City seals, medals of civic entertainments, presentation swords, ceremonial staffs and regalia, tradesmen's tokens, watches and clocks belonging to the Clockmakers' Company and playing cards belonging to the Company of Makers of Playing Cards.

In 1975 the London Museum in Kensington and the Guildhall Museum merged to form The Museum of London, housed in the new Barbican complex. The clocks belonging to the Clockmakers' Company are still on display at Guildhall near the Library.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Public health responsibilities in the City of London were undertaken by the Court of Commissioners of Sewers from 1667. The Commissioners of Sewers undertook the construction of sewers and drains and the paving, cleansing and lighting of the City streets following the Great Fire. In 1897 the responsibilities of the Commissioners of Sewers were transferred to the new Public Health Department and Committee under the City of London Sewers Act. Through the Medical Officer of Health the Department considered social and environmental influences affecting City health and learned of medical advances which could be applied to the benefit of the community. Until 1946 the Department administered and financed a Maternity and Child Welfare Clinic and Tuberculosis Clinic at St Bartholomew's Hospital, and until 1948 ran a drop-in clinic for the treatment of venereal disease. The Department acted as the Burial Board for the City of London including management of the cemetery and crematorium at Ilford.

The Public Health Department also included Slaughterhouse and Meat Inspectors who ensured the quality of meat for sale. Similar officers also tested the quality of milk, ice cream, tinned foods, fruit, margarine and shellfish. Dealers and manufacturers of foodstuffs were registered with the Department. Investigations into outbreaks of food poisoning and the inspection of bakeries, restaurants and pub kitchens were also undertaken by the Department. Further environmental hygiene activities included sanitation, ventilation, drainage, overcrowding, offensive trades, nuisances, smoke abatement and inspection of shops, factories, lodging houses and Corporation owned housing. Measures to prevent atmospheric pollution were also considered by the Department and monitoring of pollution in the City was begun. The staff also included a Rodent Officer who inspected premises and investigated complaints of rodent infestation, and a Coroner whose duties included fire inquests.

The Public Health Department is now called the Environmental Services Department and is responsible for many of the same duties, including the cemetery and crematorium, surveying, food inspection, pest control, pollution control, highways management, waste disposal, Port of London Health and the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre.

Files relating to various subjects regarding the organisation and history of the Corporation of London collected during the course of normal business and used for reference purposes.

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

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

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

The division of the City of London into wards is confirmed in the earliest written records and was considered fundamental to municipal organisation. The ward was an administrative division of the City and each ward was managed by an Alderman. In 1206 the total number of wards was recorded as 24, although by 1550 this had increased to 26 with the division of Farringdon into two wards and the addition of Bridge Without covering the area of Southwark. In the present day there are 25 wards. Each ward held a court called the Wardmote which had a wide jurisdiction for the preservation of the peace and had the power to inflict appropriate punishments. A synopsis of civic regulations was read annually at the Wardmote and a special inquest jury was appointed to report on breaches of regulation, unlicensed victuallers, defective weights, fraudulent traders and other complaints of the inhabitants of the ward. Gradually the municipality took over many of these duties and election of officers became the major concern of the Wardmote, although local problems can still be brought to the attention of the Court of Aldermen.

Wardmotes are held annually for the constitutents of a ward to meet their representative, raise concerns and ask questions. Elections for Common Councilmen are held every 4 years.

The 25 wards of the City of London are: Aldersgate, Aldgate, Bassishaw, Billingsgate, Bishopsgate, Bread Street, Bridge, Broad Street, Candlewick, Castle Baynard, Cheap, Coleman Street, Cordwainer, Cornhill, Cripplegate, Dowgate, Farringdon Within, Farringdon Without, Langbourn, Lime Street, Portsoken, Queenhithe, Tower, Vintry and Walbrook.

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

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

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

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

Forest Gate School District was formed in 1868, made up of the Hackney, Poplar and Whitechapel Poor Law Unions. The Hackney Union left in 1877.

The School District purchased an existing industrial school in Forest Gate, as well as the Training Ship Goliath, used to prepare pauper boys for a career in the Navy. The Goliath was destroyed by fire in 1875, after which the School District used the Training Ship Exmouth, managed by the Metropolitan Asylums Board.

The School District was disbanded in 1897 and the Poplar Union took over management of the school.

Source of information: Peter Higginbotham at The Workhouse website.

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

This appears to have been a select betting club, new members referred to as 'nephews', being elected on the nomination of existing members. Officers of the Board included a President, Serjeant, Champion, Bellringer, Secretary and Steward. The meeting place from 13 March 1734/5 to 16 June 1737 was Cary's, Golden Square, and from 26 June 1737 to 12 February 1740/1, at the Fountain in the Strand. Bets were laid on any subject of topical or personal interest and were often concerned with parliamentary business; the stakes appear to have been in claret or other wine rather than money.

The Beaumont Philosophical Institution was founded in Beaumont Square, Mile End Road, Stepney in 1840 by John Thomas Barber Beaumont, "for the mental and moral improvement of the inhabitants of the said Square, and the surrounding neighbourhood...." In 1882 a new scheme for the Beaumont Trust was drawn up by the Charity Commissioners. The trustees spent the next years raising money to build the People's Palace, Mile End Road, Stepney, the main hall of which was opened by Queen Victoria, 14 May 1887. From the provision of elementary education in the original scheme of 1892, developed the East London Technical College which became a school of London University in 1907. In 1909 the administration of the People's Palace and of East London College was put under two separate committees. A new scheme of administration drawn up by the Charity Commissioners in 1933 separated entirely the People's Palace from the college, which in 1934 received a royal charter and was renamed Queen Mary College.

In 1850 the North London Railway began operating services from Camden Town to Poplar, and then on into the East End. In 1851 the line was extended to Hampstead where it joined with the London and North Western Railway, and in 1858 it was connected to a branch of the London and South Western Railway to Richmond. In 1865 the line was further extended in the east so that the terminus was Broad Street station, situated adjacent to Liverpool Street Station.

By 1900 Broad Street station was the third busiest in London (after Liverpool Street and Victoria). During the Second World War the line was badly bombed and the East End portion was closed. Trains continued to run to the badly damaged Broad Street station, but the development of Tube and bus networks had significantly reduced the passenger numbers. The station was not repaired and the main part of it was closed in 1950, although two platforms continued to operate.

In 1963 Richard Beeching was appointed Chairman of the British Transport Commission with the brief to reduce British Rail spending. He achieved this by announcing extensive cuts in what has become known as the 'Beeching Axe'. Broad Street was one of the stations earmarked for closure. However, local opposition saved the station and it continued running until 1985 when it was finally closed. The Broadgate office development stands on the site.

In 1979 the line between Richmond and Dalston via Gospel Oak became the North London Line, and in 2010 is part of the London Overground network.

A 'Slate Club' was a group who saved money in a common fund towards a specific purpose. For example, a small amount might be paid into the club each week, to be paid back in a lump sum at Christmas. The name derives from the early practice of keeping the accounts on a slate. Such clubs were often run by churches for the benefit of their poorer congregation.

Originally built in 1820 as a Congregationalist chapel called Holland Chapel, the building which was to become Christ Church, North Brixton was taken over as a proprietary chapel by the Reverend F Crossman. It became a Chapel of Ease to Saint Mark's Church, Kennington and when in 1855 Canon McConnell Hussey became its minister, he converted the leasehold land to freehold. He also arranged to have the district formed into a separate parish and to have the church consecrated, reseated and enlarged by the addition of an apse at his own expense. The church was consecrated on 9 October 1855. In 1891 the Reverend W. R Mowll was appointed. He was responsible for the building of a parish hall and the rebuilding of the old church which, dilapidated beyond repair, was closed in 1899 and demolished. The new church was consecrated by the Bishop of Rochester on 5 December 1902.

The Cowdray Club was established in 1922 and remained in existence until 1974 when it merged with the Naval and Military Club in Piccadilly. Its original name was The Nation's Nurses and Professional Women's Club Ltd, and its accounts and legal agreements used this name throughout. The First Viscountess Cowdray did much to promote the nursing profession. As Annie Pearson, the wife of Weetmar Dickinson Pearson, a successful engineering contractor (Pearson and Son), her life had taken her to Spain, Mexico, New York, Egypt and Malta. She left her mark in her humane care for her husband's employees and in the gift of Cowdray Hospital to Mexico City. She was a supporter of district nursing, being associated with the Queen's Institute of District Nursing, and active in establishing nursing services in many rural districts of England and Scotland. She provided seven Queen's Nurses at her own expense.

Following the creation of the College of Nursing in 1916, Viscountess Cowdray became involved with fundraising for The Nation's Fund for Nurses for the Creation of a Benevolent Fund for Nurses and the endowment of the College of Nursing. This involvement led to the idea of a gift of a social club for nurses and professional women which "should provide a centre for intercourse and recreation and which should also furnish some of those creature comforts which we associate with the word 'Home'". To this end the Cowdrays purchased 20 Cavendish Square from Mr and Mrs Asquith.

The house was originally built in 1703 and possessed a staircase decorated by Sir James Thornhill. It was converted into a club by Sir Edwin Cooper and later given a new facade after the purchase of neighbouring properties by the College of Nursing in 1928-1930. The building belonged to the College of Nursing and was leased to the club.

The membership of the club was on a basis of 55 per cent nurses, 35 per cent professional women and 10 per cent women without professional qualifications. The College of Nursing had a 50 per cent representation on the council of the club. For much of its existence, the club had over 4,000 members.

Further research might perhaps establish links with other philanthropic Societies of the time, but the Association does not seem to be recorded in London Charities, 1871-72.

The Society for Organising Charitable Relief and Repressing Mendicity was founded in 1869. It was more commonly known by its short title, the Charity Organisation Society (COS). It was later known as the Family Welfare Association. Its formation arose out of concern over overlapping charities in London, whose activities, it was feared, led to pauperisation and a waste of resources. Its founders sought to promote a more scientific approach to charity based on the principle that relief should only be given after a thorough investigation of the applicant's circumstances and character and that relief should be sufficient to prevent him becoming a pauper. Its objects included promotion of co-operation between charitable agencies and Poor Law authorities.

In the 20th century the COS played a major role in pioneering the proper training of social workers and in the development of social work as a profession. It was responsible for the appointment of the first hospital almoner at the Royal Free Hospital in 1895. The Council appointed a Committee on Training in 1897 and arranged a series of lectures which district secretaries on probation were expected to attend. In 1903 the School of Sociology was opened as an offshoot of the COS, although an independent body; it decided to merge with the London School of Economics in 1912. In 1915 the COS began its own twelve-month course of training in social work in conjunction with Bedford College. It also provided practical experience for students from other courses. Consequently the work of the district offices became increasingly dominated by salaried professional social workers and the role of the volunteer decreased in importance. The COS also played an important role in the setting up of Citizens' Advice Bureaux (CAB), an idea developed in response to the numbers of people seeking guidance and advice during the Munich Crisis in 1938. The London Council of Social Service and the COS jointly established some 80 CAB in London by the outbreak of war in 1939. Each bureau was autonomous, with a local management committee, and there was a national central committee. The COS was responsible for the CAB in inner London. They proved so useful that the service was continued after the end of the war. In 1946 the COS was renamed the Family Welfare Association (FWA) to reflect its changed role and to emphasise its principal function as a family casework agency.

Shirley Fielding Palmer founded the Guild of Saint Alban the Martyr in 1851, probably inspired by Newman's suggestion that laymen should assist clergy in densely populated areas. It was formed from lay communicants, clergy being admitted as associates, and aimed to assist them in maintaining and extending the Catholic faith, to defend the faith against attacks of error and unbelief and to support the independence of the English Church from the jurisdiction claimed by the Church of Rome. Within the Guild were grades of fellows and brethren and an order of Sisters of the Poor. The brotherhood was divided into sections forming separate brotherhoods under the superintendence of a master e.g. the Brotherhood of Saint John the Divine, Clapham.

The National Amateur Rowing Association was founded in 1890 to cater for the large number of working class men who were prevented from joining the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA) by virtue of their manual occupations. (According to the interpretation of ARA rules these men were to be considered professionals).

This definition of "amateur" was finally resolved in the 1920's and in 1930 NARA was reconstituted, its objectives being "to foster and encourage amateur rowing and to watch over and generally protect its interests" (Articles of Association 1930). In 1939 NARA was incorporated as a non-profit making company. From about 1929 discussions took place with ARA about the possibility of meeting to form one governing body and in 1956 it was proposed to call it the British Amateur Rowing Association. NARA was dissolved in June of that year.

Many regional associations (including the Thames Amateur Rowing Association, see A/NAR/50-52) and rowing clubs were affiliated to NARA and around 90 regattas a year followed NARA rules.

Charles Bernard Stanley Tugwell: Charles Tugwell was honorary secretary of NARA for over 25 years and devoted much of his life to rowing. He was appointed National Organiser for Rowing during the short-lived National Fitness Campaign (1937-1939). At the outbreak of war the NFC was suspended and Tugwell was left unemployed. The Times (his previous employers) were unable to offer him a job and during the war he worked for the Ministry of Labour, Foreign Office and for a short time, the Red Cross. He died in Spring 1957.

The National Education Association (NEA) was formed to give effect to the resolutions of the Education Conference Committee which was held in 1888 in reaction to the report of the Cross Commission, 1886-1888. The Cross Commission was formed to look into the competing systems of education then current: School Board Schools which were supported by rates, and voluntary schools (including Church schools) which were supported only by donations and fees. The report suggested that all schools should be rate-aided.

The Association aimed to promote a "free progressive system of national education, publicly controlled and free from sectarian interest" both by publicising and advancing the School Board System and by undermining denominational and private schools. Formed in 1888 and formally constituted in 1889 under the presidency of A.J.Mundella, the NEA acted as the education sub-committee of the Liberation Society, whose aims were the disestablishment of the Church of England, the attainment of religious equality for non-conformists and the preservation of the rights of conscience.

The NEA was disbanded in 1959 and its duties taken over by the Free Church Federal Council.

In 1674 Elizabeth Newcomen, a widow of the parish of St Saviour, Southwark, died leaving a large estate in trust for her godson during his lifetime, and after his death as an endowment for charitable uses in the parish. These included charity schools for boys and girls. The earliest records surviving date from 1706. The schools were run by the Wardens and a Committee who could nominate children for places at the school. From 1808-1840 the Newcomen Schools were united with the parochial schools, but in 1840 the Boys' school separated from the parochial school and by 1849 the Girls' school had followed.

From 1887 the schools were administered by the Governors of the Newcomen Foundation, after the charity was re-established by a scheme of the Charity Commissioners. The Girls' School became Elizabeth Newcomen Secondary Technical School, which closed in 1970.

The London Council for the Promotion of Public Morality, later the Public Morality Council, was formed in 1899 to combat vice and indecency in London and to assist in their repression by legal means, already existing but neglected. Its members included representatives of the Church of England, Roman Catholic and Non-Conformist churches and of the Jewish faith, leaders in education and medicine and charitable associations and others supporting reform. It continued until 1969, concentrating latterly on opposition to sexual immorality and pornography in general and in the theatre, cinema, radio and television. Its functions were taken over by the Social Morality Council, constituted in 1969.

The organisation known as "The Ranyard Mission and Ranyard Nurses" originated as "The London Bible and Domestic Female Mission" - a lay group of Anglican bible women founded in 1857 by Mrs L. N. Ranyard. In 1868 a nursing branch was added, and the title was changed to the "London Biblewomen and Nurses Mission". In 1952 the headquarters was moved from Holborn to Kennington and the organisation was then known by the title of "Ranyard Mission and Ranyard Nurses."

"The South Lee Benevolent Society and Nurses Fund" (see A/RNY/75-84) was supplied with the services of a nurse by the Ranyard Mission. In 1965 the nurses were taken over by the Boroughs, but the Home at Lewisham is still run by trustees.

The following information was sent to the Record Office in 1976, by Mr R. Crosfield Harris, Treasurer of the Ranyard Mission Fund:-

"In 1958 the Ranyard Memorial Charitable Trust was set up by an admirer of the work of the Ranyard Nurses, Mr A.C. Parker of Lewisham, for the building of a Nursing Home for terminal illness. With assistance from the Ogilvie Charities and other donors the Ranyard Memorial Nursing Home was built in Blessington Road, Lewisham, on land leased from the Merchant Taylors Company. It is managed by a committee responsible to the Trustees of the Ranyard Memorial Charitable Trust. These Trustees also administer the Ranyard Mission Fund - the funds of the Ranyard Mission and the Ranyard Nurses - under a Scheme of the Charity Commission. The income of this Fund, after paying pensions to retired members of the staff of the Ranyard Mission and Ranyard Nurses, is available towards the maintenance of the Home".

The Society, established in February 1772 on the initiative of James Neild, jeweller, of London, drew its first funds from the proceeds of a sermon preached in the Charlotte Street Chapel, Pimlico, by the Rev. William Dodd (later notorious for his trial and execution for forgery). William Wilberforce was one of its early supporters. The Society was popularly known as the Thatched House Society' from its regular meeting place, The Thatched House Tavern in St James's Street.

The Society was at first concerned with London prisons only and the greatest number of debtors relieved came from them, but by the 1780s prisoners from gaols in other parts of the country were also being assisted. Neild was troubled about the bad state of the prisons and the minutes contain reports of visits of inspection as well as names and numbers of prisoners assisted.

The Society for the Relief of Distress was founded in 1860 for the relief of distress in London and its suburbs.

The relief was administered by accredited visitors, later known as Almoners. Money was allocated to them to be spent at their discretion leaving the Committee to deal with exceptional cases or those in which more substantial relief was required. The Society is still active in providing assistance for people in the London area, particularly in cases which for one reason or another do not come within the scope of the Welfare Services. Funds are provided by bequests, donations and voluntary contributions.

County associations came into being under 7 Edw.VII, C.9, 1907 - 'An Act to provide for the reorganisation of his Majesty's military forces and to authorise the establishment of County Associations, and the raising and maintenance of a Territorial Force'. Such associations were to be in accordance with schemes made by the Army Council, through which they were to be financed. Each association was to organise and administer its local Territorial Force and, except during actual training or military service, to provide training facilities and horses, and accommodation for arms and equipment.

In 1873 Reverend Samuel Barnett and his wife Henrietta requested to be placed in a deprived parish so that they could participate in poor relief. The foundation of Toynbee Hall in 1884 was their solution to the poverty they witnessed. The Hall was a student's residence combined with a community centre. The Hall was open to young academics who were able to rent out rooms, on the condition that they contribute to the community work. The Hall was named after Arnold Toynbee, a social philosopher and economist and friend of the Barnetts, who had died the previous year aged 31, of meningitis caused by overwork.

Although the idea that those studying poverty and unemployment should live among the poorer classes was not new, Toynbee Hall was innovatory because the students lived together like a college. This 'University Settlement' was the first of its kind in the world and the model for many others both in Great Britain and abroad. Clement Atlee and William Beveridge were among several influential residents.

The Hall carried out varied work, offering legal advice, campaigning for the rights of immigrants, hosting lectures and providing adult education.

Toynbee Hall is still active, situated on Commercial Street, E1 and providing support for the local community.

See http://www.toynbeehall.org.uk/default.asp for more information (accessed August 2010).

The manor of Isleworth or Isleworth Syon seems to have included land in Heston, Isleworth and Twickenham. In 1086 it belonged to Walter of Saint Valery, one of William the Conqueror's companions. The land subsequently passed into royal possession and was granted to Queen Isabel in 1327 and Queen Philippa in 1330. In 1421 the king granted Isleworth to the newly created abbey of Syon, in whose possession it remained until 1539. The Abbey was suppressed in 1539 and in 1547 the Duke of Somerset secured a grant of the estate to himself, which he held until his execution in 1552, although his widow continued to live at the manor until ordered to leave in 1554. The Crown leased the lands to various tenants until 1598 when Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, secured the tenancy rights. In 1604 he received a grant in fee of the house and manor with the park. The property descended to his heirs including Charles, Duke of Somerset (died 1748) and his son the Earl of Northumberland. Their descendants still owned Syon in 1958.

One notable event in the later history of the manor occurred in 1656. In that year articles of agreement were drawn up between Algernon, Earl of Northumberland, lord of the manor of Isleworth Syon, and Sir Thomas Ingram and other principal copyhold tenants. These articles established certain of the customs of the manor on a firm basis. Fines and heriots were to be certain and not arbitrary, at the will of the lord. The tenure of customary and was to be by Borough English, whereby the youngest son of a copy holder inherited on the death of his father. These articles were signed on 20 May 1656 and were confirmed by a decree in Chancery, 28 June 1656 (see ACC/1379/330 and partial transcript in History of Syon and Isleworth by G. Aungier, p.206). A printed tract called Isleworth Syon's Peace was to be published in 1657 and according to Aungier was to be placed in the Isleworth parish chest. London Metropolitan Archives possesses copies in ACC/0479 and ACC/1379.

There is no unifying factor to these papers (e.g. that they relate to property owned by one estate or family or the legal work of one office), they were simply collected or preserved for their antiquarian interest before being passed to the archive.

A 'tontine' was a financial scheme by which the subscribers to a loan or common fund each received an annuity during his life, which increased as the subscribers passed away, until the last survivor enjoyed the whole income. The word is also applied to the share or right of each subscriber. Such schemes were introduced first in France as a method of raising government loans. Afterwards tontines were formed for building houses, hotels, baths, bridges and so on.

Kew Bridge was first built in 1758-1759 by John Barnard. It had seven timber arches. This was replaced by a stone bridge in 1784-1789. The present bridge was constructed in 1903, designed by John Wolfe Barry. The bridge crosses the Thames River between Kew and Chiswick.

Teddington common was part of Hounslow Heath. It was situated to the west of Park Road and Stanley Road. When enclosed in 1800 it comprised 450 acres.

From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington (1962), pp. 66-69.

The precise origin of the Truman family's involvement in brewing is unclear. Although 1666 is often cited as the start date, it is more likely to have been in 1679 when Joseph Truman Senior (died 1721) acquired the Black Eagle Street brewhouse from William Bucknall. Joseph retired in 1730 and his son Benjamin (died 1780) developed the business so that in 1760 Truman's brewery was the third biggest in London, brewing 60,000 barrels of beer per annum. After 1780, James Grant (died 1788), Sir Benjamin's assistant and executor, ran the business whilst the property passed to Sir Benjamin's grandsons, General Henry Read and William Truman Read.

In 1789 Sampson Hanbury acquired James Grant's share of the business and manged the brewery until 1835. He was joined in 1811 by his nephew Thomas Fowell Buxton. Additional partners joined in 1816: Thomas Marlborough Pryor and Robert Pryor, who had previously run Proctors brewhouse, Shoreditch. Production rose from 100,000 barrels per annum in 1800 to 400,000 barrels per annum in 1850, so becoming the largest brewery in London.

Truman Hanbury Buxton and Co. Ltd was registered in 1889 as a limited liability company. The company was acquired by Grand Metropolitan Hotels Ltd in 1971 and changed its name to Trumans Ltd. In 1974 it merged with Watney Mann Ltd. Brewing at Burton ceased in 1971 but the Black Eagle Brewery at Brick Lane continued to operate until 1988. In 1991, Grand Metropolitan Hotels Ltd was taken over by Courage Ltd.

The manor of Ealing or Ealingbury was presumably the 10 hides at Ealing granted in 693 by Ethelred, king of Mercia, to the bishop of London for the augmentation of monastic life in London. The manor passed through various owners until 1906 when most or all of the land was sold to the Prudential Assurance Company.

Northumberland Park, Tottenham, was a new avenue, lined by middle-class villas, running from the High Road towards the new railway line. It was laid out and developed in the 1850s.

Source of information: 'Ealing and Brentford: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 123-128 and 'Tottenham: Growth after 1850', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 317-324 (available online).

The Bullock family first appear in this collection in the early eighteenth century as leather dressers of some substance in London. Henry Bullock was admitted in 1711 as a freeman of the City of London (ACC/0132/240). In 1715 he and his father John Bullock entered into articles of partnership for the management of leather mills at Poyle in Stanwell which they first leased, and later purchased in 1742 (ACC/0132/191, ACC/0132/243). It is title deeds to Poyle Mills, and to other properties in Stanwell which the family subsequently owned, which make up the major part of the collection. The Stanwell deeds date mainly from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but the earliest is a grant of four acres dated 1366. The earliest deed which identifies the Mills is of 1612 (ACC/0132/145).

Besides title deeds the collection includes family settlements and wills of the Bullocks, and their connections the Bland and Maw families. It is clear from deposited account books of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries (ACC/0132/285-286) that the family retained a connection with the City of London as well as being substantial citizens in Stanwell. Members of the family were from time to time churchwardens, as the presence of a group of Stanwell Parish Records shows, and Henry Bullock junior was appointed a trustee of the Bedfont to Bagshot, and treasurer of the Cranford Turnpike Trusts in 1760 and 1773 successively (ACC/0132/281-282). The Bland family papers include a series of commissions of Joseph Bland from practitioner engineer to lieutenant colonel in the East India Company Corps of Engineers between 1770 and 1801 (ACC/0132/288-296). There is also an extemely interesting letter from Alfred Bland describing in detail conditions in Zululand in 1879 (ACC/0132/297).

Deposited with the Bullock family papers, but having no apparent archival connection with them, is a group of three building leases of 1793 and 1794 from the Earl of Southampton to William and James Adam of Albemarle Street relating to houses in Fitzroy Square (ACC/0132/330-332).

Common Recovery was a process by which land was transferred from one owner to another. It was a piece of legal fiction involving the party transferring the land, a notional tenant and the party acquiring the land; the tenant was ejected to effect the transfer. An exemplification was a formal copy of a court record issued with the court's seal.

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

Source: British Records Association Guidelines 3: How to interpret deeds (available online).

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

Common Recovery was a process by which land was transferred from one owner to another. It was a piece of legal fiction involving the party transferring the land, a notional tenant and the party acquiring the land; the tenant was ejected to effect the transfer. An exemplification was a formal copy of a court record issued with the court's seal.

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

The manor of Hendon is listed in the Domesday Book as belonging to the Abbey of Westminster. At the Dissolution it passed to the Crown, who granted it to the new Bishopric of Westminster. However, it returned to the Crown when the Bishopric was suppressed in 1550. It was granted to the Earl of Pembroke, William Herbert, and remained in the Herbert family until 1650 when it was sequestrated as the Herberts were Royalists. At the Restoration it was restored to the family. In 1757 the manor was purchased by James Clutterbuck who conveyed it to his friend David Garrick in 1765. It was left to Garrick's nephew but sold after his death and subsequently passed through various hands. The estate was described as 1226 acres in 1754.

Source of information: 'Hendon: Manors', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 16-20 (available online).

The manor of Edgware Boys (or Edgware and Boys) was sold to William Lee of Totteridge Park in 1762. It passed to his son William, who changed his surname to Antonie in accordance with the will of Richard Antonie of Colworth. He left the manor to his nephew John Fiott, who assumed the name of Lee under the terms of the will of his uncle. John Fiott Lee died in 1866.

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

The manor of 'Stebunheath alias Stepney' devolved from the bishop of London's Domesday manor or vill of Stepney. The Domesday manor was assessed at 32 hides and included most of Stepney parish as constituted in the 13th century, Hackney, a small part of Shoreditch, and large parts of Islington, Hornsey, and Clerkenwell; the 14 hides held in demesne later formed the demesnes of Stepney, Hackney, Harringay, Muswell, and possibly Brownswood manors.

The bishops held Stepney until 1550; when Nicholas Ridley surrendered the manors of Stepney and Hackney to the king, who immediately granted them to the Lord Chamberlain Sir Thomas Wentworth, Baron Wentworth (d. 1551). The grant included the marshes of Stepney, waters, fishing, wastes, mills, and the liberties, including free warren and view of frankpledge, that the bishops had enjoyed.

The manor subsequently changed hands several times until 1926 when the remaining copyholds were converted into freeholds under the Law of Property Act, 1922. They remained subject to such manorial incidents as quitrents, fines on change of ownership, and the lord's right to timber, until 1 January 1936.

From: 'Stepney: Manors and Estates', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 19-52 (available online).

George James Brown was a Victorian surveyor and land agent, based at 34 Great George Street, Westminster, to the north of Parliament Square.