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The Honourable the Irish Society owes its existence to James I's policy of settling or 'planting' Ulster with English and Scottish Protestants, a policy which the Corporation of the City of London and the London Livery Companies were somewhat reluctantly compelled to administer.

Originally established by the City of London's Court of Common Council on 30 January 1609/10, the Irish Society was formally incorporated by the royal charter of 29 March 1613 which also gave to the Society grants of lands and privileges in the newly constituted county of Londonderry. Apart from a period during which the Society's charter was suspended (1638-1657), the Irish Society has continued to operate ever since, and still has interests in Londonderry and Coleraine.

The Irish Society is appointed each year at the first Common Council meeting after 2 February, and comprises a Governor (always an Alderman and ex-Lord Mayor of the City of London), Deputy Governor (always a Common Councilman of the City of London) and a Court of Assistants, chosen from amongst the Court of Common Council of the City of London. All administrative matters were, until 1992, and have been again since 1994, dealt with by a Secretary based in London, and a General Agent based in Northern Ireland. The Irish Society has always had its administrative centre (the Irish Chamber) at or near the Guildhall of the City of London. Prior to the completion of the purpose-built Irish Chamber in Guildhall Yard (built 1824-1825, first used 1826), the administrative offices and archive stores were over the Guildhall Porch. In 1992, on the sale of the Irish Chamber, the Society's Secretary moved to the former premises of the Guildhall Justice Room near to Guildhall, and for a short period before the appointment of a new Secretary, some of the central administration was transferred to the Corporation of London's Town Clerk's Department.

The Irish Society always had a tradition of care of its administrative records, and many early volumes exhibit early 19th century repair methods. Although such methods are not up to present standards, they do show a willingness to take measures to preserve the archives, some series of which are remarkably complete. By an unfortunate quirk of fate, the Irish Society's very care of its archives was to prove disastrous, when, as a result of building work in the then Irish Chamber over the Guildhall Porch in February 1786, the archives were carefully sealed, and removed for safekeeping to the Chamber of London's strongroom on the north-east side of Guildhall. A fire broke out amongst other building works on the north side of Guildhall, and a great many of the Chamber's and the Irish Society's archives were destroyed or (like the Great Parchment Book) badly damaged.

The Lieutenancy of the City of London in its modern form was founded by an Act of Parliament in 1662. Its antecedents include a Commission of Lieutenancy of 1617 (which was issued to the Lord Mayor, eight Aldermen and the Recorder), and the Committee for Martial Causes which was a committee of the Common Council. Under the Act of 1662 the Lieutenants for the City of London were commissioned to levy the trained bands and to raise a Trophy Tax for defraying the necessary charges and incidental expenses of the Commission. The Lieutenancy had multifarious responsibilities in connection with the trained bands and the auxiliaries (later the London militia) including the appointment of officers, conduct and discipline, training and exercise, pay, equipment and recruitment. The militia was of consequence not only during periods when invasion was feared, but also had an important public order role. Since 1872 the Lieutenancy has ceased to commission officers in the auxiliary forces; instead commissions have been issued by the Sovereign. The Commissioners' responsibility for the militia ended in 1907 when the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act of that year converted the various battalions of the militia into units of the Army Reserve, and the Royal London Militia became thereafter the 7th Battalion Royal Fusiliers.

The second element of the 1662 Act, the raising and spending of the Trophy Tax was a major concern of the Lieutenants. The tax was levied about once every three years. The Lieutenancy assessed the Trophy Tax on the wards but 'the Common Council for each ward' apportioned it among the individuals. Having been collected, the Trophy Tax accounts were certified by the London Quarter Sessions of the Peace and printed in the City accounts for the year it was laid before the Justices. The tax was used to fund the auxiliaries and the militia. In particular it financed the accomodation for the staff and headquarters of the militia. For the period 1796 to 1801 the militia headquarters were housed in the building which formerly had been Surgeon's Hall. After the militia was disembodied in 1801 the Lieutenants decided that the building was 'a very heavy and unnecessary expense' so the building was sold back to the City in March 1803. Later a new Militia Headquarters was built in 1825 in Bunhill Row on land set aside in the Artillery Ground, but changing circumstances necessitated the move to smaller premises at 23 Euston Square around 1837. However a larger headquarters for the militia was deemed necessary again in the 1850s. The new building was built on a portion of the Artillery Ground and was completed in 1857. Known as Finsbury Barracks, it was occupied by the Quartermaster and staff of the Royal London Militia. In 1907 when the Royal London Militia became the 7th Battalion Royal Fusiliers the Lieutenancy ceased to have responsibility for this unit, but continued to pay for the upkeep of Finsbury barracks where the unit had its headquarters. Nowadays Finsbury Barracks houses units of the Territorial Army Volunteer Reserve, including elements of the Honourable Artillery Company.

The Trophy Tax was used also for making grants to further the aims of the auxiliary and volunteer forces of the City. For example in 1733 the Lieutenancy granted £500 for the building of Armoury House, the headquarters of the Honourable Artillery Company. The plans and specification submitted by the Artillery Company survive in the Lieutenancy's papers. In 1924 the Lieutenancy was empowered by the Auxiliary Air Force Act to apply the proceeds of the Trophy Tax to the Auxiliary Air Force of the City of London, thus widening the powers of the Commissioners. The present day Lieutenancy continues to use the Trophy Tax to make grants to the City of London Territorial Army Volunteer Reserve for example for recruiting campaigns, additional training facilities, competitions and charitable work associated with the Reserve.

The City Imperial Volunteers originated in conversations between the Lord Mayor and Lord Garnet Wolseley, a senior Army officer, as to the possibility of raising a force of volunteers for the war in South Africa. Having received authorisation from the War Office and having been assured of financial support by the masters of the City Livery Companies, bankers and merchants, a fund for that purpose was opened by a donation of £25,000 voted by the Common Council on 20 December 1899.

On 1 January 1900 the first volunteers were sworn in at Guildhall by the Lord Mayor, five aldermen and the sheriffs. On 12 January volunteers received the Freedom of the City of London and the following day the first detachment embarked on the troopship BRITON at Southampton. The C.I.V.s served in South Africa until October 1900. On 29 October they landed in England and marched through the City of London to be welcomed by the Corporation. On 31 October 1900 the Force was disbanded.

On 31 October 1900 the unexpended money in the C.I.V. fund was transferred to a new fund for the granting of compassionate allowances or pensions 'for the succouring supporting assisting maintaining or advancing in life Freemen of the City of London who were Members of the City of London Imperial Volunteers their families and dependants'. The trustees of this fund were the Lord Mayor and the Recorder ex officio, and the Chief Commoner (at the formation of the fund) for life. The fund exhausted its capital in 1971. At this time there remained four widows who were beneficiaries. The fund was continued by donations given by the Corporation with the proviso that when the last of the beneficiaries died, the fund would cease to exist. In November 1978 the last surviving recipient died and the fund was declared defunct.

A C.I.V. Old Comrades Association was formed in 1902, its last reunion appears to have been held in 1964.

By the mid 19th century churchyards within the City were becoming overcrowded, unsanitary and unfit to be used for further burials. Under the terms of the Metropolitan Burials Act of 1852, the Commissioners of Sewers were appointed the Burial Board for parishes in the City and its liberties. On the advice of the Chief Medical Officer, the Board ruled that interments should cease within the City. To answer the problem of burials for the City of London, the Corporation purchased 90 acres of farm land at Little Ilford in 1854. The farm was demolished and a large fishpond drained (this now forms the site of the Catacomb Valley). The cemetery was designed by Colonel William Haywood as Engineer and Surveyor to the Commissioners of Sewers of the City of London and landscaped by Robert Davidson. The first burial at the City of London Cemetery took place in June 1856, however, the ground was not consecrated until November 1857.

A crematorium was opened in October 1904 and the first cremation took place in March 1905. It was the second crematorium in London and was designed by D J Ross, Engineer to Commissioners of Sewers and later City Engineer, 1894-1905. A new crematorium was built in 1971. In 1937 a garden of rest was constructed followed by a series of memorial gardens. There were also plans to build a railway siding and special station linked to Eastern Counties Railway but these came to nothing. The cemetery contains reinterments from demolished City churches.

The Commissioners of Sewers managed the cemetery from the date the site was purchased in 1854 until their abolition in 1898. After this it was directly managed by the Corporation. The Sanitary Committee, renamed the Public Health Committee, replaced the Public Committee in 1957 and is now the Port and City of London Health and Social Services Committee.

In 1442 John Carpenter, Town Clerk of London, bequeathed land to the Corporation of London intended to fund the maintenance and education of four boys born within the City, who would be called 'Carpenter's children'. Carpenter directed that that the boys should be schooled and clothed at the direction of the Chamberlain. The precise terms of the will were adhered to for about 2 centuries, after which time payments were made to friends of the children for them to provide the benefits. Prior to the foundation of the City of London School the Carpenter's Scholars were educated at Tonbridge School. Following an Act of Parliament of 1834 it was decided to charge the Carpenter Estates for the building and maintenance of a school, and the City of London School was opened in 1837. It was first built on the site of Honey Lane Market, Milk Street, Cheapside, but moved to Victoria Embankment in 1882. During the Second World War the school was temporarily moved to Marlborough. It moved again in 1986, when a new purpose-built building was opened in Queen Victoria Street, still within the City of London.

The school was founded by William Ward (1797-1881) of Brixton who was a prosperous manufacturer. Upon his death in 1881, Ward bequeathed £20,000 to the City of London for building and maintaining a high school for girls. An act of parliament, Ward's City of London School for Girls Act, received the Royal Assent in 1885 and a site was chosen in the City of London at Carmelite Street.

In 1892, a scheme was drawn up by in the High Court of Justice 'For the establishment of a High School for Girls...by the 'Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London'. The scheme set out that the Mayor Aldermen and Commons of the City of London 'shall exercise a general control over the Institution, and shall make such Rules and Regulations, for the conduct and management thereof'.

The school's first head mistress was Miss Alice Blagrave and the school was officially opened on 13 September 1894 with 53 students enrolled. By 1937, the school became overcrowded as enrolment increased to 360 students. In 1939, the school was extended into a building on Tudor Street. The expansion allowed an increase in accommodation to 400 students.

During the Second World War staff and pupils were evacuated to Ashtead, Surrey in September 1939 and then to Keighley, Yorkshire from October 1940 until 1943. The school re-opened in Carmelite Street in September, 1943.

In 1962, plans were made for the school to be moved to the proposed new Barbican development. A ceremony was held on 29 March 1965 for the laying of first foundation stone and the school was officially opened by HRH Princess Alexandra on 19 November 1969.

The school celebrated its centenary in 1994 with a visit from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who opened a new part of the building.

The first school leaver's decided to start an Old Girl's Association and on 29 July 1896, the first general meeting took place. The City of London Old Girl's Association also known as CLOGA, organises events such as school reunions and enables former students to maintain relationships with each other. It also raises scholarship funds for prospective students. The Old Girl's had a large reunion party as part of the schools centenary celebration, 1994 and about 600 former students attended. In the same year, the Old Girl's produced a cabaret about the history of the school entitled 'An Historical Extravaganza - The Talk of the City'.

The City of London Freemen's Orphan School was founded by the Corporation in 1850. It was intended to provide education for the orphans of Freemen of the City of London. The school was built in Ferndale Road, Brixton and opened in March 1854, with space for 65 boys and 35 girls. A Board of Education inspection in 1919 suggested that the pupils be brought into contact with more fortunate children so that they would not feel inferior or dependent.

In 1924 it was decided to purchase a house at Ashtead Park, Surrey, to house a new school building. The school was transferred there from Brixton in 1926. The name was changed to The City of London Freemen's School and paying boy pupils were admitted. Paying girl pupils were admitted in 1933. The school is still situated at Ashtead Park.

The Guildhall School of Music evolved from the Guildhall Orchestral Society. It was founded by the Corporation of London in 1880 and was governed by the Music Committee. It was not called the Guildhall School of Music and Drama until 1934.

The first premises were in a converted warehouse on Aldermanbury near Moorgate, but these very soon proved inadequate and the school was moved to the Thames Embankment in 1886. The school moved to the Barbican in 1977.

Robert Orlando Morgan, F.G.S.M. (1865-1956). Born in Manchester in 1865, the son of Peter and Elizabeth Morgan, Robert Orlando Morgan entered the Guildhall School of Music at the age of 15 in 1880, where he won the Merchant Taylors' scholarship, and the Webster prize. By the time he was 22, he was a teacher and examiner at the School, and in 1894, he was awarded the first prize and gold medal at the Grand Concours Internationale de Composition Musicale at Brussels. His comic opera, 'Two Merry Monarchs', was produced at the Savoy Theatre in 1910. He composed a large number of songs and piano pieces, and undertook editions of the works of other composers, particularly J.S. Bach. Having been Professor of Pianoforte and Composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama 1887-1951, he retired in 1951 at the age of 86. He married the singer Annie Elizabeth Morley, who died in 1952, and they had two sons, Raymond and Cyril Douglas. Robert Orlando Morgan died in London on 16 May 1956, aged 91, and was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium on 19 May 1956.

Cyril Douglas Morgan was the second son of Robert Orlando Morgan, and was appointed to the post of junior clerk in the Chamberlain's Office of the Corporation of London on 21 April 1913. He was apprenticed to Percy Oswald Pickering, Clerk of the Chamberlain's Court 1901-1936, and became a City Freeman in November 1920. He remained in the Chamberlain's Office all his working life, being appointed Principal Clerk on 1 October 1946, from which post he retired in 1958. He became a Liveryman of the Merchant Taylors' Company on 20 May 1943. He served in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers during the First World War and was awarded the M.C., being severely wounded several times: he was a Lieutenant, acting Captain when last wounded, in 1918.

Matilda Madeline Payne was born in 1879, the daughter of Mr George Payne, a businessman who was for many years well known at Mile End, Limehouse, and Forest Gate, and who lived at Wanstead by 1907. Known professionally as Madeline Payne, her career as a pianist began early. At the age of 9, she won the first two prizes at the Stratford Musical Festival, and played before Paderewski. At 12, she won a prize for scale playing, and gained an Honours Certificate (Senior Grade) of the Associated Board. In 1893, at the age of 14, she won the Erard Centenary Scholarship Competition, worth £40 p.a. for 3 years, and a gold medal, with the loan of an Erard Grand concert piano: the scholarship was extended another two years. When that expired, she won the Knill Silver Challenge Cup, tenable for one year (winners' names were engraved on the cup, but it remained at the Guildhall School of Music, each winner receiving a silver medal).

Madeline Payne received her musical education in England, studying at the Guildhall School of Music under Mr John Baptiste Calkin. Later she studied under Miss Fanny Davies, Professor Hambourg and Paderewski, the latter saying of her "Miss Madeline Payne is the most talented girl pianist I have heard". She toured England and Ireland with Madame Lilian Blauvelt in 1903, and again in 1904. Madeline Payne also appeared as a solo pianist at the Promenade Concerts, Albani, Albert Hall, Sarasate and all the principal concerts in London. Her talent and skill were strongly praised by Sir John Stainer.

Shortly before the First World War, she married Bernard Hassell, having a daughter in 1913. She died in Kent on 6 October 1962, at the age of 83.

The Royal Exchange was built at the expense of Sir Thomas Gresham as a centre of commerce for the City of London. It was opened in January 1571 by Queen Elizabeth I who awarded the building its Royal title. In his will dated 1575 Gresham left equal parts of the Royal Exchange to the Corporation of London and the Mercers' Company upon various trusts. One was that the Corporation should pay £50 a year to lecturers in divinity, astronomy, music and geometry; and the Mercers' Company should make similar payments to lecturers in law, physic and rhetoric. He also left his house in Bishopsgate Street on the understanding that the lecturers would occupy the house and read their lectures there. The house was soon renamed Gresham College and became a centre of learning from which grew the Royal Society, founded in 1662, which met at Gresham College until 1710.

In 1768 the Crown purchased the site of the College for a new Excise Office, and provided that the salaries of the professors should be doubled to compensate them for the loss of their lodgings. A new College was erected at the corner of Gresham Street and Basinghall Street, near Moorgate, in 1842 and was enlarged in 1913. The College moved to Barnard's Inn Hall, Holborn, in 1991 and still runs a programme of free lectures.

In 1596 the Corporation of London and the Mercers' Company appointed committees to control the estates and carry out the directions of the will. These committees sat together as the Joint Grand Gresham Committee.

Although not a statutory authority under the various Education Acts, the Corporation has been engaged in education since the 1830s.

The City of London Freemen's Houses were built in the 1830s as the Reform Almshouses. They came under the control of the Corporation of London in 1848 and have been known since then as the London Almshouses or Freemen's Houses.

Rogers' Almshouses were first built in Hart Street, Cripplegate, by the executors of Robert Rogers in 1616. In 1856 the Corporation rebuilt the almshouses in Brixton on land adjoining the London Almshouses.

The Royal Hospitals were obtained by the Corporation following the dissolution of the monasteries and seizure of monastic property. The hospitals included St Bartholomew's, Bethlem, the Greyfriars (Christ's Hospital), St Thomas's and Bridewell.

As the Port of London Health Authority, the Corporation of London built the Denton Isolation Hospital (the Port of London Sanitary Hospital) at Denton, Gravesend, Kent in 1883, to treat cases of infectious disease coming into the Thames on incoming ships. Diseases treated there included typhoid, smallpox, chicken pox, measles, scarlet fever, enteric fever, malaria, bubonic plague and dysentery. This hospital was handed over to the National Health Service in 1948.

Bethlem Royal Hospital was founded in 1247 as the priory of St Mary of Bethlehem. By the fourteenth century it was already treating the insane. In 1547 it came under the control of the City of London as one of the five 'Royal' hospitals seized during the dissolution of the monasteries and re-founded as a secular institution. The Corporation turned Bethlem into a lunatic asylum and it was commonly known as 'Bedlam'. The hospital was put under joint administration with Bridewell Hospital until 1948.

In 1676 the hospital moved to Moorfields, in a baroque building designed by Robert Hooke. The hospital moved to its third site in 1815, at St George's Fields, Southwark, part of which still survives as the Imperial War Museum.

Bethlem moved to a site in Surrey in 1930. With the introduction of the National Health Service in 1948, Bethlem was split from Bridewell and joined with the Maudsley Hospital Camberwell, to form a single hospital. In 1999 they were formed into the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, which provides mental health services throughout Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham and Croydon as well as specialist services across the UK.

Bridewell was originally built in 1515-1520 as a palace for Henry VIII on the banks of the River Fleet near to Blackfriars Monastery, however, it was not used as a royal residence after 1531. In 1553 Edward VI gave the palace to the Mayor and citizens of London to be converted into a house of correction and workhouse for the 'able poor', vagabonds who did not work but were not infirm. A school was also founded to provide trade and domestic skills to destitute children. In 1700 a doctor was appointed to tend the prisoners - the first prison doctor and the only one until 1775. The hospital was put under joint administration with Bethlem Hospital until 1948.

The prison side of Bridewell was closed in 1855 and the remaining male and female prisoners were transferred to the City's new prison at Holloway. In 1867 the school moved to Witley in Surrey and was renamed King Edward's School. The buildings were demolished in 1863-1864.

Greyfriars Franciscan monastery was situated in Farringdon near Newgate. It was suppressed during the dissolution of the monasteries in 1538 and given to the Lord Mayor and citizens of London in December 1547. It was decided to convert the monastery into an orphanage and school for poor children. By November 1552 the building was ready and 340 fatherless children were admitted (at this date a child was considered orphaned if the father had died, even if the mother was still alive). The school became known as the 'Blue Coat School' because the children were required to wear a uniform of blue gown, red belt and yellow stockings. In 1553 a Charter was signed to confirm the transformation of Greyfriars into Christ's Hospital (a hospital in the older sense of 'a charitable institution for the housing and maintenance of the needy; an asylum for the destitute, infirm, or aged' O.E.D.)

Branches of the school existed at Hertford from at least 1653, at Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, from 1666 to c.1690, and at Ware, Hertfordshire, from about the same period until 1760. From 1778 the Hertford premises were used as the girls' school and as a preparatory school for boys. The Royal Mathematical School, founded in 1673, was an integral part of Christ's Hospital, from which its pupils, all boys, were chosen at the age of 11 or 12. They were educated in mathematics and navigation, and were intended for service in the Royal Navy. Christ's Hospital moved from the City of London to Horsham in 1902, and at the same time the boys' preparatory school also moved from Hertford to Horsham. The girls' school remained at Hertford until 1985, when it also moved to Horsham.

The Royal Hospitals were obtained by the Corporation of London following the dissolution of the monasteries and seizure of monastic property. The hospitals were St Bartholomew's, Bethlem, Christ's Hospital, St Thomas's and Bridewell.

St Thomas's Hospital originated in a small infirmary attached to the Augustinian Priory of St Mary the Virgin (St Mary Overie). The infirmary assumed the name of St Thomas the Martyr shortly after his canonization in 1173. The hospital was destroyed by fire in 1212 and was re-built at the south end of London Bridge. During the Reformation in 1540 the hospital, along with many other religious foundations, was dispossessed of its revenues and closed. Edward VI restored St Thomas's estates and revenues after the citizens of London petitioned for the hospital to be reinstated. The hospital re-opened with 120 beds and three Barber Surgeons, assisted by apprentices, were appointed. A royal charter of 1553 made the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of London perpetual Governors of the Hospital. The hospital underwent an extensive building programme between 1693 and 1709, and about 300 beds were provided.

In 1866 the extension of the railway from London Bridge to Charing Cross forced the Hospital to move to a temporary site at Newington until a permanent home was purchased in Lambeth, at the foot of Westminster Bridge. The land was bought from the Metropolitan Board of Works for £95,000. Queen Victoria opened the new building in 1871. Florence Nightingale, chose St Thomas's as the hospital in which to found her training school for nurses. During World War One the hospital has a military ward of 200 beds known as the 5th London (City of London) General Hospital.

St Thomas's Hospital was seriously disrupted by World War Two, when it was changed into a casualty clearance station, with sixteen wards closed and a limited out-patients' service. By March 1940 the anticipated aerial bombing had not taken place, and the out-patients' service resumed, 250 civilian beds reopened at Lambeth and the students of the medical school were recalled. However bombing raids in the Autumn severely damaged the hospital. Arrangements were made to move staff and patients to a hutted hospital at Hydestile, near Godalming. By 1943 St Thomas's Hospital comprised 184 beds at the London site, 334 in Hydesville and 50 maternity beds in Woking. By the end of the war four ward buildings, three operating theatres, most of the nurses' accommodation and a large section of the out-patients department had been destroyed by bombing.

In 1948 the hospital became part of the NHS. On 1 April 1974 St Thomas' Hospital became part of the St Thomas' Health District (Teaching) of Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham Area Health Authority. On further reorganisation in 1982 this became West Lambeth Health Authority.

Saint Bartholomew's Hospital was founded in 1123 but was closed during the dissolution of the monasteries. In 1544, following a petition from Londoners concerned that there was no longer any provision for the poor and sick, King Henry VIII re-established the hospital and placed it under the control of the City of London as one of the five 'Royal Hospitals'. The Common Council taxed the inhabitants of the City for the maintenance of the hospital. In addition, the City paid an annuity of 500 marks to the hospital, which was not discontinued until 1912. The hospital was legally called the 'House of the Poore in West Smithfield in the suburbs of the City of London of Henry VIII's Foundation' but has always been referred to as St Bartholomew's or 'Barts'. It officially became known as St. Bartholomew's Hospital on the foundation of the National Health Service in 1948. It is now part of the Barts and The London NHS Trust, having averted a Government attempt to close it in 1993-1994.

Emanuel Hospital was founded in 1600 after a bequest by Lady Anne Dacre who directed her executors to buy land at Tothill Fields, Westminster, and build a hospital or almshouse for 20 poor people and 20 poor children. The hospital would be supported by revenue from Brandburton manor and estates in Yorkshire. The executors were to appoint the governors of the hospital during their lifetimes, after which the responsibility would fall to the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London. The hospital was rebuilt in 1701 and extended in 1728. In 1794 an Act of Parliament was obtained by the Lord Mayor to increase the number of people who could benefit from the hospital, and in that year 10 pensioners were selected for the hospital and the number of children was increased. In 1873 the educational part of the hospital was separated and joined other Westminster schools under the title 'United Westminster Schools'.

The idea to construct a centre for the arts in the Barbican, a bomb damaged area of London, was first proposed in 1955, with the support of Duncan Sandys, Minister for Housing. Planning for the site involved input from the Royal Shakespeare Company and London Symphony Orchestra. Building began in 1971 and the complex was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 3 March 1982. In 2002 the venue underwent a major refurbishment in time to mark its 25th anniversary in 2007.

The Corporation of London had exercised the right to charge duties on coal entering the City since medieval times. Coal duties were charged to raise money for particular projects, such as the rebuilding of the City after the Great Fire in 1666. A new Coal Exchange and Market was constructed on Lower Thames Street, close to Billingsgate Market. The building was opened by Prince Albert in 1849. A Roman hypocaust was found during construction and preserved in the basement of the building. The market was designed by James Bunning, City Architect, in the form of a rotunda, with interior galleries and an iron framework. The decoration of the market was well-known, including murals showing some of the flowers and fossils found in coal formations.

The building included offices for coal factors and others connected with the trade including the Corporation of London officers, who entered all ships bringing coal into the port of London, and collected the City dues on all coal brought within certain limits. The money collected by this tax was usually employed for metropolitan improvements. The Exchange was the property of the Corporation of London, and an open market was held there three days a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Since the late 19th century, workplace sporting and social clubs have been popular, not least in the Guildhall and the Corporation of London. According to an annual report, for example, the Guildhall Cricket and Athletic Club "was founded in 1885 for the staff of the Corporation of London" and the sports ground was at the City of London Cemetery, Ilford.

The London Workhouse was built by the Corporation of the Poor, a body active between 1647 and 1660 which established the first workhouses in London. The workhouse was primarily used for the housing of neglected and vagrant children.

The workhouse was closed after an Act of Parliament in 1829 allowed the Governors to sell leases owned by the workhouse and to reinvest the money in other estates for the education and apprenticing of poor children. The funds were put towards the building of the City of London Freemen's Orphan School.

The London Museum was founded in 1912 by the 2nd Viscount Esher and the 1st Viscount Harcourt. It was based in Kensington Palace and aimed to illustrate the history of London from the earliest times. The Guildhall Museum was founded in 1826 by the Corporation of London.

The Museum of London was established in 1975, when the London Museum and the Guildhall Museum merged. The new museum building is part of the Barbican complex. The Museum is jointly funded by the Greater London Authority and the City of London Corporation. It is governed by the Museum of London Acts, 1965 and 1986.

The Museum of London Group comprises the Museum of London at London Wall in the City of London; the Museum in Docklands on West India Quay, near Canary Wharf; the Museum of London Archaeology Service (MoLAS); and the London Archaeological Archive and Research Centre, (LAARC) located in Hackney.

In 1878 Epping Forest became the first Open Space to be brought under the protection of the City of London Corporation. A large crescent of land, 19km in length and nearly 6000 acres in area, it is the largest publicly owned open space in the London area. Stretching from Epping in the north to Wanstead in the south, it is the remaining fragment of the Royal Forest of Waltham, the legal limits of which covered 60,000 acres of south-west Essex from the 14th Century until the disafforestation of Hainault Forest in 1851.

The City of London Corporation has held statutory responsibility for the care and management of Epping Forest since 1878, when they were officially invested as conservators of Epping Forest in accordance with the provisions of the Epping Forest Act 1878. This Act was the culmination of seven years continuous work in law and in parliament by the City of London (for details of this see the administrative history for the Statutory and Legal sub-fonds [CLA/077/A]) and, along with subsequent legislation, lays out the provisions by which the conservators' powers were defined. It states that the City are to act through a committee consisting of twelve persons nominated by the Court of Common Council and four Verderers (who are resident in forest parishes and are elected by the commoners of Epping Forest every seven years). This committee, formerly the Epping Forest Committee, and now called the Epping Forest and Open Spaces Committee, today also undertakes the management of some of the other open spaces outside the City owned and administered by the Corporation.

The policies and directives of the Committee are carried out by the Superintendent who directs the physical management of the forest from the conservators' administrative base at The Warren, Loughton. The first Superintendent, William D'Oyley, was a local surveyor appointed in 1876. He was succeeded in the role by three generations of the McKenzie family: Alexander McKenzie (1879-1893), Francis Fuller McKenzie (1893-1932), Colin McKenzie (1932-1949). Following Colin McKenzie's retirement the superintendents are as follows: Alfred Qvist (1949-1978), John Besent (1978 - 2001 - the last superintendent to occupy The Warren house), Jeremy Wisenfeld (2001 - 2005) and, from 2008, Paul Thomson.

Since 1876, the City of London has employed forest keepers to patrol the forest (for more information see the administrative history for CLA/077B/07). All forest keepers are special constables and their role is three-fold: to enforce bye-laws, the litter act and horse riding regulations; to assist the public in their enjoyment and understanding of the Forest; and to report to management in respect of works needing done. Today, over 80 full time and part time staff are employed to work in the Forest including information assistants, forest conservation workers, ecologists, litter pickers, forest keepers, playing fields staff, green keepers and administrative staff. Staff are based at the Warren administrative offices, interpretation centres at Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge (see administrative history CLA/077/E) and the Temple, Wanstead Park, as well as at Epping Forest Visitors Centre in High Beech.

Historic buildings within the Forest administered by the Corporation include Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, Chingford; the Temple, Wanstead Park; and the Shelter at Honey Lane. Included in the public facilities maintained by the Conservators are an 18-hole golf course at Chingford and playing fields at Wanstead Flats.

The collection was accessioned from the Warren (the former residence of the Superintendent and location of the Conservators' administrative offices) and the museum at Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, joining material already transferred to LMA from Guildhall.

The majority of items in CLA/077/A (statutory and legal) were transferred from Guildhall, exceptions to this are indicated in the relevant scope and content fields; the majority of items in CLA/077/E (museum and interpretation) and CLA/077/G (visual material) were transferred from Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, Chingford. Exceptions to this are indicated in the relevant scope and content fields. All other records have been accessioned from The Warren unless otherwise specified.

The statutory and legal foundation upon which the City of London Corporation was invested as Conservators of Epping Forest was based upon nearly a decade of work by the City of London, both at law and in parliament. During the 19th century large areas of the Forest were being enclosed for development as agricultural land thereby. The status of Epping Forest as a royal forest meant that the area was subject to forest law and had certain restrictions on land use. Common inhabitants of the forest possessed various rights on forest land, such as the rights of pasture and of lop-wood. Public interest was awakened because enclosure not only infringed upon commoners' rights, but denied Londoners access to a space which they were increasingly using for recreation.

As owners of land at Little Ilford, Essex (purchased in 1854 for the City of London Cemetery), the City of London itself held rights of common over Wanstead Flats and Epping Forest. Recognising the importance of Epping Forest as a place of recreation for working class Londoners, the City of London instigated a Chancery suit in 1871 (known as the Commissioners of Sewers v Glasse and others) in the public interest on behalf of themselves and all other owners and occupiers in Epping Forest against the lords of the Manors. The intention of this suit was to prevent further enclosures and to obtain a declaration that all owners and occupiers were entitled to rights of common over the waste lands.

In the same year the Epping Forest Commission was set up by Parliament (through the Epping Forest Act 1871) to ascertain the boundaries of Epping Forest and investigate manorial claims to and commoner's rights on forest land. Evidence was submitted to the commission by lords of the manors and those claiming commoner's rights (including the City of London Corporation).

After three years and vast expense, the City of London's lawsuit in Chancery was concluded and the Master of the Rolls decided in favour of the City, with the result that a large extent of land found to be lawfully enclosed was thrown open. The City of London Corporation then set about securing as much of the wastes as they could. In this way the Corporation purchased the wastelands in the manors of Chingford, Loughton, Waltham Holy Cross, Higham Hills, Sewardstone, Cann Hall, Chingford Earls and manorial rights in Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge. Subsequently they were able to acquire all the rights from the lords of the manors, and it is these wastes, along with some subsequent additions which constitute Epping Forest today.

In 1877 the Epping Forest Commission, after a number of delays and many objections, delivered its final report to Parliament. In 1878 the Corporation introduced a bill to Parliament to confirm the arrangements already made by them in acquiring additional land, and to authorise them to acquire the remainder of the forest by agreement. This bill became the Corporation of London (Open Spaces) Act 1878 which granted the City of London the right to acquire land within a 25 mile radius of the City boundaries to preserve as open space. A separate act dealing specifically with Epping Forest became law under the title of the Epping Forest Act 1878. Through its provisions, Epping Forest ceased to be a royal forest and the City of London Corporation were formally constituted the as Conservators of the Forest stipulating that the Conservators "shall at all times keep Epping Forest unenclosed and unbuilt on as an open space for the recreation and enjoyment of the people". The Crown's right to venison was ended, and pollarding was no longer allowed, however grazing rights continued. The Corporation were formally authorised to acquire the remainder of the Forest by agreement and purchase, and this enabled them to arrange compensation accordingly for forfeited commoner's rights (as decided by the Epping Forest Arbitration). Under the provisions of the Act Lord Hobhouse was appointed as arbitrator for the adjustment of matters still requiring settlement. He was responsible for determining which of the illegally included lands should remain enclosed (and the conditions, if any, to be imposed upon such lands) and which were to be open again. Commoners were paid compensation as pollarding was no longer allowed, although grazing rights continued. He made his final award in 1882 after 114 public sittings attended by the City Solicitor.

In 1879 Queen Victoria appointed HRH the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn as Ranger of the Forest and on 6th May 1882 visited the forest herself declaring it open to the people forever.

Since 1882 various additions have been made to the forest by way of gift, purchase or in consideration of grants of rights of way. Such lands include Wanstead Park (opened to the public in 1882); the Oak Hall enclosure at Theydon Bois (1889); Highams Park (1891); Yardley Hill (1899 and 1903); Bell Common (1902); Knighton Wood (1930); Pole Hill (1930); Hatch Grove and Bluehouse Grove (1941); land on the Copped Hall Estate (1992). Some of these lands are classed as buffer lands which are not officially part of Epping Forest but are areas purchased by the Corporation of London to protect the links between the Forest and the wider countryside.

The Corporation of the City of London has been responsible for the preservation of many open spaces in and around London since the mid-nineteenth century, largely stemming from its long and famous legal battles to prevent the enclosure of Epping Forest, which it finally acquired, and still maintains, under the authority of the Epping Forest Act 1878. By the Corporation of London (Open Spaces) Act 1878, the Corporation was authorised to acquire land within 25 miles of the City as open space for the recreation and enjoyment of the public.

The open spaces outside the City were not acquired and are not supported at the expense of the local or national taxpayer: they are currently maintained out of the Corporation's own private funds, known as the City's Cash, or money from charitable bequests. Because some of the open spaces were originally purchased with money out of the Corporation's corn duty funds, the Corporation's foremost finance committee, the Coal, Corn and Finance (later the Coal, Corn and Rates Finance) Committee, had an interest in such open spaces from the beginning until 1966. It was therefore this committee which originally managed most of the Corporation's open spaces outside the City, except for Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, which was administered by the City Lands Committee from the 17th century. West Ham Park always had, and still has, its own separate Committee of Managers. From 1 September 1966 responsibility for those open spaces was transferred to the Epping Forest Committee, which was thence renamed the Epping Forest and Open Spaces Committee. At the same time, responsibility for Bunhill Fields Burial Ground passed from the City Lands Committee to the Streets Committee, now the Planning and Transportation Committee, which administers Bunhill Fields and those open spaces which are within the City through its Trees, Gardens and Open Spaces Sub-Committee.

The open spaces outside the City of London which are owned and maintained by the Corporation of London include the following: Epping Forest (including Wanstead Park); Burnham Beeches; Kent and Surrey Commons (including Coulsdon Commons (i.e. Coulsdon and Kenley Commons, Riddlesdown and Farthingdown), Spring Park, West Wickham Common, and Ashtead Common); West Ham Park; Highgate Wood; Queen's Park, Kilburn; Hampstead Heath; Bunhill Fields Burial Ground.

Former open spaces and related areas outside the City, no longer owned or operated by the Corporation, include the following: Shiplake Island; Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey (not an open space); Richmond Park.

In 1250 the City of London had 100 parishes and 13 monasteries. By the time of the Great Fire in 1666 there were 96 parishes, served by 108 churches. All but 21 of these were destroyed by the fire. 51 were rebuilt under the direction of architect Sir Christopher Wren, including St Paul's Cathedral. Only 23 of these rebuilt churches survived bombing in World War Two.

The City Churches Commission was formed by Bishop of London David Hope in 1992, to consider the future of City churches. The resulting report suggested that 27 churches were redundant and should be converted for other use. The public outcry that followed led to the development of the Friends of the City Churches. In 2003 there were 41 churches in the City of London.

The Corporation of London were the patrons of certain parishes and thus had the right to collect tithes and administer benefices (ecclesiastical livings).

Sir Michael Savory was born in Ayr, Scotland in 1943 and lived in Norfolk and Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) before returning to England to attend Harrow School. Michael became a stockbroker and had been involved in the financial services sector all his professional life. His initial training took place in New York before he joined his family firm of stockbrokers, Foster & Braithwaite, in 1963 to specialise in research, fund management and corporate finance, becoming a partner and a member of the London Stock Exchange in 1967. He became joint senior partner of the firm in 1975, remaining with them until 1989 after the firm had been bought by Credit Commercial de France. He then joined Midland Bank becoming chairman of HSBC Bank, Stockbroker Services before he retired in 2005. He is an Associate of the Society of Investment Professionals and a Fellow of the Securities & Investment Institute. His past directorships have included being chairman of BT Batsford, book publishers; Terrafix, land navigation systems; and chairman of ProShare, which promotes financial education. His commitment to charitable work led to him taking up, in 2006, the role of Chief Executive of Young Enterprise UK which provides enterprise education to schools throughout the country. For over thirty years he had been a member of the Executive Council of the Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen Families Association. He was also a member of the Council of The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen and a trustee of the Hull Fishermens Widows and Orphans Fund for many years.

He was first elected a Liveryman of the Poulters' Company in 1964 (Master in 1996) and the Clockmakers' Company in 1988 (Master in 1997). He is a freeman of the Goldsmiths Company, a past liveryman of the Information Technologists Company, and past member of the Guild of Freemen and the City Livery Club. Michael was elected to the Court of Common Council of the City of London in 1980 becoming an Alderman for the Ward of Bread Street in 1996. He has served on all the principal Committees. He was Sheriff in 2001-2002, Lord Mayor in 2004-2005 and later received a knighthood for his services to the City of London. He was a founding member of the Broad Street Ward Club and served as its chairman in 1981. He was also a churchwarden of the parish church of Saint Margaret, Lothbury.

Michael was married in 1992 and has two daughters. His interests include farming and field sports and a large collection of military vehicles, the Muckleburgh Collection in North Norfolk, which he founded in 1988.

Source: Michael Berry Savory.22 September 2008 Dealmakers-Club UK http://www.dealmakers-club.co.uk/pdf/Short%20MBS%20Biography%20July%202006.pd.pdf

"The Lord Mayor's Show Commemorative Programme 2004." PSP Communications Ltd 13 Nov. 2004

The Corporation of London is the local authority for the City of London or Square Mile, the financial and commercial centre at the heart of the metropolitan area. With its roots in medieval times, it is probably the oldest local authority in the United Kingdom and has an unusually wide range of responsibilities reflecting both its ancient role as a municipality and its modern-day role as the equivalent of a London Borough. The Corporation of London is also unique in local government as it has no charter of incorporation nor any specific date of establishment: it has evolved organically from earlier bodies. Most other councils in the United Kingdom were either created or substantially reformed in the 19th century or later.

Where "Corporation" is used in modern legislation such as City of London (Various Powers) Acts, its meaning is defined as "the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London". This latter title is one of the styles used in the charter dated 20 Sep 1608, which also lists the following titles or styles: Mayor and Aldermen of the City of London; Mayor, Citizens and Commonalty of the City of London; Mayor and Commonalty of the City of London; Citizens of the City of London; Barons of London; Barons of the City of London and indeed "any other name whatsoever, by reason or force of any letters patent, charters, or confirmations of any of our progenitors, Kings of England, which in any time or times had reasonably used or exercised". In 1690 an Act of Parliament confirming all the privileges of the Corporation of London declared that the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London should "remain continue, and be, and prescribe to be a body corporate and politick, in re, facto et nomine"

Another unusual feature of the Corporation of London is its ability to alter or amend its constitution when it benefits the Corporation of London and City of London to do so, under charters of Edward III (1341) and Richard II (1377 and 1383). This power is exercised by means of Acts of Common Council. Such Acts of the Corporation of London are authenticated by the City or Common Seal. Although the legal title of the Corporation of London remains 'the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London', statutory powers are usually conferred on the Court of Common Council, under the designation of 'the Mayor, Aldermen and Commons of the City of London in Common Council assembled'.

The early history of the Corporation of London is also difficult to reconstruct since, in both the United Kingdom and the wider European context, there are virtually no ancient cities with administrative records surviving before the 13th century. In the 10th century, in the reign of King Athelstan, the establishment of eight mints in the City of London provides evidence of the prosperity and importance of the federal state of London, a City composed of Wards governed by Aldermen presiding over their Wardmotes [meeting of citizens of a ward] with a Folkmoot [a pre-Conquest general assembly of the people of a city] for the whole City of London meeting at St Paul's Cathedral.

In the following century, after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the victorious William granted the citizens of London a charter ratifying their existing rights and privileges. Although the charter, written in Anglo-Saxon and now dated to c 1067, did not grant any new rights, it was an important confirmation of the privileges and laws enjoyed by the "burgesses within London" in the time of Edward the Confessor [1042-1066]. This royal grant was only the first of many over the centuries which granted or confirmed customs and liberties.

Although the City of London continued to retain and to enjoy its independent customs and privileges, it still owed allegiance to the Crown and was bound to support the Royal Exchequer. The ancient office of Sheriff (mentioned in Anglo-Saxon laws of the 7th century), for example, exercised the King's authority over the citizens and collected royal revenues. A key stage in the development of autonomous local government was the right of a town or city to appoint its own officials and hence control its own affairs. In England this came generally through grants of the "farm of the borough" by which townsmen became corporately responsible for paying over the annual royal dues and, by consequence, appointed the officer who accounted for the dues at the Royal Exchequer. Henry I [1100-1135] is known to have made this concession to only two places: Lincoln and London. For a fee, both had obtained control of their own farms and officials by 1130. In the case of the citizens of London, emancipation from the royal financial agent was achieved by a charter from King John, dated 5 Jul 1199, giving them the right to choose the Sheriffs of both London and Middlesex, a right which was exercised until the 19th century. Since the Local Government Act 1888 two Sheriffs have continued to be elected but for the City of London alone.

The office of Alderman (like that of Sheriff) predates the Norman Conquest but the first mention of an Alderman of London by name is not until 1111 while the place-name Aldermanbury appears in 1128. In the 12th and 13th centuries the Wards in the City of London are still mainly identified by the name of their Alderman although the first full list of Wards under permanent names such as Dowgate or Cornhill is dated 1285. The roots of municipal government in the City of London are thus found in the activities of the Aldermen in their Wards which in the medieval period provided such public services as existed. Working individually, or in co-operation, the power of the Aldermen grew as the corporate unity of the City of London developed and they exercised both administrative and judicial functions in what became the Court of Aldermen. Until the 18th century the Court of Aldermen was the premier governing body of the City of London and the Aldermen remain an integral part of the Corporation of London.

Also integral to the Corporation of London is the office of Mayor (the title of Lord Mayor also being evolutionary and only being in general use from about 1500). In the 12th century, London was the first English town to have a Mayor, Henry Fitz Ailwyn, who first appears around 1189, although the exact circumstances of his becoming Mayor are not known. In 1191 the Londoners secured recognition of the Commune [a municipal corporation or organisation] from Prince John and other magnates. Two years later, the oath of the Commune provides the first tentative evidence of the participation by representatives of the Commons of the City when reputable men were to be associated with the Mayor and others for the good rule of the City of London. In May 1215 King John granted the citizens the right to elect annually a Mayor who was one of 25 barons appointed to ensure the terms of Magna Carta (Jun 1215) were carried out. By the end of the 14th century a permanent body chosen by the citizens had been established and since the 18th century, this body (now known as the Court of Common Council) has been the main governing body of the City of London.

The Corporation of London performs the ordinary functions of a council for the residential and working population of the City of London, supported by local taxes and funds from central government. It also runs its own police force, the City of London Police, the Central Criminal Court (the "Old Bailey") and the Barbican Arts Centre as well as maintaining five bridges across the River Thames (Blackfriars, Southwark, London, Tower and, since 2002, the Millennium Bridge). In addition, the Corporation of London provides other special services for the benefit of London and indeed the nation as a whole, often financed from its own funds (City's Cash) and at no cost to the tax and ratepayer. Many of these special services are provided outside the boundaries of the City of London itself and include: owning and maintaining over 10,000 acres of open spaces such as Epping Forest and Hampstead Heath; acting as the Port Health Authority for the whole of the Thames tidal estuary; providing the quarantine station at Heathrow Airport, and acting as a Markets Authority with responsibility for three premier wholesale food markets (Billingsgate, Smithfield and Spitalfields). It also administers the Bridge House Grants Scheme, a charitable grants scheme for Greater London, and is committed to an extensive programme of activities designed to assist its neighbours to combat social deprivation.

The Corporation of London operates through the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Members of the Court of Common Council who are elected by the residents and businesses of the 25 Wards in the City of London. The Court of Aldermen still deals with matters such as the Livery Companies and the Freedom of the City of London but its present-day role has diminished with the development of the Court of Common Council. Much of the work of the Corporation of London is now delegated to the Court of Common Council which is the primary decision-making assembly. The Court of Common Council is non-party political and works through Committees which are mainly made up of Members of the Common Council.

The Corporation of London also acts through its officers, some of whose offices originate in the medieval period. The earliest known holders of the office of Town Clerk (now the Chief Executive) and the Chamberlain (the chief financial officer), for example, both date from the 13th century although the offices themselves may date from the 12th century. Others, such as that of the Comptroller and City Solicitor (the head of the legal department), result from the amalgamation of different offices originating from medieval and Elizabethan times. These officers still head their own departments but, in recent years, many formerly separate departments have been amalgamated into directorates covering, for example, Technical Services or Markets or Open Spaces. Overall the Departments and Directorates are responsible for delivering the wide range of services provided by the Corporation of London.

Record keeping practices were first encouraged in the medieval period by the periodic review of local administration and justice conducted by the Crown, particularly when permanent legal and administrative courts developed with professional staff. The Town Clerk, first mentioned in 1274, was responsible for encouraging good record keeping and for the safe custody of the records. The records were kept in the Book House, near the Guildhall, and were inspected regularly by the Aldermen, with new shelving, doors and locks ordered in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Book House was not destroyed during the Great Fire in 1666, but the records were moved during rebuilding and became scattered. In the 18th century new rooms were made available for the records and attention was paid to cataloguing and indexing. In 1876 the first Deputy Keeper or Clerk of the Records, Mr R R Sharpe, was appointed. He was given the title 'Deputy Keeper of the Records' because the Town Clerk held the title 'Keeper of the Records' and had done since the 15th century. Before this it seems that the Guildhall Librarians were often called upon to care for the records and conduct research. In December 1940 a bomb destroyed all the offices and some store rooms, while other store rooms survived the collapse of the building. Some of the more ancient records had already been evacuated away from London. The Deputy Keeper of the Records was retitled the City Archivist in 1987.

Administration, minute taking, correspondence and general record keeping were the responsibility of the Town Clerk. The office of Town Clerk can be traced back to 1274, when it was referred to as the office of Common Clerk.

A broker is a retailer of commodities or someone who acts as a middleman to transact business or negotiate bargains between different merchants or individuals. There are several types of broker including bill or exchange brokers, stockbrokers, ship brokers, insurance brokers, pawnbrokers. Those brokers who negotiate sales of produce between different merchants usually confine themselves to some one department or line of business such as cotton, tea, etc (Oxford English Dictionary).

Between 1285 and 1886 the Corporation of London had the power to license all brokers in almost every commodity operating in the City of London. This power was granted and confirmed by several Royal Charters and Acts of Parliament. Although the Corporation was keen to maintain its powers over brokers, many evaded being licensed - half the brokers on the Stock Exchange were found to be unlicensed in 1837. The powers of the Corporation were restricted by statute in 1870 and entirely abolished in 1884 by the London Brokers' Relief Act.

The office of Alderman (like that of Sheriff) predates the Norman Conquest but the first mention of an Alderman of London by name is not until 1111 while the place-name Aldermanbury appears in 1128. Each Alderman was responsible for administration of a Ward, and was elected by their Ward. The position of Alderman was held for life. In the 12th and 13th centuries the Wards in the City of London are still mainly identified by the name of their Alderman although the first full list of Wards under permanent names such as Dowgate or Cornhill is dated 1285. The roots of municipal government in the City of London are thus found in the activities of the Aldermen in their Wards which in the medieval period provided such public services as existed. Working individually, or in co-operation, the power of the Aldermen grew as the corporate unity of the City of London developed and they exercised both administrative and judicial functions in what became the Court of Aldermen.

The main administrative work of the City is recorded in the proceedings of the Court of Aldermen until the latter half of the 17th century. Civic control of trade and industry, of the police and prisons, of hospitals and poor relief, of citizenship, the companies and the Freedom, of markets and the Thames, and of water supply, sanitation and building, was exercised largely by the Aldermen. In modern times the activities of the Court have been confined mainly to the regulation of the City Livery Companies, Freedom through the Companies, and the administration of justice and elections.

The Aldermen were responsible for the administration of Wards, and were elected by their Ward. The position of Alderman was held for life. In the 12th and 13th centuries the Wards in the City of London are still mainly identified by the name of their Alderman although the first full list of Wards under permanent names such as Dowgate or Cornhill is dated 1285. The roots of municipal government in the City of London are thus found in the activities of the Aldermen in their Wards which in the medieval period provided such public services as existed. Working individually, or in co-operation, the power of the Aldermen grew as the corporate unity of the City of London developed and they exercised both administrative and judicial functions in what became the Court of Aldermen.

The Administration of Justice Committee of the Court of Aldermen was formed in 1781 to enquire into the complaint put forward by the Lord Mayor against Thomas Woodbridge, Alderman, concerning the public administration of justice and the supposed maladministration and misuse of his powers by the Alderman in the matter of the arrest of an alleged French spy.

The Aldermen were responsible for the administration of Wards, and were elected by their Ward. The position of Alderman was held for life. In the 12th and 13th centuries the Wards in the City of London are still mainly identified by the name of their Alderman although the first full list of Wards under permanent names such as Dowgate or Cornhill is dated 1285. The roots of municipal government in the City of London are thus found in the activities of the Aldermen in their Wards which in the medieval period provided such public services as existed. Working individually, or in co-operation, the power of the Aldermen grew as the corporate unity of the City of London developed and they exercised both administrative and judicial functions in what became the Court of Aldermen.

The Finance Committee regulated and passed all expenditure of the Court of Aldermen.

The Aldermen were responsible for the administration of Wards, and were elected by their Ward. The position of Alderman was held for life. In the 12th and 13th centuries the Wards in the City of London are still mainly identified by the name of their Alderman although the first full list of Wards under permanent names such as Dowgate or Cornhill is dated 1285. The roots of municipal government in the City of London are thus found in the activities of the Aldermen in their Wards which in the medieval period provided such public services as existed. Working individually, or in co-operation, the power of the Aldermen grew as the corporate unity of the City of London developed and they exercised both administrative and judicial functions in what became the Court of Aldermen.

The Gaol Committee of the Court of Aldermen was responsible for the administration of prisons in London, including staff appointments, supply, works, finances and enquiries into escapes.

The Aldermen were responsible for the administration of Wards, and were elected by their Ward. The position of Alderman was held for life. In the 12th and 13th centuries the Wards in the City of London are still mainly identified by the name of their Alderman although the first full list of Wards under permanent names such as Dowgate or Cornhill is dated 1285. The roots of municipal government in the City of London are thus found in the activities of the Aldermen in their Wards which in the medieval period provided such public services as existed. Working individually, or in co-operation, the power of the Aldermen grew as the corporate unity of the City of London developed and they exercised both administrative and judicial functions in what became the Court of Aldermen.

The General Purposes Committee of the Court of Aldermen is responsible for appointments to Committees, rota duties of Aldermen, charities, salaries of officers and the grant and increase of the liveries of City Companies.

The Aldermen were responsible for the administration of Wards, and were elected by their Ward. The position of Alderman was held for life. In the 12th and 13th centuries the Wards in the City of London are still mainly identified by the name of their Alderman although the first full list of Wards under permanent names such as Dowgate or Cornhill is dated 1285. The roots of municipal government in the City of London are thus found in the activities of the Aldermen in their Wards which in the medieval period provided such public services as existed. Working individually, or in co-operation, the power of the Aldermen grew as the corporate unity of the City of London developed and they exercised both administrative and judicial functions in what became the Court of Aldermen.

The control exercised by the Court of Aldermen over the livery companies arose as a result of the recognition in the 14th century of the right of the companies to have a share in the government of the City, and because of the civic regulation of the freedom, apprenticeship and trade. Wearing of a livery became of great importance when in 1475 attendance at Common Hall was restricted to liverymen. From 1560 onwards a company wishing to adopt a livery had to obtain the consent of the Court of Aldermen. The Livery Cloth Committee was responsible for the supply of livery cloth to officers of the Crown and the Corporation.

The Aldermen were responsible for the administration of Wards, and were elected by their Ward. The position of Alderman was held for life. In the 12th and 13th centuries the Wards in the City of London are still mainly identified by the name of their Alderman although the first full list of Wards under permanent names such as Dowgate or Cornhill is dated 1285. The roots of municipal government in the City of London are thus found in the activities of the Aldermen in their Wards which in the medieval period provided such public services as existed. Working individually, or in co-operation, the power of the Aldermen grew as the corporate unity of the City of London developed and they exercised both administrative and judicial functions in what became the Court of Aldermen.

The Magistracy Committee of the Court of Aldermen was appointed by the Court of Aldermen on 22 Jan 1952 to replace the Gaol Committee.

The Aldermen were responsible for the administration of Wards, and were elected by their Ward. The position of Alderman was held for life. In the 12th and 13th centuries the Wards in the City of London are still mainly identified by the name of their Alderman although the first full list of Wards under permanent names such as Dowgate or Cornhill is dated 1285. The roots of municipal government in the City of London are thus found in the activities of the Aldermen in their Wards which in the medieval period provided such public services as existed. Working individually, or in co-operation, the power of the Aldermen grew as the corporate unity of the City of London developed and they exercised both administrative and judicial functions in what became the Court of Aldermen.

The Aldermen were responsible for the administration of Wards, and were elected by their Ward. The position of Alderman was held for life. In the 12th and 13th centuries the Wards in the City of London are still mainly identified by the name of their Alderman although the first full list of Wards under permanent names such as Dowgate or Cornhill is dated 1285. The roots of municipal government in the City of London are thus found in the activities of the Aldermen in their Wards which in the medieval period provided such public services as existed. Working individually, or in co-operation, the power of the Aldermen grew as the corporate unity of the City of London developed and they exercised both administrative and judicial functions in what became the Court of Aldermen.

The City Police was set up under the City of London Police Act, 1839. The Police Committee of the Court of Aldermen was formed in the same year with responsibility for the administration of the police force.

The Aldermen were responsible for the administration of Wards, and were elected by their Ward. The position of Alderman was held for life. In the 12th and 13th centuries the Wards in the City of London are still mainly identified by the name of their Alderman although the first full list of Wards under permanent names such as Dowgate or Cornhill is dated 1285. The roots of municipal government in the City of London are thus found in the activities of the Aldermen in their Wards which in the medieval period provided such public services as existed. Working individually, or in co-operation, the power of the Aldermen grew as the corporate unity of the City of London developed and they exercised both administrative and judicial functions in what became the Court of Aldermen.

The Privileges Committee of the Court of Aldermen was concerned with the privileges of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen including ceremonials, processions and public occasions.

The Aldermen were responsible for the administration of Wards, and were elected by their Ward. The position of Alderman was held for life. In the 12th and 13th centuries the Wards in the City of London are still mainly identified by the name of their Alderman although the first full list of Wards under permanent names such as Dowgate or Cornhill is dated 1285. The roots of municipal government in the City of London are thus found in the activities of the Aldermen in their Wards which in the medieval period provided such public services as existed. Working individually, or in co-operation, the power of the Aldermen grew as the corporate unity of the City of London developed and they exercised both administrative and judicial functions in what became the Court of Aldermen.

The Parliamentary Committee of the Court of Aldermen was formed to oppose the 'Bill for the better regulation of the Corporation', which was brought before Parliament by Sir George Grey, Home Secretary, in April 1856. The Bill was based on the report of the 1853 Commission to examine the existing state of the Corporation of London in light of the Municipal Corporations Act and the Municipal Reform Act. It called for the reform of the Corporation constitution and administration, the abolition of customs which were injurious to trade and industry, and the removal of some anomalous powers still held by the Corporation.

The Aldermen were responsible for the administration of Wards, and were elected by their Ward. The position of Alderman was held for life. In the 12th and 13th centuries the Wards in the City of London are still mainly identified by the name of their Alderman although the first full list of Wards under permanent names such as Dowgate or Cornhill is dated 1285. The roots of municipal government in the City of London are thus found in the activities of the Aldermen in their Wards which in the medieval period provided such public services as existed. Working individually, or in co-operation, the power of the Aldermen grew as the corporate unity of the City of London developed and they exercised both administrative and judicial functions in what became the Court of Aldermen.

The Committee of the Whole Court was established to confer with the Government and others regarding the reform of the Corporation.

The concept of the Court of Common Council grew from the ancient custom of the Folkmoot, when the assent of the citizens to important acts was obtained. This custom was continued by the Mayor who consulted the Commons several times during the 13th century. From 1376 the assembly began to meet regularly and was referred to as the Common Council. It was decided that the Council should be made up of persons elected from each Ward. By 1384 a permanent Common Council chosen by the citizens was established for all time. The Council assumed legislative functions and adopted financial powers, confirmed by Charters of 1377 and 1383. The Council has often used these powers to amend the civic constitution, regulate the election of Lord Mayor and other officials, and amend the functions of the City courts. The Council was judged so successful in the conduct of its duties that it was the only Corporation unreformed by Parliament following the Municipal Corporations Commission report of 1837, while the Corporation Inquiry Commission of 1854 suggested only minor reforms.

The work of the Council is conducted by a number of committees, while the whole Council has the right to approve policy, confirm major decisions and sanction expenditure. The committees handle many aspects of the running of the City including land and estates, finance and valuation, open spaces, street improvement and town planning, public health, police, Port of London, civil defence, airports, libraries, markets, education, and law. The Town Clerk has held responsibility for recording the minutes of the Council and its committees since 1274.

The concept of the Court of Common Council grew from the ancient custom of the Folkmoot, when the assent of the citizens to important acts was obtained. This custom was continued by the Mayor who consulted the Commons several times during the 13th century. From 1376 the assembly began to meet regularly and was referred to as the Common Council. It was decided that the Council should be made up of persons elected from each Ward. By 1384 a permanent Common Council chosen by the citizens was established for all time. The Council assumed legislative functions and adopted financial powers, confirmed by Charters of 1377 and 1383. The Council has often used these powers to amend the civic constitution, regulate the election of Lord Mayor and other officials, and amend the functions of the City courts. The Council was judged so successful in the conduct of its duties that it was the only Corporation unreformed by Parliament following the Municipal Corporations Commission report of 1837, while the Corporation Inquiry Commission of 1854 suggested only minor reforms. The work of the Council is conducted by a number of committees, while the whole Council has the right to approve policy, confirm major decisions and sanction expenditure. The committees handle many aspects of the running of the City including land and estates, finance and valuation, open spaces, street improvement and town planning, public health, police, Port of London, civil defence, airports, libraries, markets, education, and law. The Town Clerk has held responsibility for recording the minutes of the Council and its committees since 1274.

The Affairs of the Corporation committee was appointed to enquire into assertions circulated by writer Josiah Dornford, a member of the Court of Common Council and the author of several pamphlets on the corporation's affairs and the reform of debtors' prisons. The Committee was formed to consider Dornford's allegations and to give their opinion as to whether any regulations ought to be introduced for the better management of the City and Bridgehouse estates and their revenues.

The concept of the Court of Common Council grew from the ancient custom of the Folkmoot, when the assent of the citizens to important acts was obtained. This custom was continued by the Mayor who consulted the Commons several times during the 13th century. From 1376 the assembly began to meet regularly and was referred to as the Common Council. It was decided that the Council should be made up of persons elected from each Ward. By 1384 a permanent Common Council chosen by the citizens was established for all time. The Council assumed legislative functions and adopted financial powers, confirmed by Charters of 1377 and 1383. The Council has often used these powers to amend the civic constitution, regulate the election of Lord Mayor and other officials, and amend the functions of the City courts. The Council was judged so successful in the conduct of its duties that it was the only Corporation unreformed by Parliament following the Municipal Corporations Commission report of 1837, while the Corporation Inquiry Commission of 1854 suggested only minor reforms. The work of the Council is conducted by a number of committees, while the whole Council has the right to approve policy, confirm major decisions and sanction expenditure. The committees handle many aspects of the running of the City including land and estates, finance and valuation, open spaces, street improvement and town planning, public health, police, Port of London, civil defence, airports, libraries, markets, education, and law. The Town Clerk has held responsibility for recording the minutes of the Council and its committees since 1274.

The Administration of Justice Committee was concerned with the administration of the Central Criminal Court, the state of Newgate, the treatment of juvenile offenders and the rating of non-freemen.

The concept of the Court of Common Council grew from the ancient custom of the Folkmoot, when the assent of the citizens to important acts was obtained. This custom was continued by the Mayor who consulted the Commons several times during the 13th century. From 1376 the assembly began to meet regularly and was referred to as the Common Council. It was decided that the Council should be made up of persons elected from each Ward. By 1384 a permanent Common Council chosen by the citizens was established for all time. The Council assumed legislative functions and adopted financial powers, confirmed by Charters of 1377 and 1383. The Council has often used these powers to amend the civic constitution, regulate the election of Lord Mayor and other officials, and amend the functions of the City courts. The Council was judged so successful in the conduct of its duties that it was the only Corporation unreformed by Parliament following the Municipal Corporations Commission report of 1837, while the Corporation Inquiry Commission of 1854 suggested only minor reforms. The work of the Council is conducted by a number of committees, while the whole Council has the right to approve policy, confirm major decisions and sanction expenditure. The committees handle many aspects of the running of the City including land and estates, finance and valuation, open spaces, street improvement and town planning, public health, police, Port of London, civil defence, airports, libraries, markets, education, and law. The Town Clerk has held responsibility for recording the minutes of the Council and its committees since 1274.

The Airport Committee was formed to investigate the possibility of establishing an airport at Fairlop, Essex, on the site of a disused World War One airfield. The site was purchased by the Corporation in the 1930s, however, it was requisitioned by the Air Ministry during World War Two and RAF Fairlop was established. The station was closed in 1946 and is now part of the Hainault Forest Country Park.