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Russian Jews Committee

The Russian Jews Committee was set up by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Anglo-Jewish Association in 1881. Its aim was to consider and adopt measures for ameliorating the condition of the Jews in Russia.

Russia Company

A charter was granted on February 26th 1555 to a group of merchants intending to trade with Russia. The company was known variously as the Russia Company, the Muscovy Company, and the Company of Merchants Trading with Russia. Sebastian Cabot was appointed the first governor of the Company in 1555, and 207 other subscribers - the majority of whom were London merchants - formed the first of the great joint stock foreign trading companies.

The charter gave the Company a monopoly of English trade with Russia which included the rights to trade without paying customs duties or tolls, and to trade in the interior. The Company's principal imports from Russia were furs, tallow, wax, timber, flax, tar and hemp. Its principal export to Russia was English cloth.

English merchants were expelled from Russia in 1646, and the Tsar ended the Company's privileges three years later. Trade resumed in 1660, when the Company was reorganised as a regulated company. It lost its monopoly in 1698, but survived as an important City institution and shared the eighteenth century revival of Anglo-Russian trade.

The Company in London appointed agents or factors in Russia, hence the term British Factory for the group of British agents. The headquarters of the British Factory was in Moscow until 1717, when it moved to Archangel. In 1723 the Factory moved again to St Petersburg. The Company also appointed a chaplain to the Factory in Russia. With the expansion of trade in the nineteenth century, the number of trading posts maintained by the Company grew to include Archangel, Cronstadt, Moscow and St Petersburg. Since 1917 the Russia Company has operated principally as a charity.

Trade directories indicate that the Company had offices at 25 Birchin Lane, 1842-53 and South Sea House, Threadneedle Street, 1854-65. At other times, the Court of Assistants appears to have met at various premises around the City, including coffee houses and livery company halls.

The early records of the Russia Company perished in the Great Fire of London in 1666.

Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970, was the third son of Lord John Russell (1792-1878), who twice served as Prime Minister (1846-1852 and 1865-1866). His parents died when he was very young and he was brought up by his grandmother. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge and obtained a first-class honours degree in mathematics and philosophy. He became a Fellow of the college in 1895. A visit to Berlin after university led to his first book "German Social Democracy" (1896). In 1907 a group of male supporters of votes for women formed the Men's League for Women's Suffrage. Bertrand Russell joined and stood unsuccessfully as a Suffragist candidate at a parliamentary by-election at Wimbledon. Russell was also a member of the Fabian Society. After the outbreak of the First World War Russell helped form the No-Conscription Fellowship (NCF), an organisation that planned to campaign against the introduction of conscription. Russell's activities in the the NCF resulted in him being sacked from his post as a lecturer at Cambridge University. Russell was also the editor of the NCF journal "Tribunal". Russell wrote an article in January 1918 criticising the American Army for strike-breaking. Russell was arrested and charged with making statements "likely to prejudice His Majesty's relations with the United States of America". He was found guilty and sentenced to six months in Brixton Prison. In 1931 Bertrand succeeded his elder brother as 3rd Earl of Russell. He used the forum of the House of Lords to promote his views on pacifism. Russell ceased to be a pacifist in the late 1930s with the rise of Hitler in Germany. Russell was rewarded with the restoration of his fellowship at Cambridge University. In 1950 Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Russell became increasing concerned about the major powers producing nuclear weapons and in 1958 helped form The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. His publications include: "The Principles of Mathematics" (1903); "Principia Mathematica" (1910); "Theory and Practice of Bolshevism" (1919); "An Enquiry into Meaning and Truth" (1940); "History of Western Philosophy" (1945); "Human Knowledge: Its scope and limits" (1948); "Why I am not a Christian" (1957).

Alys Pearsall Smith, 1867-1951, was an American Quaker who worked for the temperance cause. She was the first of Bertrand Russell's four wives. Pearsall Smith married Russell in 1894, despite opposition from both their families. They separated in 1911 and divorced in 1921. She then lived in Chelsea, London, with her brother the writer Logan Pearsall Smith (1865-1946).

William Russell was a broker, in partnership at various times. He was admitted to the Stock Exchange in 1872. His business was known as W Russell and Co for part of its existence, while his first business address was 75 Old Broad Street, E. C.

after several changes he settled at 17 Gracechurch Street, E. C. in 1894 and remained in business there until 1920.

Richard F Russell (fl 1951-1972) was General Secretary of the British Vigilance Association and the International Bureau for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons from 1957 to 1971, when he retired from ill-health. He was also active in other humanitarian organisations, including the charity Aid to Displaced Persons: Great Britain, which later became Aid to European Refugees.

Lyons was founded in 1886 as a catering business, earning a reputation as caterers for exhibitions at Newcastle, Glasgow, Paris and London's Olympia. In 1894 it was incorporated as a public company and established its head office and food factories at Cadby Hall in Hammersmith. The company rapidly established a chain of Teashops, Cornerhouses and Restaurants with the opening of the first Lyons Teashop in 1894 in Piccadilly, the Trocadero Restaurant in 1896 and the First Lyons Corner House in 1909 in Coventry Street. To keep pace with this expansion, the factories were moved to Greenford in Middlesex in 1920 and the largest tea packing plant in the world opened. Further progress was made during the Second World War with the development of the FROOD a revolutionary frozen cooked food process. The company is also famous for its work in less obvious fields - from 1941 to 1945 it operated a munitions factory at Elstow near Bedford on the reputed site of the slough of despond. In 1954 it developed LEO (Lyons Electronic Office), the first computer in the world capable of use for commercial work.

Further growth came in the 1970s with the acquisition of a number of businesses both in the UK and overseas. In 1978, Lyons became the food division of Allied Breweries which was renamed Allied-Lyons in 1981. In 1990 the head office was moved from Cadby Hall to Greenford. In 1994 Allied-Lyons decided to dispose of its food manufacturing operations and to change its name to Allied Domecq. The individual companies were sold off and Lyons head office closed in 1995.

Raymond Anthony Russell was born in 1922. He was educated at Eton College, Berkshire, and then at Downing College, Cambridge. He gained the rank of Captain in the Royal Fusiliers in 1945. He was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (FSA) and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS). He died in 1964.

Lord Odo Russell was born in Florence on 20 February 1829, the son of Major-General Lord George William Russell. He was educated by tutors and his mother, and became fluent in French, Italian and German. His diplomatic career started in 1849, when he was appointed an Attaché at the Embassy in Vienna. From then on, his career took him to London, Paris, the United States, Italy and Germany. He was at the Foreign Office in London from 1850 to 1852; and in Italy, mainly Rome, for twelve years, 1858-1870. In 1871 he became an Ambassador in Berlin, and by his tact and sincerity, encouraged understanding between the English and German governments. On 7 March 1881, Russell was created Baron Ampthill of Ampthill in Bedfordshire. In 1868 he married Lady Emily Theresa Villiers and had four sons and two daughters. He died on 25 August 1884 and was buried at Chenies in Buckinghamshire.

John Russell was born at Wyke, in 1855, the son of a bookkeeper. He was educated at St John's College Cambridge, 1878-1882. He graduated with a second class degree in Theology, and chose a career in teaching.

He was a master at Islington High School 1882-1883 where he taught modern languages - French and German, as well as various elementary subjects, athletics and cricket. He resigned in 1883 in order ostensibly to pursue studies in modern philology in Germany, but in fact to seek out alternative educational models on the Continent, such as those that Jules Ferry, Minister of Education in the Third French Republic, was introducing in France. This model included an emphasis on modern languages, and pedagogy based on the Pestalozzian principle of observation. These reforms had distinctly secular and political goals, and were to be a significant influence in Russell's subsequent teaching career.

Returning to England in 1886, he took up a post as assistant master at the University College School, located at this time in Gower St, London. In 1901 he was appointed the second headmaster of the King Alfred School, London to whom he was recommended by a former pupil at UCS. He was appointed followed the complete deterioration of the relationship between the King Alfred School Council and its first Headmaster. A popular and successful head, he oversaw the Schools acquisition of the property at number 22 Ellerdale Rd in 1906. He was also responsible for introducing to the school a Parliament of Pupils, 1904, and the introduction of examinations as a regular part of the curriculum, 1908. He retired from teaching in 1920.

Outside school life, Russell was Warden of the Passmore Edwards settlement in Bloomsbury [1895], an active member of the Teacher's Guild and an acknowledged expert on Pestalozzi. He translated Baron Roger de Guimp's Life and works of Pestalozzi [1886], and wrote articles on modern teaching techniques and for the Guild's Journal of Education.

He was married to Elizabeth (Bess) Collins, who died in 1923. In 1925, he married Estelle Basden, who was the sister was Violet Horton, wife of Dr Horton.

Lord John Russell was the third son of Lord John Russell (afterwards 6th Duke of Bedford) and his first wife Georgiana (nee Byng). He was born in Westminster and educated at Westminster School and the University of Edinburgh. In 1813 he entered Parliament as a Whig and was instrumental in carrying through the Reform Act (1832). He served in several cabinet posts and was Prime Minister twice (1846-1852, 1865-1866), the second time from the House of Lords, having been granted a peerage as Earl Russell in 1861. The philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) was his grandson.

John Russell was Whig MP for Tavistock from 1788 until 1802, when he succeeded his elder brother Francis as Duke of Bedford. He had little active interest in politics after becoing a peer, prefering botany and horticulture, but his country house at Woburn was fashionable among the political elite. He was married twice and had 13 children, among them Lord John Russell (1792-1878), afterwards 1st Earl Russell.

Born 1888; Lt in the 10th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment; fought in the First World War; advocate of pacifism during the 1930s, attempted to mediate a truce in the Second World War by visiting the German legation in Dublin, leading to his name being placed on a list of persons to be arrested in the event of a German invasion. Patron of the British Peoples Party, an anti-war party that was accused of fascist sympathies; died 1953.

Francis Albert Rollo Russell, 3rd son of Lord John Russell (afterwards Earl Russell), was born in Richmond, Surrey, and educated at Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford. He worked for the foreign office for more than 15 years but was more interested in meteorology and environmental science, on which he wrote several books and pamphlets. He became a fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society aged 19 and served twice as its president. The philosopher Bertrand Russell was his nephew.

The Russell family, Dukes of Bedford: The Russell family first appeared prominently in the reign of Henry VIII. John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford, c1486-1555, was Lord High Steward and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal under Henry VIII and Edward VI. He was created 1st Earl of Bedford in 1550, and had a part in arranging the marriage of Mary I to Philip II of Spain. He died possessing lands, which have remained in the family until the 20th century; these now include Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire and large parts of Bloomsbury in London. His son, Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford, c 1527-1585, was an Privy Councillor under Elizabeth I and President of the Council of Wales. Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford, 1593-1641, was an opponent of Charles I in the House of Lords. William Russell, 5th Earl and 1st Duke of Bedford, 1613-1700, fought first for Parliament and then for the king in the Civil War. In 1694, when his sons attainder was reversed, the 5th earl was made Duke of Bedford. John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, 1710-1771, served in the cabinets of Henry Pelham, 4th Duke of Newcastle, 1696-1754, John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, 1713-1792, and George Grenville, 1712-1770. He was the leader of a faction of Whig politicians, known as the Bedford Group.

The history of the Covent Garden estate will be found in full detail in Vol. XXXVI of the Survey of London (St. Paul, Covent Garden). The land, originally an orchard of Westminster Abbey (hence Convent or Covent Garden) was acquired from the Crown by John Russell, first Earl of Bedford (c.1485-1555) in 1552, and developed between 1630 and 1641 by Francis Russell, fourth Earl (1593-1641) between 1630 and 1641, as the first planned housing scheme in London. Inigo Jones appears to have been largely responsible for planning the lay-out, the central feature of which was an Italian-style 'piazza', the first London square, which later became Covent Garden Market. Many of the records relate to the development of the Market, which was leased by the Bedford Estate during the late 17th and 18th centuries, but actually administered by the Estate during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Other records concern Drury Lane Theatre and the Covent Garden Theatre (now Opera House).

All the property was sold by the eleventh Duke of Bedford in 1918. The Surrey estate, acquired by the Howland family of London and Streatham during the 17th century, came into the possession of the Russells through the marriage of Elizabeth Howland in 1696 to Wriothesley Russell, later second Duke of Bedford (1680-1711). The land was mainly in Streatham (the Manor of Tooting Bec) extending into Stockwell (in Lambeth) and Wandsworth and in Rotherhithe, on the Thames. Soon after the Russell-Howland marriage, land at Rotherhithe was leased to a firm of shipwrights, the Wells family, for making the 'Great Wet Dock', now the Greenland Dock. From 1745 to 1763 the Dock, previously run by lessees, was administered directly by the Bedford Estate; the resultant accounts and other records have been described in a separate sub-section of the catalogue.

The Rotherhithe dock was sold in 1763 and the other Rotherhithe property in 1800-1801. The Streatham, etc., property seems to have been sold piecemeal between about 1790 and 1816; the manorial rights of Tooting Bec were sold in 1816. A small estate at Cheam, left to Lord John Russell, in 1729 by the Rev. R. L. Lloyd, was administered with the Streatham estate until it was sold tothe Northey family in 1755. (See Lysons, Environs of London, I, 138).

The Bedford estates were well organized and the Bedford Office in London appears to have exercised strict control over sub-agents administering the different estates. The Covent Garden sites were originally let in the 17th century on building leases, many for 31 or 41 years and later on leases of various lengths, but most usually 21 years. Only St. Paul's Church and a 'model' range of Piazza houses were built by direct labour (by the 4th Earl), but general uniformity of height and architecture was obtained by control of the lessees under the terms of leases. Detailed lists of leases have been made for the purpose of the Survey of London volume on Covent Garden and reference can be made to these from the summary list. Far fewer leases of the Surrey properties have been preserved.

Many accounts and vouchers have survived for both Covent Garden and Surrey estates. Surviving estate papers and correspondence are numerous, but patchy except for the last period of Covent Garden papers, from about 1870 onwards. There is a large collection of 19th century architects' plans and drawings for the Covent Garden area and the Market.

One feature of interest is that produce was regularly sent from the Streatham estate to London, by waggons which sometimes brought back plants, young trees, etc., while wood for burning was sent to the Bedford Office in London and rubbish collected by the empty waggons. Very possibly more stray records relating to the Covent Garden and Surrey estates may emerge from the Bedford Office or from Woburn.

Alexander Russell was skipper of various vessels based in Fiji including the John Hunt and the Meda. These ships helped supply missionaries in the region.

John Ruskin was born 8 February 1819. He was educated privately, then went to Christ Church Oxford, otaining his BA 1842 and MA in 1843. He was Rede Lecturer at Cambridge in 1867, and Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford from 1870 to 1879 and 1882 to 1884. He was an honorary member of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours, 1873. He was also a member of several foreign Academies. Ruskin produced numerous publications, many about painting and architecture. He died on 20 January 1900.

John Ruskin was born in London in 1819. He was educated by his mother and various tutors before attending Oxford University. His study there was interrupted for two years by illness. He embarked upon a foreign tour with his parents in 1840. After resuming his education, he received his BA in 1842 and his MA in 1843. He taught art at Working Men's Colleges and at Oxford. While at Oxford he was appointed the first Slade Professor of Fine Art in 1869. During his life he wrote many books on art, social criticism and politics. In 1871 he purchased Brantwood near Coniston in the Lake District. Ruskin died of influenza in 1900.

John Ruskin was born on 8 February 1819 in London. Ruskin was educated by his mother and by various tutors before attending Oxford University. His study there was interrupted for two years by illness. He embarked upon a foreign tour with his parents, which lasted from June to September 1840. After resuming his education, he received his BA in 1842 and his MA in 1843. He taught art at Working Men's Colleges and at Oxford. While at Oxford he was appointed the first Slade Professor of Fine Art in 1869. During his life he wrote many books on art, social criticism and politics. In 1871 he purchased Brantwood near Coniston in the Lake District. Ruskin died of influenza on 20 January 1900.

Abstract of title is a summary of prior ownership of a property, drawn up by solicitors. Such an abstract may go back several hundred years or just a few months, and was usually drawn up just prior to a sale.

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

Harrow Manor belonged to the archbishops of Canterbury from the early middle ages until 1545 when Henry VIII forced Cranmer to sell the manor to him. Henry sold the estate to Sir Edward North. The North family sold the manor to the Pitt family, whence it came to Alice Pitt and her husbands, Edward Palmer and then Sir James Rushout. The Rushouts acquired the barony of Northwick in 1797. Harrow stayed in the family until the death of the 3rd Baron, Sir George Rushout-Bowles, in 1887. His widow left the estate to her grandson Captain E G Spencer-Churchill. He sold the land in the 1920s.

Harrow Manor described both the manorial rights over the whole area and the chief demesne farm in the centre of the parish. This was known as Sudbury Manor or Sudbury Court. The ownership of Sudbury Manor followed that of Harrow, hence the name Harrow alias Sudbury.

From: 'Harrow, including Pinner : 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. 203-211 (available online).

The Manor of Harrow Rectory alias Harrow-on-the-Hill originated in land owned by priest Werhardt in the 9th century. From 1094-1845 Harrow Rectory was a peculiar of the archbishopric of Canterbury within the deanery of Croydon. The rector had sole manorial jurisdiction over Harrow-on-the-Hill and Roxborough, and collected tithes from a large area. This was a prized position which attracted ambitious and important men, and the rectory house was accordingly fine and spacious. In 1546 the rectory was impropriated to Christ Church, Oxford, but in 1547 the college alienated the rectory, the advowson of the vicarage, and (from 1550) the tithes to Sir Edward North, lord of Harrow alias Sudbury Manor. The grant was made in fee farm in perpetuity, North paying the College an annual fee. North sublet the rectory and tithes while retaining the manorial rights, and enjoyed the rights and profits of the rectory. In 1630 the rectory was conveyed to George Pitt and thereafter descended with Sudbury Court Manor until 1807, when the rectory house and 121 acres of land north of it were sold to James Edwards; the remaining land becoming part of Harrow Park.

'Harrow, including Pinner : Harrow church', 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. 249-255 (available online).

Runnymede Trust

The Runnymede Trust is one of the most influential and respected think tanks on race-relations in Britain. It was formerly established on 1 August 1968, by Deed of Trust, as an educational charity. It had developed partly as a response to the growth of racist politics, especially those of Enoch Powell, which looked at the time to be turning into a mass movement, and also as an attempt to create an equivalent to the American Anti-Defamation League in Britain. The founding members of the organisation were Jim Rose, Anthony Lester, Philip Mason, Sir Joseph Simpson, Mark Bonham-Carter, Dipak Nandy, Nicholas Deakin and Jock Campbell. The funding for its establishment came from the New World Foundation in New York, the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, the Joseph Rowntree Social Service Trust and the Hilden Trust. Dipak Nandy became the Trust's first Director. Since its inception, the Trust has worked to challenge racial discrimination and promote a successful multi-ethnic Britain by providing the facts of racial discrimination and the techniques for overcoming it, stimulating debate and suggesting strategies in public policy. Its principal function in the early years was to provide briefs, background papers and research data for MPs, civil servants, local government and others concerned with policy. It provided a means of responding swiftly and authoritatively on key issues as media attention to the subject of race relations increased. The Trust's Bulletin was initiated in 1969 and has been published regularly ever since. In later years, Runnymede published reports designed to interpret government policy to a wider audience at the same time as briefing government on public opinion. Through the 1990s, Runnymede's role shifted from that of providing position or interpretative papers to working more closely with government in an advisory capacity. Over the years, Runnymede has produced key reports such as Colour and Citizenship (1969) an authoritative rebuttal to Enoch Powell's anti-immigration populist stance; A Very Light Sleeper: The Persistence and Dangers of Anti-Semitism (1994), This is where I live - stories and pressures in Brixton (1996), and School Exclusions and the Race Factor (1999). The Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain was established as an independent Runnymede inquiry in 1997 culminating in the publication of The Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain: the Parekh Report in October 2000. Runnymede has produced regular bulletins called Race and Immigration: The Runnymede Trust Bulletin, which became The Runnymede Bulletin in 1992. The Runnymede Trust was one of the organisations responsible for the establishment of the UK Race and Europe Network (UKREN) in 1996. A Board of Trustees decides the policies of the organisation and the Director is responsible for developing strategies.

Born Southport, Lancashire, 1922; educated at King George V School Southport; studied Mechanical Sciences Tripos at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, 1941 (graduated BA 1944, MA 1948); joined Radar Research and Development Establishment during war, 1943 - 1946; Assistant Lecturer in Physics, Manchester University, 1946 - 1948; Lecturer in Physics, Manchester University, 1948 - 1949; research under Blackett on Earth's magnetic field, awarded Ph.D 1949; Assistant Director of Research, Department of Geodesy and Geophysics, Cambridge University, 1950, working on palaeomagnetism; Chair of Physics, Kings College, University of Durham (later University of Newcastle upon Tyne), 1956 - 1988; Sydney Chapman Professor of Physics, university of Alaska, 1989; Senior Research Fellow, Imperial College London, 1989. Runcorn was murdered in a hotel room in San Diego, California, December 1995.

Henry Nathaniel Rumsey was a surgeon practising at Chesham, Buckinghamshire. Rumsey had taken shorthand notes of John Hunter's lectures in 1786-1787, which were printed by James F Palmer in his edition of Hunter's works. They were admired for their completeness, including examples and illustrations.

William Cumberland Cruikshank was born in Edinburgh in 1745. He attended both Edinburgh and Glasgow Universities and graduated in 1767. He was the pupil of John Moore, and became assistant to William Hunter. He moved to London in 1771, and gave anatomy demonstrations. He was later made a partner in the Windmill Street School by Hunter, and after Hunter died Cruikshank continued with Hunter's nephew, Matthew Baillie. Cruikshank attended Dr Johnson during his last illness. He received an honorary MD from Glasgow University in 1783. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, in 1797. He published The Anatomy of the Absorbing Vessels of the Human Body, in 1786. He died in 1800.

Henry Nathaniel Rumsey was a surgeon in Chesham, Buckinghamshire. He took shorthand notes of John Hunter's lectures in 1786-1787, which were subsequently printed by James F Palmer in his edition of Hunter's works.

William Clift was born in Cornwall in 1775, and was educated locally. He became an apprentice anatomical assistant to the celebrated surgeon John Hunter (1728-1793) in 1792. He was appointed conservator of the Hunterian Museum after Hunter's death. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1823, and was a member of the Society for Animal Chemistry. He died in 1849.

George Fordyce was born, 1736; educated, University of Aberdeen; apprenticed to study medicine under his uncle, Dr John Fordyce; Edinburgh University, 1754-1758; MD, 1758; studied anatomy under the famous anatomist Bernhard Siegfried Albinus in Leiden, 1759; returned to England, 1759; lectured on chemistry in London, 1759-; lectured on materia medica and the practice of physic, 1764-; licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians, 1765; Physician to St Thomas' Hospital, 1770; Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, 1778; died, 1802.

Rule and Cook , solicitors

Conveyances are transfers of land from one party to another, usually for money. Early forms of conveyance include feoffments, surrenders and admissions at manor courts (if the property was copyhold), final concords, common recoveries, bargains and sales and leases and releases.

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

rukus! Federation Limited

rukus! Federation Limited was founded in 2000 by Ajamu and Topher Campbell. The organisation has provided a programme of community-based work with Black Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual, Trans (BLGBT) artists, activists and cultural producers. rukus! described itself as 'a ground breaking cutting edge enterprise dedicated to celebrating and showcasing the best in challenging, provocative works by Black Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual and Trans artists nationally and internationally'. rukus! has focused on organising events, screenings, workshops, theatre performances, club-based events, debates and exhibitions including heritage and archive collections.

These initiatives have been led by the founders and 'production team' namely Ajamu (see LMA/4671/04 for further information) and Topher Campbell (see LMA/4671/05 for further information).

rukus! was registered as a company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital, and also a registered charity (number 1120584) with objectives to:

'advance the education of the public of the black lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans history, heritage, and lived experience in the United Kingdom by: -maintaining an archive of oral histories, photographic and other documentation and cultural artefacts; -conducting and promoting research into the lives and lifestyle of African and Afro-Caribbean LGBT people and into the positive contribution made historically and culturally by black LGBT people to the wider society; -Presenting the results of research and information from the archive';

'preserve and promote religious, racial harmony and equality of African and Afro-Caribbean and LGBT people and to provide relief for such people';

'promote equality and diversity and to eliminate discrimination in relation to African and Afro-Caribbean and LGBT people'.

rukus! was based in South London

PROJECTS AND EVENTS

rukus! has had a number of major projects and events relating to archives, exhibitions, oral histories and book launches including:

2005: 'Queens Jewels Exhibition and Archive Launch', The Globe Centre, East End, London.

Film Party Launch during Lesbian and Gay Film festival for African American Maurice Jamal Director of Ski Trip and Dirty laundry.

Ajamu and Topher Campbell guest Speakers at Pride Rally main stage, Trafalgar Square, London.

Ajamu and Topher talks at London Metropolitan Archives third annual Lesbian and Gay History conference.

2006: 'Queens Jewels'- launches the London Borough of Lambeth's first LGBT History month events. Largest Black Gay event in country.

'Doin' The Low' with Keith Boykin (writer and former advisor to President Bill Clinton) in Association with London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

'The Fire This Time' in association with 'Chroma Journal' held at Woman's Library, London 2005. A one-day event with workshops (Film, Photography and writing) and performances.

2007:' In This Our Lives....The Reunion', which celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the first ever black gay mens' conference. London South Bank University.

Thomas Glave - Readings and Book Signing at Gays The Word Bookshop : In Partnership with Outburst UK.

Queens Jewels Opens at Homotopia Festival, Liverpool.

Black Gay and Scouse, roundtable discussion with members of Liverpool's black LGBT community.

2008: 'Open Space 2' - An event to explore and share the histories of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities connected to Soho and the West End.

'Lambeth's Black Queer Pulse' - Informal discussions that shed light on the unique place Brixton holds within the Black LGBT experience in the United Kingdom.

rukus! Wins Archives Landmark Award 2008.

'Outside Edge. A Journey Through Black British Lesbian and Gay History', Museum in Docklands.

'Glorious Outpourings', Brixton Library, Lambeth: Readings by Dirg Aaab-Richards, Steven G. Fulwood, Dean Atta and Jay Bernard.

Steven G. Fulwood - Readings and Book Signing at Gays The Word Bookshop : In Partnership with Outburst UK.

2009: Mangina Monologues, Soho Theatre, Soho, Westminster.

2010: 'Conjuring Black Funk' Book Launch by Dr. Herukhuti, Brixton Library, Lambeth.

rukus! archive Launch, London Metropolitan Archives.

Thomas Glave, Gays The Word Bookshop.

2011: 'Crossing Deep Waters', London South Bank University.

The Charity was established under an Award dated 12 September 1814 in pursuance of an Act of Parliament dated 1804 for enclosing lands in the Parish of Ruislip.

Sixty acres were allotted to the use of cottagers whose rents did not exceed £5.00 per year. Administration was carried out by a representative committee, later Trustees. In 1880, 95 cottagers were licensed to pasture cattle on this land.

There is evidence that football games have been played in England since the 11th century. During the early 19th century, football games became a popular recreation in English public schools. Various schools developed their own rules for the game. The rules of the game developed by Rugby School were gradually taken all over Britain and the rest of the world.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) was founded 1871 for the purpose of standardising the rules of the game worldwide, to facilitate inter-club competitions. A committee was formed and three former Rugby School pupils were invited to write a set of laws, which were approved in Jun 1871. The first international match was played between Scottish and English members of the Union in March 1871, and ended in a Scottish victory.

National Rugby Unions were gradually formed with the Scottish Rugby Union being the first in 1873, the Irish Rugby Union in 1879 and the Welsh Rugby Union in 1881.

The English RFU continued to be the law making body for the game. In 1886, an International Rugby Board was formed by Scotland, Ireland and Wales, which challenged English rulemaking pre-eminence. It was not until 1890 that England agreed to send representatives to this Board. The International Board gradually took over more responsibility for making the laws and running the game.

In 1893, the strict amateur code of the game was challenged by reports of some players in the North of England were being paid for playing. The Union set up an enquiry, and the club concerned was suspended. The dispute was not entirely settled however and in 1895, twenty-two clubs seceded from the RFU and formed the Northern Union (later known as the Rugby League).

RFU was responsible for the management of the England side, whose games were played on various club grounds. In 1906, the RFU Committee asked the Finance Sub-Committee to investigate the feasibility of purchasing land and building a stadium for the exclusive use of playing Rugby. A site at Twickenham was purchased in 1907, and in 1909 the first match was held there, between the Richmond and Harlequin clubs, with the first international match taking place there in 1910 (England v Wales).

There are a number of trophies for which matches are played, including the Calcutta Cup - a trophy donated by the Calcutta Rugby Football Club, 1878, and given to the winner for an annual England Scotland match, first played in 1879; the Millennium Trophy, presented by the City of Dublin on its millennium year - 1988, for the winner of an annual Ireland England game; the Six Nations' Trophy (formerly the Five Nations Trophy) involving teams from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, and Italy, inaugurated in 1993. One of the oldest annual fixtures is however the Oxford University versus Cambridge University match first played in 1872.

In 1995, the International Rugby Board agreed that the amateur game become open, despite the opposition of the RFU. The RFU itself has since revised its management structure, and now consists of a Council, a Chief Executive Officer and a Management Board.

English Schools Rugby Union (ESRU) was formed in 1904 to coordinate the game played by those under the school leaving age (at that time 14 years at the beginning of the Autumn term). From 1948 to 1970, the age limit was set at 15 years.
The English Public and Grammar Schools Union (EPGSRFU) formed in 1948, to coordinate the game played by pupils older that the statutory school leaving age. In 1949, the EPGSRFU and RSRU amalgamated to form the English Schools Rugby Football Unions (ESRFU) with two groups - the ESRFU (Under 15 group) and the ERFU (over 15 Group). By 1960, the groups had changed to become the ESRFU (15 Group) and the ESRFU (19 Group). After a slow start, cooperation between the two groups was improved by the production of a handbook, an England Tie, the coordination of trials and International Match fixtures and the sending of minutes of both groups to all County Secretaries.

In 1984, the Rugby Football Union for Women was formed as the official governing body. Run by an executive committee of volunteers, it is recognised by the RFU and holds associate status. Matches are played from club to international level, and the England women's side compete in a Six Nations Championship, as well as a Rugby World Cup.

Jordanus Ruffus or Giordano Ruffo was farrier to Frederick II (1194-1250), Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily, in the later 13th century.

Josa Morgan-Ruffner née Lederer was born in 1910 to Professor Lederer, a famous surgeon and Baroness Zenetti of Venice. She was Roman Catholic; studied for the theatre with Professor Arndt of the famous Burgtheater; married the star of stage and screen, playwright and wit, Paul Morgan, beloved by pre-war Berlin. She joined him when he was under contract in Hollywood to MGM. When they returned, Hitler rose to power. Paul Morgan's Theater der Komiker was taken away and they left for Vienna.

Josa started broadcasting about her American experiences and wrote regularly in the Sunday edition of Das Wiener Journal.

In 1938 Paul Morgan was arrested and sent to Dachau then Buchenwald where he was killed (according to Josa) by special orders of Hitler who could not forgive him for ridiculing him.

Josa was imprisoned in 1940 by the French as the holder of a German passport and taken to a concentration camp in the Pyrenees.

In 1944 she married Mr Joseph Ruffner III and became an American citizen. Later became estranged from him living in Munich and London.

The actor Paul Morgan was born as Paul Morgenstern. He belonged to the great theatre actors of his time. He appeared at the Simplicissimus in 1914 and founded together with Kurt Robitschek and Max Hansen the Berliner Kabarett der Komiker.

As an established theatre actor he dared to make first steps in the new and disapproved-of medium, film. To his early movies belong Der Herr ohne Wohnung, Die Reise um die Erde in 80 Tagen as well as Fritz Lang's successful productions Halbblut and Die Spinnen.

In the 1920's there followed other very successful movies, among them Die Herrin der Welt, Kurfürstendamm, Hedda Gabler, Die Brüder Schellenberg, Wehe, wenn sie losgelassen, Der Stolz der Kompagnie, Venus im Frack, Casanova und Moral.

Morgan gained in popularity in the 1930s. He played in the following years in numerous movies like Nur Du, Zwei Herzen im Dreiviertel-Takt, Menschen hinter Gittern, Casanova wider Willen and Ich und die Kaiserin.

Paul Morgan also made a name as an author of musicals besides his acting activity. He wrote among others the musical Axel vor des Himmels Tor, with which Zarah Leander launched her career.

The threat from National Socialism in Germany was underestimated by Paul Morgan for a long time. He was one of the first victims of the union of Austria to the German Reich in 1938 and was arrested on charges of possession of a letter of Gustav Stresemann (see copy at 1336/1/2). The real reason for his arrest was his Jewish roots.

Paul Morgan was deported to Dachau and arrived at the prison camp together with other Viennese in May. Paul Morgan was later transported to Buchenwald where he died of pneumonia, which he contracted during an inhuman punishment drill in one of the coldest winters in Europe.

Born 1906; student, Faculty of Theology, King's College London, 1929-1933; elected AKC, 1932; ordained deacon, 1932; ordained priest, St Paul's Cathedral, 4 Oct 1933; Curate, St Giles-in-the-Fields, 1932-1935; Curate, St Matthew, Ashford, Middlesex, 1935-1938; Vicar, St Matthew, Yiewsley, Middlesex, 1938-1973; Rural Dean of Uxbridge, Middlesex, 1957-1967; Prebendary of St Paul's Cathedral, 1960-1973; Prebendary Emeritus, 1973-1983; died 1983.

Warren de la Rue was born, 1815; engineer who undertook research in chemistry and astronomy; FRS, 1850; Royal Medal, 1864; Vice President of the Royal Society, 1869-1870 and 1883-1885; died, 1889.

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

Conveyances are transfers of land from one party to another, usually for money. Early forms of conveyance include feoffments, surrenders and admissions at manor courts (if the property was copyhold), final concords, common recoveries, bargains and sales and leases and releases.

An assignment of a lease is the transfer of the rights laid out in the lease to another party, usually for a consideration (a sum of money).

Abstract of title is a summary of prior ownership of a property, drawn up by solicitors. Such an abstract may go back several hundred years or just a few months, and was usually drawn up just prior to a sale.

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

Rogers Ruding (1751-1820) was educated at Merton College Oxford University, and gained an MA in 1775. A well known numismatist, he was also a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. Ruding held the living of Malden from 1793. Publications: A proposal for restoring the antient constitution of the mint, so far as relates to the expence of coinage. Together with the outline of a plan for the improvement of the money; and for increasing the difficulty of counterfeiting (London, 1799); Annals of the Coinage of Britain and its dependencies; from the earliest period to the end of the fiftieth year of the reign of his present Majesty (Nichols, Son, and Bentley: London, 1817-19).

Werner Rüdenberg, export merchant and sinologist was born in Hanover, November 1881. He married Anni née Pincus. He spent 16 years in Shanghai spread over a 30 year period. He compiled a Chinese/ German dictionary, first published in 1924, with a second edition in 1936. He arrived in Great Britain in 1938 and taught for a few months at the School of Oriental Studies, whilst working on an English/ Chinese dictionary (Shanghai dialect). He received a grant for this work. In 1940 he was interned in a camp on the Isle of Man. He later taught German at Westfield College and continued his merchant activities with China.

Arthur William Rücker was born in Clapham, Surrey, and educated locally before studying mathematics and natural science at Brasenose College, Oxford. From 1871 to 1874 he was a fellow and lecturer at Brasenose before becoming a professor at the new Yorkshire College of Science, Leeds. In 1886 he moved to London to become a professor at the Royal College of Science, serving as College Principal from 1901 until his retirement in 1908. His research topics centered around electromagnetism and liquids. Rücker became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1884 and received its medal in 1891; he also served as President of the Physical Society (1893-1895) and the British Association (1901). He was knighted in 1902.

Born, 1848; Education: Brasenose College, Oxford. BA (1871), MA (1874); Career:

Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford (1871-1876); Professor of Physics, Yorkshire College, Leeds (1874-1885); Professor of Physics, Royal College of Science, London (1886-1901); Fellow of the Royal Society, 1884; Royal Society Royal Medal, 1891; Secretary of the Royal Society Council, 1896-1901; died, 1915.

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

Abstract of title is a summary of prior ownership of a property, drawn up by solicitors. Such an abstract may go back several hundred years or just a few months, and was usually drawn up just prior to a sale.

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.

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

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

Feoffment was an early form of conveyance involving a simple transfer of freehold land by deed followed by in a ceremony called livery of seisin.

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.

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".

Rubber Securities Limited was registered in 1909 as a rubber plantation investment company. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) replaced Bright and Galbraith as secretaries and agents of Rubber Securities Limited in 1952. In 1953 Rubber Securities Limited was acquired by G.T.S. Syndicate Limited (CLC/B/112-052) and in 1981 it became a private company.

Rubber Growers' Association

The Rubber Growers' Association was established on 24 June 1907 with the aim of providing a central place where those interested in the production of rubber might meet and discuss matters connected with the industry. Members were to be drawn from any individual or company interested in or connected with the rubber industry (initial members being invited via a circular letter). In July 1912 the Association was incorporated as a limited company; by this time, its work had outgrown all previous expectations. The Association was active in the industry internationally, and this included research projects and examinations into the state of the industry as a whole.

In 1987, the title of the Rubber Growers' Association changed to the Tropical Growers' Association in order to reflect wider representation of plantation crops. Meetings of the Rubber Growers' Association were held in various places through the years:
1907-1914, Chamber of Commerce Building, Oxford Court, Cannon Street;
1914-1922, 38 Eastcheap;
1922-1935, 2-4 Idol Lane, Eastcheap;
1935-1962, 19 Fenchurch Street;
1962-1973, Plantation House, 10-15 Mincing Lane;
1973-1975, Unilever House, Blackfriars;
1975-1980, Dunlop House, Ryder Street, SW17.

Rubber Estates of Johore Ltd

Rubber Estates of Johore Limited: This company was registered in 1906 to acquire estates in Johore, Malaya. In 1947 it was acquired by Lanadron Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-105), which in turn was acquired by London Asiatic Rubber and Produce Company (CLC/B/112-103) in 1960.