Hendon Urban District Council was formed in 1894. In 1932 the UDC became the Municipal Borough of Hendon. The municipal borough was abolished in 1965 and the area became part of the London Borough of Barnet. The responsibilities of both an urban district council and a municipal borough included safeguarding public health.
The Greater London Council (GLC) was established in 1963, replacing the London County Council (LCC) and various metropolitan boroughs. The LCC had been responsible for education, but the GLC was not. Therefore, the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was founded as the education authority for the 12 inner London boroughs. The 20 outer London boroughs were responsible for education in their area. The GLC was abolished in 1986 but the ILEA was not abolished until 1990.
Wesleyan Methodists first met in 1886 in a house in College Road, Kensal Rise. A tin chapel opened in 1887 in Hiley Road, replaced by a brick chapel in 1900 at the corner of Chamberlayne Wood Road and Ladysmith Road (later Wrentham Avenue), near Kensal Rise railway station. Attendance in 1903 was 330 for morning service and 568 for evening service. The Chapel was sold to the Roman Catholic Church in 1977, although the Methodists continued to meet in an adjacent hall. In 2006 the hall hosted a temporary advice and support centre following a tornado strike on Chamberlayne Road.
From: 'Willesden: Protestant nonconformity', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 242-246.
The George Street Congregational Church was situated on London Road, Croydon. When the Congregational Church merged with the Presbyterian Church in 1972 it became the East Croydon United Reformed Church, Addiscombe Grove.
In 1887 the Plaistow Congregational Church on Balaam Street built a mission hall in Southern Road. In 1943, the members of Balaam Street and Southern Road united with Greengate as Plaistow Congregational Church.
Plaistow Congregational Church, Balaam Street, originated in 1796 in a mission conducted by W. Newman, a Baptist minister from Bow. Regular meetings were held in private houses, and in the open air, until 1807, when a building was erected in North Street by a group of Independents and Baptists under Robert Marten, who was the leading layman until his death in 1839. A union church of the two denominations was constituted in 1812, with Henry Lacey (1812-1824) as minister. 'Marten and his religious crew' encountered local opposition and even violence in the early days, but their numbers grew. A day-school was opened (1844) and in 1860 a new church was built in Balaam Street. John Foster (1865-1869) was the church's only Baptist minister. In 1869 part of the congregation - probably the Baptists - apparently seceded with him to form a church in Upper Road, Plaistow, which soon disappeared. After this, Balaam Street seems to have had little or no Baptist connexions. Under Richard Partner (1888-1903) the membership increased rapidly as the area was built up, reaching 670 in 1902, by which time the church had been enlarged to accommodate 1,000. In 1887 a mission hall was built in Southern Road. After 1903 Balaam Street began to decline, though it remained fairly strong until 1939. During the Second World War the church was bombed, being finally abandoned in 1945 and later demolished. Meanwhile, in 1943, the members of Balaam Street and Southern Road united with Greengate as Plaistow Congregational church.
From: A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 123-141.
Plashet Park Congregational Church, Chester Road, Forest Gate, was founded in 1884, in a room in Crescent Road. Meetings were subsequently held in the public hall, Green Street, from 1884 until 1887, when a two-storeyed building (later used for classrooms) was erected in Chester Road, during the temporary pastorate of E. T. Egg. An iron building was added in 1890, a permanent church in 1895, and an institute in 1914. In 1925 the iron hall was gutted by fire. Its site was sold to the borough council for a chest clinic, and in 1926 a new hall, fronting on Katherine Road, was opened. In 1941 the church was badly damaged by bombing. It was reconstructed and re-opened in 1952. For most of its history the church has had a settled minister. In its earlier years it was one of the stronger nonconformist churches in the district, and it was still flourishing in the 1920s, with a membership of over 300, and a Sunday school of 600. In 1972, when the Congregational and Presbyterian Churches merged, it became the Plashet Park United Reformed Church.
Source: A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 31-38.
The Fulham Congregational Church was constructed between 1904 and 1906, on the corner of Fulham Palace Road and Harbord Street. In 1973 it joined the United Reformed Church at the merger of the Congregational and Presbyterian churches and was renamed the Fulham United Reformed Church.
The Presbyterian Church in Poplar was first situated on Manor Street, off the East India Road, and was called the 'East India Road Presbyterian Church'. In 1865 the church moved to former Baptist premises on Plimsoll Street, taking the name 'East India Road Presbyterian Church, Plimsoll Street'. The building was bombed in 1940. In 1954 the congregation voted to change the name of the church to 'Saint Columba's Presbyterian Church'. In 1963 the church united with the Trinity Congregational Church, situated on the same street, with the name Poplar United Church. The Presbyterian church building was demolished.
The Bromley-By-Bow Congregational Church on Bruce Road was founded in 1866. In 1972 it became a United Reformed Church when the Congregationalist and Presbyterian Churches merged. The church is closed and the building is now a community arts centre.
A lecture hall at the western end of Church Street, Enfield, was built in 1902 and used for Presbyterian services until 1907, when the church of Saint Paul was opened. The church, a ragstone building in the 13th-century Gothic style, was designed by William Wallace and was originally intended to have a spire. It could seat circa 500 in 1973. In 1972 it joined the United Reformed church on the merger of the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 250-253.
Saint George's Presbyterian Church, Palmers Green, was constructed in Fox Lane in 1913, although the congregation had been meeting since 1909. In 1972 it amalgamated with the Congregational Church in Fox Lane to become the United Reformed Church. The building has now been replaced by a block of flats.
The West Kensington Congregational Church was situated on Castletown Road. It was founded in 1885. In 1972, when the Congregational and Presbyterian Churches merged, the West Kensington church joined the newly formed United Reformed Church.
Saint John's Presbyterian Church was situated on Scarsdale Villas, Kensington. It was founded in 1862. In 1930 the Emperor's Gate Presbyterian Church (which was formed when the South Kensington and Belgrave Presyterian Churches merged in 1922) merged with Saint John's.
In 1891 the Presbyterian Church of England acquired land at the corner of Ballards Lane and Redbourne Avenue, where a hall was opened in 1893 and registered in 1894. The church was registered in 1895. Called Saint Margaret's from 1932, the church joined with Church End Congregational Church in 1969 to form Union Church, Finchley Central; after the formation of the United Reformed church in 1972, it was known as Saint Margaret's United Reformed Church. The old Presbyterian church hall was still used by the united congregation in 1976 but was demolished in 1977.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6: Friern Barnet, Finchley, Hornsey with Highgate (1980), pp. 87-91.
Providence Congregational Church was formed in Uxbridge about 1777. Meetings were held in the 'George' until 1795 when the first meeting-house was built near the Lynch Green, in the garden of J. A. Glover, a wealthy merchant who largely financed the project. The land around the building was consecrated as a burial ground. The meeting-house was renovated about 1890 and again in 1902. By 1926 the congregation had increased to 319 members. After 1933, however, membership declined rapidly.
A mission organized by Providence Church was established in a community room in Peachey Lane, Cowley, in 1955 to serve the new council estate at Cowley Peachey. The adult work, however, was not a success, and no evening services were held after 1960. A Sunday school continued to meet in the community room until 1963 when all work in the building ceased. The children of Cowley nonconformists subsequently attended Sunday school in Uxbridge.
From the late 1950s discussion centred on plans for the amalgamation of the two Congregational churches in Uxbridge. They were finally united in 1962 as Uxbridge Congregational Church, which thenceforth worshipped in the former Old Meeting premises. In 1963 services were still occasionally held in Providence Church but soon afterwards the building became derelict and was demolished in 1969. It had a tall two-storied cement-rendered front with round-headed windows, pilasters, and a central pediment flanked by scrolls above the parapet.
From: 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. 91-95.
According to the Congregational Church Year Book 1971-1972, the Middleton Road Congregational Church, Dalston was founded in 1662.
Haggerston Congregational Church was situated in Pownall Road.
The Oxendon Presbyterian Church was founded in 1737 in Great Street. It moved to Oxendon Chapel, on Oxendon Street, Haymarket, in 1808. In 1878 it moved to Haverstock Hill, at the junction of Prince of Wales Road and Maitland Park, Belsize Park, taking the name Oxendon Presbyterian Church to commemorate its previous location. It was damaged during the Second World War and was not reopened until 1957.
The archiepiscopal manor and ancient parish of Harrow covered an area 6½ miles long and 4½ miles wide in the eastern half of Gore hundred. The parish, called Harrow in the account that follows to distinguish it from the hamlet of Harrow-on-the-Hill or Harrow Town, stretched south from the Hertfordshire border to the River Brent. It was bounded by Elthorne hundred on the west and by Great Stanmore and Kingsbury parishes on the east. Parts of the parish, notably Pinner and Harrow-on-the-Hill, attracted wealthy residents as early as the 17th century. Harrow School, founded in 1572, contributed to the growth of Harrow-on-the-Hill from the end of the 18th century. Railways were followed in the late 19th century by housing estates and factories. After the British Empire Exhibition of 1924-5, for which Wembley Stadium was built, the site was developed and building spread over the south-east of the parish.
In the 19th century the total area was 13,809 acres, divided between Harrow (10,027 acres) and Pinner (3,782 acres). In 1931, when part of Northolt parish was added, the whole area, then administered by four district councils, consisted of 13,909 acres. In 1961 this area, divided into wards totalling 13,983 acres, formed part of the municipal boroughs of Harrow (12,555 acres) and Wembley (6,294 acres). In 1965 Harrow became the London Borough of Harrow, and Wembley became part of the London Borough of Brent.
From: 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. 169-172.
Watney, Combe, Reid and Co Ltd was formed in 1898 when a merger was negotiated between Watney and Co Ltd of the Stag Brewery, Pimlico; Combe and Co Ltd of the Wood Yard Brewery, Long Acre and Reid's Brewery Co Ltd, of the Griffin Brewery, Clerkenwell. Following the merger the company was the largest brewing concern in the United Kingdom, and was based at Watney's Stag Brewery in Pimlico.
The Stag Brewhouse and Brewery, Pimlico, was founded in 1636 by John Greene and his son Sir William Greene. In 1837 James Watney, a miller, bought a quarter share in the Stag Brewery, alongside John Elliot. From 1849 the firm was known as Elliot, Watney and Co. John Elliot withdrew from the business in 1850, remaining a partner in name only until 1858 when he retired. The firm became known as James Watney and Co. In 1885 Watney and Co Ltd was registered as a limited liability company.
Combe and Co Ltd was founded in 1722 by John Shackley in a former timber yard off Long Acre, London. In 1739 the business was acquired by William Gyfford who enlarged the premises, trading as Gyfford and Co. In 1787 the brewery was purchased by Harvey Christian Combe, a malt factor, but it was not until 1839 that the firm began to trade as Combe and Co. The Wood Yard Brewery closed in 1905 but the Combe family continued to take a major role in the management of Watney, Combe, Reid and Co Ltd.
In 1757 Richard Meux and Mungo Murray acquired the Jackson's Brewery in Mercer Street. When this was damaged in a major fire they constructed new premises at Liquorpond Street (now Clerkenwell Road). In 1793 Andrew Reid joined the business which became known as Meux, Reid and Co. In 1816 the Meux family left the business which changed its name to Reid and Co. The company was registered in 1888 as Reid's Brewery Co Ltd. On the merger with Watney and Combe it ceased to brew.
In 1956 Watney, Combe, Reid and Co Ltd decided that the Stag Brewery offered no further scope for expansion. Mann, Crossman and Paulin Ltd of Whitechapel was acquired to provide a new London brewery, and the company name was changed to Watney Mann Ltd.
Athelney Primary School is situated on Athelney Street, Catford.
When local juvenile advisory committees were appointed by the Board of Trade in 1910 to advise school leavers on the choice of employment, the London County Council invited the care committee workers to co-operate. These juvenile advisory committees were succeeded in 1917 by similar bodies appointed by the Minister of Labour, and they in turn were superseded in 1949 by youth employment committees whom the London County Council appointed, having decided, under the Employment and Training Act 1948, to operate the youth employment service.
This service provided individual guidance to potential leavers, assistance in placing them in employment, and gave them advice or help after starting out in work. The need for co-operation between the youth service, the youth employment service, and the colleges was fully recognised. Co-operation between youth officers, employers, parents and teachers had beneficial results.
Willoughby Road Wesleyan Methodist church opened as a Sunday school chapel in 1885, on land acquired in 1882 near the corner of Hampden Road. Classrooms were built in 1889 and a church, perhaps replacing an iron one, was opened on the corner site to the east in 1893. A lecture hall and more classrooms were added to the north in 1903. The congregation, which belonged to the Finsbury Park circuit, was joined by many from Mattison Road in 1963. After a fire in 1973 Willoughby Road church was replaced by a yellow-brick structure which, with the adjoining schoolroom in Hampden Road, seated 300.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6: Friern Barnet, Finchley, Hornsey with Highgate (1980), pp. 183-189.
The Reverend Henry John Gamble was a Congregational minister active between 1850 and 1873. He was minister at the Linden Grove Congregational Church, Camberwell and the Upper Clapton Congregational Church. His son died at the age of five, while his daughter Catherine Sarah was married to the Member of Parliament for Scarborough, Sir Joseph Compton-Rickett. On Gamble's death in 1873 his widow, Catherine, gave some 4000 books to the Union Theological College, Belfast, Northern Ireland to form the Gamble Library.
Books by Henry Gamble include Scripture Baptism: a series of Familiar Letters to a Friend in reply to "Christian Baptism" by B. Noel, 1850; Paul the Apostle, or, sketches from his life, 1851; Fidelity recognized and rewarded: a Sermon [on Matt. XXV, 21] preached on occasion of the Death of the Rev. F. A. Cox, 1853; Sermons, 1859; Hymns and Chants for Prayer Meetings and Special Services, with music, 1860; The Special Hymn Book for Week-Day Services, 1860; Work and Rest: a word to the busy and the weary, 1867 and Sermons by the Reverend Henry Gamble. Collected by his sorrowing widow, 1873.
Ensham School was built in 1905 as a mixed central school. By the 1950s it was a girls secondary school. In 1986 it merged with Furzedown Secondary School to make Graveney School.
Hither Green Wesleyan Methodist Church stood in the angle of Wellmeadow Road and Hither Green Lane, Lewisham. It was built in 1900 by architects Gordon, Lowther and Gunton, but was destroyed by bombing in 1940. A new church was built on Torridon Road. It is part of the Blackheath and Lewisham Methodist Circuit.
Saint John's Presbyterian Church, High Road, north Tottenham, was registered in 1866, three years after services had started in a lecture hall. The building had seats for 450. By 1876 Saint John's had opened a mission hall in Coleraine Park, which remained in use until 1915 and, as a Sunday school, until 1917. After the First World War the removal of many members to the outer suburbs reduced the active congregation to about 40 by 1939, when the church was accordingly closed.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 356-364.
Saint Andrew's United Reformed Church, at the corner of Finchley Road and Frognal Lane, originated as a Presbyterian church. The site was bought in 1897 and a lecture hall built by 1902. Services were held in the hall until a church of Kentish ragstone, with an imposing tower and spire, was constructed by Pite and Balfour in 1904.
Source: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9: Hampstead, Paddington (1989), pp. 153-158.
Saint Paul's Presbyterian Church was situated in West Ferry Road, Millwall. It was founded in 1859. Saint Paul's became Millwall United Reformed Church when the Presbyterian and Congregational churches merged in 1972, however, membership was low and the church subsequently closed.
Trinity Presbyterian Church, Norwich, Norfolk, was founded in 1867. The church was first situated on Theatre Street, but was badly damaged during the Second World War. It was rebuilt in 1956 on Unthank Road. The church belonged to the Presbytery of London North. In 1972 the Presbyterian and Congregational churches merged to form the United Reformed Church. Trinity United Reformed Church is still situated on Unthank Road.
Trinity Presbyterian Church, Notting Hill, was situated on Kensington Park Road between Blenheim and Elgin Crescents. The first chapel on this site was built in 1862 by the Reverend Henry Marchmont, a clergyman of the Church of England who conducted ritualistic services here. This chapel was destroyed in a fire in 1867. Marchmont began to build the present church, but in 1871 he was declared bankrupt and the uncompleted carcase was sold to the congregation of Presbyterians who had hitherto met at a chapel in The Mall, Notting Hill Gate. Under these new owners the church was completed, and until 1919 was known as Trinity Presbyterian Church. By 1973 it was in undenominational use and no longer appears in the Presbyterian Church official handbook.
Source: 'The Ladbroke estate: The 1860s onwards', Survey of London: volume 37: Northern Kensington (1973), pp. 235-251.
Victoria Docks Presbyterian Church, Hack Road, West Ham, was built in 1872 by James Duncan, the sugar-refiner, to meet the needs of his Scottish workers. It was bombed early in the Second World War, and not rebuilt.
Source: A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 123-141.
Shakespeare Walk Scotch Church was situated in Stoke Newington.
Saint Columba's Presbyterian Church, Prospect Hill, Walthamstow, originated in 1898 when Presbyterians took over the former Wesleyan Methodist church there. A new church was built on the site in 1906. It was almost destroyed by bombing in 1941, but services continued in improvised premises until it was rebuilt in 1957. It was closed in 1968 and demolished by 1971.
From: 'Walthamstow: Roman Catholicism, Nonconformity and Judaism', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 294-304.
South Kensington Presbyterian Church was founded in 1872, while the Belgrave Presbyterian Church was founded in 1846. In 1922 they merged to form the Emperor's Gate Presbyterian Church. In 1930 the church united with Saint John's Presbyterian Church on Scarsdale Villas which had been founded in 1862.
Park Presbyterian Church, Grosvenor Road, Highbury, was built after the Scotch congregation at Myddelton Hall, Upper Street, increased. It was one of three United Presbyterian churches in London founded with the aid of John Henderson of Renfrewshire. Later the church was part of the Presbyterian Church of England which was formed in 1876. As the district had no poor, the church supported City missions in Hoxton. The church closed in around 1950.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 101-115.
Islington Presbyterian Church was situated on River Terrace (which was later renamed Colebrooke Row). It was also known as the Scotch church. It was built in 1834 to replace a chapel in Chadwell Street, Clerkenwell, and was a member of the Presbyterian Synod of England in connexion with the Church of Scotland. It later became identified with the Free Church of Scotland, formed in 1843; and then later was part of the Presbyterian Church of England, formed in 1876. By the 1920s services were held in Saint Peter's school owing to the dilapidated condition of the church, in 1923 the members disbanded and the buildings were sold.
From: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 8: Islington and Stoke Newington parishes (1985), pp. 101-115.
Saint Andrew's Presbyterian Church was founded in 1868. In 1963 it united with the Kings Farm Congregational Church and was renamed Saint Paul's United Reformed Church on Singlewell Road, Gravesend.
Saint Andrew's Presbyterian Church was situated on Southwark Park Road, Bermondsey. It began in 1873 as a preaching station. A hall was built in 1888 and a church in 1900, but it was closed by 1971.
Saint Andrew's Presbyterian Church was founded in 1894. The church was built in 1896, situated on Battersea Rise, Clapham. In 1976 the Presbyterian and Congregational churches merged and the church was renamed Saint Andrew's United Reformed Church.
Saint John's Presbyterian Church was founded in 1870. The church was built in 1884 on Devonshire Road, Forest Hill. It came under the Presbytery of London South. Following the merger of the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches in 1972 it became Saint John's United Reformed Church and is still situated on Devonshire Road.
The first Presbyterian worship in Maidstone took place in 1672. The Christ's Church Presbyterian Church was situated on Brewer Street and flourished between 1873 and 1881. It is possible that it subsequently closed because in 1947 a meeting was held of people interested in founding a Presbyterian congregation in Maidstone which is described as lacking a church of this denomination. Meetings were held in classrooms at Elms School, London Road and the congregation was placed under the session of Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church, Chatham, as a preaching station. A Sunday School and other societies were founded. Attempts were made to purchase land on which to construct a church, however, it was decided that the congregation was too small to support a full time preacher and in 1951 the meetings were ended.
In 1887 Hugh Price Hughes was appointed the first Superintendent Minister of the West London Mission. Together with his wife, Katherine, he developed practical programmes for the poor and laid the foundations for much of the Mission's work. Katherine herself was responsible for the establishment of 'The Sisters of the People', an order of women serving the poor.
Initially the Mission was based in St. James's Hall in Piccadilly from where the inaugural service was given on 21 October 1887. Hughes died in 1902 and three years later in 1905 St. James's Hall was demolished. There followed a period of movement for the West London Mission and its congregation. First relocating to Exeter Hall, in 1907 the Mission moved to Great Queen Street before renting the Lyceum Theatre in 1909.
The movement of the mission could only be a temporary measure until suitable accommodation was found. In 1911 institutional buildings at Kingsway Hall, Holborn were completed and in 1912 the Hall opened for public services. With a hall designed to seat 2,000 people and institutional buildings with space for a gymnasium, boys and girls clubs, schoolrooms and lecture halls, and a crèche it seemed as though the West London Mission had found its home.
In 1936 a second great figure in the Mission's history, Donald Soper, went to Kingsway Hall. He would remain as Superintendent until his retirement in 1978. At this time the relocation of the Mission once again became a necessary consideration.
By 1980 Kingsway Hall was no longer fit for purpose and the West London Mission offices and Kingsway Hall congregation moved to Hinde Street. A Methodist chapel had stood on Hinde Street since 1810 and had become part of the West London Mission in 1917. From this new home activities such as a Wednesday club and an open-access provision for the homeless were able to continue.
The firm was established in 1822 when William Henry Ashurst set up practice as a solicitor at 2 Sambrook Court, Basinghall Street, London. In 1823, he went into partnership with William Henry Green under the name 'Green and Ashurst'. The partnership lasted until 1829, when Ashurst moved to 84 Newgate Street to practise alone. In 1835, Ernest Barnevelt Elliott Gainsford became a partner and the new partnership 'Ashurst and Gainsford' set up office at 137 Cheapside. However, the partnership only lasted five years, and Ashurst once again practised alone, significantly spending a year as solicitor to the Mercantile Committee helping Rowland Hill succeed in reforming the postal system. In 1843, Ashurst decided to make his son William Henry Ashurst Junior a partner under the style 'Ashurst and Son'. The firm moved to 6 Old Jewry in 1854 and remained there until 1890.
Although William Henry Ashurst devoted much time to his legal practice, he was also very involved in the politics of the day. Notably, he campaigned for the passing of the Reform Bill in 1832, abolition of church rates and number of other causes. He was a member of the Common Council of the City of London, Chairman of the Committee of City Lands and served one year as Under Sheriff. He died in 1855.
His son, who was also politically active, retired from the firm in 1864 to become a Solicitor to the General Post Office, Saint Martin's Le Grand, London. John Morris, who had worked for Ashurst and Son for many years, became a partner and the firm changed its title to 'Ashurst and Morris'. Morris was very interested in company business, especially railways. He was involved with numerous projects including those concerning the Grand Truck Railway Company of Canada, Inner Circle Line of the Metropolitan Railway and the Forth Bridge. He was also responsible for the erection of offices at 17 Throgmorton Avenue which the firm relocated to in 1890. John Morris died in 1905.
In the 1860s, the firm's title was altered to 'Ashurst Morris and Company' when partnerships were forged with Thomas Norton Harvey between 1865 and 1877 and George Davis from 1869 to 1874. Frank Crisp became a partner in 1871 and in 1877 the firm adopted the title 'Ashurst Morris Crisp and Company'. Crisp had worked for the firm for a number of years and had a particular interest in company law. As a result, he became involved with the formation of a number of companies, including Explosive Trade Limited and General Motor Cab Company, and acted for many railway companies abroad, particularly in South America. Crisp was awarded a knighthood in 1907 for his work in connection to the Companies (Consolidation) Act 1906 and was created a Baronet in 1913. He died in 1919.
Other notable partners in the firm included William Morris Junior, Thomas Outen, Roland Thomas Outen, Edward Hora and Michael Richards.
In 2003, to keep in line with competitors, Ashurst Morris Crisp was rebranded as 'Ashurst LLP'. A merger with Blake Dawson in 2012 saw the firm become the 25th largest in the world with 24 offices in 14 countries.
Offices: 2 Sambrook Court, Basinghall Street (1822 - 1829); 84 Newgate Street ( 1829 - 1835); 137 Cheapside ( 1835 - 1854); 6 Old Jewry (1854 - 1890); 17 Throgmorton Street (1890 - 1982?); Broadgate House, 7 Eldon Street (1980s); Broadwalk House, 5 Appold Street (1990s - ); all City of London.
The company originated in the City of London and by 1872 was operating a small candied peel factory in Hackney Wick under the name of Clarke Nickolls and Company. A few years later the business moved into confectionery manufacture with the acquisition of Robert Coombs. In 1887, the firm was incorporated as Clarke, Nickolls and Coombs Limited with new headquarters in Wallis Road, Hackney Wick. The company described itself as Wholesale and Export Confectioners and boasted that they were 'one of the largest and most general Confectionery businesses in the United Kingdom...' manufacturing 'Reserved Peel Sugar Confectionery' including fondants, and also marmalade, jams and jellies which were exported to Europe, North and South Africa, America, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and India. The new premises had a frontage on the River Lea Navigation Canal which allowed for the landing and shipping of raw materials and finished products. In 1886 the site consisted of factories, warehouses, a wharf and other premises covering an area of 4.25 acres. Retail shops were opened at 11 Bishopsgate Street Within in the City of London, 120 High Street, Borough in Southwark, and 6 High Street Birmingham.
As the business expanded in the 1900s, the firm became a major employer for both men and women from Hackney and Stratford. The company was concerned for the welfare of its employees and established non-contributory and profit-sharing schemes in 1890 to give staff a share in the firm's wealth. The Pension Fund became the Clarnico Superannuation Fund which first paid out pensions from the money saved and invested in 1916. In addition, the Clarnico Trust was created to donate money to worthy causes which included local churches, the Confectioners Benevolent Fund and Mayor of Poplar's 'Xmas Appeal'. According to a report in the East London Advertiser in 1964 the company had established strong links with the community and was proud of the fact that two Mayors of Hackney were former Clarnico employees.
As it expanded, the firm acquired other companies including Jonathan Edmundson and Company Limited of Liverpool (acquired in 1927; Head Office: 52 Fox Street, Liverpool), J A Buchanan Limited, Charbonnel & Walker Limited and Edmondson's (Canada) Limited. In the inter-war period Clarke, Nickolls and Coombs Limited was considered the largest confectionery manufacturing company in Britain. In 1946, the company was registered and traded globally under the abbreviated name 'Clarnico'.
The factory site suffered war damage in 1940. In the 1950s the company decided to modernise its premises by building a new factory at Waterden Road and renting out properties no longer required to other companies. The buildings were completed in 1955. Manufacturing at the Hackney Wick site ceased in 1970s and the buildings were gradually sub-divided and let out. Latterly, Clarnico became part of Trebor Bassett which was, in turn, acquired by Cadbury Schweppes, and in turn by Kraft.
The National Association of Local Government Officers' (NALGO) was a Trade Union founded in 1905. It was renamed the National and Local Government Officers' Association in 1952 but retained the acronym NALGO. In 1993 it merged with the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) and the Confederation of Health Service Employees (COHSE) to form the Trade Union UNISON.
The Corporation of London Branch of NALGO was founded in 1938. The first Chairman was Mr A L Haynes and the Secretary was Mr H Clements. Early meetings were held at the Talbot Restaurant, London Wall, later moving to various locations around the City and in Guildhall. In the late 1950s and early 1960s the branch struggled for membership and was nearly disbanded. It underwent a revival, however, and continued to meet, eventually becoming the City of London Branch of UNISON in 1993.
Dennis Gilley was a partner at R Watson and Sons consulting actuaries, one of the largest actuarial firms in the UK, based in Reigate, Surrey. Gilley worked for R Watson and Sons from 1949 until his retirement in 1981, a period which saw the firm undergoing its fastest period of growth, fuelled by the expansion of occupational pension provision in the 1950s and 1960s. After his retirement, he chaired seminars and produced a booklet on pension fund trusteeship for Ringley Communications, a subsidiary of Watsons.
Gilley was also an active member of the Institute of Actuaries and International Association of Consulting Actuaries. He served as chair of both organisations, and was influential in the development of standards of professional conduct and scrutiny within the actuarial profession. He was also a founder member of the Pensions Management Institute and a Council member of the Occupational Pensions Advisory Service.
In 1860 the Saint Giles Christian Mission was founded by George Hatton, a member of the Bloomsbury Baptist Chapel. Originally called 'The Young Men's Society for the Relief of the Poor' and funded with help from the Bloomsbury Baptists, their object was to evangelise the district known as the Seven-Dials. Although their start was slow and difficult, in spite of the evangelical revival in the City, the persistence of the young men paid off and the original premises quickly became too small for the growing congregation. They achieved great success in work within the neighbourhood, undertaking home visits, teaching on thrift and temperance and assisting with gifts of bread, meat and coal bought with money raised from subscriptions.
By 1867 the Mission became independent from the Bloomsbury Chapel and continued its work at The King Street Hall Chapel until 1874, when one of the Deacons of the Chapel informed Mr Hatton that there was work to be done in Wild Street. The chapel in Wild Street was in a bad way and the Deacon thought it would be well - as Mr Hatton was carrying on good work - to take over the chapel and carry on his activities there. The property was conveyed to the Mission and after a successful fund raising, enough money was found to put the chapel into good use.
During this time another young man, William Morter Wheatley saw George Hatton preaching and was drawn to the work of the Mission after finding his own personal salvation at the meeting. He threw himself whole heartedly into his work and was instrumental in starting the probation work for which The Mission came to be known.
In 1877, what was known as Prison Gate work was started. The Mission set up huts outside Holloway, Pentonville and Wandsworth Prisons where newly discharged prisoners were offered breakfast and assistance often in the form of travel money to get home, clothing, and assistance with employment, as well as encouragement to take the temperance pledge. This work was highly commended by the press and helped spread the reputation of The Mission work as well as boosting funds and subscriptions. Work among first time offenders continued with the opening of a series of hostels and homes between 1880's and 1900. These catered for young offenders who were encouraged and supported to find work or enter the armed services.
As well as homes for young men and boys, The Mission opened homes for homeless and destitute women, particularly around the Seven Dials, Drury Lane area of London.
By 1894, The Mission had branched out and was opening holiday and convalescent homes and orphanages. A seaside home for convalescents in Hastings, a children's home in Southgate and a large ten bedroomed house with land to expand in Maldon, opened in 1899. Known as The Retreat, it started out as a children's holiday home and orphanage, and by 1909 included a convalescent home for children, an adults' holiday home and a home for aged Christians. The home continued until 1938 when partly due to pressure of funds and partly pressure from the children's department of the Home Office the various functions of the Retreat were separated out and rehomed in other more suitable places. The Retreat itself was sold in 1939 and with the proceeds of the sale properties at Herne Bay ('Fairlawn'), Castleham in Hastings and Crawley ('Heathersett') were bought.
During World War Two many of the properties were used by the Military or Civil Administration for air raid shelters or accommodation for army personnel so much of the work of The Mission was scaled back, although they continued to provide Christmas parcels, and to care for the homeless. Over the next ten year the welfare side of The Mission gradually wound down as post war costs of refurbishment and lack of manpower took their toll. Much of their work was taken on by the newly created National Health Services and it was felt that they should concentrate more on the non-secular aspects of the Mission.
The Mission's other work revolved around the Chapels in Wild Street and Arundel Square. The Wild Street Chapel opened in 1874 and was the heart of The Mission. The Wild Street Chapel continued until 1902 when it was acquired by the London County Council for the Kingsway Improvement. In a complex legal procedure the chapel was 'sold' to the LCC, however it was discovered that the Trustees of the chapel had no power of sale so an agreement for the purchase by the LCC of the existing chapel was made at a price that was equal to the site proposed to be conveyed to the Trustees together with the cost of building a new chapel. The purchase price was paid into court and the court sanctioned a petition by the trustees of the purchase of the new site. The new chapel was then built in 1905 on the new leased land and a piece of land at the side of the chapel, also leased from the LCC for the erection of a Boy's Home and ran by William Wheatley. The home and chapel remained until 1928/9 when they transferred to Islington. The home reopened at 29 Pemberton Gardens approved by the Home Office as a Probation Hostel, and the chapel moved to Arundel Square, Barnsbury where it opened in 1935, along with the Arundel Institute.
The Institute's goal was to foster the social activities for people of all ages in the thickly populated area in Barnsbury. This included running a Sunday School, Boys' and Girls' Brigades, Young Men's and Young Women's gymnasium, Grandfather's Club and using the hall for lectures and concerts. In 1944 The Arundel Christian Fellowship was created to formalise the membership of the congregation. The Mission and Institute continued into the 1950's providing a great programme of social clubs and events to the community, as well as more regular weekly services along with the Sunday worship. However the Mission had started to reconsider its role and found it increasingly non-secular and by the 1960's had begun to re-emphasise the evangelical nature of its work - it still retained the social aspect but added to this, Youth Fellowship and bible studies, and short services in the evenings during the social clubs along with a friendly hour after the main evening service which included informal hymn singing.
The Mission has continued to adapt and change to its community, and is still active today, maintaining an evangelical ministry in North London from which social needs in the area continue to be addressed. Activities and meals for older folk are provided, youth work is undertaken and counselling given for both young and old, as well as running holiday clubs and day trips.
The objectives and activities below taken from Charity Commission show a strong connection with the original work of the Mission:
The Mission's principal aims as contained in its Memorandum of Association, the most recent revision having been adopted on 10th July 1998, are as follows:
'To proclaim the Gospel of the Grace of God through Our Lord Saviour Jesus Christ; to meet and provide meals for prisoners on their discharge from prison, to carry on all activities commonly called 'Prison Gate Work', to assist discharged prisoners to redeem their past and obtain honest employment and to provide them with requisite clothing tools and outfit; to house , maintain and care for juvenile offenders on probation and help to train them into and maintain them at Boys Homes maintained by the Mission; to render assistance in cash or otherwise to husbands, wives, children and dependents of prisoners; to receive into Homes and assist men, women and boys bound over under the 'Probation of Offenders Act 1907'; to visit the sick and relieve the distressed poor. To protect the young and aged and to succour the weak; to provide and maintain holidays and Holiday Homes for poor children; to provide and maintain Homes and Orphanages for children of prisoners and other destitute children and to bring up all such children in the Protestant Evangelical Faith and according to the Text and doctrine of the Holy scriptures; to provide the children in the Homes with all necessary and proper clothing and with Medical and Surgical treatment; to provide and maintain Convalescent Homes for the deserving sick poor; to provide and maintain Homes for the poor; to provide Christmas Fare and entertainments and New Year treats for children and deserving poor; to carry on Sunday schools, Bible classes, evangelical missions, savings banks, boys and girls clubs and brigades and other forms of social work to increase in all possible ways the spiritual and moral welfare of all those who attend the schools, classes, missions and social works of the Mission' together with the means to facilitate the pursuit of the above objectives.
The Metropolitan Asylums Board was established by an Order of the Poor Law Board, 15 May 1867. This Order combined the London unions and parishes in to one 'Metropolitan Asylum District' to comply with the stipulations of the Metropolitan Poor Act of 29 March 1867 (30 and 31 Vict c 6). This Act provided for "the Establishment in the Metropolis of Asylums for the Sick, Insane, and other Classes of the Poor and of Dispensaries; and for the Distribution over the Metropolis of Portions of the Charge for Poor Relief; and for other Purposes relating to Poor Relief". The Metropolitan Asylum District was responsible for "the reception and relief of poor persons infected with or suffering from fever or the disease of smallpox or who may be insane".
The first Metropolitan Asylums Board consisted of 60 members, 45 represented the parishes and unions of London and 15 were nominated by the Poor Law Board (afterwards by the Local Government Board and latterly by the Ministry of Health). The number was subsequently increased to 73 members.
Fever and smallpox epidemics had revealed deficiencies in Poor Law provision in the Metropolitan area. In most unions patients suffering from all diseases were crowded together in the workhouse infirmaries. The Boards first task was to devise ways of isolating patients with infectious diseases. The main difficulties confronting the Board were the spasmodic nature of the demands for hospital accommodation during the first 30 years of its existence (the worst outbreaks of smallpox occurred in the years 1870-2, 1884-5, 1893-4 and 1901-2), the objections of local residents to the establishment of hospitals in their neighbourhoods and the statutory limitation of patients to persons within the scope of the Poor Law.
MAB was delegated responsibility for accommodating and treating different diseases during the course of its life (taken from Ayers, 1971, pp 269-270):
Physical disorders:
Infectious and contagious diseases
1867 Scarlet fever; typhoid fever; typhus, smallpox. Poor law cases only before 1883
1883; 1893; 1894 Asiatic cholera. Accommodation available in case of need.
1888 Diphtheria. Poor law and non-pauper cases admitted from 1888. Free treatment after 1891
1905 Plague. Accommodation available in case of need.
1907 Cerebro-spinal meningitis
1911 (Feb) (Poor law)
1911 (May) Measles (non-pauper)
1911 Whooping-cough (poor law)
1912 Whooping-cough (non-pauper)
1912; 1926 Puerperal fever and puerperal pyrexia
1919 Trench fever; malaria; dysentery
1924 Certain contagious conditions of the eye (children received through the LCC)
1924 Zymotic enteritis
Tuberculosis
1897 Poor law children
1911 Insured persons under the National Insurance Act, 1911
1913 - 1921 Non-insured persons
Venereal disease
1916 Parturient women
1917 Infants suffering from ophthalmia neonatorum
1919 Other women and girls
Children's diseases
1897 Ophthalmia and ringworm (children)
1924 Interstitial keratitis and infantile paralysis
1925 Marasmus
1925 - 1929 Encephalitis lethargica (cases suffering from after-effects)
1926 Rheumatic fever; acute endocarditis, chorea
Carcinoma
1928 Women suffering from carcinoma of the uterus
Mental disorders and epilepsy
1867 Harmless poor law 'imbeciles' (adults and children, capable of improvement and non-improvable)
1891 Suitable cases certified under the Lunacy Acts transferred form the London County 'lunatic asylums'
1897 Feeble-minded poor law children (uncertified)
1916 - 1917 Sane epileptics (poor law)
1918 Cases certifies under the 1913 Mental Deficiency Act (poor law and non-pauper)
1924 Mentally infirm persons over 70 years of age (poor law) who had not previously been certified
Healthy classes
1875 Poor law boys training for sea service (non-poor law boys were later received through the LCC be private arrangement
1902 - 1910 Juvenile offenders (MAB remand homes were transferred to the LCC in 1910)
1912 Homeless poor
1914-1919 Destitute enemy aliens and war refuges
Throughout its history the Board was kept under strict control by the central authority and approval had to be obtained from the Poor Law Board (later the Local Government Board) for all appointments of staff, purchases and allocation of property, etc. Some extra duties were placed upon the Board solely by Orders issued by the Local Government Board, e.g., the care of children suffering from opthalmia and from contagious diseases of the skin and scalp or because of some physical or mental defect, in need of special schooling (1896); and the control and management of London casual wards (1911). The most important statutes affecting the work of the Board were:-
The Diseases Prevention (London) Act, 1883 (46 and 47 Vic c.35, which removed the civil disabilities which had previously been attached to admission to the Board's hospitals)
The Public Health (London) Act, 1891 (54 and 55 Vic c.76, sanctioning the treatment of fever patients who were not paupers)
The Public Health (Prevention and Treatment of Disease) Act, 1913 (3 and 4 Geo.V c.23, sanctioning the treatment of tuberculosis patients by the Board)
The Youthful Offenders Act, 1901 (1 Edw.VII c.20 under which the Board established remand homes)
The Mental Deficiency Act, 1913 (3 and 4 Geo.V c.28 as a result of which the Board undertook the care of uncertified mental cases)
The Local Authorities (Emergency Provisions) Act, 1928 (18 and 19 Geo.V c.9 under which the Board was given co-ordinating powers over the London Poor Law Unions in respect of the Metropolitan Common Poor Fund)
Under the Local Government Act, 1929 the powers and duties of the Board were transferred to the London County Council.
An explanation of terminology: At the time of the Metropolitan Asylums Board there was no distinction between learning difficulties and mental disorders. The Mental Deficiency Act, 1927 uses the following terms:
(1) The following classes of persons who are mentally defective shall be deemed to be defective within the meaning of this Act:-
(a) Idiots, that is to say, persons in whose case there exists mental defectives of such a degree that they are unable to guard themselves against common physical dangers:
(b) Imbeciles, that is to say, persons in whose case there exists mental defectiveness which, though not amounting to idiocy, is yet so pronounces that they are incapable of managing themselves or their affairs or, in the case of children, of being taught to do so:
(c) Feeble-minded persons, that is to say, persons in whose cases there exists mental defectiveness which, though not amounting to imbecility, is yet so pronounced that they require care, supervision and control for their own protection or for the protection of others or, in the case of children, that they appear to be permanently incapable by reason of such defectiveness of receiving proper benefit from the instruction in ordinary schools:
(d) Moral defectives, that is to say, persons in whose case there exists mental defectiveness couple with strongly vicious or criminal propensities and who require care, supervision and control for the protection of others.
(2) For the purposes of this section, 'mental defectiveness' means a condition of arrested or incomplete development of mind existing before the age of eighteen years, whether arising from inherent causes or induced by disease or injury.
Note: the 1913 Act said that mental deficiency had to exist from birth or from an early age.