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The hospital opened on 1st December 1858 at 32 Soho Square as the Dental Hospital of London. The origins of all regulated and scientific dental practices can be found in the inception of the Dental Hospital and School. Before 1858 the dental profession had no regulation and anyone could set themselves up as a dental practitioner. This led to poor standards and a realisation of the need for proper training and an official qualification for dental practitioners. The Dental Hospital was established to achieve this and gained the backing of the Royal College of Surgeons to approve diplomas. The Dental School opened on 1st October 1859 to provide regulated, structured training for students in dental medicine. The hospital emphasised the need to regard dental medicine as connected to all other branches of medicine and to look at the wider picture when treating patients.

In 1874 the Dental Hospital moved to Nos. 40 and 41 Leicester Square the premises at 32 Soho Square having become too small and limited in resources for the number of patients being seen. The number of patients being treated had risen from 2,116 in 1859 to 22,627 in 1872. By 1882 they had reached 35,893 and there were once again complaints about a lack of space, these were appeased with the addition of the Tower House, adjoining the Hospital property and given to them by Sir Edwin Saunders. The addition of this extra space almost doubled the hospital's operating space. The problem of space did not end there. The Dental Hospital was now in a position where their efforts to increase resources to meet rising demand resulted in even greater demand. By 1886 patient attendances had reached 43,745, a 12% increase on the previous year and nearly double that of 1874. This resulted in further overcrowding and a need for further expansion. An attempt was made to incorporate No. 42 Leicester Square into the Hospital, but these plans were held up by difficulties over fire regulations. It was not until 1888 that the extension was opened. This was only a temporary solution to a long-term problem, and the Dental hospital looked at obtaining a new site for the construction of a purpuse built hospital building. By the end of 1893 the Board of Management had purchase Nos. 35, 35a and 36 Leicester Square, Nos. 22 and 23 Green Street, Nos. 1-5 Longs Court and had a deposit down for The Duke's Head, No. 37 Saint Martin's Street, all of which were contained within the same block. This had entailed an expenditure of £20,398, three-quarters of which had to be borrowed from the bank. Plans were in place for the purchase of the other buildings in the block and this was achieved by 1896, when plans were set in place to rebuild. The site was cleared in 1896 and the building work commenced in 1897. The Hospital moved into the new building in March 1901, and the old site was sold for £18,000. At this time the Hospital also received the patronage of King Edward VII and changed its name to the Royal Dental hospital. The Hospital at this time had developed the shape and organisation that were to stay in place for the next 75 years, but it had also gained a burden of debt that was not to be paid off until 1930.

In 1911 the Royal Dental Hospital of London School of Dental Surgery became a school of the University of London and as well as their own Licence in Dental Surgery a University Degree in Dental Surgery was offered. This development allowed the Dental School to become involved in many of the developments in dental surgery that occurred in the early twentieth century. However the burden of debt did also mean that the School and Hospital did not develop as rapidly during this period as some of their competitors. The technological development of the Hospital was slowed down by the financial pressures and by the internal politics of the teaching and practice of Dental Surgery at this time.

The Royal Dental Hospital and School stayed open throughout the Second World War. Most of the other specialist dental schools and departments had either closed down or moved out of London with their parent organisations, leaving the Royal Dental hospital as the only place for the public to get specialist dental care. The building was damaged by a land mine in October 1940 but was quickly repaired and back in service. Other difficulties due to reduce income and staff shortages meant that the referral of patients for consultant opinion was discouraged, but other wise a full service was offered. The establishment of the NHS in 1948 saw the Royal Dental Hospital grouped with the Saint George's Hospital and Medical School, located on Hyde Park Corner and the Atkinson Morley in Wimbledon as the Saint George's Hospital Teaching Group. The School of Dental Surgery became a self-governing body, affiliated with Saint George's Hospital Medical School. The problems over space were still an issue. In 1957 plans to renovate the interior of the hospital to provide more space and better equipment were approved and the Hospital and School accomodation was reorganised, the School moved most of its non-clinical facilities into the newly acquired Ciro Club on Orange Street.

During the 1960's and 1970's the big issue was the transfer of the Dental School to Tooting with Saint George's Hospital and Medical School, which were to be rebuilt there. The Royal Dental Hospital was not at first happy with this and tried to delay the move, which was also held up by the Ministry of Health due to the finacial situation of the time. However Saint George's finally moved in 1975 and in 1976 the School of Dental Surgery's pre-clinical departments moved to Tooting. It was decided that the dental service required in Tooting was not that offered by the Royal Dental Hospital and the 1980's were spent preparing of the closure of the Hospital. The Dental School was amalgamated with the United Medical School of Guy's and Saint Thomas' Hospitals and the remaining dental services transferred to Tooting. The Royal Dental Hospital closed in 1985 and the site in Leicester Square was developed as the Hampshire Hotel.

Saint Alfege's hospital was established as the Greenwich Union Workhouse Infirmary. The Greenwich and Deptford Union Workhouse was built on a four-acre site on the south side of the Woolwich road. The complex was designed to house a total of 650 fit and 200 sick paupers but by 1851 the average weekly number of inmates had increased to over 1,000. As the numbers of poor in need of medical attention increased it became necessary to add an infirmary to the workhouse. The Board of Guardians added a new 400-bed infirmary block, the foundation stone was laid in 1874, and the Infirmary opened in 1876.

By 1885 two new buildings for the chronically sick had been started and in 1889 a further two new ward blocks with provision for 250 beds were approved. Conditions in the infirmary were spartan and there was no operating theatre or table. In 1898 the infirmary was approved as a Training School for Nurses, taking some 40 - 50 trainees. The plans of the Greenwich and Deptford Union Workhouse and Infirmary were presented at the Great Paris Exhibition of 1900 as a demonstration of what was being done in Britain for relief of the poor.

Between 1918 and 1929 gradual improvements were made to conditions in the infirmary - walls were plastered, electric lighting and central heating installed and x-ray and massage departments set up. In 1927 The Woodlands Nurses' Residence was opened by Princess Mary, Viscountess Lascelles in November and in 1928 a new operating theatre was opened; in 1929 when the Poor Law Authorities were disbanded the workhouse system was abandoned, leaving Greenwich with two hospitals, one for the acute and the other for the chronic sick, on the workhouse site. In 1930 the London County Council took over the administration of the infirmary and renamed it St. Alfege's Hospital after the saint who was murdered by the Danes at Greenwich.

In 1948 St. Alfege's Hospital became part of the National Health Service and was administered by the South East Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. In 1960 the Regional Hospital Board issued a directive that the distinction between the two St. Alfege's Hospitals was to be abolished and that they should merge to become one comprehensive general hospital of 605 beds. In May 1963, the Minister of Health gave a Press Conference at which details of the new Greenwich District hospital were released. In 1972 St. Alfege's Hospital was replaced by Greenwich District Hospital.

For a detailed administrative history please see the separate entries for the individual institutions that make up this group of hospitals.

The use of the site of the Woolwich Memorial Hospital for healthcare can be traced back to December 1888 when land was leased from the Secretary of State for War for the purpose of establishing the Woolwich and Plumstead Cottage Hospital. In November 1890, the first patients were admitted, and in 1913 the hospital became incorporated under the Companies Act.

Thoughts about replacing the Woolwich and Plumstead Cottage hospital with a more modern hospital had had to be put on hold with the advent of World War One. Almost before the end of the war these plans were renewed with a notable difference. It was felt that the new hospital should also serve as a memorial to the local war dead. The Hospital Fund was set up and an appeal was made to the local people to raise fifty thousand pounds - the anticipated cost of a 110-bedded modern hospital. The appeal received tremendous local response. In April 1919 a Peace Fair raised five thousand pounds towards the fund. In September 1919 a 13 and a half acre site was purchased from Major and Mrs. Phillips for the building of a hospital which would eventually accommodate 300 beds.

In March 1920 events ranged from a popular dance at Plumstead baths (admission 1/6d) through a select dance at the Town Hall (admission 2/-) to a super concert at the Tabernacle (admission 2/4d to 5/-). Fairs, bazaars and regular voluntary contributions from the weekly pay-packets from the people of the district helped to swell the fund for the hospital. The first sod was cut in February 1923 on Telegraph Field which had been used as a semaphore station during the Napoleonic wars. The excavations, levelling of the site and laying down of the foundations were carried out as an Unemployment Relief Scheme. In July 1925 the Duke of Connaught laid the Foundation Stone. The hospital was opened on 2 November 1927 by HRH The Duke of York accompanied by the Duchess of York (later to become George Vl and Queen Elizabeth) in memory of those killed in World War One. In 1928 when George V visited the hospital he stated "This is the best equipped and most beautiful hospital I have ever seen." The King planted a cedar tree on the lawn in front of the hospital.

At the heart of the hospital was the Hall of Remembrance - a small permanently lighted hall panelled in different coloured marbles from Derbyshire, Cornwall, Sicily, Norway, Denmark and Italy. It housed a beautifully bound book in which were written 6,230 names of local people. These were mainly men who had died in the Great War but also included 100 people who had died in munition explosions at the Arsenal and 14 local people who had been killed by enemy air-raids. A second book was placed there after the second World War and contained the names of people from the district who had been killed during hostilities. From the day that each book was placed there, a page had been turned every morning. On either side of the books hang flags representing the Army, Navy, R.A.F. and British Merchant Service. Let into the marble floor was the word "Silence". Although it was not possible to raise the funds to add two more wings as originally planned, in order to raise the number of beds from 112 to 300, twenty-four thousand pounds was collected to build the Nurses' home. This was opened in 1939 by HRH The Duke of Kent.

During the Second World War the hospital provided back-up facilities for the Royal Herbert Hospital. In 1953 a new out-patient department was opened by HRH Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, Patron of the hospital. In 1955 the x-ray department was completely refurbished and two new major units installed. In 1948 it was a general hospital but by 1965 it was specialising in surgery. In the early 1960's it was felt the facilities at the Memorial Hospital were too limited to deal with the growing number of domestic and particularly road casualties in the area and in 1969 a new Accident Centre was opened at the nearby Brook Hospital. The casualty department at the Memorial hospital closed and its acute wards were transferred to The Brook Hospital and St. Nicholas' Hospital, Plumstead. In 1986 the role of the Memorial Hospital was 'to provide comfortable and cheerful surroundings for nearly 100 elderly ladies'. Facilities included a Day House built in 1975 for pastimes and therapy work. Saint Nicholas Chapel was opened in 1986 on the closure of Saint Nicholas Hospital. The Chapel's 'Golden Window' was transferred from Goldie Leigh Hospital and fittings were brought over from Saint Nicholas Hospital.

The Memorial Homes later became part of Oxleas NHS Trust. In 2004 the Trust, based at Pinewood House, Pinewood Place, Dartford, Kent DA2 7WG, ran:

• General mental health services, for adults and older people, in the boroughs of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich; Child and adolescent mental health services in Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich; Forensic psychiatry and challenging behaviour services for the boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lewisham and North Southwark; Learning disability services in the boroughs of Bexley and Greenwich.

The Lambeth Group Hospital Management Committee was responsible for Lambeth Hospital, the South London Hospital for Women and Children, the Queen Elizabeth Maternity Home, Woodhurst, the Annie McCall Maternity Hospital, South Western Hospital and the Royal Eye Hospital. In 1964 it was amalgamated with the Wandsworth Hospital Management Committee to form the South West London Group Hospital Management Committee.

The Wandsworth Hospital Management Committee administered the following hospitals: Saint James' Hospital, Sarsfield Road; the Weir Maternity Hospital; Saint Benedict's Hospital; the Birchlands Jewish Hospital and the Balham Chest Clinic. It was amalgamated with the Lambeth Group Hospital Management Committee in 1964 to form the South West London Group Hospital Management Committee.

Joyce Green Hospital, Joyce Green Lane, Dartford; previous name: Joyce Green Smallpox Hospital (1903 - 1948).

Previous locations:

Hospital ships: Dreadnought, Greenwich (1871 - 1881)

Endymion and Atlas, Greenwich (1881 - 1884)

Long Reach, Dartford (1884 - 1903)

Castalia, Long Reach, Dartford (1884 - 1903).

The Joyce Green Smallpox Hospital opened on 28 December 1903, the third of the hospitals known as the River Hospitals, along with Long Reach Hospital and The Orchard. They were built to replace the hospital ships Atlas and Endymion which had been moved in 1884 from Greenwich to an isolated situation at Long Reach near Dartford, and the twin hulled Castalia. Originally built for cross-channel services but never used as such, the Castalia was refitted to accommodate 150 smallpox patients with five ward blocks arranged on the double hulls. The hospital ships became too costly and dangerous and after the construction of the new hospital on land nearby Long Reach; they were sold for scrap in 1904.

With a massive outbreak of smallpox in 1901 the temporary Long Reach hospital with 300 beds opened in 1902. The Orchard a larger temporary hospital housing 800 beds also opened in 1902 and at the end of 1903 Joyce Green was opened. All three were administered by a Medical Superintendent, Steward and Matron and were known as The River Hospital for over 60 years until Long Reach and the Orchard closed in 1948.

Although Joyce Green opened to help ease the 1901 smallpox epidemic by the end of 1903 the epidemic was over and deaths were few. Not until the 1920's was there a repeat epidemic but this was only a minor one. Instead the hospital was used as a fever hospital to isolate infectious patients.

It was used as a fever hospital for much of the Great War, occasionally coping with the arrival of large numbers of war refuges most notably in July 1918 when at a week's notice 1000 refuges were received all of whom were vaccinated against smallpox even though only two were found to be infected. After the war, Joyce Green reverted to being a fever hospital with a major outbreak of scarlet fever.

By 1923 Joyce Green was more or less empty and surviving the threat of demolition was rebuilt and repaired taking into account modern thought to include isolation units and electric light. The Medical Superintendent at this time also turned his attention to the grounds at Joyce Green, which to his credit and that of his gardener, Henry W. Hopkins, became a centre of plant propagation for other Metropolitan Asylums Board institutions. In 1928 there was a major outbreak of smallpox so Joyce Green was finally being used for its true purpose.

With the outbreak of War, Joyce Green underwent several changes in role from smallpox hospital to fever hospital to Emergency Medical Hospital from 1939 -1941, and it saw an increase in beds from 986 to over 1500 and the setting up of specialist hospital units including three x-ray departments. The hospital survived with no major was damage but by 1945 patient numbers fell back to 428, and with the cessation of war a decline in activity.

In 1948 the NHS took control from the London County Council and Joyce Green was run by the South East Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board and Darenth and Dartford Hospital Management Committee. In 1974 after NHS reorganisation it was run by the South East Thames Regional Health Authority and the Dartford and Gravesham District Health Authority.

In 1998 Joyce Green Hospital formed part of the Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust along with West Hill Hospital, which is closed to all except outpatients. Joyce green covers Accident and Emergency, general surgery, urology, orthopaedics, paediatrics, haematology, general medicine, care of the elderly and postgraduate medical training. In September 2000 the purpose built Darenth Valley Hospital opened to replace Joyce Green Hospital, West Hill Hospitals and Gravesend maternity services.

See also website managed by Francine Payne: http://www.dartfordhospitalhistories.org.uk/ (correct as of August 2010).

Saint Stephen's Hospital opened on the 20 February 1878 as Saint George's Union Infirmary, Chelsea. It stood next to and was associated with Saint George's Union Workhouse or the Little Chelsea Workhouse built in the 1850's. The foundation stone of the Infirmary was laid in 1876 and the cost of the building work was one hundred and ten thousand pounds and the architect was Mr E.T. Hall.

In 1878 when the Infirmary opened there was some discussion of the type of patient it was to treat. There was pressure to take lunatics, venereal cases and lying-in women. Eventually all these types of cases were taken. The infirmary was to serve the whole community, but most patients came from the area covered by the Union. In 1913 the Saint George's Union merged with the neighbouring Westminster and Strand Unions to form the City of Westminster Board of Guardians. All hospital cases within the new Union were concentrated on the newly named Fulham Road Infirmary. By 1918 a VD department had been established to meet the growing number of patients and 1920 saw the provision of the Infirmary's first operating theatre.

In 1924/5 the Infirmary was renamed Saint Stephen's Hospital. There was some controversy over the name change and what the Infirmary was to be called. The original proposal had been to change the name from 'The Fulham Road Infirmary' to 'The City of Westminster Hospital'. However Westminster Hospital felt this was liable to cause confusion due to the similarity of the names and took legal action to prevent the change. At first the Guardians of the City of Westminster Union rejected the opposition, but after a few weeks it was obvious that the similarities between the two names would cause confusion and difficulties. The Infirmary was then renamed Saint Stephen's in 1925. On 1 April 1930 the administration of the Hospital passed into the hands of the London County Council. Under the LondonCounty Council the area patients were drawn from was widened and it was realised that the hospital was under-equipped for its new role as a general hospital. There were no outpatient facilities, no x-ray department and no casualty department. In 1934 proposals were made to enlarge the x-ray and massage departments and build a new A&E department in the old reception site. The new department was completed in 1937.

The hospital sustained bomb damage in both 1940 and 1941, but despite extensive structural damage and the loss of life of both nursing staff and patients it remained open for the remainder of the Second World War. Some patients were evacuated to other hospitals from the most heavily damaged blocks. The old workhouse accommodation was underused during this period and was converted into accommodation for refugees fleeing the conditions in Europe.

In 1948 Saint Stephen's became part of the National Health Service under the South West Metropolitan Hospital Board. Saint Stephens was administered by the Chelsea Group Hospital Management Committee with Saint Luke's Hospital, the Cheyne Hospital for Children and Westminster Chest Clinic. The Princess Beatrice Hospital was added in 1950 and Saint Mary Abbots and the Westminster Hospital in 1960, when the Group was reformed as Chelsea and Kensington Hospital Management Committee.

New operating facilities were opened in 1950 by the Minister of Health, Iain McLeod, but the hospital was still in need of major capital investment. The 1960 saw a period of rebuilding undertaken. The hospital plan was approved in 1962 and in 1965 new outpatients and A&E departments were opened. 1972 saw the opening of a new ward block. The Hospital Management Committee rationalised acute care within the group, the Princess Beatrice and Saint Mary Abbots were scaled down and acute services were centred on Saint Stephen's.

With NHS reorganisation in 1974 Saint Stephen's became part of the south district of the Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster Area Health Authority and the North West Thames Regional Health Authority, with Saint Mary Abbots, the Princess Beatrice and Cheyne Centre and the Westminster Hospital. In 1982 the 90 area health authorities were replaced with 192 district health authorities. In west London the Victoria Heath Authority was created, which administered the Westminster, Westminster Children's, Saint Stephen's, Saint Mary Abbots, All Saints and the Gordon Hospitals. In April 1985, Riverside District Health Authority was created as part of the North West Thames Region. It merged Victoria Health Authority and Hammersmith and Fulham Health Authority. A district management team was responsible for Westminster, Westminster Children's, Saint Stephen's, West London Hospitals and two mental health hospitals, Horton and Banstead.

By the summer of 1987 the long-term strategy was to close Westminster Hospital, Saint Stephen's, Westminster Children's, Saint Mary Abbots and the West London Hospital. The plan was to demolish Saint Stephen's and build the new Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on the same site on Fulham Road. A two-year consultation process followed. In 1989 Saint Stephen's closed and patients and staff moved to Westminster Hospital while the Chelsea and Westminster was being built. In May 1993 the Westminster Hospital closed and moved into the new building at 369 Fulham Road, occupying the site of the old Saint Stephen's Hospital. Staff and services were brought together from five major hospitals: the Westminster, Westminster Children's, West London, Saint Mary Abbots and Saint Stephen's. In April 1994 Chelsea and Westminster Healthcare NHS Trust was established, and is based at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

The Convalescent home was opened on the 25th August 1888 and was founded by Mrs Clifton-Brown and Major Vaughan Morgan.

On 13 June 1750 a meeting to consider the establishment of a hospital for the care and treatment of the poor suffering from mental illnesses took place at the King's Arms, Exchange Alley, City of London between Thomas Crowe, physician, Richard Speed, druggist, James Sperling, merchant, William Prowing, apothecary, Thomas Light, merchant and Francis Magnus. At this time, provision for treatment of individuals from poor families in London was made at the Bethlem Hospital, but waiting lists were long and alternatives were private 'mad houses' which were beyond the means of most people.

From the beginning, the founders of Saint Luke's Hospital intended to cure 'lunacy', as well as to make treatment accessible to poorer people. Two apothecaries were found to prepare and supply all drugs required free of charge, and after 4 months over £1000 had been pledged and a committee formed to establish the hospital. Appeals for funds gave people opportunity to be come Governor of the hospital for life if they gave £20. At Bethlem, the public were allowed to come and look at the 'lunatics' on public holidays, as a form of leisure. One of the first rules of the new hospital was 'that patients in this hospital be not exposed to publick view'.

The first site of the hospital, called Saint Luke's Hospital for Lunatics, was the old Moorfields Foundry leased by the City of London. George Dance, City Surveyor advised on the conversion of the building and gave his services free. The hospital was named Saint Luke's due to its proximity to Saint Luke's, Old Street. In July 1751, the first patients were admitted. During the 1750s, there were 50 'curable' and 20 'incurable' patients with staff consisting of the Keeper and his wife, with 2 male and 2 female attendants.

The hospital's funds were substantially increased with a major bequest of £30,000 by Sir Thomas Clarke, Master of the Rolls. This allowed a move in 1786 from the Foundry to a 3 acre site on Old Street leased from Saint Bartholomew's Hospital. The number of patients increased to 80 'curable' patients and 30 'incurable' patients. In 1832 an infirmary was added to the hospital. From 1833, occupational therapy for patients was introduced.

In 1841 the hospital came under the authority of the London Commissioners in Lunacy. The Commissioners considered the Old Street site to be unsuitable for reception of patients due to its central location in London. The Governors argued that the capital's population required provision of treatment of individuals with mental health conditions and did not have financial reserves to leave the site or receive financial benefit from terms of the existing lease. To increase funds, following successive building alterations and improvements, it was decided in 1858 to admit 'incurable' patients on a paying basis.

In 1882 the Keeper and Matron (wife of Keeper) system of administration was abolished, and qualified nurses were admitted. Further training was supplied by the Medical Superintendent. In 1904 nursing uniforms were introduced.

From 1871 the Governors began examining options for acquiring a second site for the use of convalescent patients. In 1893 Nether Court, Saint Lawrence-on-Sea, Ramsgate, Kent and 12 acres of grounds was rented for the benefit of female patients and later bought in 1901. In 1910, Welders House and Estate near Jordans, Buckinghamshire consisting of 135 acres was purchased for the establishment of a large convalescent home but was never brought to completion.

By end of 19th century, state-run County Asylums were well established for the reception of patients with families with limited means.The proportion of patients from the middle classes therefore increased.

The Old Street site was finally sold to the Bank of England in 1916, following lengthy negotiations with Saint Bartholomew's. By the end of 1916, most patients has been discharged back to their families or to other hospitals.

In 1922 an out-patients department was begun at the Middlesex Hospital to provide beds for patients. In 1930 Woodside Nerve Hospital was opened at Woodside Avenue, Muswell Hill, and the hospital purchased the 3 buildings in the road. In 1938 28 Grand Avenue was taken into use as a nurse's home and arrangements for resident patients at the Middlesex was terminated.

In the 1935 the hospital treated the following range of cases (source: summary statistics contained in H64/B/08/01/001):

• 'Organic nervous and mental disorders': Alcoholism, cardiovascular (involving the heart and blood vessels), Meniere's Syndrome (inner ear condition causing dizziness), drugs, cephalalgia (head aches) and 'senile changes'

• 'Functional syndromes': Anxiety states, confusional states, depression, elation, hysteria, neurasthenia (nervous breakdown), obsessional states, paranoid, schizophrenic (psychotic behaviour). Anxiety, depression and hysteria being the most prevalent cases.

From 1939 on the onset of the Second World War, the Ministry of Health took over the hospital for the sole treatment of Ministry of Service (E.M.S.) servicemen and women patients suffering shell shock from active service. By 1945, 1705 Service patients had been treated at Woodside.

In 1948, upon the foundation of The National Health Service (NHS), Saint Luke's - Woodside Hospital became the psychological department of the Middlesex Hospital with a teaching as well as treatment role. The hospital came under the following administrative authorities:

Middlesex Hospital Management Committee (from 1948-1974) then North East Thames Regional Health Authority (1974-1982), then Bloomsbury District Health Authority (from 1982). In 1993 the hospital joined the newly formed Camden and Islington Community Health Services NHS Trust and in turn was managed from April 2002 by Camden and Islington Mental Health NHS Trust.

In 1897 the Willesden Board of Guardians acquired a 64 acre site in Acton Lane from the Twyford Abbey estate. They built a new workhouse and infirmary, which opened in 1903, providing accommodation for 400 people, including 150 sick. By 1907 only sick paupers were admitted to both buildings, which were now known as the Willesden Workhouse Infirmary.

The buildings were extended in 1908, 1911 and 1914, when the Infirmary was renamed the Willesden Institution.

In 1921, it became known as the Park Royal Hospital.

In 1930 the Middlesex County Council took over its administrative control and it was renamed yet again in 1931, becoming the Central Middlesex County Hospital, with 689 beds. With even more extensions it had 890 beds by 1939.

During the Second World War, the Hospital was badly damaged by bombs.

When the Hospital joined the National Health Service in 1948, it was grouped together with the Neasden, Kingsbury and Willesden General Hospitals under the North-West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board.

In 1966 a further building was added for the maternity unit, which had 28 beds but, overall, the number of beds had been reduced to 736, mainly for acute admissions.

In 1997 construction work began on a new building for the Out-Patients Department. The building was named the Ambulatory Care and Diagnostic Centre (ACaD) and opened in 1999. Clinical services transferred from the old buildings to the new, and the second phase of rebuilding began in 2003. The in-patients wing - the Brent Emergency Care and Diagnostic Centre (BECaD) - opened in 2006, with 214 beds.

In November 2008, a private finance initiative (PFI) deal costing more than £80m enabled the Hospital to be rebuilt behind the original buildings.

Most of the old buildings have been demolished (the Out-Patients Department was the first to go) but the Old Refectory remains. The original site is now the foreground to the new buildings and contains a bus station. Some of the material from the demolition was used in the foundations for the new car park and roads.

It had been hoped to preserve the façade of the clock tower but this proved impossible. An old cupola and a flagpole are preserved on the wasteland at the back of the site. Two turrets, the Acton Lane gates, the clock and the foundation stones were saved from demolition. Some of these artefacts are now displayed in the new Hospital grounds.

The remainder of the site will be developed by the Network Housing Group for key worker housing and businesses.

Upon the formation of units of Local Defence Volunteers (later re-named the Home Guard) in May, 1940, it was considered desirable to recruit volunteers from the Council's staff primarily to provide protection for the Council's buildings and other properties in the event of invasion but also as part of the general L.D.V. organisation throughout the country. In this way, the London County Council Battalion was set up.

In February 1941, a second battalion was formed and the two units were designated the 47th and 48th County of London (LCC) Battalions. Colonel H.R. Oswald, M.C., an Assistant Clerk of the Council was the officer commanding the Battalion and later the Group of two Battalions throughout the entire period of their existence.

Early Commissioners of Sewers were solely concerned with land drainage and the prevention of flooding, not with the removal of sewage in the modern sense. In 1531 an Act of Sewers was passed which set out in great detail the duties and powers of Commissioners and governed their work until the 19th century. Gradually a permanent pattern emerged in the London area of seven commissions, five north and two south of the Thames, with, after the Great Fire, a separate commission for the City of London. The London commissioners had more extensive powers than those in other parts of the country; they had control over all watercourses and ditches within two miles of the City of London as well as newly constructed drains and sewers. After 1800 the London commissioners also obtained powers to control the formation of new sewers and house drains.

The jurisdiction of the Havering Level Commission of Sewers covered Ilford, East Ham, Havering, Dagenham, West Ham, Leyton, Walthamstow and Barking. A 'Level' in this context is a stretch of land approximately horizontal and unbroken by elevations.

Poor relief was based on the Act for the Relief of the Poor of 1601 which obliged parishes to take care of the aged and needy in their area. Parish overseers were empowered to collect a local income tax known as the poor-rate which would be put towards the relief of the poor. This evolved into the rating system, where the amount of poor-rate charged was based on the value of a person's property. Early workhouses were constructed and managed by the parish. However, this process was expensive and various schemes were devised where groups of parishes could act together and pool their resources. As early as 1647 towns were setting up 'Corporations' of parishes. An Act of 1782, promoted by Thomas Gilbert, allowed adjacent parishes to combine into Unions and provide workhouses. These were known as 'Gilbert's Unions' and were managed by a board of Guardians.

Under the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, the Poor Law Commission was given the power to unite parishes in England and Wales into Poor Law Unions. Each Union was to be administered by a local Board of Guardians. Relief was to be provided through the provision of a workhouse. An amendment to the 1834 Act allowed already existing 'Gilbert's Unions' or Corporations of parishes to remain in existence, although they were encouraged to convert themselves into Poor Law Unions. Although there was some reorganisation of union boundaries, particularly in London, the majority of Unions created under the 1834 Act remained in operation until 1930. In March 1930 a new Local Government Bill abolished the Poor Law Unions and the Board of Guardians. Responsibility for their institutions passed to Public Assistance Committees managed by the county councils - in the metropolis either the London County Council or the Middlesex County Council.

The Holborn Poor Law Union was constituted in 1836 and consisted of the parishes of Saint Andrews above the Bar and Saint George the Martyr Middlesex along with the Liberty of Saffron Hill, Hatton Garden, Ely Rents and Ely Place. Various parishes were added later including Saint Sepulchre (1845), Furnivals Inn and Staple Inn (1858), Saint James and Saint John Clerkenwell and Saint Luke (1869), The Charterhouse (1877), Glasshouse Yard (1901), the united parishes of Saint Giles in the Fields and Saint George Bloomsbury (1901) and the new parish of Finsbury, which was formed by uniting the parishes of Clerkenwell, St Luke, St Sepulchre, Charterhouse and Glasshouse Yard (1915).

Holborn already had a parish workhouse on Grays Inn Road which the Union continued to use after some enlargements. The Workhouse was subsequently used as casual wards for the reception of vagrants. In 1868 the Saint Luke's Workhouse on City Road was taken over by the Union and used as a hospital. Another infirmary was also constructed on Archway Road in Highgate. From 1870 the Union also managed a large industrial school at Mitcham. In 1885 a new workhouse was constructed next to the school.

Source of information: Peter Higginbotham at The Workhouse website.

Poor relief was based on the Act for the Relief of the Poor of 1601 which obliged parishes to take care of the aged and needy in their area. Parish overseers were empowered to collect a local income tax known as the poor-rate which would be put towards the relief of the poor. This evolved into the rating system, where the amount of poor-rate charged was based on the value of a person's property. Early workhouses were constructed and managed by the parish. However, this process was expensive and various schemes were devised where groups of parishes could act together and pool their resources. As early as 1647 towns were setting up 'Corporations' of parishes. An Act of 1782, promoted by Thomas Gilbert, allowed adjacent parishes to combine into Unions and provide workhouses. These were known as 'Gilbert's Unions' and were managed by a board of Guardians.

Under the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, the Poor Law Commission was given the power to unite parishes in England and Wales into Poor Law Unions. Each Union was to be administered by a local Board of Guardians. Relief was to be provided through the provision of a workhouse. An amendment to the 1834 Act allowed already existing 'Gilbert's Unions' or Corporations of parishes to remain in existence, although they were encouraged to convert themselves into Poor Law Unions. Although there was some reorganisation of union boundaries, particularly in London, the majority of Unions created under the 1834 Act remained in operation until 1930. In March 1930 a new Local Government Bill abolished the Poor Law Unions and the Board of Guardians. Responsibility for their institutions passed to Public Assistance Committees managed by the county councils - in the metropolis either the London County Council or the Middlesex County Council.

The Parish of Saint Mary Islington had constructed a workhouse on Liverpool Road in 1776, after the passing of a Local Act. This meant that it did not come under the juridsiction of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. The Board of Guardians was not constituted for the parish of St Mary Islington until 1867. A new workhouse was subsequently constructed on Saint John's Road in Upper Holloway. An infirmary was also built on Highgate Hill, on the site of the Highgate Smallpox Hospital which had been moved. An infant's school was constructed on Hornsey Road in 1853. In 1895 Islington also purchased a disused workhouse on Shadwell Road (later Cornwallis Road) to use as an overflow institution.

Source of information: Peter Higginbotham at The Workhouse website.

Poor relief was based on the Act for the Relief of the Poor of 1601 which obliged parishes to take care of the aged and needy in their area. Parish overseers were empowered to collect a local income tax known as the poor-rate which would be put towards the relief of the poor. This evolved into the rating system, where the amount of poor-rate charged was based on the value of a person's property. Early workhouses were constructed and managed by the parish. However, this process was expensive and various schemes were devised where groups of parishes could act together and pool their resources. As early as 1647 towns were setting up 'Corporations' of parishes. An Act of 1782, promoted by Thomas Gilbert, allowed adjacent parishes to combine into Unions and provide workhouses. These were known as 'Gilbert's Unions' and were managed by a board of Guardians.

Under the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, the Poor Law Commission was given the power to unite parishes in England and Wales into Poor Law Unions. Each Union was to be administered by a local Board of Guardians. Relief was to be provided through the provision of a workhouse. An amendment to the 1834 Act allowed already existing 'Gilbert's Unions' or Corporations of parishes to remain in existence, although they were encouraged to convert themselves into Poor Law Unions. Although there was some reorganisation of union boundaries, particularly in London, the majority of Unions created under the 1834 Act remained in operation until 1930. In March 1930 a new Local Government Bill abolished the Poor Law Unions and the Board of Guardians. Responsibility for their institutions passed to Public Assistance Committees managed by the county councils - in the metropolis either the London County Council or the Middlesex County Council.

The Kensington Poor Law Union was formed in 1837 and constituted the parishes of Chelsea, Fulham, Hammersmith, Kensington and Paddington. In 1841 the parish of Chelsea separated, followed in 1845 by the parishes of Fulham, Paddington and Hammersmith. A parish workhouse existed in Kensington from 1726. This workhouse was used by the Union until 1846, when a new workhouse was constructed on Marloes Road. A branch workhouse was also constructed at Mary Place, Notting Hill.

Source of information: Peter Higginbotham at The Workhouse website.

Town planning is the control of the general form and use of buildings and the urban environment (as opposed to control of the mode of construction of buildings, which was done by the District Surveyors). Modern legislation empowering local authorities to control the development of land dates from 1909, however, before 1939 planning by the London County Council (LCC) was hindered by restrictive legislation which made it very expensive to eliminate or restrict undesirable buildings. During the Second World War, however, it was recognised that air-raid damage provided an opportunity. In 1941 the Minister of Works asked the Council to prepare a plan for the reconstruction of London after the war. Sir Patrick Abercombie was appointed to prepare the plan in conjunction with the LCC Architect. The result was the County of London Plan, published in 1943, which drew attention to major defects in the structure of London: traffic congestion, sub-standard housing, intermingling of housing and industry and lack of open spaces. In 1945 the Council decided to embark on a short term programme of road works; to reconstruct certain areas, particularly Stepney and Poplar; to develop the South Bank of the Thames between County Hall and Waterloo Bridge, and to increase open space to 2 and a half acres per 1000 population.

The Town and Country Planning Act of 1947 embodied most of the planning principles for which legal recognition had been desired by the authors of the 1943 plan. Under that Act the County was made the planning authority for the Administrative County (including the City) and was required to carry out a survey and submit to the appropriate Minister a plan and report for future development. This report, in the form of a development plan setting out proposals for the next 20 years, was submitted to the Minister of Housing and Local Government in 1951. Objections to the plan were heard at an inquiry held from September 1952 until June 1953. The Minister gave final approval to the plan in 1955. It was a requirement of the Act that a review of the plan be held every five years, providing the opportunity for adjustment and flexibility. This was important as the LCC town planners increasingly faced new problems: the increase in motor traffic congestion, with associated problems of car parking; reconciling new roads with the urban scene; reconciling private development proposals with their own long term plans; ensuring waterside land was used appropriately; preserving buildings of historic interest; ensuring that tall buildings were properly sited; moving of wholesale markets and developing of surplus railway land for other uses.

The plan designated various sites were as 'areas of comprehensive redevelopment', such as Poplar, Stepney, Bermondsey, Elephant and Castle and Knightsbridge Green. In these areas the Council wanted to achieve better living conditions by regrouping commerce and industry close to railways, canals and docks and providing schools, local shopping, entertainment, open spaces and other social services while maintaining a traditional sense of community. In other areas traffic problems would be addressed with new roads.

The Chief Engineer was responsible for overseeing construction and maintenance of LCC buildings, bridges, roads and tunnels. He was also responsible for flood prevention measures, drainage and sewerage and other matters of public health.

The maintenance and improvement of traffic facilities for crossing the Thames, whether by bridge, tunnel or ferry, was an important part of the work of the LCC. It was responsible for ten of the Thames bridges: Albert Bridge, Battersea Bridge, Chelsea Bridge, Hammersmith Bridge, Lambeth Bridge, Putney Bridge, Vauxhall Bridge, Wandsworth Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge. In addition the Council maintained about 50 other bridges, over rivers, streams, canals, railways and roads. These included the bridge over Deptford Creek, Barking Road Bridge and Highgate Archway. The pedestrian tunnels at Greenwich and Woolwich, and the vehicular tunnels at Rotherhithe and Blackwall were also maintained by the Council, as was the Woolwich Ferry. In addition, it was responsible for over 6 miles of river embankment walls, Greenwich Pier and pipe subways allowing access to mains without having to excavate the road surface.

In addition, the LCC was the central authority for street improvements in London, coordinating the work of the Borough Councils because important traffic routes usually run though more than one of the Boroughs. The most important part of this work involved considering improvements to allow greater traffic flow, particularly as the number of cars on the roads increased.

The London County Council Chief Engineer and County Surveyors:

1889: J Gordon and C Dunscombe

1890 Sir Alexander Binnie

1901 Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice

1913 Sir George Humphreys

1930 Sir Peirson Frank

1946 Sir Joseph Rawlinson

1962 FM Fuller

The Children's Service of the London County Council (LCC) was responsible for 4 groups of deprived children: those placed in care by their parents, those brought before juvenile court and then sent to approved schools or placed in care, those being adopted and those with foster parents. In 1929 the Local Government Act gave the functions of the poor law authorities to the LCC. The Council began to develop child services, but the Second World War interrupted this process. After the war a conception of a new form of organisation was beginning to emerge.

The 1948 Children's Act vested central control of children's services in the Home Secretary; the county councils were made children's authorities, and each was required to appoint a children's Committee and a children's officer. The LCC set up its Children's Committee in December 1948. The first children's officer was appointed in April 1949. The LCC had the duty to receive into care any child in the County, under the age of 17, whose parents or guardians were temporarily or permanently prevented from providing for them properly. Having received a child into care the Council was required to "further his best interests and afford him opportunity for the proper development of his character and abilities".

The 1948 Act required the Council to find foster carers where possible. When this was neither practical nor desirable a child was placed in a children's home. When the Children's Service was established there were 24 children's homes and nurseries. 7 of these homes were very large and had been built by the Boards of Guardians. The Service pursued three aims: that homes were to be modernised by rebuilding and adaptation, that all children should be removed as quickly as possible from unsatisfactory establishments, and that new, smaller homes should be built to facilitate the closing of the out of date largeer homes. The LCC also developed several specialised establishments, with highly qualified staff, for children presenting acute difficulties of behaviour. By 1964 there were 160 homes under the care of the Service, including nurseries for under-fives, hostels for young wage earners still in care and homes for short stay children. Procedures in the homes were also changed. Children were sent to local schools and encouraged to bring friends back to the home. Parents were invited to visit frequently. Local adults could act as 'uncles and aunts' to otherwise friendless children. Clubs, out of school activities and house magazines flourished.

The Children's Service was required to make available to juvenile courts information on the health, character and school records of all children appearing before the court. The LCC was obliged to provide remand homes for children who appeared at juvenile court, where young people awaiting a court appearance were held in safe custody. They were also used as observation centres, where psychiatrists could observe the children and provide the court with information about reasons for their behaviour and suggest the most appropriate school for the child.

In 1930 the Council decided to consent to the adoption of suitable children in its care. In 1958 the Council appointed 2 adoption officers, who came to be recognised as expert advisers on all matters connected to adoption.

In 1945 the Ministry of Education issued regluations determining which disabilities required special educational treatment, namely, "the blind, the partially sighted, the deaf, the partially deaf, the diabetic, the delicate, the educationally sub-normal, the epileptic, the maladjusted, the physically disabled and those with speech defects".

Not all disabled children needed to be educated in special schools. Children with partial hearing, who formerly attended special schools, were able after 1947 to attend special units in ordinary primary schools, and in 1959 arrangements were made for the attendance of partially hearing children at secondary schools. Similarly, of children with defective sight, only the most severely handicapped needed to attend special schools. Arrangements were made for the transportation of children from home to school, and if a child was so severely handicapped that travel to school was not feasible arrangements were made for education in hospital or at home. Children with cerebral palsy were provided with special classes, to which they were taken by ambulance.

The curriculum of the special schools was designed to give a basic education similar to that in ordinary schools. Children were encouraged to disregard their disability and to look upon themselves as normal. They went to the rural centres, on school journeys, and on educational visits, and had their share of concerts and other cultural activities. There were special medical care and treatment to facilitate the education of the deaf and the blind.

For children whose behaviour pointed to emotional disturbance, there were child-guidance clinics, of which the Council maintained seven, others being provided by hospital authorities. The Council was the first local education authority to appoint its own psychologist to investigate cases of special difficulty. This work was later undertaken by a team of educational specialists attached to the inspectorate. In 1962 the Council opened a special class providing therapy and education for young psychotic and autistic children. The Council was the first authority in the country to give financial assistance to the special home tuition groups run by the Society for Autistic Children.

Special schools also included industrial, reformatory and truant schools for juvenile delinquents or children found vagrant.

Each county has a Lord Lieutenant as the royal representative. He is concerned with the auxiliary and cadet forces. On his recommendation new justices of the peace are appointed. The counties also have their sheriffs appointed by the monarch to see to the assembling of juries and the carrying out of the judgements of the courts. Commissions of the peace are issued, county justices are appointed, and courts of quarter sessions are regularly held for the trial of cases.

When the County of London was formed in 1888 it was given its own Lord Lieutenant and sheriff, commission of the peace and quarter sessions. The Act of Parliament stated that "all enactments, laws and usages with respect to counties in England and Wales, and to sheriffs, justices and quarter sessions shall so far as circumstances admit, apply to the County of London". The exception was the City of London which already had its own sheriffs, commission of the peace and quarter sessions, while the functions of the Lord Lieutenant were carried out by a group of commissioners presided over by the Lord Mayor.

The Lords Lieutenant of the County of London, appointed by the Sovereign under the provisions of the Militia Act, 1882, were as follows:

1889-1899 Hugh Lupus, 1st Duke of Westminster

1900-1912 Alexander William George, 1st Duke of Fife

1912-1944 Robert Offley Ashburton, 1st Marquess of Crewe

1944-1949 Gerald, 7th Duke of Wellington

1949-1950 Archibald Percival, 1st Earl Wavell

1950-1957 Alan Francis, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke

1957-1965 Harold Rupert Leofric George, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis (who also continued as Lord Lieutenant of Greater London until 1966).

Shortly after the appointment of Lord Crewe, the Clerk of the London County Council, Sir Laurence Gomme, was approached to accept additionally the post of Clerk to the Lieutenancy and to act also as Clerk to the London Justices Advisory Committee, the body responsible for advising the Lord Lieutenant of the names of persons suitable to be recommended by him to the Lord Chancellor for appointment as Justices of the Peace for the County of London. The London County Council concurred in the proposed arrangement (Council Minutes, 11 February 1913, at pages 247-248). It became the practice for each successive Clerk of the Council to be appointed to these positions.

This collection comprises plans and maps produced by the London County Council, the Metropolitan Board of Works and other associated official bodies. The plans are generally duplicates or 'strays' which have become divorced from their departmental context. Before transfer to the Archive the plans were brought together in one records room at County Hall.

The term 'public control', as used in the Council's organisation, embraced various services of a regulative character, mostly exercised by some form of licensing control. Largely unobtrusive in their operation, and producing no spectacular effects, they were all carried out in the public interest and, in some respects, for the protection of the public or certain sections of it.

Their administration was conditioned by trends in the legislative provisions under which they were operated, by shifts and changes in social usages, and by the development of the Council's policies towards the matters to which they related.

The Council obtained powers in 1905 for registering agencies for domestic servants and agenices for theatrical performers. Since then the Council's powers were extended and applied to every kind of employment agency and related to fees and charges, the character of the applicant, and the conduct of the agency. With changing social conditions there was a change in the pattern of employment agency business, for example, the number of domestic staff agencies declined. By 1963 there were about 1,200 employment agencies in London. About 400 were theatrical, variety, concert, television, or film actor agencies; about 250 were clerical or secretarial agencies, and there were about 40 nurses agencies. About 200 applications were made each year for licences to start new employment agencies. Most of the applicants had no previous experience and few of the new businesses remained open for more than a year or two.

The term 'public control', as used in the Council's organisation, embraced various services of a regulative character, mostly exercised by some form of licensing control. Largely unobtrusive in their operation, and producing no spectacular effects, they were all carried out in the public interest and, in some respects, for the protection of the public or certain sections of it.

Their administration was conditioned by trends in the legislative provisions under which they were operated, by shifts and changes in social usages, and by the development of the Council's policies towards the matters to which they related.

The term 'public control', as used in the Council's organisation, embraced various services of a regulative character, mostly exercised by some form of licensing control. Largely unobtrusive in their operation, and producing no spectacular effects, they were all carried out in the public interest and, in some respects, for the protection of the public or certain sections of it.

Their administration was conditioned by trends in the legislative provisions under which they were operated, by shifts and changes in social usages, and by the development of the Council's policies towards the matters to which they related.

The original purpose of the Council's powers, obtained in 1915 and 1920, to deal with places where massage, manicure, chiropody, vapour and other baths, and electrical treatment were given, was to ensure that such places were not used for immoral practices. Control was subsequently directed mainly towards ensuring that treatments were given only by people who were suitably qualified.

The term 'public control', as used in the Council's organisation, embraced various services of a regulative character, mostly exercised by some form of licensing control. Largely unobtrusive in their operation, and producing no spectacular effects, they were all carried out in the public interest and, in some respects, for the protection of the public or certain sections of it.

Their administration was conditioned by trends in the legislative provisions under which they were operated, by shifts and changes in social usages, and by the development of the Council's policies towards the matters to which they related.

In 1938 the number of vehicle licences issued by the Council was 601,300. In 1962 the number was 999,750, and the license duty had risen from £5 million to £13 million. The introduction of the test of road-worthiness for private cars and motor cycles made it necessary for the Council to be satisfied, before issuing licences, that the legal requirements had been complied with. Tightening of traffic control and regulation of car parking increased requests from traffic authorities for information about registered vehicles and their owners.

About 365,000 driving licences were in force in London in 1938. In 1963 there were over 1,000,000. In 1935 a new compulsory test for all new drivers was introduced, and only a provisional licence was issued before the test was passed. The Council could refuse a licence or revoke an existing licence in cases of disability likely to cause a driver to be dangerous. Additionally the Road Traffic Act, 1962, increased the number of offences for which disqualification was obligatory.

The London County Council assumed responsibility for the general hospitals formerly maintained by the Boards of Guardians and the Special hospitals formerly maintained by the Metropolitan Asylums Board with effect from 1 April 1930. These hospitals needed much work to modernise, equip and staff them adequately. The Council made great improvements in hospital accommodation and staffing standards. The nursing service had been improved, medical schools established, and a laboratory service built up. These functions were transferred to the Regional Hospitals Boards and Hospital Management Committees under the National Health Service Acts with effect from 5 July 1948. The Council assisted by providing services of supply, engineering and finance for several months after the transfer, until Council officers could be absorbed into the new organisation.

There was also a transfer from the City and the boroughs to the London County Council of health services including maternity and child welfare, health visiting, home help, vaccination and immunisation, and the care of those with tuberculosis. The Council took over 4,843 lay and professional staff, 70 freehold premises, and 252 tenancy arrangements, as well as adding new services such as home nursing, the provision of health centres and the expansion of the ambulance service. The County was divided into nine divisions, each with a divisional health committee, a divisional medical officer, a nursing officer and an administrative officer.

The question whether some of the Council's projects should be executed by direct labour rather than by contractors was, in the early years of the Council's existence, the subject of considerable political controversy.

Following dissatisfaction at the manner in which contractors tendered for contracts, the Council on 22 November 1892 approved the creation of its own Works Department, which continued in being until the end of 1909.

Throughout its existence, there were repeated controversies as to its necessity, as to its administration, as to its relationships with other Departments (some of whom employed their own staffs on minor works) and as to the manner in which its accounts were presented.

The London Fire and Civil Defence Authority (LFCDA) took over the responsibility of managing and operating London's fire brigade from the Greater London Council (GLC) in April 1986. Its members were drawn from the various London boroughs and other tiers of London government, with the aim to set strategy for the provision of fire services in Greater London, including ensuring that fire-fighters were well trained and well equipped, providing advice on fire prevention and running the London civil defence emergency control centres.

In July 2000 the LFCDA was reconstituted as the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, accountable to the Mayor.

Wesleyan Methodists built a church at King Street, Camden Town, in 1824. In 1860 the King Street premises were sold to a Primitive Methodist congregation, and a new church was constructed at Camden Street. Following the union of Methodist churches in 1932 the congregations were united. The King Street church was renamed Plender Street Church and became the main church, while the Camden Street church became a mission hall and youth centre and were later demolished.

The Camden Street Wesleyan Methodist Church belonged to the Second London Circuit/Great Queen Street Circuit until around 1866, when it transferred to the Kentish Town Circuit. It then transferred to the London Central Mission Circuit in around 1887.

The King Street, Camden Town Primitive Methodist Church belonged to the Ninth London Circuit until around 1885, when it transferred to the Camden Town Circuit.

After the Methodist Church Union in 1932 both churches joined the Camden Town Circuit, though in practice this small circuit appears to have been administered as part of London Central Mission Circuit and was officially absorbed into the London Central Mission Circuit in 1956.

The Dalston Methodist Church, Mayfield Road, was built by Wesleyan Methodists in 1865 and belonged to the Islington circuit. It transferred to the Mildmay Park circuit in 1899, and then transferred to the London Central Mission Circuit in 1905. The Minister's wife was killed when a flying bomb seriously damaged the manse [minister's residence] and damaged the church in January 1945. A new church was built on the same site in 1960, but was known as Richmond Road Church. The Church transferred to London Mission (Hackney and Clapton) Circuit in 1960.

The Penton Hall Methodist Church was opened on Penton Street by Wesleyan Methodists in 1866. In 1872 the congregation moved to Twyford Street and renamed the church Twyford Hall Methodist Church. Both churches belonged to the Islington Circuit. The church was closed in 1890.

Saint John's Square Church was built by Wesleyan Methodists in 1849. It established the London Central Mission in 1886. In May 1941 it was totally gutted on the worst night of the London Blitz. The congregation met in various temporary premises including St James' Anglican church, Clerkenwell and Finsbury Town Hall. In 1949 temporary buildings were opened on the original site, however, in 1957 the church was closed and the remaining buildings were demolished.

Methodism was established in the Highgate and Hornsey region in the early nineteenth century. It expanded alongside housing in the area and more churches were constructed. These churches belonged to the Islington Circuit until 1873, when the Highgate Circuit was established.

Paragon was the name given to a crescent of houses built in Searles Road, Walworth, Southwark in 1787-1791. In 1898 the houses were demolished and a London School Board School was constructedin their place. The school has now been converted into flats.

Tottenham Local Board of Health was originally established in 1831 to deal with a cholera outbreak but was disbanded in 1832. From 1850 a new board of health was set up under the Public Health Act of 1848. By 1860 it had taken over the work of lighting inspectors, highway surveyors and fire-fighting.

In 1879, the Presbytery purchased and occupied church buildings (now called Saint Margaret) located in Putney Park Land, which had formed the private chapel of the Granard Estate. Putney United Reformed Church was therefore initially known as the Granard Presbyterian Church. This remained the place of worship until 1897 when the church moved to buildings on the corner of Briar Walk and Upper Richmond Road.

In 1941 a bomb destroyed all the halls and a third of the church. Rebuilding of the church and new halls was completed in 1957. In 1946 the church amalgamated with Wandsworth Presbyterian Church and became known as Putney and Wandsworth Presbyterian Church. In 1968 the spire was removed and the tower was capped off. At the same time, the manse which had stood next to the church was sold and replaced by a house in Fairdale Gardens.

In 1972 the church became known as Putney United Reformed Church following the union of the Congregational and Presbyterian denominations. The last service to be held took place in February 1996.

The work of Miss K.E. Williams, who trained at Liverpool and worked as a health visitor in Hanwell, 1912-1927 is recorded in this volume which was formerly at Liverpool University Department of Nursing. The reports do not contain personal information about individuals but do provide excellent statistics.

Cedars Lodge was an old people's home administered by the London County Council Welfare Department, and situated in Cedars Road, Clapham. It was transferred to Southwark Council in 1965 and closed down in 1969.

Gospel Oak Methodist Church on Agincourt Road originated in 1875 in Wesleyan Methodist meetings held in Lismore Circus. The meetings were recognized as a mission in 1877 and placed under the control of the Prince of Wales Road church. A site at the corner of Lisburne Road was bought but only a school was built at first. A permanent church building opened in 1900. In 1940 the Grafton Road Methodist Church was amalgamated with the Gospel Oak church. The need to carry out building repairs brought about a union with the Prince of Wales Road Methodist Church at the Gospel Oak site in 1965. The church was duly demolished in 1970 and the new building opened in 1971.

The Prince of Wales Wesleyan Methodist Church stood in Prince of Wales Road, Kentish Town. The church closed in 1965 when it merged with the Gospel Oak Methodist Church, and the building was converted to a Dance Centre.

In 1858 Mill Lane Primitive Methodist Church was located at Little Church Row in Hampstead. The church was relocated to Mill Lane, West Hampstead in 1886 and was registered in 1890 as the Ebenezer Primitive Methodist chapel. The church closed and was demolished in the late 1970s.

Source: A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 9: Hampstead, Paddington (1989), pp. 153-158.

Downs Park Road Church in Clapton was registered by the Presbyterian Church of England in 1872. It was situated at the corner of Cricketfield Road. Attendance in 1886 was 111 in the morning and 60 in the evening. By 1903 attendance was 114 in the morning and 143 in the morning. The church was closed but reopened as Lower Clapton Congregational church in 1936, and was later used by the New Testament Church of God.

Source: 'Hackney: Protestant Nonconformity', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 10: Hackney (1995), pp. 130-144.

The Bexley Congregational Church was built in 1890. It is now part of the Bexley United Reformed Church.

In 1876 a meeting was held to consider the building of a Congregational Church and in 1878 the Congregational Lecture Hall was opened in Station Road. The Sidcup Congregational Church was formed in 1879. In 1887 the foundation stone was laid for a new church in Station Road (opposite Victoria Road). The church opened in 1888 with room for 550 and a further 300 in a gallery.

During the First World War the Church Hall was converted into an Auxiliary Hospital and 1065 soldiers were treated. During the Second World War the Congregational Hall was used to shelter homeless families and during September 1940 gave shelter to 500 people. In 1942 the local paper reported a Christmas party for Belgian refugees.

In 1971 a 95% majority of members supported a union of the Congregational and Presbyterian Churches to form the United Reformed Church. Between 1973 and 1975 discussions between the United Reformed Church and the Methodist Churches eventually led to a 75% majority of both churches in favour of combining. For financial and practical reasons the United Reformed Church building was chosen as the new church of the merged congregations. The name Emmanuel Church was selected.

Source: http://www.emmanuelchurchsidcup.org.uk

The Seven Sisters Road Congregational Church, Finsbury Park, was founded in 1864. It was replaced in 1885 by the Finsbury Park Congregational church at the corner of Seven Sisters and Palmerston (later Playford) roads. The church closed in 1939.

The Streatham Hill Union Chapel was built in 1829 on Brixton Hill; this was a union of Anglican and dissenting congregations under the Reverend J. Hunt. The union was an uneasy one and in 1837 the Anglicans decamped to found Christ Church, Roupell Park; while in 1840 the Baptists established the new Salem Chapel in New Park Road, leaving the Chapel to the Congregationalists.

In 1850 the Reverend Hunt was persuaded to leave, and under the new ministry of Reverend John Hall the Streatham Hill Congregational Church emerged. In 1871 the old chapel was demolished and replaced by the present church; the school and hall were built in 1878. In 1972 the church became a congregation of the United Reformed Church with the name Brixton Hill United Reformed Church.

Balham Congregational Church was situated on Balham High Road, Balham, Wandsworth. It was founded in 1879.

In 1879, the Presbytery purchased and occupied church buildings (now called Saint Margaret) located in Putney Park Land, which had formed the private chapel of the Granard Estate. The Church was therefore initially known as the Granard Presbyterian Church. This remained the place of worship until 1897 when the church moved to buildings on the corner of Briar Walk and Upper Richmond Road.

In 1941 a bomb destroyed all the halls and a third of the church. Rebuilding of the church and new halls was completed in 1957. In 1946 the church amalgamated with Wandsworth Presbyterian Church, Merton Road and became known as Putney and Wandsworth Presbyterian Church. In 1968 the spire was removed and the tower was capped off. At the same time, the manse which had stood next to the church was sold and replaced by a house in Fairdale Gardens.

In 1972 the church became known as Putney United Reformed Church following the union of the Congregational and Presbyterian denominations. The last service to be held took place in February 1996.

The Canning Town Congregational Church, Barking Road, originated in 1855 in services conducted at Plaistow Marsh by Thomas Perfect. Although lacking formal training, he served successfully as pastor until he retired in 1884. In 1860 a small chapel was built in Swanscombe Street. This was superseded in 1868 when a new building was erected in Barking Road, but remained in use as a mission hall. Another mission hall was maintained at North Woolwich from about 1879 to 1907. Under F. W. Newland (1884-1894) the Mansfield House university settlement became closely associated with the church, its boys' club being centred at the Swanscombe Street hall, which was rebuilt in 1891. F. W. Piper (1905-1909) devised a scheme to unite under his superintendency most of the Congregational churches in the area, as the South West Ham mission. Canning Town, Victoria Docks, and their missions came together in 1906, and were joined in 1909 by Greengate. The object of the mission was to ensure pastoral care for churches too poor to support separate ministers, but the traditions of independence were too strong: Greengate left the union in 1914 and Victoria Docks in 1917. Canning Town continued to call itself the South West Ham mission until 1923. All its buildings were badly damaged in the Second World War. Swanscombe Street, wrecked in 1940, was later demolished. The Barking Road church, twice bombed, was derelict from 1941. Its dwindling congregation continued to meet elsewhere in various borrowed premises, under the leadership of Mrs. M. Angel, widow of a former minister. Through her efforts a smaller church, opened in 1949, was erected on the foundations of the old one. She died in 1959 and the church closed almost immediately.

From: A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 123-141.

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.

Saint James's Church, Wood Green, was formed in 1875, when the Presbyterian Church of England took over an iron chapel which had been used for four years by the Church of Scotland. There were about 100 members in 1877, when work started on a church in Green Lanes. The new building, of redbrick dressed with Bath stone, was noted for its grandeur. It seated 400 worshippers, apart from those in the galleries, but was soon extended to take 700; in 1902 it had the fourth largest congregation within the London Presbytery. In 1950 members united with Bowes Park Congregational church, whose premises they used as the United Church of Saint James-at-Bowes. The former Presbyterian church afterwards served as a warehouse and survived in 1974.

Bowes Park Congregational church began as a hall and schoolrooms, registered in 1902, at the corner of Arcadian Gardens and Wood Green High Road. A large red-brick church with stone dressings, adjoining the hall, was founded in 1909 and registered in 1912. After the congregation had united with that of Saint James's Presbyterian church in 1950, the premises became those of the United Church of Saint James-at-Bowes.

Source: 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.