Two volumes of a manuscript diary, 1858-1859, recording the daily activities of James Patterson, a master at the Deaf and Dumb Institution, Manchester, run by his uncle. As well as the daily routine of teaching, Patterson describes his own studies at the School of Art, his interest in athletics and sports, communication with his family in Cornwall and a visit to London over Christmas 1858 (in which he walks about the city, visits the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Crystal Palace at Sydenham and another establishment of that name at Great Portland Street, and witnesses some mesmeric experiments).

Records of Poplar Poor Law Union, 1813-1940, including minutes of meetings of the Board of Guardians and various Committees; annual reports and statements of account; statutes and bye-laws; reports on Guardian's visits to institutions; papers relating to the enquiry by the Local Government Board into the administration of Poplar Union; orders and correspondence from Government departments; contracts; deeds; settlement examinations; orders for removal to and from the Union; applications for relief; registers of lunatics; lunatic reception orders; registers for Poplar High Street Workhouse; registers for Dunton Farm Colony; registers for Forest Gate Branch Workhouse; registers of children, including those at Poplar Training School, Forest Gate and Langley House Children's Home; plans of Poplar Workhouse; financial accounts and staff records.

The archive consists of typescript and manuscript lectures by Nina Popplewell, correspondence and papers relating to her work as secretary of the National Council of Women (mainly about women's employment and pensions), and a letter from the former suffragette Lilian Lenton describing her experience of being force-fed in Holloway.

Lisa Power's papers relating to her role as activist for lesbian and gay rights, and in HIV and sexual health matters, 1970s-2000. Included are papers relating to organisations such as the Gay Liberation Front, the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) and Stonewall. The collection includes scrapbooks, photographs and press cuttings.

Minutes of the Council and standing committees; constitution of the Progressive League; 'Plan', the League journal; correspondence concerning conference arrangements; papers relating to the Committee of Enquiry on the treatment of children deprived of a normal home life; correspondence with members and MPs, and concerning the publication of 'Plan'; and financial papers.

Letter book and reports of Yaba Lunatic and Leper Asylum, Lagos, 1907-1912; reports on mental illness and psychiatric services in Nigeria, 1928-c 1956; report on the laws and customs of the Yoruba people, c 1964.

Records of the Middlesex County Council Public Assistance and Welfare Department relating to blind and partially sighted people, 1930-1965, including papers relating to home teaching; papers relating to use of the wireless (radio); case files and index cards. Please note that access to the case files may be restricted under the Data Protection Act.

Records of the Middlesex County Council Public Assistance and Welfare Department relating to public assistance and relief, 1889-1948, including relevant Parliamentary legislation; papers of relief offices; personnel files; papers relating to relief policy; reports; appropriation of Poor Law hospitals; assessment regulations; papers relating to individual hospitals; papers relating to maternity care; papers relating to the care of children; papers relating to the care of mentally disabled persons; legal proceedings; registers and case files; registers of persons in the care of Boards of Guardians including lunatics and non settled poor.

Also papers relating to the Second World War including relief districts; invasion plans; fire watching and equipment; clothing distribution; arrangements for evacuation of persons in institutions and care homes; home refugees; refugees from abroad; billeting and re-housing; rest centres and emergency feeding.

Records of the Middlesex County Council Public Assistance and Welfare Department, 1940-1965, including general files on a variety of topics including government legislation, administrative instructions, financial accounts and budgets, people in receipt of domiciliary relief, survey of physically disabled persons, welfare visitors, chronic sick people in residential accommodation, young chronic sick persons, liaison with regional hospital boards, mother and baby hospitals, abandoned children, and neglected children.

Register of old people's homes; registers of moveable property; case registers and index cards of elderly persons. Please note access to the case registers and index cards may be restricted under the Data Protection Act.

Records of the London County Council Public Control Department relating to the registration of charities, 1897-1965, including general files on the War Charities Act, 1916; charities for the blind; the Blind Persons Act, 1920; the Departmental Committee on Collecting Charities, 1925 and Collecting Charities (Regulation) Bill, 1929; charities previously administered by Boards of Guardians and Metropolitan Asylums Board; War Charities Act, 1940 and the National Assistance Act, 1948.

Schemes for the administration of charities approved by the Charity Commissioners, including reports made to the Charity Commissioners; 'A Digest of Endowed Charities in the Administrative County of London made by the Charity Commission', printed by order of the House of Commons, and copies of Sealed Schemes made by the Charity Commissioners.

Registers of charities under the War Charities Act, 1916; Blind Persons Act, 1920 and War Charities Act, 1940. Also files of correspondence between the LCC and the Charity Commissioners relating to non-educational endowed charities.

Records of the London County Council Public Health Department relating to personal health services, 1902-1963, including papers on Maternity and Child Welfare Clinics and Health Centres, including papers of individual clinics and brochure "Health Services and How to Obtain Them" (1958); papers relating to Domiciliary Midwifery Services including notices, rules, lists of certified Midwives, training, historical sketch of the service and the Midwives Bill, 1902; papers relating to day nurseries and home helps, including sample of applications for home helps and report on LCC Home Help Service by the National Institute of Houseworkers; papers regarding chest clinics for the treatment of tuberculosis, including sample of case papers for the boarding out of child tuberculosis patients, papers and case notes of tuberculosis patients, reports relating to tuberculosis and papers of individual chest clinics; papers relating to blind persons, including papers of the Departmental Committee on Welfare of the Blind, reports and schemes undertaken under the Blind Persons Act, 1920, papers on the prevention of blindness and investigation into myopia, the number and general classification of blind persons in London and ophthalmological research.

Manuscript of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell [Robert Noonan], c 1910, with a short history of the original manuscript, and its publication history by Fred Ball

Letter from John Richards of the Sun Fire Office to Andrew Beckett, Esq, 17 Dec 1816. 'I return you for your handsome present my sincere thanks & rely on it if it is in my power to do the publication good I will do it ...'.

Autograph, with signature. Endorsed: 'As to plan for raising Fund for the Poor'.

Reports, diaries, memoirs, photographs and memorabilia given to the Royal Army Medical Corps Museum and Library by former officers and men of the Corps. Some date back to Marlborough's campaigns of the late 17th century; there is also material relating to the continuing European and Imperial conflicts of the 18th and early 19th centuries, the Crimean War (1854-1856), the Boer War and the Balkan conflicts of the early 20th century, the two World Wars, the Korean War and other smaller conflicts thereafter.

Records of the Royal Association for Deaf People. The collection contains a wealth of information relating to the development of work with Deaf people over the 19th and 20th centuries in London and south-east England, including relief of the necessitous poor in the 19th century, the establishment of Deaf church communities from the 1880s and the early promotion of Sign Language as a recognised form of communication in the 1850s by Reverend Samuel Smith.

The records include:

Corporate records (LMA/4172/A) in relation to the Association's Trustee Committee, Standing Subcommittee, Executive Committee, Building Committee, Spiritual Subcommittee, Personnel Committee, Property and Personnel Sub-Committee, Finance and Fund Raising Committee, Public Relations Subcommittee, secretary's correspondence, annual reports, agreements, permanent year end papers, annual general meetings, Board of Trustees papers, and Essex Deaf Council.

Financial and Staff records (LMA/4172/B) consisting of accounts, legacies, salaries and expenses, and Staff meetings Minutes, and administration.

Records of Saint Faith's Home (LMA/4172/C) consisting of minutes of the Management Committee, accounts, and registration.

Branch and Mission Church records (LMA/4172/D) in relation to Croydon Branch, Saint Barnabus Church in Lerwisham, Saint Matthews Mission and Saint Paul's Hall in Walworth, Woolwich Deaf and Dumb Mission in Beresford Square, Saint Bedes in Lambeth, All Saints in Croydon, Saint Saviours Chapel on Oxford Street, Saint John of Beverely on Green Lane, All Saints in West Ham, and Saint Cedd in Romford.

Printed Material and photographs (LMA/4172/E) consisting of press cuttings, magazines and newsletters, events material and talks, photographs, posters/leaflets and advertising material, staff resources, and historical notes.

Audio-visual records (LMA/4172/F) consisting of videos and audio cassettes.

Electronic records (LMA/4172/G) consisting of documents saved on a CD.

Property records (LMA/4172/H) in relation to 120 Selhurst Road in Croydon, 26 Harold Road in Essex, and 4 The Drive in Middlesex.

Records of Saint Marylebone Poor Law Parish, 1834-1943, including agendas, minutes and reports of the Board of Guardians and various Committees; order books of the Female Removal and Enquiry Officer; rules and regulations; orders of and correspondence with Government departments; orders of removal to and from other Unions; registers of out-relief; orders for the reception of lunatics; medical officer's examinations of lunatics; registers of mechanical restraint; registers from the Northumberland Street Workhouse, the Ladbroke Grove Infirmary and the Grays Inn Road Workhouse; registers of apprentices, servants, and children sent to training ships; registers for Southall School; financial accounts; staff records; plan of Saint Marylebone Workhouse before 1876 rebuilding; and returns of births.

Records of the Saint Pancras Poor Law Union, 1804-1932, including minutes of meetings and reports of the Board of Guardians and various Committees including Visiting Committees; administrative papers including deeds, agreements, year books and newspaper cuttings; orders and correspondence from government departments; settlement examinations; orders of removal to and from other Unions; medical certifications of lunatics; daily journals of the male and female insane wards; registers of lunatics; registers from Saint Pancras Workhouse, North Infirmary, South Infirmary and Belmont Workhouse; registers of children sent out as apprentices or servants; registers of children at Leavesden School; financial accounts and staff records.

Records of Shenley Hospital, 1931-1974, including minutes from various committees including the Middlesex Colony sub-committee, Standing sub-committee, Middlesex Colony Staff sub-committee, Management sub-committee and Mental Hospitals committee; administrative files including resolutions, annual reports, commissioners reports, Board of Control statistics, hospital services statistics, and contract specifications and estimates. Patient records include medical registers, admission and discharge registers, death registers, civil registers of voluntary and certified patients, and matron's reports. There are also records relating to staff and finance, and a large series of hospital plans dating from the 1930's when the hospital was opened. Most are architectural plans of the villas and other buildings which made up the Shenley Complex. There is also a series of plans which covers the whole site showing layouts of the villas and includes an overall key to the coding of the hospital buildings.

Records of Shoreditch Poor Law Union, 1848-1944, including minutes of meetings of the Board of Guardians and various Committees; Committee reports; deeds; programmes of sports day at Hornchurch Cottage Homes; rules and regulations; orders and correspondence from Government departments; settlement examinations; orders for removal to and from the Union; registers of interned aliens, First World War; registers of lunatics; lunatic admission orders; registers of the Union Workhouse; apprenticeship registers; registers of children; plans of the Hornchurch Cottage Homes; financial accounts and staff records.

The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence: the Singers were clearly vigorous letter writers and both Charles and Dorothea had an enormous number of family, friends and acquaintances. Unfortunately many of their letters were hand written and very few carbon copies survive. Very occasionally an attempt at methodical selection and arrangement is evident: on the whole correspondence had been kept in alphabetical order, and this has been retained in the arrangement of the collection. Dorothea and Charles' correspondence was fairly mixed (reflecting their working life together) with the exception of two distinct groups: correspondence about Dorothea's research on alchemical manuscripts, and later correspondence about her hearing aids.

The main part of the collection centres on the correspondence; this has been grouped together in a self-evident sequence: writings and biographical personal papers follow. Certain of Dorothea's papers remained clearly distinct and these have been kept together. Section E contains a variety of material relating to Jewish refugees, which had been placed on one side by Dorothea after the war for permanent preservation. It has not been listed in detail but sorted into three broad categories. The last section, comprising additional correspondence of the Singers with Sir Zachary Cope, Sir Arthur Salusbury MacNalty and Dr F N L Poynter, is not strictly part of the collection, but these groups of correspondence were given to the Institute to be placed alongside the Singer papers.

Photocopies of documents concerning the squatter problem at Orlando, [Soweto], 1946 including records of meetings between the Department of Non European Affairs and deputation from Orlando Advisory Board; record of joint meeting of General Purposes, Non European Affairs and Special Housing Committees; minutes of Sub-Committee on squatter movements, and minutes of meeting of Native Advisory Boards with Non European Affairs Committee.

Records of the South Metropolitan School District, 1849-1905, including minutes and reports of the Board of Management; annual reports and statements of accounts; standing orders of the Board and its Committees; correspondence with and orders from the Poor Law Board; papers relating to building works and maintenance; admission and discharge and creed registers for Brighton Road School, Banstead Road School, Witham School and Herne Bay School; registers of apprentices and servants; and staff records.

Records of Saint George the Martyr Poor Law Parish, 1835-1873; including minutes of the Board of Guardians; orders of removal; admission and discharge registers; and registers of children admitted.

Records of Saint Mary Newington Poor Law Parish, 1867-1874, comprising Board of Guardians minute books and Newington Sick Asylum District manager's minute books.

Records of the Southwark Poor Law Union (formerly the Saint Saviour's Poor Law Union), 1798-1933, including minutes of the Board of Guardians and various Committees; byelaws and regulations; property documents including deeds; correspondence; settlement examinations; removal orders; report books; admission and discharge registers and creed registers; registers of children admitted and boarded out; register of boys sent to the Training Ship Exmouth; registers of children sent to the Hanwell Schools, Central London Schools District; financial accounts; staff records; plans made as part of survey for rating valuation of property in Saint Saviour's Union; and notices of marriage.

A typescript autobiographical account of an unidentified Austrian Jew's experience of imprisonment during the Spanish Civil War in 1936.

Minutes and presented papers of Special Committees, Joint Committees and Advisory Committees of the Middlesex County Council, 1889-1965:

Airports Committee

Arms Committee

Auxiliary Forces Committee

Barnet Union Committee

Bridges Committee

Common Interests Committee

County Solicitor Committee

Dyrham Park Committee

Edmonton Union Committee

Education Committee

Governance Committee

Guildhall Committee

Health Committee

Local Government Committee

Medical Committee

Member of County Council Committee

National Insurance Committee

Officers Committee

Pensions Committee

Physically Handicapped Committee

Planning Committee

Poor Law Committee

Quarter Sessions Committee

Refuse Dumps Committee

Registration of Title Committee

Richmond Hill Committee

Road Stone Committee

Testimonial Committee

Thames Committee

Unemployed Workmen Committee

Vagrancy Committee

Voluntary Hospitals Committee

Wild Birds Committee

Records of Gillian Spraggs, 1980-199-, including numerous leaflets, pamphlets, magazines and posters produced, printed and publicised by various gay and lesbian action and support groups during the latter part of the 20th century. Many of them advertise the existence and need for such support groups, while others work to promote necessary information and advice for lesbians and gays who had either suffered from discrimination or wanted to help campaign against such discrimination. They document the campaign against the introduction of Clause 27 and the campaign to ensure equality and equal opportunities for lesbians and gays within the work place.

Records of Springfield Hospital, 1844-1990, including committee minutes and papers, annual reports, reports by the Commissioners of Lunacy and the Commissioners of the Board of Control, general administrative files, records of the League of Friends, admission and discharge registers, death, discharge and transfer registers, medical journals and treatment records, social histories of patients, staff records, financial records, plans of the hospital, photographs and publications.

Records of St Alphage Society comprising minutes 1782-1940 and agendas 1925-40 (Mss 7021, 10479); financial records 1800-1940 (Mss 7022, 10481, 18917); admissions register 1903-38 (Ms 10480); copy will of James White dated 1794 (Ms 7023); vouchers and correspondence 1880-1940 and counsel's opinion 1903 (Ms 10482-3); list of officers and subscribers 1891, and histories of the Society 1907 and 1910 (Ms 18917).

Comprises: Bequests, Wills and Probate; Church Fabric; Constable and Scavenger; Certificates; Churchwardens; Finance; Images and Press Cuttings; Militia; Parish Appointments; Parish Boundaries; Poor Law; Printed Material; Plans of the Church; Parish Property; Parish Registers; Parish Maintenance; Loose Rate Assessment Papers; Registers of Services and Preachers; Tithes; Vicar and Hospitaller; Vestry.

Correspondence, diaries, photographs and papers relating to South Africa, 1938-1993, collected by Hannah Stanton. They include a large amount of correspondence concerning her campaign work on issues such as apartheid; journals covering her trips abroad and appointment diaries; speeches and sermons; material concerning Helen Joseph; and a large number of photographs of friends of Hannah Stanton.

The collection contains 30 letters written between 1885 and 1924. Correspondents include William Thomas Stead, Frances Power Cobbe, Millicent Garrett Fawcett, Herbert Stead, the Governor of Holloway Prison, Mrs Stead, Mr W Shaen, Miss Kensington the Secretary of Girton College, Mrs Frederic Whyte; the materials also include W T Stead's 'Holloway' New Year Cards, 1885. The letters discuss the Criminal Law Amendment controversy, speeches, his term in jail and emotional state, theology, Leslie Stephens, Edmund Garrett Fawcett, women's suffrage and education, the Royal Commission of 1871, trips for working women and the loan of Millicent Garrett Fawcett's Stead letter collection to a biographer.

The archive consists of correspondence between Eva Stephenson and her fiance Maurice Wilkins, covering the period 1910-1914. The letters describe Stephenson's experiences in Holloway prison for suffrage activism in 1910 (some letters are written on prison regulation notepaper), her life as an office worker and her family relationships. Subjects covered include: relationships with other suffragettes in prison; trials of the prison regime; Christmas in Holloway; her relationship with her mother who disapproved of her suffrage campaigning; reflections on her upbringing; employment in an office and enjoyment of her independence; her relationship with her future husband.

With typescript transcriptions of the letters by William Paul Wilkins, son of Eva and Maurice Wilkins (produced in 1998). The transcriptions include a name and place index.

Records of the Stepney Poor Law Union (called the Limehouse Poor Law Union from 1921-1925), 1836-1936, including minutes of the Board of Guardians and various Committees; correspondence; orders of removal to and from other Unions; registers for the Limehouse Children's Establishment, the Mile End Old Town Workhouse, the Ratcliffe Workhouse and Bromley House; registers of admission for the Stifford Children's Homes; financial accounts and staff records.

Records of Parish of Stepney Poor Law Union, 1910-1936, including minutes of the Board of Guardians and various Committees; correspondence; admission orders for lunatics; registers for Bromley House and the South Grove Institution; registers for Gray Scattered Homes and Stifford Homes; financial accounts; staff records; plans of Gray's Children's Homes and contract works ledger.

Records of the Mile End Old Town Poor Law Union, 1848-1930, including minutes of the Board of Guardians and various Committees; correspondence; settlement examinations; orders of removal to and from other Unions; registers for the Mile End Workhouse and Infirmary; apprenticeship indentures; registers for the Bancroft Road School and the Mile End Scattered Homes; financial accounts; staff records and monthly returns of infant deaths.

Records of Saint George in the East Poor Law Union, 1836-1927, including minutes of the Board of Guardians and various Committees; correspondence; settlement examinations; orders of removal to and from other Unions; registers of lunatics in asylums; registers for the Saint George in the East Workhouse and Infirmary and the Raine Street Workhouse and Infirmary; registers for the Plashet School and Drouet's Home, Tooting; financial accounts; staff records and tradesmen's accounts.

Records of Whitechapel Poor Law Union, 1837-1943, including minutes of the Board of Guardians and various Committees; correspondence; orders of removal to and from other Unions; admission orders for lunatics; registers of lunatics in asylums; registers from the Whitechapel Infirmary and the South Grove Workhouse; registers of children; financial accounts and staff records.

Records of Swaylands School, consisting of interior and exterior photographs of the building, including photographs of school lessons, prize giving and the school fete, 1957-1959.

The collection contains correspondence amongst the Taylor Family and their friends between 1910 and 1914 related to events and in particular the imprisonment of Mrs Mary Ellen 'Nelly' Taylor, Mark Wilkes and the Pethwick-Lawrences.

Correspondents include:

• Mrs Mary Ellen 'Nelly' [sometimes Nellie] Taylor,

• Dr Elizabeth Wilkes, sometimes addressed as Mrs Wilkes, known as Lily or Lilla.

• Captain Thomas Smithies Taylor, Nelly's husband, addressed as 'Tom'.

• Mark Wilkes,

Ramsay MacDonald and Frederick Pethick-Lawrence.

Letters addressed to Tom refer to her husband Thomas. Letters addressed to Tom and children refer to her husband and her children, Dorothea and Garth.

Records of Ticehurst House Hospital, 1787-1975. Records of private asylums have had an extremely poor survival rate compared with those in the public sector, which have had the benefits of statutory protection and a greater measure of continuity. The Ticehurst House records, however, are unusually well preserved, and some of the more important series in its archive are remarkably complete. No central management or Board minutes for the asylum have been traced, and may not have been kept prior to 1918 given the informal management of the institution at that time by the Newington family. However the various categories of records kept in accordance with the lunacy legislation, including a remarkable series of casebooks, are well preserved, especially for the period 1845-1948. The Hospital and its General Manager are therefore greatly to be thanked for making these records available for research.

Records of Tooting Bec Hospital, including Hospital management committee and sub-committee minutes and papers, 1948-1967; London County Council Tooting Bec Hospital sub committee papers, 1907-1948; Medical Superintendants report book, 1903-1911; Steward's report books, 1912-1948; admission and discharge books, 1930-1936; register of admission (male and female), 1948-1954; register of admission (male), 1936-1951; register of admission (female), 1936-1949 and 1957-1961; register of transfers, discharges and deaths (male), 1936-1962; register of transfers, discharges and deaths (female), 1936-1950 and 1962-1964; register of male patients, 1973-1977; creed register, 1938-1947; registers of deaths, 1944-1963; post mortem registers, 1932-1959; card index of patient deaths, 1960-1980; registers of staff, 1902-1909 and 1930-1965 and The History of Tooting Bec Hospital by Sue Simmons, 1995.

Collected archive relating to the Tower of London (ToL) comprising: General Documents including Act of Parliament for regulating the nightly watch, 1756; newspaper containing account of fire at the ToL, 1774; newspaper containing account of fire at the ToL, 1788; newspapers containing accounts of the fire in the Grand Storehouse, 1841; report describing the removal of the Regalia from the Jewel House during the fire in the Grand Storehouse, 1841; report that the Public Records had not been affected by the fire in the Grand Storehouse, 1841; regulations for HM Royal Palace and Fortress of the ToL, 1878; regulations for HM Royal Place and Fortress of the ToL, 1882; account of the fire bomb raid on the ToL, 1940; regulations for HM ToL, 1946;

General maps and plans including map of London, 1560 (mid 19th century copy); map of London, 1862 (copy); plan of the ToL, 1597 (reduced 19th century copy); plan of the ToL, 1597 (18th century copy); plan of the ToL, 1660 showing suggested alterations (copy); plan of the ToL, c.1680 (copy); plan of the ToL, 1681-1689; plan of the ToL, c.1682 (copy); plan of the area occupied by the Royal Mint, 1701 (copy); map of the Tower Liberty, 1720; map of the Tower Liberty, 1754; plans of the White Tower, 1754; plan of the ToL and St. Catherines, 1754; plan of the ToL, 1760; plans of the White Tower, early 19th century; plans of the White Tower, 1815; Ordnance Survey plan of the ToL and Tower Hill, c.1900; various plans of works carried out at the ToL, 1960-present; plan showing the re-arrangement of the area to the south of the White Tower, c.1965; plan of the ToL, 1966; elevations of the White Tower, 1966;

General photographs of the ToL, c.1850, c.1890, c.1898; ToL and the Royal Mint, c.1850-60; ToL from the Wharf, c.1870, 1888; c.1890, c.1899, c.1910; the Cradle Tower after the reinstatement of the first floor, c.1878; interior views of the ToL, c.1880; the demolition of the Horse Armoury, 1883; ToL from the river Thames, 1888, late 19th century; the Byward Tower from the west, c.1890; the Byward Tower from the east, late 19th century; ToL from the west, late 19th century; the Grand Storehouse pediment, late 19th century; ToL from the north west, late 19th century; the Beauchamp Tower, late 19th century; photograph of the Byward Tower, late 19th century; the Middle Drawbridge soon after construction, c.1910; the White Tower, 1914; Tower Green, 1922; the entrance to the ToL, mid 20th century; the second floor of the White Tower, c.1939; Aerial photos of the ToL, 1949, c.1960, 1970, 1987;
and stereoscopic photographs of the Bell Tower, and the Byward Tower, mid 19th century; ToL from Tower Hill, c.1870; ToL from the west, late 19th century; and the Waterloo Barracks, late 19th century;

General guidebooks to the Tower including An historical description of the Tower of London and its curiosities, David Henry (published from 1757-1803); A new history and description of the Tower of London, David Henry (published from 1810-1834); The Tower: its histories, armories and antiquities, John Hewitt (published from 1841-1854); A short history of the Tower of London, Joseph Wheeler (published from 1842-52); The Tower of London; its armouries and regalia, H G Clarke (c.1855); A sketch of the Tower of London, A. Harman (published from 1859-1884); 1The people's history of the Tower of London and visitor's guide (c.1875); Authorised guide to the Tower of London, W J Loftie (published from 1886-1897); Authorised guide to the Tower of London, W J Loftie [much abridged version (published from 1885-1920); The Tower of London - a guide for catholics, C L Jones (published from 1913-1931); Authorised guide to the Tower of London (Ministry of Works, published from 1923-46); The Tower of London (Ministry of Works, published from 1953-1967); The Tower of London (Department of the Environment, 1974); The pictorial story of the Tower of London [title varies slightly] (Pitkin Pictorials, published from 1950-1969); Her Majesty's Tower of London (Pitkin, published from 1973-1996); Royal fortress : the Tower of London (Department of the Environment, 1978); The Tower of London: a young visitors guide, P Hammond (1981); Tower of London (Department of the Environment, 1984); Her Majesty's fortress of the Tower of London (Department of the Environment, 1987); Inside the Tower: the alternative guide, James Bartholomew (1990); The Tower of London: the official guidebook (Historic Royal Palaces, 1996); as well as a number of foreign language guides;

documents and photographs relating to Officers of the Tower, including Report on the state of the ToL by Sir John Peyton, 1597; expenses of Sir John Peyton, Lt. of the Tower, 1598; Commission signed by Oliver Cromwell appointing John Miller, Captain and Major of the company of foot appointed to garrison the ToL, 1652; letter from Col. John Berkstead, Governor of the ToL to the Commissioners of the Navy, 1653; warrant signed by John, Lord Berkeley to Col. William Legg, Lt. Governor of the Tower, authorizing the issue and replacement of weapons, 1668; Muster roll of the ToL garrison, 1691; journal kept by George, Earl of Northampton, as Constable of the Tower, 1712-15; two letters from Viscount Falmouth to Earl Cornwallis, Constable of the ToL, 1760; warrant appointing Louis Grauze to be yeoman or under porter to the ToL, 1787; letters patent appointing Francis, Earl of Moira, to be Constable of the ToL, 1806; warrant granting William Kinchin the right to collect duty on goods landed at Iron-Gate stairs, 1808; ticket and order of service for the funeral of the Duke of Wellington, 1852; photos of nine yeoman warders with the Resident Governor, (undated); photographs of eight yeomen warders (undated).; photograph of the Officers of the Tower and the Yeomen Warders, about 1890; photogravure of yeomen warders practicing with partisans, late 19th century; photograph of 12 yeomen warders in undress uniform, late 19th century; photograph of the changing of the guard, late 19th century; photograph of the Kings House, 1914; photos of the King's House, c.1920; photograph of the ToL from the west with the signatures of the Officers of the Tower on the mount, 1917; photograph of the Officers of the Tower, 1917; photos of the handing over of the colours of the Royal Munster Fusiliers, 1923; blueprints for the sealed pattern yeomen warder's partisan, 1985;

Documents, and photographs relating to the prison and prisoners, including Warrant signed by Henry VII for the provision of clothing and bedding to Lord Willam of Devon and William de la Pole, 1506; documents relating to the trial and execution of Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex, 1601; warrant relating to the detention of Robert Johnstone, 1662; regulations relating to the opening, guarding and closing of the gates of the Tower, c.1680; list of inscriptions in the Salt Tower, 1856; Guidebook - A short sketch of the Beauchamp Tower, Tower of London, W.R. Dick (c.1860); Ferdinand Buschmann papers, early 20th century ; Prisoners of the Tower compiled by A.H. Cook, 1959; inscriptions in the ToL; Guidebook - Prisoners in the Tower (Pitkin, 1972-94); guide to the inscriptions in the Beauchamp Tower, c.1985; Condensed summary of prisoners at the Tower originally compiled by A.H. Cook and revised by B.A. Harrison, 1986; the first prisoner of the 20th century [Hans Lody], 1987; stereographic photographs of the block and axe, mid 19th century; stereographic photograph of the block and axe, about 1890; photographs of the interior and exterior of the Bloody Tower, late 19th century; and interiors of the Bell Tower and the Beauchamp Tower, late 19th century;

newspaper articles relating to the prison and prisoners including the execution of James Radcliffe, Earl of Derwentwater, and William Gordon, Viscount Kenmure, 1715; the imprisonment and execution of Charles Radcliffe, 1746; the imprisonment of Lord Lovat, 1747; the release of John Wilkes from the Tower, 1763; the imprisonment and release of Brass Crosby, Lord Mayor, and Alderman Oliver from the Tower, 1771; the Gordon Riots, 1780; the imprisonment of Lord George, 1780; the imprisonment and release of Henry Laurens, 1780-82; the imprisonment and release of state prisoners, 1794; the imprisonment of Francis Burdett, 1810; the escape of Lord Nithsdale, 1816;

material relating to the Crown Jewels including newspaper account of Margaret Moore's attempt to steal the crown, 1815; photographs of the Crown Jewels, late 19th century, and the Crown Jewels on display in the Wakefield Tower, about 1900; stereographic photograph of the new Jewel House, late 19th century; and guidebooks: The Crown Jewels (Ministry of Works, 1949-67); The Crown Jewels at the Tower of London (Ministry of Works, 1968); The Crown Jewels of England (Department of the Environment, 1986);

material relating to the Menagerie, including broadsheets containing verses on the deaths of three lions at the Tower, 1681, and one entitled `the she lyon's speech in the Tower', early 18th century; newspaper account of a fight between a lion and two tigers, 1830; and documents relating to the presentation of animals to the Prince Regent, 1816-20;

material relating to the Tower Record Office including letter and receipted bill from Robert Lemon, Tower Record Office, 1806; and notes of the Keeper of the Record Office, John Bayley, c.1820;

material relating to the Tower and the Church including printed Act of Parliament granting a piece of land with the ToL for use as an additional burial ground, 1811; plan of the Church of St. Peter ad Vincula, 1842; photograph of the interior of St. John's Chapel, late 19th century; and guidebooks titled The chapels royal of St. Peter ad Vincula and St. John the Evangelist, HM Tower of London (Pitkin, 1971); and The chapels of the Tower of London (Department of the Environment, 1987); Notices of the Historic Persons buried in the Chapel of St. Pete ad Vincula in the Tower of London D C Bell (London, 1877)

material relating to Tower Bridge including photographs of the official opening of Tower Bridge, 1894; and of Tower Bridge, late 19th century; tickets and programme for the opening of Tower Bridge (1894); Welch's A Short Account of London Bridge Welch, (1894); copy of the Act empowering the corporation of London to build a bridge over the River Thames near the Tower of London (August 1885);

there is also a collection of prints and engravings depicting people, events, external and internal view of the tower and plans;

collection of photocopied material from the National Archives (Public Record Office) relating to the Tower, including copies and transcripts of Exchequer records, 1425-1508; Chancery records, 1455-1655; State Papers, 1569-1585; War Office records, 1681-1752; Office of Works plans; records of the Ancient Monuments Laboratory, 1739-1832; and manuscripts held in the British Library, c.1485-1715.

Records of the Uxbridge Poor Law Union, 1836-1930, including minute books of meetings of the Board of Guardians; register of removals; case cards of persons in Central London Schools and other homes and institutions; financial accounts; correspondence relating to parish boundaries; matrices (presses) of the seals of the Board of Guardians; register of persons receiving children for reward, and admission and discharge registers from the Hillingdon Workhouse.

Papers of Baron Franz von Rigal relating to his illness and to his daughter, Marguerite, 1911-1920.

Records of the Wandsworth Poor Law Union, 1836-1933, including minutes of meetings of the Board of Guardians; minutes and reports of various Committees including the Assessment Committee, Schools and Institutions Committee and Boarding Out Committee; correspondence with the Local Government Board and the Ministry of Health; contracts; orders of the Poor Law Board; settlement examinations; orders of removal to and from other Unions; registers of the Swaffield Road Workhouse and Saint John's Hill Workhouse; registers of apprentices; registers of children at the Intermediate School, Swaffield Road and the Anerley School, North Surrey; financial accounts; staff records; maps of parishes in Wandsworth; floor plans of Saint John's Hospital; registers of relief given to the wives and children of interned aliens [foreigners], First World War.

Records of HM Prison, Wandsworth. The records relate to prison administration, the prisoners, and, to a much a lesser extent, the prison staff. The earliest records are a minute and letter book, 1847-1850, and a letter book, 1848-1852, of the Committee for building a new prison in Surrey (ACC/3444/AD/01/001-002).

With regard to records relating to prisoners, the main series is the nominal registers (ACC/3444/PR/01), giving details of the name, age, trade, education, and religion of the prisoner, the date of committal, details of the offence and sentence and the date of discharge. These are in chronological order and run from 1879 to 1956, with several volumes produced each year. Unfortunately, there are only a few indexes to these registers. Those that survive run from 1940 to 1956 only (ACC/3444/PR/02).

The other important series giving details about individual prisoners are the registers of executions, 1892-1961 (ACC/3444/PR/03), and files on condemned prisoners, 1933-1954 (ACC/3444/PR/04).

Also of interest is a series of glass plates of prison officers and prisoners from 1920 to the 1930s.

PLEASE NOTE: In accordance with Home Office regulations, the entire collection is subject to a 30 year closure period, with the exception of some particularly sensitive series, which are subject to longer closure periods. These are all marked on the catalogue.

Letters from Mary Ward (also known as Mrs Humphry Ward) relating to the establishment of a school for Invalid Children at the Passmore Edwards Settlement, Tavistock Place (later known as the Mary Ward Settlement).

Manuscript volume containing an Order of the Warwickshire Quarter Sessions, 15 Jul 1740, fixing allowances for the conveyance of rogues and vagabonds. It is addressed to the Rev John Ingram [of Little Wolford, Warwickshire].

Case papers of the London County Council Welfare Department relating to blind and partially sighted persons, 1930-1956. Please note that files may be closed for Data Protection purposes.

Records of the London County Council Welfare Department, 1923-1951, relating to casual wards in Chelsea, Hackney, Lambeth, Northumberland Avenue, Paddington, Poplar, Southwark, Saint Pancras and Woolwich. Please note some files may be closed for Data Protection purposes.

Records of the London County Council Welfare Department relating to rest centres, 1939-1957.

Records of the West London School District, 1865-1936, including minutes and agendas of the Board of Management; minutes and reports of various Committees; annual reports; financial accounts; correspondence with and orders of the Poor Law Board, Local Government Board and Ministry of Health; correspondence and other documents regarding property; admission and discharge registers for Ashford School; registers of apprenticeships; returns and statistics of children in care; papers relating to education and teaching including correspondence, reports, timetables and syllabus; dietary tables; reports by the Medical Officer; issues of the Ashford Residential School Magazine; staff records; building plans of Ashford School and Park School; photographs of Ashford School and papers relating to the transfer of institutions to the London County Council in 1930.

Records of the City of Westminster Poor Law Union, 1889-1936, including minutes of meetings of the Board of Guardians; minutes and papers of Committees including the Buckingham Palace Road Workhouse Committee, Edmonton Workhouse Committee, Hospital Committee, Visiting Committee and Settlement and Revision Committee; correspondence and standing orders; registers for the Belmont Workhouse, Chelsea Workhouse, Edmonton Workhouse and Fulham Road Workhouse; registers of children sent into service; financial accounts and personnel files.

Records of the Saint Margaret and Saint John Poor Law Union, 1864-1870, including minutes of the Board of Guardians; minutes of Committees including the Kensington Workhouse Visiting Committee; correspondence; orders of removal to other Unions and financial accounts.

Records of Saint George's Hanover Square Poor Law Union, 1836-1924, including minutes of the Board of Guardians; minutes of Committees including the Buckingham Palace Road Workhouse Committee, the Fulham Road Workhouse Committee, the Kensington Workhouse Visiting Committee, the Mount Street Workhouse Committee, the Petty France Workhouse Committee, and the Milman Street Receiving Home for Children Committee; orders of removal to and from other Unions; registers of lunatics; registers from the Buckingham Palace Road Workhouse, Fulham Road Workhouse and Mount Street Workhouse; registers of children in care including indentures of apprenticeship, registers of children on the Exmouth Training Ship and registers of children at the Milman Street Receiving Home for Children; financial accounts and staff records.

Records of the Saint Martin in the Fields Poor Law Union, 1824-1870, including minutes of the Board of Guardians; correspondence; relief order books; settlement examinations; registers for the Castle Street Workhouse; registers for the Norwood Schools and financial accounts.

Records of the Strand Poor Law Union, 1802-1928, including minutes of the Board of Guardians; minutes of Committees including the Edmonton Workhouse Committee and the Sheffield Street Workhouse Committee; correspondence; settlement examinations; orders of removal to and from other Unions; registers of the Cleveland Street Workhouse, the Edmonton Workhouse, the Saint Giles Workhouse and the Sheffield Street Workhouse; registers of Edmonton Schools; financial accounts and staff records.

Records of the Westminster Poor Law Union, 1833-1914, including minutes of the Board of Guardians; Committee minutes; correspondence with government departments; settlement examinations; Relieving Officer's reports; orders of removal to and from other Unions; registers of the Westminster Union Workhouse; indentures of apprenticeships; registers of Westminster Union Schools, Tooting; financial accounts and staff records.

Papers of the Westminster Quarter Sessions of the Peace relating to administration, 1713-1883. Records relate to the House of Correction, Tothill Fields (also known as Westminster Bridewell and the Westminster House of Correction), including reports, letter book and minute books of the Visiting Justices; papers relating to the Governor of the House of Correction and other staff, including bonds, financial accounts and petitions; bills for maintenance and repair works; inventories; reports; returns of the number of prisoners; lists of prisoners; regulations; warrants and orders; correspondence and plans of the building.

Also minute book of the Committee of Accounts for City and Liberty of Westminster, 1839-1844.

Note on the Quarter Sessions records: Although Westminster has fewer surviving records than Middlesex, the City's sessions would have produced similar records to those of the County, but they would have been smaller in quantity, and have included less administrative material. Also, as with all Quarter Sessions records, "seeing that the Custos Rotulorum was a private gentleman or nobleman and the Clerk of the Peace an attorney with a private practice it is likely that many county records were (if not lost or destroyed) handed down to their families or their professional successors" and many may still remain to be found in private hands (Emmison and Gray, County Records, 1987). Those records that have survived are often difficult to read or understand because of the handwriting, use of Latin (until 1733), or legal jargon and abbreviations; although standardised legal formats were used and printed pro formas introduced by the nineteenth century.

For the Middlesex and Westminster records there may also be confusion over the records' arrangement resulting from the attempts at classification by previous generations of archivists which have left many records split up into unnatural groupings. Originally they would not have been sorted into any cohesive arrangement. These were records that were "kept for administrative convenience rather than as sources for future generations" (G. Jones, Quarter Sessions records in the Leicestershire Record Office).

Because of this overlapping between many classes of record, any study of the Westminster records should include consultation of those for Middlesex. There was in any case a lot of co-operation between the two courts during the period covered by the records. Judicial (Gaol Delivery Sessions for example) and administrative functions were shared, as were court personnel (including justices). Westminster prisoners could elect to be tried at the Middlesex sessions, as these were held more frequently than their own.

The sessions records are a very useful source for family history, studying trends in law and order, and the life of the City and its inhabitants over a relatively long period of time. The capital was an area with high levels of crime, the natural place for riot and conspiracy, and attracted a wide variety of people from the whole country and abroad. The main record of proceedings at the sessions will be found in the sessions rolls (MJ/SR and the uncatalogued WJ/SR - index in WJ/CB); the (partially uncatalogued) sessions books (WJ/SB, MJ/SB); and the (partially uncatalogued) sessions papers (WJ/SP, MJ/SP). City administrative work is in the records of the County Day sessions (WJ/O), and for one particular type, in the records of the street surveyors (WJ/SS). Records of judicial procedure are in the records of court fines (WJ/E), writs to summon juries (WJ/W), and the trial process (WJ/Y); Lists of prisoners made at various times during the trial process are in WJ/CC and WJ/CP.