Records of Whiffen and Son Ltd, manufacturing chemists, 1752-1972, including history of the company; articles of partnership and other contracts and agreements; legal documents relating to property; correspondence; circulars; financial accounts; papers relating to shares and shareholders; stock records; newspaper cuttings; photographs; staff wages books and pensions papers; records relating to staff associations and sports clubs including minute books; reports on chemical manufacture, laboratory notebooks and chemical analyses; papers relating to sales; papers relating to imports and foreign suppliers; advertisements; registers of product labels; samples of packaging; rules, regulations and legislation regarding factories and safety measures; papers regarding the Second World War including war damage to factories and papers relating to staff on active duty.

Also records of Saint Amand Manufacturing Company Limited including ledgers, letter books and journals.

Papers of the Chamber of Ships Insurance relating to the appointment of a French agent to the Chamber.

Minute book of the City of London Union Rating Association.

Deed of settlement for the County Annuity Association.

Memorandum book including copy letters to the Court of the East India Company; bye-laws and resolutions of the Society; and printed East India Company notices.

Records of the Artists' Annuity and Benevolent Fund, including records relating to the establishment of the fund, and joint records of both branches; records of the Annuity Fund; records of the Benevolent Fund; and records relating to John Pye, a founder member of the fund.

Minutes of the General Federation of Trade Unions Friendly and Collecting Society.

Papers, 1638-1890, collected by Myers in the course of their work, comprising wills and a bond relating to Palgrave, Suffolk; Hampstead; Kensington (Old Brompton); West Twyford and Bloomsbury.

Records of the Royal Commercial Traveller's School, 1845-1965, including a photograph of a painting of John Robert Cuffley; copy of minutes of a Meeting held at the London Tavern on 30th December 1845 concerned with the founding of this school; a brief record of principal events from 1845 to 1905; press cuttings; papers relating to Royal patronage of the School; papers relating to fundraising; copy of a speech delivered by Charles Dickens about the Schools in December 1859; event programmes; copies of the rules of the Foundation; Memorandum of Articles of Association of the Royal Commercial Travellers Schools Trust Limited; annual reports 1945-1967; prospectus and photographs of the buildings at Hatch End, Pinner.

Declaration of trusts of £2,400 capital stock (being 24 shares) in the West Middlesex Water Works, assigned for securing £1,400, for Charles Lestock Boileau of Castleneau, esq. and William Tierney Clark of Hammersmith, engineer, 1841; with absolute assignment of the same for £1,120, 1843.

Records of the New River Company, comprising lease of a watercourse from main water pipe at back side of Saint Clement Danes to the private dwelling house of Thomas Dows, gentleman, 1697.

This collection contains mostly personal and property papers of Silas Thatcher, carpenter, and his son Albert George Thatcher, teacher, as well as general family papers and photographs.

Records of Joshua Alexander, solicitor and property developer, recording the drawing up of building agreements and the granting of leases of the resulting houses. None of the agreements or leases survive but the pattern of development can be traced through the accounts of advances for building and the ground rents received for leases.

Building agreements and lease books: These books record cash advances made by Joshua Alexander and his business partner William Bradshaw under building agreements for the development of their various estates. When leases were granted of newly erected houses, ground rents received under them were likewise recorded. Apart from including names of lessees and addresses of property leased, the books are heavily annotated with references to court proceedings, assignments of interests and other actions necessary for administrating estates. Each book is indexed under names of tenants.

Rentals: These record the payment of ground rents by lessee of houses on the various estates described above. Each rental is arranged by estate and contains name and address of lessee or assignee, address of property rented, amount of ground rent due and summaries of totals..

Letter books: family and personal letters. Copies of letters from Lionel Alexander of personal and family nature, many concerning involvement with Jewish institutions, charities and general affairs, also copies of letters to press and articles.

Records of the Christian Brotherly Society, including minutes, financial accounts, membership records, correspondence, Parliamentary Acts relating to Friendly Societies, menu and programme for Annual Dinner, 1883.

Records of Aberdeen, Ceylon and Eastern Trust Limited, comprising minutes and directors' annual reports and accounts.

Records of the Great Britain Mutual Life Assurance Society including deeds of settlement; forms of policies; agreements and assignments; and papers relating to clients and policy holders.

Records of stockbroker Arthur Alexander Greenwood, comprising records of his dealings.

Records of the Guardian Fire and Life Assurance Company, later known as the Guardian Assurance Company Limited; comprising minute books, reports on potential business overseas, correspondence, shareholders' ledgers and financial accounts.

24 hours notice is required for access to Mss 16209-10 and 18093-111. Access to Ms 16209/1-34 is also subject to special conditions: please consult staff for information.

Car and General Insurance Corporation Limited records comprise minutes of the board of directors 1903-1973 (Ms 16189) and minutes of the committee of directors 1930-1961 (Ms 16190).

Essex and Suffolk Insurance Company Limited records comprise board minutes and agendas 1907-1909 (Mss 16193-4) and a register of applications for and allotment of shares 1907 (Ms 16192).

Liverpool and London Plate Glass Insurance Company Board of Directors minutes.

Local Government Guarantee Society board of directors minutes.

Manchester Fire and Life Assurance Company (later known as Manchester Assurance Company Limited) records comprise deeds of settlement 1824 and 1846, and registers of proprietors and/or shareholders 1825-1854 (Mss 16217-221); minutes 1825-1905 (Mss 16222-5); overseas department accounts 1889-94 (Ms 16226) and register of losses 1901-3 (Ms 16227).

Records of Guinness, Mahon and Company, mainly comprising correspondence between partners, but there are also memorandum and articles of association, 1956-1966 (Ms 38588); agreements and related papers, 1856-1893 (Ms 38589); board minutes and interim accounts, 1966-8 (Ms 38590); and papers relating to the Guinness family, 1924-69 (Ms 38612).

Henry Samuel Howard Guinness (1888-1975), usually referred to in the papers as "S.G.", was a director of Guinness and Mahon Limited, Dublin, and a senior partner in Guinness, Mahon and Company, London. It appears that he wrote many of the notes on the history of the firm and the Guinness family which can be found in this collection. Some of the bundles and files of papers may also have been compiled by him.

The surviving records of Hambros Bank Limited include:

1. Accounts;

   2. Correspondence: from 1836-c 1864 there are separate bundles or files for each correspondent or topic, from 1861-1892 there is also a general series of "private letters" in annual bundles;
   3. Loan papers: from 1880 an additional series of correspondence and related papers was kept, arranged in bundles by loan. The bundles were kept in "loan boxes" (if the loan was made) or "rejected addresses" (if the loan was not made);
   4. Agreements;
   5. General business papers;
   6. Administrative papers: internal organisation, title deeds etc;
   7. Family papers.

   There is however a considerable overlap between material in many of the categories mentioned above and a number of documents relate to personal and family as well as business matters. The records of the Hambro family (MS19216- 20B) include baptismal certificates, photographs, papers relating to probate and related items.

   Permission for access to records post-1975 should be sought from the depositor. Please ask a member of staff for further information.

Records of Harrisons and Crosfield Limited relating to insurance; including Insurance Department reports, financial accounts, papers and policy journals; and papers relating to insurance claims, particularly for cargoes diverted or requisitioned during the Second World War.

Records of New Crescent (Holdings) Limited, investment company, including board minutes, annual reports and accounts.

Records of Argonauts Investments Limited, comprising correspondence regarding loans and a map of land plots in Tanzania.

Records of the Borneo Company, as follows:
1.Deed of settlement; memorandum and articles of association: Ms 27174-7;

2. Board, AGM and committee minutes; annual reports and accounts: Ms 27178-90;
3. Secretary's papers: Ms 27191-8;
4. Accounts: Ms 27199-231;
5. Overseas operations records:-
   Agency and general agreements-Ms 27232-43;
   Java and Sumatra-Ms 27244-58;
   Malaya and Singapore-Ms 27259-76;
   Philippines-Ms 27277;
   Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei-Ms 27278-304;
   Siam-Ms 27305-29;
6. Investments, takeovers and subsidiary company papers:-
   Australia-Ms 27330-45;
   Canada -Ms 27346-50;
   Hong Kong-Ms 27351;
   Colombia-Ms 27352;
   Cuba-Ms 27353;
   India-Ms 27354-5;
   Java and Sumatra-Ms 27356-9;
   Malaya and Singapore-Ms 27360-400;
   Netherlands-Ms 27401-2;
   Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei-Ms 27403-19;
   Siam-Ms 27420;
   United Kingdom-Ms 27421-3;
7. Publicity and sales material: Ms 27424-6;
8. Staff records: Ms 27427-43;
9. Property records (London only): Ms 27430-6;
10. Centenary celebrations and notes for centenary history: Ms 27437-43;
11. Photographs: Ms 27444-66;
12. Branch records:-
    Sarawak: Kuching-Ms 27467-70;
    Siam: Bangkok -Ms 27471-4.

Saint Mary Axe Securities Limited records comprise: memorandum and articles of association, 1918-33 (Ms 28102); annual returns, 1918-45 (Ms 28103); directors' and shareholders' minute books, 1935-59 (Ms 28104); and articles of association of Hain Steamship Company Limited, 1923 (Ms 28105).

Records of the Issuing Houses Association including executive committee minutes (Ms 29328), reports and accounts (Mss 29329-331), membership files (Mss 29332-3), copies of the Association's rules (Ms 29336) and a useful booklet about Issuing Houses and the Issuing Houses Association (Ms 29337).

Access to records less than 30 years old should be sought from the London Investment Banking Association (contact details may be obtained from a member of staff). The Association retains its more recent records. No other records are known to exist.

Records of James Capel and Company, stockbrokers; and other stockbroking companies with which it has merged: Holland and Balfour, Nathan and Rosselli, Gordon L. Jacobs and Company, Clayton, Byng and Paget, and Cruikshank and Company. The records mainly comprise financial material such as client ledgers and share certificates, and other office papers such as agreements, registers, correspondence and reports.

They are all held off-site and therefore require 24 hours notice for access. Some records are subject to a 75 year closure period.

Private ledger of Cruikshank and Company, stockbrokers.

Records of Holland, Balfour and Hamilton, stockbrokers, comprising partnership agreements, ledgers and other financial material, correspondence and registers. The records are held off-site and therefore require 24 hours notice for access. Some records are subject to a 75 year closure period.

Records of Kleinwort Benson Group and its predecessors including Kleinwort, Sons and Company relating to the merchant bank and its clients across the world.

The collection consists of a comprehensive series of business records with archives of constituent predecessors, acquired companies and interests. They include partners' and staff papers, operational materials, accounting and financial records, client records and staff and property papers. The records relate to company origins, partners and staff, clients and business concerns across the globe since the 19th century.

Highlights include Kleinwort, Sons and Company's 'subject files' (series reference CLC/B/140/KS04/03) which contain reports and correspondence concerning business ventures, proposals and clients. They document global business concerns and provide a valuable insight to the working practices of the company. Files document issues faced by the firm and its clients in the early to mid-20th century clients including declined international business proposals, fraudulent and enemy debts arising during times of war.

Other highlights are partners' letter books which record their outgoing correspondence discussing both business and family matters. An example is a letter by Herman Anton Andreae in 1915 on his views in support of the decision to establish conscription (enforced enlistment) in the recruitment of soldiers in the First World War (CLC/B/140/KS02/03/002).

The earliest business records are those of Sharps Pixley Limited and its predecessors Sharps Wilkins and Pixley and Abell (CLC/B/140/SP01 to 06). These include monthly ledgers from 1796 (CLC/B/140/SP03/03) and other bullion dealing series (CLC/B/140/SP04/01).

Records of Legal and General Assurance Society Limited, subsidiaries, and companies which it acquired. The records include minutes, annual reports, registers, financial accounts, specimens of policies and forms, and staff registers. The papers relate to life, accident and fire insurance; investments and pensions.

Records of the British Commonwealth Insurance Company, including memorandum and articles of association; papers relating to the acquisition by Legal and General; minutes; annual reports and accounts; financial records; register of investments and specimen policy forms.

Records of the Gresham Life Assurance Society, including registers, notices, minutes, annual reports, financial accounts, valuation summaries, samples of policy forms, and papers relating to branches in Austria, Hungary, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, South Africa, and Spain.

Also papers of the Gresham Continental Life Assurance Society, including memorandum and articles of association, minute books and letter books.

Records of the Longton and Fenton Permanent Benefit Building Society including ledger; journal; summaries of investors; summaries of borrowers; and financial accounts.

Records of Cull and Company, private bankers, comprising minute books, financial accounts and register.

Please note that access to these records requires written permission from Morgan Grenfell and Company: details are available from a member of staff.

Records of Mullens and Company, stockbrokers and H M Government brokers, comprising: partnership deeds and related papers, 1862-1964; papers re the formation of an unlimited company, 1946-1965; operational records, c 1850-1954; financial records, 1815-1966; records relating to staff, 1916-48; property records, 1934-1951, and family papers, 1706-1922.

Information on access to records less than 40 years old is available from a member of staff.

National Provident Institution records comprise: records relating to registration and regulation, 1829-1964; annual reports, 1838-1931; minutes, 1835-1936; financial records, 1836-1948; correspondence, 1844; policy and claims registers, 1837-38; reports, 1835-1948; records relating to staff, 1836-1902; and miscellaneous papers, 1838-c 1960.

Records of the Ottoman Bank London office, including: records relating to the formation of the bank and its concession, 1875-1987; minutes, 1856-1969; annual general meetings and annual reports, 1863-1986; financial records, c 1856-1959; share records, 1856-63; internal management records, c 1860-1969; contracts and related papers, 1856-94; correspondence, agreements and related papers, 1889-1966; printed reports, 1948-71; magazines, 1918 and 1940; plans, 1890; photographs, 1892-1958; and miscellaneous items, c 1914-1968.

London Committee minutes of the Central Insurance Company, formerly the Birmingham Mutual Fire and General Insurance Association.

Records of the Law Life Assurance Society comprise: policy registers 1823-1912; minutes 1823-1911; accounts 1823-91; papers relating to the transfer of business to Phoenix Assurance 1909-10; and papers concerning directors of the company 1910-33.

Records of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Fire and Life Assurance Company, comprising minutes and instructions to agents.

Correspondence of the Sun Insurance Office Limited, including letter books, correspondence and cable log books of Managers and Secretaries; correspondence with branches in Argentina, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lebanon, Libya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Romania, Denmark, Uruguay, and the USA; correspondence with the Leeds branch; correspondence with the Patriotic Assurance Company, Dublin; and correspondence with the Lancashire Cotton Corporation Limited.

THESE RECORDS ARE SUBJECT TO A 50 YEAR CLOSURE PERIOD. LIFE POLICY REGISTERS, CLAIMS REGISTERS AND EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY POLICY REGISTERS ARE CLOSED FOR 75 YEARS.

Papers of the Sun Insurance Office Limited relating to policies; including policy registers; endorsement books; registers of losses by fire; papers relating to claims; and photo album of fire and tornado damage.

The 'Place in the Sun' project, funded originally by Heritage Lottery Fund and led by London Archive Users Forum in partnership with the City of London Corporation, is an on-going project to index a run of policy registers (Ms 11936). So far (August 2010) the years 1792-1839 have been indexed. For further details please see LMA's website.

THESE RECORDS ARE SUBJECT TO A 50 YEAR CLOSURE PERIOD. LIFE POLICY REGISTERS, CLAIMS REGISTERS AND EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY POLICY REGISTERS ARE CLOSED FOR 75 YEARS.

Records of Sissons, Bersey, Gain, Vincent and Company, chartered accountants, comprising articles of partnership and related deeds and papers, 1895-1953, a balance sheet, 1934, menus for staff dinners and other occasions, 1919-70, and correspondence to do with the accountancy careers of Joseph Walter Vincent, 1895-1902.

London County Council register of tramway track lengths, recording description and lengths of route, street length, track length and remarks, such as "conversion to trolleybus", "abandoned" and so on, [1912-1952], with enclosures: photocopy of map of tramways in the London County Council area, revised to 1931; and diagrams of track lengths in Leyton and Hammersmith.