Records of various tea or rubber companies, all later purchased by the Caparo Group. There are no records of Caparo Group Limited itself. The archives are catalogued under the names of the individual companies within the group. The companies are:
Assam Frontier Tea Company;
Budla Beta Tea Company;
Dooars Tea Company;
Empire of India and Ceylon Tea Company;
Empire of India Holdings Limited;
Lanka Plantation Company;
Oriental Rubber Company;
Singlo Tea Company;
Singlo Holdings Limited.

All the records are held offsite and therefore require 24 hours notice for access.

Records of wood brokers Churchill and Sim Limited, primarily diaires kept by Charles Churchill senior (1785-1844), and Charles Churchill junior (1823-1905), but also a letter book. The entries in the diaries relate to the timber trade, City politics and private affairs.

Papers of Professor Percy Groom, [1917-1930], comprising files of correspondence, reports and papers relating to timber technology, notably concerning machinery and apparatus, tests and test machines, 1918-1927; Royal Aircraft Establishment reports, 1918; supply of aeroplane timbers to Egypt, 1917; correspondence with Indian Munitions Board, Royal Air Force (India) concerning the use of timbers for aircraft construction, 1918-1919; types, properties and testing of timber, 1917-1920; use of plywood in aircraft construction, 1917; work for the Manilla Hemp Association, [1920]; dry rot, 1925-1926; wood pulp; seasoning and Powell process of seasoning, 1917; specific gravity of wood; water in wood, including warping tests; preservation of mine timbers, [1917]; analyses of infected imported timbers, 1920-1927; fireproofing, 1917-1927; home grown timbers, [1919].

Minute book of the Oriental Rubber Company.

Operational records of Harrisons and Crosfield Limited, including reports and correspondence on work activities such as visits to plantations, building of factories, shipping, crop production, trading and patents; and papers relating to the impact of the Second World War on the estates and staff in the Far East. Crops/goods mentioned include tea, rubber, quinine, chemicals, coffee and plywood chests.

Access to records less than 30 years old (or records less than 70 years old which relate to staff) should be sought from Elementis plc (contact details may be obtained from a member of staff).

Records of the British Tyre and Rubber Company, and associated merged or subsidiary companies, 1864-1978. This substantial collection consists mainly of statutory business records of associated companies with very little relating to production: meeting minutes of the board 1864-1937, directors minutes, 1868-1871, general meeting minutes, 1864-1918, shareholders committee minutes, 1875, debenture trustee minutes, 1887-97, 1901-02, finance and executive committee minutes 1864-1866; share ledgers, c 1917-38; balance sheets and accounts, 1920-1936; ledgers, c 1931-1934, private ledgers, 1934-61; journals, 1939-1942, private journals, 1934-1960; private cash books, 1926-62, petty cash books, 1938-8; cheque account books, 1933-8; bills receivable books, 1935-64; nominal accounts for Calcutta, 1889-1954, and Christchurch, 1920-44; and Durban private ledger, 1900-1922.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS COLLECTION IS NOW HELD BY THE EAST SUSSEX RECORD OFFICE

Papers and designs of Peggy Angus, comprising: Business papers and reference material including correspondence, Angus trade cards, Carter tile catalogues, sketch books and photographs of tiles, painted murals and wallpapers in situ. Printed ephemera, comprising cards (postcards, cigarette cards, greetings, advertising cards); booklets (programmes, guidebooks, exhibition catalogues, leaflets, maps); loose papers (handbills, cuttings, calendars, bookplates, posters). Design examples by Angus and others, including oil paintings, prints, collages; wallpapers and wallpaper samples; tiles and floor designs.

Papers on rubber estates in Malaya, 1929-1939; including reports on Bukit Selambau and Tarum estates owned by Tarun (Malaya) Rubber Estates Ltd to Bousted & Co,. Ltd, Kuala Lumpur, 1929-1931; correspondendce on Waterfall (Selangor) Rubber Estates Ltd, 1930-1939.

Papers of Lyon Playfair, 1857, comprising a letter from Lyon Playfair to Richard Owen, 22 Jun 1851. Relating to the examination of a specimen of charcoal.

Manuscript journals, Aug 1946-Sep 1948, of Philip Rounds, including the period while he worked for the teak merchants McGregor & Co in Toungoo, Burma (Myanmar), containing detailed daily entries including religious reflections, his preparations and journey to Burma, work and life there, and trip home via Africa, also including notes of letters sent and finances. Also includes miscellaneous inserted ephemera, some undated, including invitations, advertisements for hotels, and press cuttings.

Records of the Plywood Chest Association including minutes; agreements; memoranda; correspondence; sales ledgers; financial accounts; monthly returns of shipments; price lists and lists of members' agents.

Archives of Alto Parana Development, comprising constitutional documents, minutes and financial material.

Typescript copy of the memoirs of Harry Gooding Field entitled 'Adventures in Finance', 21 Oct 1942, detailing his accountancy career working in Canada, the United States, Malaysia and Singapore, with copies of birth, marriage and death certificate and other official documents relating to Harry Gooding Field.

Records, 1909-1932, of Serdang Central Plantations Ltd, comprising Articles of Association, correspondence, annual reports and agreements relating to the voluntary liquidation and reconstruction.

Records of the Worshipful Company of Turners including registers of freedom admissions 1604-1759, 1789; apprentice bindings 1604-1935; charter and ordinances; Court minute books; lists of members; quarterage books; financial accounts; papers relating to turning competitions, comprising advertisements, enquiries, conditions of entry, lists of candidates, lists of specimens, awards, and newspaper reports; legal papers; inventories and papers relating to property.

PLEASE NOTE: Some of these records are subject to a 30 year closure period.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING ACCESS: These records are stored at the Guildhall Library site rather than the LMA Clerkenwell site. Researchers wishing to access these records should do so at the Guildhall Library Rare Books table. The Library is open Monday to Saturday, 9:30 to 16:45. Researchers will need to have an Archives History Card or a Library Readers Card. An archivist will be available at Guildhall Library on Thursday mornings to answer any queries.

Record of the Worshipful Company of Woodmongers, comprising copy order of the court authorising Thomas Wright to occupy a carroom in his possession.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING ACCESS: These records are stored at the Guildhall Library site rather than the LMA Clerkenwell site. Researchers wishing to access these records should do so at the Guildhall Library Rare Books table. The Library is open Monday to Saturday, 9:30 to 16:45. Researchers will need to have an Archives History Card or a Library Readers Card. An archivist will be available at Guildhall Library on Thursday mornings to answer any queries.

Records of Chest Components Limited, manufacturers of plywood chests, including articles of association; board minute book; papers relating to annual general meetings; statements of manufacturing, trading, and profit and loss accounts; and correspondence with other Harrisons and Crosfield offices.

Records of Trollope and Colls Ltd, builders, and predecessors including Messrs Trollope and Sons (London) Ltd, decorators; Joseph Trollope and Sons, wall paper hangers; Joseph Amos Trollope and George Trollope, decorators; Colls and Sons, builders; George Trollope and Sons and Colls and Sons Ltd, builders.

The records consist mainly of financial records such as customer account books, ledgers, journals and cost books. The letter book of 1797-1808 (B/TRL/9) is of special interest to students of wall paper and interior decoration history. The detailed account books for Trollope and Colls Ltd illustrate the work of a major building firm with a great influence on the London skyline.

Crown Wallpaper Archive, comprising 5,000 wallpaper samples and pattern books, early 1950s-late 1960s.

Papers and designs of the Silver Studio design practice, comprising:
Personal correspondence and papers of the Silver family, photographs and family albums, personal cards (Christmas, visiting etc).

Business correspondence, business diaries and time books, staff records, studio trade cards, letter heads, order forms, notes and studio inventories, day books and financial records.

Books, magazines and other printed ephemera collected as visual reference material by Silver Studio employees.

Photographic records (glass plate negatives, reference photographs of designs etc); sketch books; printed ephemera, comprising cards (postcards, cigarette cards, greetings, advertising cards), booklets (programmes, guidebooks, exhibition catalogues, leaflets, maps), loose papers (handbills, cuttings, calendars, bookplates, posters).

Silver Studio designs on paper (c40,000 designs for wallpapers, textiles carpets and other domestic furnishings); 5,000 textile samples (both of the Silver Studio and other designers/manufacturers); 5,000 wallpaper samples (loose sheets and albums, both of the Silver Studio and other designers/manufacturers).

Studio objects (door plaque, lamp, paint boxes etc).

Records, 1869-1975, dating largely from the 20th century, of the Guthrie Corporation, its predecessors and associated companies, comprising letterbooks and financial records, relating chiefly to plantation interests in Malaya and Singapore.