This is a collection of records of various companies involved in the trading of Ceylon [now Sri Lanka] and Indian teas. It consists of import registers for an un-named company, auction catalogues for private trade teas and photographs of tea plantations, possibly in Ceylon, and the offices and staff of R.M. Holborn and Sons Limited, tea and coffee merchants.

Records of J Lyons and Company Limited and Lyons Tetley Limited, food manufacturers and caterers, W H and F J Horniman and Company Limited and Joseph Tetley and Company, tea merchants, 1849-1978.

This collection contains records relating to all three companies (Horniman, Lyons and Tetley) when they were trading as separate businesses and when they were united under various incarnations of the one "Lyons" name. (They include references to other companies such as Symbol biscuits which Lyons took over in 1944)

However, despite the fact that some corporate records such as minutes have been retained by the Tetley Group Limited the majority of this collection is in fact composed of records relating to the Lyons company (which is necessarily linked with the former due to the fact it was a major competitor for years before taking it over in 1973).

Marketing and publicity aspects are the most heavily represented. As such this is a visually appealing collection and of particular note are the photograph albums and volumes of artwork, product labels and advertisments which are a testiment to the impact tea drinking has had on British society and its way of life.

Records of Beverlys Limited, including board meetings minute book, register of members, memorandum and articles of association, ledger and inventory. Also records of Northern Tea Stores, comprising register of members and register of transfers; and records of Black and Green, including board meetings minute book, registers of members, share registers and memorandum and articles of association.

Records of Pritchard and Burton, tobacco manufacturers. The collection contains detailed financial records belonging to the company including balance sheets, private ledgers, departmental account books, journals, cash book, accounts of Alfred Burton's investments and accounts of Edward Pritchard Burton's Estate. There are also photograph albums containing staff portraits (LMA/4577/02/01) and a draft history of the company. The accounts of Alfred Burton's investments are of particular interest as they contain records of payments made to various companies around the world, such as the Grand Trunk Railway, Canada and De Beers consolidated mines (LMA/4577/01/06). The private ledgers also contain detailed capital accounts showing the growth in proprietor assets through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (LMA/4577/01/02).

The records of general merchants Steel Brothers and Company Limited mainly comprise annual reports and accounts, photographs and unpublished histories.

The records of WH Tindall and Company, tea and coffee growers and exporters, comprise records relating to the Imboolpittia and other estates including managers' and crop accounts, statements of expenditure and receipts, notes of coffee shipments and yields of tea and rubber, and papers relating to the administration of and materials for the estate 1841-1933; report and prospectus regarding land development 1917 and 1920; papers relating to the activities of various company managers and superintendents 1841-56; letters and papers regarding general trading, acquisition of estates and their cultivation 1842-88; papers regarding the Tindall family investments and trusts c 1872-1929; papers regarding the sale of land to W.H. Tindall 1843-55; papers regarding administration of W.H. Tindall's estate 1900-2; map showing coffee estates ca.1860 and notes on the history of the firm 1932-1966.

The records of Cotesworth and Powell Limited, import, export, and general merchants, comprise accounts relating to sugar plantations of Umhlanga Valley (Natal) Sugar and Coffee Company Limited 1866-87; notes in relation to credit arrangements, with other papers c 1870-90.

Records of Boulnois, Drew and Company, tea dealers, comprising a ledger and balance sheets.

Papers of Margaret Irving relating to her work as a tea taster at Brash Brothers (Tea) Limited.

Journal of business and private expenditure of John Bridgman, West India merchant.

Records of the Ouvah Coffee Company Limited, comprising a cash book and notes on the history of the company and of coffee planting in Ceylon.

Letter book of Stringer and Richardson, merchants and tea and spice dealers.

Records of Worshipful Company of Fruiterers, 1606-2000. The records include registers of freedom admissions; apprentice bindings from 1749; charters; Court minute books; papers of Richard Sherwin Gothard (Master 1982-3), the Company's Hon. Archivist; quarterage books; papers concerning the Company's Ridley Medal, awarded every three years, for outstanding services to fruit culture; financial accounts; letter books and photographs. No membership records are available before 1748.

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 the Worshipful Company of Gardeners. The archives date from 1605, however, the early membership records are patchy, and the court minutes do not begin until the second half of the 18th century. The archive is not large, but it is notable for a series of scrapbooks recording the history of the company since 1345, begun by the company in 1934 and continuing to the present day.

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 the Worshipful Company of Tobacco Pipe Makers and Tobacco Blenders, comprising: copy of the 1663 charter and bye-laws 1821 (Ms 1712 and Ms 2821), and miscellaneous papers relating to Company administration, 1799-1846 (Ms 3601).

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 Enfield and District Carnation Society, 1952-1980, namely administrative and financial records, comprising minutes and reports of annual general meetings, 1953-1977; certificate of affiliation to the Royal Horticultural Society, 1952; lists of members, 1966-1969; committee meetings, 1946-1977; financial records, 1953-1977; correspondence, 1957-1980; records of shows, 1949-1977; printed material, 1957-1974, comprising tickets and membership cards, 1968-1973; newsletters and publicity, 1957-1974; information and promotional material, undated.

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 the Assam Frontier Tea Company Limited, including Directors' minutes; annual general meeting minutes; ledger and London trustees provident fund minute book.

Records of the Budla Beta Tea Company comprising Board of Directors minutes; annual general meeting minutes, London trustees provident fund minutes and a ledger. The records are held off-site and therefore require 24 hours notice for access.

Records of the Dooars Tea Company, comprising papers relating to the foundation and constitution of the company.

Records of the Empire of India and Ceylon Tea Company, comprising constitutional documents, Board of Directors' minutes, a ledger and tea sales records. The records are held off-site and therefore require 24 hours notice for access.

Minutes of the Lanka Plantation Company Limited.

Records of the Singlo Tea Company Limited, comprising constitutional documents and minutes of the Board of Directors and annual general meetings. The records are held off-site and therefore require 24 hours notice for access.

Records of the East India Company, comprising warrant for the delivery of tea; correspondence and receipts; account book of the ship "Ganges"; and papers relating to an investigation into the alleged sale of a staff position in the Madras establishment.

Records of Edmund Schluter and Company, general merchants, including letter books; ledgers; cash books; journals; sales books; purchase books; and waste books.

Programmes, schedules and certificates from various horticultural shows, 1974-1983; including Middlesex County Shows, local horticultural and allotment society shows, local garden guild shows and the City of London Flower Show.

Records of George White and Company, tea and rubber brokers, comprising ledgers.

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

London Copra Association records comprising minutes of committees, general meetings and the board of appeal; and financial accounts.

Records of Harrisons and Crosfield Limited, traders in tea, coffee, rubber, timber, chemicals, and other agricultural products. The catalogue includes: corporate records (including articles of association, agreements, minutes and annual reports and accounts); share records; internal administration records (including directories of operations, directors' and general letter books); accounting records; operational records (including reports on estates); branch records (including correspondence and accounts); insurance department records; papers concerning the careers of directors; staff records; premises and property records; historical notes, photographs and plans; records of subsidiary companies, and companies for which Harrisons and Crosfield acted as secretaries and/or agents.

The archive includes records relating to Harrisons and Crosfield's activities as secretaries and/or agents for other companies. As these records were generated as part of Harrisons and Crosfield's role as secretaries and/or agents for another company, they have been catalogued as records of that particular company. However, they comprise correspondence and other papers of the head office of Harrisons and Crosfield, and supporting papers acquired by Harrisons and Crosfield (e.g. memoranda and articles of association, and annual reports and accounts) to assist in that role. The records of the companies for which Harrisons and Crosfield acted as secretaries and/or agents are arranged so that each company is followed by its subsidiary companies (if any).

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 Ankola Tea and Rubber Company Limited including articles of association; prospectuses; annual reports; correspondence and reports on the estates.

Records of Crosfield, Lampard and Company, managers of tea and rubber plantations in Sri Lanka, including correspondence; financial accounts; and statements of tea shipments.

Records of Crosfield, Lampard, Clark and Company, tea traders, including financial accounts and correspondence.

Records of Davenport and Company Limited, tea traders, including articles of association; correspondence; financial accounts; and annual reports.

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

Records of Djasinga Rubber and Produce Company Limited, including articles of association; board minute books; general meetings minute book; annual reports; circulars to shareholders; and photographs of tea, rubber and coffee operations on the estates.

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).

Circulars to shareholders from the East India Tea and Produce Company Limited.

Records of Harrisons and Crosfield (Borneo) Limited; including minutes and agendas; correspondence with head office; papers regarding operations in Brunei; financial accounts; memoranda; correspondence concerning the general trading of the Company, the work of secretarial and agency companies in Borneo and the work of the Engineering Department; papers relating to political news in Borneo; and financial accounts of sub-branches.

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 Harrisons and Crosfield (Hong Kong) Limited, including papers regarding the formation of the Company; correspondence relating to the general trading of the company; and papers relating to staff.

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 Harrisons and Eastern Export Limited, tea exporters, including articles of association; minutes of meetings; annual reports; correspondence; financial accounts; and reports of visits to tea traders.

Records of Harrisons Malaysian Estates Limited, including articles of association; minute book; annual reports; and circulars to shareholders.

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 Harrisons Ramsay Proprietary Limited, including articles of association; minutes of the board; annual reports; reports on visits to branches; correspondence; memoranda; general reports; financial accounts; summaries of shipments and sales; correspondence regarding arrangements for staff during the Second World War; and papers of various subsidiaries.

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 Harrisons, King and Irwin Limited, traders in silk, tea and cotton, including board minutes; correspondence; memoranda; financial accounts; and analysis of income and expenditure.

Access to 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).

Papers of I.T.M. Syndicate Limited, tea manufacturer, relating to the liquidation of the company.

Records of Irwin Harrisons and Whitney Incorporated, tea exporters and importers, including minutes of meetings; byelaws; correspondence; and financial accounts.

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 Kertasarie Tea Company Limited, including board minute book, circulars to shareholders, correspondence, and photograph album of tea and coffee estates.

Records of the Kuala Selangor Rubber Company Limited, including articles of association, board minutes, annual reports, notices and circulars to shareholders.

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 Lampard, Clark and Company, tea traders, including correspondence; financial accounts; and statements of shipments of tea and rubber.

Records of the Lunuva (Ceylon) Tea and Rubber Estates Limited, including articles of association, minute books, annual reports, circulars to shareholders, statements of yields, statistics regarding the estates, maps of the estates, and correspondence.

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 Malayalam Plantations Limited, including articles of association, minute books, annual reports, financial accounts, circulars to shareholders, inventories, and photographs of operations on the tea estates.

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 Meppadi Wynaad Tea Company, including circulars to shareholders.

Records of Non Such Tea Estates Limited, comprising correspondence relating to the sale of shareholdings.