Fonds GB 0096 AL135 - Plimsoll, Samuel and Lushington, Godfrey: letters, 1873-1878

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0096 AL135

Title

Plimsoll, Samuel and Lushington, Godfrey: letters, 1873-1878

Date(s)

  • 1873-1878 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

2 items (2 sheets)

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Samuel Plimsoll was born in Bristol in 1824. He was brought up in northern England. He became a clerk and later a businessman before entering parliament as Liberal MP for Derby in 1868, retaining the seat until 1880. Plimsoll was concerned with the struggles of the poor and with sailors' interests. He spoke out against the common practice of overloading ships with goods and devised the Plimsoll line, marked on ships to show the safe depth at which they may sit in the water. Plimsoll gym shoes, so-called because their outer rubber band is reminiscent of a Plimsoll line, are indirectly named after him.

Godfrey Lushington was born in Westminster in 1832. He was educated at Rugby School and Balliol College, Oxford. His father, Stephen, was a judge and his twin brother, Vernon, was an eminent lawyer; both twins were strongly influenced by Auguste Comte's positivist philosophy. An early supporter of the labour movement, Godfrey Lushington was one of the first teachers at the Working Men's College in London, founded in 1854. He became a civil servant, rising to permanent under-secretary at the Home Office in 1885, and was knighted in 1892. On his retirement, Sir Godfrey became an alderman of the London County Council from 1895 to 1898.

Archival history

See archivist

GB 0096 AL135 1873-1878 fonds 2 items (2 sheets) Plimsoll , Samuel , 1824-1898 , politician and shipping reformer

Lushington , Sir , Godfrey , 1832-1907 , Knight , civil servant

Samuel Plimsoll was born in Bristol in 1824. He was brought up in northern England. He became a clerk and later a businessman before entering parliament as Liberal MP for Derby in 1868, retaining the seat until 1880. Plimsoll was concerned with the struggles of the poor and with sailors' interests. He spoke out against the common practice of overloading ships with goods and devised the Plimsoll line, marked on ships to show the safe depth at which they may sit in the water. Plimsoll gym shoes, so-called because their outer rubber band is reminiscent of a Plimsoll line, are indirectly named after him.

Godfrey Lushington was born in Westminster in 1832. He was educated at Rugby School and Balliol College, Oxford. His father, Stephen, was a judge and his twin brother, Vernon, was an eminent lawyer; both twins were strongly influenced by Auguste Comte's positivist philosophy. An early supporter of the labour movement, Godfrey Lushington was one of the first teachers at the Working Men's College in London, founded in 1854. He became a civil servant, rising to permanent under-secretary at the Home Office in 1885, and was knighted in 1892. On his retirement, Sir Godfrey became an alderman of the London County Council from 1895 to 1898.

See archivist

Found inserted in a copy of Plimsoll's Shipping Survey Bill - classmark: [G.L.] 1873

(1) Letter from Samuel Plimsoll, of Royal Hotel, Sheffield, to [J E] Davis, Esq [?of the Home Office], 29 Nov 1879. 'I would gladly come to you but I am so well known in Sheffield that there is great danger of frustration of my object if I do. Could you come here for a little while? ...'.

(2) Letter from Godfrey Lushington, [Under-Secretary], Home Office, to J E Davis, Esq, 25 Oct 1878.

Both letters are autograph, with signatures.

See hard copy catalogue.

Access to this collection is unrestricted for the purpose of private study and personal research within the supervised environment and restrictions of the Library's Palaeography Room. Please contact the University Archivist for details. 24 hours notice is required for research visits.

Copies may be made, subject to the condition of the original. Copying must be undertaken by the Palaeography Room staff, who will need a minimum of 24 hours to process requests.

English

Typescript catalogue available in the Library's Palaeography Room.

On negative microfilm - reference: MIC 242/2.

Compiled by Anya Turner.
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Aug 2008 Western Europe UK London England Plimsoll , Samuel , 1824-1898 , politician and shipping reformer Lushington , Sir , Godfrey , 1832-1907 , Knight , civil servant Europe Sheffield West Riding Yorkshire

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Found inserted in a copy of Plimsoll's Shipping Survey Bill - classmark: [G.L.] 1873

Content and structure area

Scope and content

(1) Letter from Samuel Plimsoll, of Royal Hotel, Sheffield, to [J E] Davis, Esq [?of the Home Office], 29 Nov 1879. 'I would gladly come to you but I am so well known in Sheffield that there is great danger of frustration of my object if I do. Could you come here for a little while? ...'.

(2) Letter from Godfrey Lushington, [Under-Secretary], Home Office, to J E Davis, Esq, 25 Oct 1878.

Both letters are autograph, with signatures.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

See hard copy catalogue.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Access to this collection is unrestricted for the purpose of private study and personal research within the supervised environment and restrictions of the Library's Palaeography Room. Please contact the University Archivist for details. 24 hours notice is required for research visits.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copies may be made, subject to the condition of the original. Copying must be undertaken by the Palaeography Room staff, who will need a minimum of 24 hours to process requests.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Typescript catalogue available in the Library's Palaeography Room.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

On negative microfilm - reference: MIC 242/2.

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Publication note

Notes area

Note

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Senate House Library, University of London

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area