Source: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol6/pp205-214
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 01:53:41+00:00

Document:
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND POOR- RELIEF TO 1836.
The only surviving records for the manor of Leyton are court books, 1713–1880. (fn. 1) Courts leet and view of frankpledge, with twelve suitors, were held in 1713, 1715, 1734, and 1736. The last court baron was held in 1842, after which all business was transacted 'out of court'. The Leyton constable is mentioned in 1381. (fn. 2) The last constable (chosen by the vestry three weeks before) (fn. 3) was sworn in 1715. The lord appointed the marsh hayward, whose duties are described elsewhere. (fn. 4) A pound keeper is mentioned in 1796.
John de Munchensy was holding view of frankpledge in Leyton, probably at Ruckholt, in 1272–3. (fn. 5) Court records for Ruckholt manor exist for the period 1509 to 1848. (fn. 6) Courts leet were usually held once a year between 1509 and 1558, fairly regularly from 1567 to 1618, and at increasing intervals between 1625 and 1658. After 1658 only three were held, in 1686, 1687, and 1705. The distinction between leet and baron business was not always clearly made in Elizabethan times; in 1567 an order against sheltering women was made at the court baron. The courts baron were held at similar intervals to the leets before 1658, usually with them until 1571. No courts were held between 1658 and 1673; between 1673 and 1688 courts baron were held at intervals of one to five years. Between 1705 and 1848 courts were held at irregular intervals of one to four years, but sometimes with two or more courts in a year. The longest interval between courts was the ten years between 1742 and 1752. Between 1509 and 1705 an average of twelve suitors attended courts with leet business or view of frankpledge; the maximum was seventeen (in 1654) and the minimum five (in 1512, 1513, and 1517). Courts described as 'of view of frankpledge' occur between 1509 and 1687. The assize of bread and ale was exercised between 1510 and 1611. Reference is made in 1595, 1609, and 1610 to provision of weights and measures by the lord, and an unlicensed alehouse was presented in 1654. Civil and quasicriminal jurisdiction continued to be exercised at times up to 1705; at the last court leet a cottage built on the waste was presented. The last highway presentments occur in 1686 and 1687; no bridges were presented after 1611. 'Inmates' are last mentioned in 1653. The last case of assault occurs in 1609; an arrest for theft of cloth was made in 1516. A solitary instance of presentment for failure to wear caps according to the statute is found in 1595. The election of a constable, described in 1578 and 1705 as for Leytonstone, is frequently recorded between 1511 and 1705. The last swearing of a constable was in 1727 at a court baron. Ale-tasters were elected between 1509 and 1705. A headborough was chosen in 1578, 1631, 1686–7, and 1705. A tithingman was elected at irregular intervals between 1584 and 1653. In 1532 the lord was ordered to make a pair of stocks and a pair of gallows on the manor boundary; stocks are last mentioned in 1610, when their lack for seven years was presented, together with that of the pillory and tumbrel. A pound is mentioned by name only in 1567, but the last case of beasts being impounded occurs in 1607. The erection of a pair of butts was ordered in 1567; they are last mentioned in 1610 as in decay.
In 1679 the rateable value of the parish was £2,005. In 1765 it was £3,033, rising to £4,205 in 1776, £6,095 in 1806, and £8,038 in 1826. The vestry took a firm line with rate defaulters. The churchwardens' and poor-rates were usually separate until 1779, when they were combined. They were separated again in 1826. Constables' rates were occasionally made, but their charges were usually included in the churchwarden's or another officer's rate. It is clear from a case in 1761 that the highway 'rate' was made up of fines for not performing statute labour. When the surveyor spent more than he collected, the deficiency was met by a special rate or put into the poor or churchwardens' rate.
Parish offices were customarily served in turn, the order being determined by the antiquity of each house. Experienced substitutes were often employed. There were two churchwardens, each serving one year as junior, then a second as senior warden. In 1760 the vestry ruled that the senior warden should do the business. Between 1847 and 1853 the vicar began to nominate a third warden. In 1852 the vestry objected, and from 1854 to 1873 continued to elect both wardens. From 1874, when E. J. Brewster (1873–80) claimed his right to nominate, the parish had a vicar's (or high) and a people's (or low) warden.
The two overseers of the poor are sometimes described before 1721 as one each for Leyton and Leytonstone, but in 1787 as first and second overseer; the senior overseer is mentioned later. By 1775 it was usual for the beadle, described below, to act as an extra overseer. From 1801 to 1820 these duties fell on the 'out beadle'. From 1821 the office of paid assistant overseer superseded that of out beadle.
There were two surveyors of highways, one each for Leyton and Leytonstone, until the turnpike trustees took over Leytonstone High Road in 1722. Thereafter only one was appointed. A paid surveyor was appointed continuously from 1767. (fn. 10) In 1832 Leyton was reported to be the only parish in the neighbourhood with a salaried surveyor.
There were two constables, one each for Leyton and Leytonstone. (fn. 11) From 1637 the vestry always chose the Leyton constable. The Leytonstone constable was elected by them from 1651 to 1657, and occasionally after 1657 with the consent of the lord of the manor of Ruckholt, or by his appointment. From 1733 the vestry elected both constables.
The office of beadle, paid on the churchwardens' rate, was created in 1718 to deal with inmates, vagrants, and uncertificated newcomers. The beadle became a trusted servant of the vestry, employed on every kind of parish business. In 1801 the duties were divided between a 'church beadle', who was also sexton, and an 'out beadle', to deal with all 'out business', especially investigation of newcomers. From 1821 the out beadle became the assistant overseer. The office of church beadle survived that of out beadle, and continued to be held with that of sexton.
The parish clerk is first mentioned in 1623. (fn. 12) In 1653 he was elected by the vestry, but later clerks were nominated and appointed by the vicar. They were first paid a salary in 1802.
Before 1820 the vestry minutes were usually kept by the vicar. The workhouse master acted as vestry clerk from 1820 to 1836; the former master continued to act after the workhouse closed, and in 1841 a salary was authorized.
It was usual for two or more of the offices of clerk, sexton, beadle, workhouse master, assistant overseer, or substitute churchwarden or constable, to be held by the same man.
Highway defaulters with carts or labour were presented at quarter sessions in 1624, 1642, and 1668. (fn. 13) In 1734 the vestry agreed with the Middlesex and Essex turnpike surveyor to settle the £31 10s. composition due from the parish by sending to work on the turnpike the teams of 13 householders, owing between them 70 days' statute labour; a day's work was worth 9s. The Leyton surveyor had to co-operate with the overseers in the employment of parish labourers on the roads.
The parish repaired the Leyton whipping post in 1651, and built a new one in 1756. A brick watchhouse was built near the stocks, by the vicarage, in 1690; it was pulled down in 1740 and not replaced. New stocks were built in 1756; in 1774 they were removed from the vicarage and put beside the newly-built cage. The cage was demolished in 1843.
To discourage housebreakers in this wealthy neighbourhood (fn. 16) the vestry paid rewards to informers. In the early 19th century they hired night patrols in winter, armed with rattles and swords, to protect both residents and churchyard. In 1821 the Hackney watch were rewarded for apprehending a grave-robber.
To support their poor the vestry had, in addition to the poor-rate, eight endowed alms-houses and accumulating funds for free bread. (fn. 19) There was also ample wealth to tap in hard times, as in 1789, when £63 was subscribed. The poor-rate was calculated on the estimated numbers of pensioners, and of children to apprentice, in the months ahead. Thus in 1672, with four pensioners, the rate was 2½d., raising £24; but in 1675, with seven pensioners, and five children to bind at £6 each, with £4 for their clothing, the rate was 8d., raising £72. The overseers were little more than rate collectors, most of the casual relief being ordered by the churchwardens, and paid on their rate. The vestry relieved the victims of bereavement, sickness, accident, disablement, and lunacy. They paid rents, doctors' bills, and the charges of London hospitals. They released debtors from prison, redeemed personal possessions from pawn, and once gave a man a loan to help him to 'traffic in old iron'. After 1697 the regular poor had to wear badges.
From 1698 the poor rate had to be made twice a year. From 1705 to 1732 it was about 8d., raising about £87, but in the 1720s the number of pensioners, hitherto a dozen or so, increased to over twenty. By 1737 there were 31, 13 of them children. That year the poor-rate was 1s. 1d., producing £145. The churchwardens' casual expenses showed the same upward trend, and the vestry therefore decided to build a workhouse, which was opened in 1742. The poor-rate, however, never again fell below 1s. 1d.
In 1766 the vestry protested to the lords of the manors that grants of herbage and waste were causing hardship to the poor. (fn. 20) The vestry had tried to abolish pensions, but they were being paid again by 1764 and in 1780 cost £104. That year the combined rate was 3s., producing £612. Whereas in 1709 there were 10 poor families in Leytonstone and 21 in Leyton, by 1789 there were 98 in Leytonstone and 111 in Leyton. With this mounting poverty the vestry sought economy in good management, without relaxing efforts to alleviate genuine distress.
From 1771 a regular apothecary was employed, salaried from 1780. From 1795 there were two, one for each side of the parish. From 1797 the poor were inoculated at parish expense. In 1798 a dispensary was established at the workhouse. From 1798 a parish midwife was employed; by 1826 there were two.
Trouble was taken to find suitable trades for the children, particularly if disabled. They usually went for a trial period to the master, before being bound, and the beadle had to visit all apprentices from time to time, to report on their treatment. From the 1770s a number went to Middlesex silk-weavers, and from 1802 to Barking fishermen.
From 1786 parish expenditure was always over £1,000, and from 1803 over £2,000. The rate rose to 6s. between 1801 and 1804, and only once fell below 5s. thereafter. The cost of pensioners never fell below £400 after 1812, and rose to £725 in 1818. The cost of casual relief, never below £200 after 1807, rose to £444 in 1817, swollen by the effects of seasonal employment. (fn. 21) In 1819 the general vestry threatened to review the assessments of farmers if they did not stop turning off each winter Irish immigrants hired in spring and summer. A small scheme launched by the vestry in 1813 to employ the casual poor in carding and spinning coarse wool seems to have proved inadequate, for from 1817 the winter poor were set to digging gravel and carting it without horses. A press report suggests that some parishioners opposed this degrading mode of employment. (fn. 22) Of 38 poor carting gravel in one February week in 1819 31 were Irish.
In 1818 the parish expenditure was £3,144, a figure not equalled before or after, and the rate was 7s. The select vestry, set up in 1819, four years later analysed the causes of increasing distress. Though prices had been declining, wages had been reduced proportionately, and the failure of the farmer at Ruckholt in 1822–3 had thrown a number of labourers out of work. There was much sickness, due to overcrowding, not least in lodging-houses full of Irish. But the select vestry could find no evidence of mismanagement contributing to the rising cost, and in 1823 handed back control to the general vestry.
In 1826 resolutions regulating relief included a scaled means test: a married man with four children earning 10s. a week did not qualify. With strict rules, the rate was held at 5s., raising about £2,000, until 1836, when responsibility for Leyton's poor passed to the West Ham guardians.
The workhouse, built in 1742 on ground behind the alms-houses leased for 99 years from David Gansel, was a brick building resembling John Strype's vicarage. (fn. 23) It cost £502, borrowed in the parish, to build and equip. The house was enlarged in 1783. In 1800 the house, its ground, and adjoining coach-houses, were bought for £275, of which £200 was borrowed in the parish. In 1811 a workroom was built on the site of the coach-houses. In 1819 the house had 9 bedrooms and 30 beds.
A salaried master and mistress were employed. A small workhouse committee functioned until about 1761, the overseers paying over their rate to one of its members, as treasurer. From 1775 meticulous accounts were kept. Local tradesmen usually served the house in rotation until 1816, when the vestry ordered that all provisions should go to competitive tender. Unsatisfactory suppliers received short shrift. In 1776 the weekly allowance for each man was increased from 4 to 7 lb. of wheaten bread, and to 36 oz. of meat.
Those in the house picked oakum, and from 1797 also stripped feathers and spun flax. They were allowed part of their earnings. A few went out of the house to work. Between 1797 and 1836 there were seldom fewer than 30 in the house; in 1801 there were 53.
Under the General Highway Act, 1835, (fn. 35) the vestry remained responsible for parish roads not maintained by the turnpike trustees, and continued to employ a paid surveyor. (fn. 36) In 1851, following the example of Walthamstow, it appointed a highway board of six members, (fn. 37) though not qualified to do so, as the population of the parish was under 5,000. The board employed a surveyor, clerk, and rate collector. (fn. 38) From 1857 the vestry was referring to this board complaints of sewage discharged into open ditches from newly-built houses, and from 1859 applications for new roads to be adopted. In 1859 the vestry appointed a nuisances removal committee. In the 1860s, with new building continuing, opinion was divided as to the best machinery of government. In 1864 a movement to set up a local board was defeated as premature. But the highway board's membership was increased to 12 or more and in 1865 it was also constituted the nuisances removal committee. The same year Leytonstone's water supplies and sewerage were reported inadequate. In 1866 the vestry, under government pressure, resolved to constitute it a special drainage district comprising the whole parish east of the Woodford railway line, including the Wanstead ditch. Under the Sanitary Act, 1866, appointment of the nuisances removal committee was taken over by the West Ham guardians, (fn. 39) but the vestry's powers were restored by the 1868 Act. The same year a government inspector, looking into complaints against the vestry as sewer authority, urged the formation of a local board. But the vestry continued to rely on the highway board, delegating to it its powers under the sanitary acts, requiring the submission to the board of drainage plans before buildings were begun, and appointing a sanitary committee with strictly limited powers. Attempts to discredit the board by challenging their accounts, and even accusing them of 'chewing up the ratepayers' money in sundry dinners', (fn. 40) were rejected by the justices. In 1867 the vestry successfully opposed a proposal to include the parish in a highway district under the Highways Act, 1862. But when the Public Health Act, 1872, threatened to transfer to the unpopular West Ham guardians the powers of the parish for sewerage and sanitary purposes, the vestry at last petitioned for the appointment of a local board.
The board's staff was headed by the part-time clerk, who was also vestry clerk and had been clerk to the highway board. (fn. 49) From 1877 he also became the board's solicitor, on a fee basis. When he resigned in 1879 his successor was required to be resident and attend three hours a day at the board's offices, and his salary included the legal business. By 1882 the clerk's duties required daily and regular attendance during office hours, and from that date he was allowed a small sum on the petty cash account for clerical help. The local board's surveyor had also worked for the highway board. In 1881 a resident full-time road surveyor was appointed to help him. When the surveyor resigned in 1882 the board advertised for a full-time resident engineer and surveyor. The appointment of William Dawson, a civil engineer experienced in municipal work in London, Portsmouth, and Bristol, at this crucial stage of Leyton's growth introduced vigour and confidence to the board's work. (fn. 50) The rate collector received a commission until 1885. In 1886 a salary was substituted, and a second collector appointed. The board also appointed, on an annual basis, a sanitary inspector and a medical officer. In 1890 the board stopped paying on commission for assistance with private street improvements. Instead, this work became the responsibility of the clerk's and surveyor's offices. In view of this, the terms of both appointments were altered, to include allowances for the employment of staff. But in 1894 the board invited its finance committee to consider the advantages of all departmental staff being engaged directly by the board.
The press were being admitted to the board's meetings by 1878. In 1887 malpractices in tendering for road contracts, exposed by the press, were investigated, and two contractors who admitted operating a 'knockout' were debarred from tendering. A succession of ratepayers' associations kept watch on the board's proceedings from 1879.
The board held office just before and during the years when Leyton had a bigger proportionate growth rate than any other English town with over 50,000 inhabitants. (fn. 51) It took over from the vestry a loan debt of £5,150; (fn. 52) by 1893 it had borrowed £197,234. In its first year of office the board's estimated district expenditure was £5,000, requiring a rate of 2s. 6d. on a rateable value of about £50,000. (fn. 53) By 1892 the estimated year's expenditure was £24,319; though with the district's increasing value the poundage was still under 3s.
From 1905, pressed by the Local Government Board, the medical officer gave up his private practice and became a full-time officer. From 1906 an accountant replaced the book-keeper, though a local bank manager continued to act as treasurer until 1926. From 1923, when Ralph Vincent, clerk since 1879, resigned, that appointment, too, became full-time.
By 1903 the council's loan indebtedness was £568,009 (fn. 77) and by 1926 £848,182. The district rate after 1895, still made half-yearly, was usually over 3s. a year, but did not exceed 4s. until 1916. It had been steadied by the continuing rise in rateable value, from £303,190 in 1899 to £512,614 in 1913. After the war, however, the poundage rose sharply, to 9s. by 1921, though it fell thereafter to 6s. Consistently the separate poor-rate (which included the county and police rates) was higher than the district rate, rising from 1921 to over 16s.
The forest land open to the public from 1878 was controlled by the conservators. (fn. 142) The James Lane recreation ground was bought in 1885 by the lammas land commoners and local board (fn. 143) and enlarged in 1902. (fn. 144) In 1901–2 a 4 a. plot near the town hall, bought by the U.D.C. in 1898, was laid out like East Ham's central park and named the Coronation Gardens. (fn. 145) The gardens were extended to Oliver Road in 1913. The lammas lands acquired in 1904 (fn. 146) were at once laid out as playing fields. (fn. 147) By 1920 some 125 a. of recreation ground and open space were being maintained by the council. (fn. 148) In 1930 the corporation bought the football ground in Brisbane Road, (fn. 149) and the recreation ground in Skelton's Lane, which was opened in 1931. The Seymour Road recreation ground was laid out about 1952, partly on land bought in 1931 for allotments.
1. E.R.O., D/DU 101/1, 3, 4 (calendar, T/A 12/2/16, 18–20); D/DU 101/1A (calendar T/A 12/2/17) has a few extracts from 1704.
2. Cal. Close, 1381–5, 74.
3. L.R.L., L47 MS. Vestry Mins.
4. E.R.O., D/DBq L2; see also above, p. 198.
5. Rot. Hund. (Rec. Com.), i. 152; see also above, p. 194.
6. E.R.O., D/DCw M34–42 (calendar, D/DCw Z1). The information on Ruckholt manor court is from these records.
7. L.R.L., L47 MS. Vestry Mins. 1618 f., L55 MS. Chwdns. Accts. 1681 f., L55.6 MS. Overseers' Rates 1651 f. and Accts. 1775 f., and other items relating to, e.g. apprentices, the workhouse, employment of the poor, relief. For a complete list, see Cat. Essex Par. Recs. (2nd edn. 1966), 150–1; many extracts are printed in J. Kennedy, Hist. Leyton. The information in this section, unless otherwise stated, is based on these records.
8. In accordance with the Ordinance of 31 Mar. 1654, Acts & Ords. of Interr. ed. Firth and Rait, ii. 862.
10. In accordance with 7 Geo. III, c. 42.
11. E.R.O., Q/SR 11/14. See also above, for the Leytonstone constable.
13. E.R.O., Q/SR 245/34, 318/48, 418/33.
14. See above, for responsibility of Ruckholt manor for stocks.
15. For a painting of the Harrow Green cage, c. 1859, see L.R.L., Kennedy, Hist. Leyton (extra illus.), f.p. 408. It is also shown on the tithe map, E.R.O., D/CT 221B (1843).
16. For cases, see E.R.O., Cal. Assize Files in P.R.O. (index s.v. Leyton) and E.R.O., T/P 110/45 (newspaper reports).
17. V.C.H. Essex, v. 34.
18. For the later history of the fire service see p. 213.
20. For the parish funds for the poor built up from compensation payments for inclosures, see pp. 204, 240.
23. Cf. L.R.L., L72.2 Print and L72.4 Print. For the vicarage, see below, p. 215.
24. See also pp. 209–10.
25. E.R.O., D/CT 221, no. 271; D/DU 101/4 (loose plan). The site is now (1968) occupied by nos. 811–17 High Road.
26. Unless otherwise stated this account is based on Kennedy, Leyton, 152, 260, 306–13.
27. L.R.L., L55 MS. Chwdns. Accts. 1681–1722.
28. L.R.L., L47 MS. Vestry Mins. 1686–1723.
29. L.R.L., L55 MS. Chwdns. Accts. 1681–1722.
30. L.R.L., L47 MS. Vestry Mins. 1781–1811.
32. L.R.L., L47 MS. Local Bd. Mins. 1886–9.
33. Rep. of Clerk as to Leyton Charities, 1906, p. 17.
34. L.U.D.C. Mins. and Reps. 1918–19, p. 61; L.B.C. Mins. and Reps. 1926–7, p. 543, 1927–8, pp. 224, 336, 445, 1928–9, p. 36.
35. 5 & 6 Wm. IV, c. 50.
36. L.R.L., L47 MS. Vestry Mins. 1834–74.
38. L.R.L., L53.4 MS. Highway Cttee. Mins. 1851–61. Apart from the other refs. given, the following information about local government up to the formation of the local board of health is taken from minutes of the vestry, 1834–74 (L.R.L., L47 MS.) and its highway board, 1851–61, 1868–73 (L53.4 MS.).
39. W.H.L., W. Ham Union Mins. (6 Sept. 1866).
40. L.R.L., L55.6 Q. Printed poster.
41. Local Govt. Bd.'s Prov. Orders Confirmation Act, 1873, No. 2, 36 & 37 Vict. c. 82 (local act).
42. Local Govt. Bd's Prov. Orders Confirmation (Leyton etc.) Act, 1875, 38 & 39 Vict. c. 193 (local act).
43. Local Govt. Bd's Prov. Orders Confirmation (No. 2) Act, 1887, 50 & 51 Vict. c. 84 (local act); L.R.L., L47 MS. Local Bd. Mins. 14 Sept. 1886; L.U.D.C. Year Bk. 1919–20, p. 28.
44. L.R.L., L47 MS. Local Bd. Mins., 6 Oct. 1891, 6 Apr. 1893.
45. Ibid. 5 June 1888.
46. Elec. Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 2) Act, 1894, 57 & 58 Vict. c. 50 (local act).
47. Wilkinson, Leyton, 68. Apart from the other refs. given, the following information about the local board is taken from the board's records in L.R.L. The most important are: L47 MS. Local Bd. Mins., 1877 sqq.; Local Bd. Cttee. Reps., 1880–1, 1883 sqq.; L53.4 MS. Highways and Lighting Cttee. Mins., 1873 sqq.
48. Wilkinson, Leyton, 59–60. See also above and below, pp. 182, 237.
49. L.R.L., L53.4 MS. Highway Cttee. Mins. 1868–73.
51. V.C.H. Essex, v. 6.
52. Local Govt. Bd.'s Prov. Orders Confirmation Act, 1873, No. 2, 36 & 37 Vict. c. 82 (local act).
53. L.R.L., L55.6 MS. General District Rate Bk. 1873.
55. L.U.D.C. Engineer and Surveyor's Reps. 1895–1907.
57. 57 & 58 Vict. c. 46 (local act).
59. 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73.
60. Apart from the other refs. given, the information about the U.D.C. is taken from its Mins. and Cttee. Reps. 1895–1926 and Year Bks. 1895–9, 1919–26, in L.R.L.
61. E.R.O. T/A 12/2/2; L.R.L., L47 Pamph. U.D.C. Chairman's address, 1909.
62. L.R.L., L47 Pamph. U.D.C. Chairman's address, 1898; for the staff schedule, see U.D.C. Mins. and Reps., 1897–8, pp. 309–15.
63. Eng. and Survs. Annual Reps. 1895–1907.
64. V.C.H. Essex, v. 5.
65. Leyton U.D.C. Act, 1904, 4 Edw. VII, c. 240 (local act).
66. Leyton U.D.C. Act, 1898, 61 & 62 Vict. c. 175 (local act).
67. Leyton U.D.C. Act, 1904.
69. Leyton U.D.C. Act, 1904, s. 156; Rep. of Clerk as to Leyton Charities, 1906, pp. 16–17.
71. See pp. 183, 211.
72. 62 & 63 Vict. c. 44.
73. Leyton B.C. Charter Day, 1926: souvenir programme, 34.
74. Weston, Leyton and Leytonstone, 215.
76. Local Govt. Bd's Prov. Orders Confirmation (No 1) Act, 1897, 60 & 61 Vict. c. 4 (local act); Local Govt. Bd.'s Prov. Orders Confirmation (No. 13) Act, 1900, 63 & 64 Vict. c. 182 (local act); Min. of Health Prov. Orders Confirmation (No. 2) Act 1924, 14 & 15 Geo. V, c. 14 (local act).
77. L.R.L., L32.5 Pamph. Thirty Years: a generation of service 1903–1933, p. (d).
78. E. Campfield, Leyton Official Guide, 1912, p. 12; L.R.L., L47 Pamph. U.D.C. Chairman's address, 1909, 1910.
79. L.R.L., L32.5 Pamph. Thirty Years … 1903–1933, p. 4.
81. L.R.L., L47 MS. Local Bd. Mins. 1889–91, 1891–3; E.R. i. 15; Wilkinson, Leyton, 75; L.R.L., L47 Pamph. U.D.C. Chairman's address, 1898; Charter Day, 1926: souvenir programme, 10–13; L.R.L., L32.5 Pamph. Thirty Years … 1903–1933, p. 7. Apart from the other refs. given, the following information about the borough council is taken from its Mins. and Cttee. Reps. 1926–65 and Year Bks. 1926–63 in L.R.L.
82. Leyton Official Guide (c. 1962), 13.
83. L.R.L., L32 Pamph. Thirty Years … 1903–1933, pp. 23–6; L32.5 Leyton and Leytonstone Truth-teller, 1927–37; E.R.O., T/P 181/7.
85. Min. of Health Prov. Orders Confirmation (No. 4) Act, 1928, 18 & 19 Geo. V, c. 18 (local act), confirming Leyton Order 1928.
86. Min. of Health Prov. Orders Confirmation (No. 4) Act, 1929, 19 & 20 Geo. V, c. 20 (local act), confirming Leyton Order 1929; for 1894 order, see above, p. 209.
87. Leyton Corporation Act, 1950, 14 Geo. VI, c. 38 (local act).
88. Leyton Quarterly, no. 3, July 1960, p. 13; no. 4, Nov. 1960, p. 3; no. 5, Summer 1961, p. 7.
89. Essex County Council: Rep. of A.R.P. Cttee. 1939–45, 7–8.
90. Ibid., Schedule II, p. 27.
91. Leyton Quarterly, no. 1, Oct. 1959, p. 6; no. 2, Apr. 1960, pp. 2–3; Yesterday, today and tomorrow: housing in Leyton. The advances were made under powers given under the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1958, as amended by the House Purchase and Housing Act, 1959.
93. London Government Act, 1963, c. 33; Walthamstow Matters, iv. 31–2.
94. L.R.L., L53.4 MS. Highway Cttee. Mins. 1851–61; L47 MS. Vestry Mins. 1834–74; Lea Bridge District Gas Act, 1878, 41 & 42 Vict. c. 49 (local act).
95. County & General Gas Consumers Co. Ltd. (Lea Bridge District) Act, 1864. 27 & 28 Vict. c. 259 (local act).
98. Lea Bridge District Gas Act, 1878.
99. V.C.H. Essex, v. 45.
100. L.R.L., L47 MS. Vestry Mins. 1834–74.
101. Lea Bridge District Gas Act, 1878: 2nd schedule.
102. V.C.H. Essex, v. 45.
103. Ibid. 75. The minutes of the Lea Bridge District Gas Co. 1868–1949 are in E.R.O., D/F 5/10/1–5.
104. L.R.L., L47 MS. Local Bd. Mins. 1893–4; Electric Lighting Orders Confirmation (No. 2) Act, 1894, 57 & 58 Vict. c. 50 (local act).
105. Wilkinson, Leyton, 40, 63; L.U.D.C. Year Bk. 1919–20, p. 30.
106. L.R.L., L47 Pamph. U.D.C. Chairman's address, 1898; Eng. and Surveyor's Reps. 1895–1907.
109. L.U.D.C. Year Bk. 1924–5, p. 23.
110. L.B.C. Year Bk. 1926–7, p. 35.
111. Ibid. 1950–1, p. 45. This was under the Electricity Act, 1947, 10 & 11 Geo. VI, c. 54.
112. L.R.L., L47 MS. Vestry Mins. 1834–74; E.R.O., T/M 402. See also above, p. 208.
114. L.R.L., L47 MS. Vestry Mins. 1834–1904 and Local Bd. Mins. 1877 sqq.; E.R.O., D/SH 4, 5. Unless otherwise stated the information that follows on sewerage is taken from these sources.
115. V.H.M., P 24/1/10 (8 Feb. 1869).
117. Wilkinson, Leyton, 39. A plan of the works is in E.R.O., D/DCy T21.
118. L.R.L., Local Bd. San. Cttee. Reps. 1891, 1892; M.O.'s Reps.
119. V.C.H. Essex, v. 44.
120. L.C.C. (General Purposes) Act, 1925: 15 & 16 Geo. V, c. 119, Pt. VI (local act).
121. V.C.H. Essex, v. 77; L.B.C. Year Bk. 1927–8, p. 36; J. D. Watson, Rep. on Sewerage and Sewage Disposal in Lee Valley, 27, 30.
122. Leyton Official Guide (c. 1962), 15; Leyton Quarterly, no. 2, Apr. 1960, p. 12.
123. L.R.L., Local Bd. San. Cttee. Reps. 1892.
124. L.R.L., L47 MS. Local Bd. Mins. 1891–4; Eng. and Survs. Reps. 1895–1907; Wilkinson, Leyton, 39, 63.
125. L.R.L., Local Bd. San. Cttee. Reps. 1894; Wilkinson, Leyton, 39.
126. L.R.L., L47 Pamph. U.D.C. Chairman's address, 1898.
127. Eng. and Survs. Rep. 1909–10; L.U.D.C. Year Bk. (1919–20 and later edns.).
128. L.B.C. Year Bk. (1962–3), 55, and local inf.
129. E. London Waterworks Act, 1853, 16 & 17 Vict. c. 166 (local act).
130. V.C.H. Essex, v. 38.
131. Ibid.; L.R.L., L47 MS. Vestry Mins. 1834–74. See also above, p. 198.
132. L.R.L., L47 MS. Local Bd. Mins. 1877–81.
133. L.R.L., L53.4 MS. Highways and Lighting Cttee. Mins. 1882: Local Bd. San. Cttee. Reps. 1884 sqq.
134. L.R.L., L47 MS. Local Bd. Mins. 1889–91. For the relations between the company and the Leyton public at this date, see also above, p. 198.
135. Leyton U.D.C. Act, 1898, 61 & 62 Vict. c. 175, s. 56.
136. V.C.H. Essex, v. 39.
138. L.R.L., L47 MS. Vestry Mins. 1834–74.
139. Eng. and Survs. Reps. 1895–1907.
141. Eng. and Survs. Reps. 1901–2, 1908–9.
143. See p. 198, and L.R.L., L47 MS. Local Bd. Mins. 1883–6.
144. Apart from the other refs. given, the inf. on recreation grounds and open spaces is taken from Leyton U.D.C. and B.C. Year Bk. (1919 and later edns.); Eng. and Survs. Reps. 1895–1907; U.D.C. Mins. and Reps. 1897 sqq.; and B.C. Mins. and Reps. 1929 sqq. (all in L.R.L.).
145. L.R.L., L47 Pamph. U.D.C. Chairman's address, 1898.
147. A. P. Wire, Guide to Leyton, 1910, pp. 27–8.
148. V.C.H. Essex, v. 51.
149. Leyton and Leytonstone Truth-teller, no. 2 (4th ser.), Nov. 1931.
150. Apart from the other refs. given, the inf. on baths is taken from the Leyton U.D.C. and B.C. Year Bks. 1895–9, 1919 sqq. and Council Mins. and Reps. (all in L.R.L.).
151. Leyton Official Guide (1949), 32.
152. Ibid. (1934), 35; Leyton and Leytonstone Truth-teller, no. 2 (6th ser.), Nov. 1933; L.R.L., L32.5 Pamph. Thirty Years: a generation of service, 26.
153. Rep. R. Com., Poor Laws and Relief, 1909 [Cd. 4795], p. 321, H.C. (1909), xliv.
154. Leyton Official Guide (1934), 12.
155. Ibid. (1949), 37, (c. 1962), 25.
157. L.R.L., L47 MS. Vestry Mins. 1752–1874; L37 Pamph. Printed appeal for contribution to funds, 1865. Many of the brigade's records, incl. mins. 1879–1919, are in L.R.L.: L37 MS.
159. L.R.L., L53.4 MS. Local Bd. Highway Cttee. Mins. 1873–83; L47 MS. Local Bd. Mins. 1877–81, 1891–3; Wilkinson, Leyton, 56.
160. Wilkinson, Leyton, 56; Eng. and Survs. Reps. 1895– 1907 (these include annual tables from 1897 of all fires attended, with details of the brigade's equipment and personnel); L47 Pamph. U.D.C. Chairman's Address, 1909.
161. L.R.L., L96 Pamph. Leyton Express and Independent cutting, 1962, obit. of W. Wilkinson; L.B.C. Mins. and Reps. 1927, p. 827.
162. L.R.L., L47 Pamph. U.D.C. Chairman's address, 1909.
163. Eng. and Survs. Rep. 1913–14.
164. L.U.D.C. Mins. and Reps. 1918–19, p. 349, 1919–20, p. 107.
165. L.U.D.C. Year Bk. 1919–20, p. 13; L51.5 MS. Fire Brigade Wages Bk. 1919–22; L.U.D.C. Mins. and Reps. 1919 sqq.; L.B.C. Mins. and Reps. 1926 sqq.
166. 15 & 16 Geo. V, c. 47; L.B.C. Mins. and Reps. 1927, p. 827.
167. e.g. L.B.C. Mins. and Reps. 1931–2, p. 1016, 1933–4, p. 347, 1934–5, p. 186, 1937–8, p. 700, 1939–40, p. 650.
168. Under the Fire Services (Emergency Provisions) Act, 1941, 4 & 5 Geo. VI c. 22.
169. Under the Fire Services Act, 1947, 10 & 11 Geo. VI, c. 41.
170. Under the London Government Act, 1963, 11 & 12 Eliz. II, c. 33, s. 48.
172. Leyton Borough Council, Charter Day, 1926: souvenir programme, 34; Leyton and Leytonstone Truth-teller, no. 1, Sept. 1927.
173. L.U.D.C. Year Bk. (1925–6), 43.
174. Charter Day, 1926: souvenir programme, 34; Leyton and Leytonstone Truth-teller, no. 1, Sept. 1927; Yesterday, today and tomorrow: housing in Leyton, 1964–5.
175. Yesterday, today and tomorrow; V.C.H. Essex, v. 66.
176. Yesterday, today and tomorrow; V.C.H. Essex, v. 67.
177. V.C.H. Essex, v. 67.
178. County of Essex Devt. Plan, 1952: Rep. of Survey, pt. II, Met. Essex, table 2; Leyton Quarterly, no. 1, Oct. 1959, p. 6; no. 2, Apr. 1960, pp. 2–3.
179. Leyton Official Guide (c. 1962), 15; Yesterday, today and tomorrow.
180. L.R.L., L47 MS. Local Bd. Mins. 1877–86; Local Bd. San. Cttee. Reps. 1885–91.
181. L.R.L., M.O.'s Rep. 1896; L.U.D.C. Mins. and Reps.; L.B.C. Mins. and Reps.; L 47 Pamph. U.D.C. Chairman's address, 1909; L.U.D.C. and L.B.C. Year Bks.; Kelly's Dir. Essex, 1914; Leyton Official Guide (1922), 16; Charter Day, 1926: souvenir programme, 33. For the isolation hospital at Chingford see below, p. 285, and V.C.H. Essex, v. 100.
182. White's Dir. Essex (1848). The date is on the chapel. For the hospital see above, plate f.p. 203.
183. Leytonstone Hospital Information Handbook; West Ham Corpn. Act, 1898, 61 & 62 Vict. c. 259, pt. VIII (local act).
184. Kelly's Dir. Essex (1922 and later edns.).
185. 19 Geo. V, c. 17.
186. D. McDougall, Fifty years a borough, 112, 192.
187. 9 & 10 Geo. VI, c. 81.
188. Leytonstone Hospital Information Handbook.
189. Leyton Official Guide (c. 1952), 47.
190. Ibid. (c. 1962), 9.
191. London Borough of Waltham Forest: Health and Welfare Services Handbook, 1966, pp. 49–50.
192. Official Record, Visit of … the King and Queen, . . to Whipps Cross War Hospital, 1917. For Forest House, see above, p. 189.
193. L.R.L., L32.5 Pamph. Thirty years: a generation of service, 6; L34 Pamph. Souvenir of opening of the new infirmary, 1903; A. P. Wire, Guide to Leyton, 1910, p. 19.
194. Kelly's Dir. Leytonstone, Wanstead and Snaresbrook (1925).
195. McDougall, Fifty years a borough, 112, 192–3.
197. Leytonstone Hospital Information Handbook.
198. See above. For Forest House itself after 1946 see p. 190.
199. London Borough of Waltham Forest Health and Welfare Services Handbook, 1966, pp. 49–50; Leytonstone Hospital Information Handbook.
201. V.C.H. Essex, Bibliography, 330.
202. Official Guide (c. 1962), 20.
203. Leyton Public Libraries Annual Rep. 1963–4.

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