New acquisitions at London Metropolitan Archives
London Metropolitan Archives exists to find, collect, preserve
and make accessible the records of London’s rich past history and
of its vibrant and diverse present. We take in and look after
the records of London Local Government as well as material that
relates to the Greater London area and the City of London.
We are frequently offered records to add to our
collections. We consider each offer of records carefully to
decide whether they are worthy of long-term preservation in an
archive and, if so, whether LMA is the right place for them.
For more information about our collecting policy please see our
policies page.
Details of new acquisitions are provided annually to the
National Archives, the highlights of which are summarised on their
website http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/accessions/
Latest acquisitions news
All Hallows, Barking by the Tower: City of London (accession
reference: B11/073)
LMA has been talking to the parish of All Hallows, Barking by the
Tower about its records for a number of years and the parish
recently decided to deposit its archive here. All Hallows by the
Tower was founded as a church by the Saxon Abbey of Barking in 675
and therefore considerably predates its imposing neighbour, the
Tower of London. The records deposited at LMA are 6 metres of
archives dating back to 1452. The deposit also includes various
records from Saint Dunstan in the East. This church was first built
in 1100 and was heavily bombed in the Second World War. After the
war it was not rebuilt and the parish was united with that of All
Hallows Barking by the Tower.
The records include parish registers from 1558, vestry minutes
from 1629, churchwardens’ accounts from 1628, preachers’ books,
legal records and inventories. There are also records relating to
the ‘Greate Blowe’ of 1649 where a gunpowder explosion killed 67
residents of the parish.
Although the deposit has not yet been catalogued, the early
parish registers, vestry minutes and churchwardens’ accounts can be
accessed on microfilm in LMA’s Information Area. Once the
collection has been fully catalogued, the original vestry minutes
and churchwardens’ accounts will probably be available for
consultation.
Epping Forest – glass plate negatives (accession reference:
B11/057)
LMA has recently acquired a collection of 38 glass plate negatives
of Epping Forest produced by the photographer Herbert Darlow
Wootton between 1912 and 1920. These beautiful images
complement our existing collection of material related to Epping
Forest (catalogue reference CLA/077) and capture the area as it was
nearly 100 years ago. Epping Forest has been under the
protection of the City of London since 1878, and remains to this
day the largest publicly owned open space in the London
area.
Access by appointment only
Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Congregation (accession ref:
B07/085)
This impressive collection consists of over 44 metres of the
Congregation’s archives dating from the mid 17th century, relating
to the Bevis Marks Synagogue in the City of London and other
Congregation Synagogues including on an international level and
organisations including the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’
Hospital.
The records include minutes of the Elders, Yehidim, Mahamad,
Beth Holim and Committees and Conferences and the Welfare Board and
financial accounts as well as birth, marriage, burial and
circumcision registers. Marriage records from 1811, some
burial registers and other more recent records have been retained
by the Congregation for regular consultation. The records can be
accessed with prior written permission from the Congregation.
For more information or advice on depositing records or to
access these records please contact:
London Metropolitan Archives
40 Northampton Road
London
EC1R 0HB
Tel: 020 7332 3820
Fax: 020 7833 9136
email:
ask.lma@cityoflondon.gov.uk