Sources for Social and Economic History

SOURCES FOR SOCIAL & ECONOMIC HISTORY

AT GUILDHALL LIBRARY

Guildhall Library is primarily a library of London history. Regarding published sources, it aims at exhaustive coverage for the City of London and thorough coverage for the remainder of Greater London. It also holds many unpublished transcripts, lists, indexes, editions etc. of records about London held elsewhere and a number of unpublished theses on London topics.

It is also a library of national history, with extensive holdings of printed source materials, including parliamentary papers, public and local acts and local directories and poll books. It takes the publications of most major local history societies and has large topographical, genealogical and busi- ness history collections. For economic history, it holds runs of many investment, financial and economic journals and also the London Stock Exchange and Lloyd's collections.

The Manuscripts Section of the Library is the local record office for the City of London (excluding the Corporation of London's own archive which is in the Corporation of London Records Office, Guildhall, London EC2P 2EJ). It holds extensive records of and relating to individuals and institutions in and connected with the City, many of which are valuable sources for social and economic history. Further details of them are given below in (A). Information about access to them is provided in (B).

The City of London is a small area (about 1 square mile) in the centre of London. Enquiries about local records for the City of Westminster and for the remainder of the Greater London area should be made respectively to City of Westminster Archives Centre, 10 St Ann's Street, London, SW1P 2XR; and the Greater London Record Office, 40 Northampton Road, London EC1R OHB.

A. MAIN ARCHIVAL SOURCES FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY

1. Parish records (from 15th century)
Records of nearly all the City's ancient parishes are held. They include registers of baptisms, marriages and burials, churchwardens' accounts, vestry minutes, rate assessments, inhabitants lists, and poor law, charity and estate records.

Some records of foreign and nonconformist churches in the City are also held.

2. Ward records (from 15th century)
Records of all 26 of the City wards are held, although many are sparse. The wards were units of local administration responsible for preserving the public peace, suppressing nuisances (e.g. fraudulent traders) and providing public services such as street lighting and paving, sanitation, policing and schools. They were also involved in electing the City's Common Councilmen and nominating its Aldermen.
3. Livery Company (trade and craft guild) records (from 14th century)
Records of over 75 of the ancient livery companies and related organisations are held. Until the 19th century the companies dominated trade and craft activities in and around the City; a few had national responsiblities too. Between the 16th and 19th centuries their records provide much social and biographical information about a large proportion of the City's population and details of the regulation and practice of many crafts and trades. However, they rarely contain evidence about the business activities of members.
4. Diocesan records (from 14th century)
A large proportion of the London diocesan archive is held including the Bishops' registers, the probate and other records of the London Commissary Court (London division) and records relating to visitations, clergy, churches and estates. Until the 19th century the diocese included Essex and parts of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire as well as Middlesex and the City of London.
5. Archdeaconry of London records (from 14th century)
Including probate and other records of the Archdeaconry court, and visitation records, relating primarily to the City of London.
6. Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's Cathedral records (from 11th century)
Including probate and other records of the Dean and Chapter's peculiar court, relating to parts of the City of London, Middlesex, Essex and Hertfordshire; and records of the Cathedral's administration, finances, estates and post-1666 rebuilding.
7. Business records (from 15th century)
Records from the 15th century are held for a variety of individual merchants, trades and craftsmen. There are also substantial corporate business records from the late 17th century. The latter reflect the City's development as a national and international commercial centre and include archives of companies which, although based in the City, carried on business throughout Great Britain and overseas. They relate mainly to commerce and financial services rather than to manufacturing industry. Among them are archives of banks (both merchant and discount), stockbrokers, solicitors and of insurance, mining, property, publishing and merchant companies.

Records are also held relating to the City's development as a centre for institutions which regulated, promoted and protected the business activities of others. These include the archives of the Association of British Chambers of Commerce, Coal Factors Society, Corporation of Foreign Bondholders, Lloyd's, London Chamber of Commerce, London Fire Engine Establishment, London Salvage Corps, London Stock Exchange and London Wharf and Warehouse Committee.

The Library's business records are often used not just for the histories of the relevant company or industry but also for the more general social and economic information they provide. Subjects researched include: manufacturing premises and plant and capital investment in a number of industries (from fire insurance records); social and population trends (from life assurance records); the foundation and financial structure of companies (from Stock Exchange records); overseas investment (from merchant banking records); and the economic significance of unemployment, commercial education, trade disputes, nationalisation, government policy etc. (Chamber of Commerce records).

Other records
These include the archives of schools (notably Christ's Hospital from 1552), charities, regiments, manors, societies, families and individuals.

B. ACCESS TO THE RECORDS

Guildhall Library is in Aldermanbury, London EC2P 2EJ, within a few minutes walk of Bank, Mansion House, Moorgate and St. Paul's tube stations and of a number of bus routes. It is difficult to find car parking space nearby on weekdays.

Records may be consulted in the Manuscripts Reading Room of the Library (see access leaflet for opening hours). Most records may be freely consulted without prior appointment. Some items may be consulted only by readers who can show proof of their identity and address. Some post-1890 items, and the whole of the archives of Morgan Grenfell, merchant bankers, may be consulted only with the owner's written consent. Most records can be made available within 15 minutes of being requested. A small proportion are held in another building and therefore require notice of one working day. Some fragile or heavily used records are available only on microfilm.

The Manuscripts Reading Room contains catalogues of the records, subject, name and topographical indexes, and an Enquiry desk where advice can be obtained from the archivist on duty. Handlists of parish registers, and guides to livery company archives, business archives, genealogical sources and the holdings of the Manuscripts Section as a whole are available for sale from the Guildhall Library Bookshop. Information sheets about various parts of the Section's holdings are available free of charge.

The photocopying of records is rarely permitted (in the interests of conservation). Photography and microfilming are usually allowed. Readers consulting records must write only with pencils.