47-770: The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO , pronounced as three letters and referred to as the PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London , was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was merged with the Historical Manuscripts Commission to form The National Archives , based in Kew . It was under the control of the Master of the Rolls ,
94-512: A Chrysler subsidiary in 1928 and lorry production moved to Chrysler's car plant at Kew. In 1933 it began to manufacture a British chassis , at its works in Kew, using American engines and gearboxes. After Chrysler bought the Maxwell Motor Company and their Kew works, the cars of the lighter Chrysler range – Chryslers , De Sotos and Plymouths – were assembled at this Kew site until
141-614: A bridge in 1759. The current Kew Bridge , which carries the South Circular Road (the A205), was opened by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1903. Kew Road ( A307 ) passes through Kew as a single carriageway, and provides the main road link to Richmond . The M4 motorway starts a short distance north of Kew, providing access to Heathrow Airport and the west. The A316 road starts in Chiswick and continues over Chiswick Bridge and
188-659: A complex junction with the South Circular Road at Chalker's Corner at the south-eastern end of the district. Since 1869 rail services have been available from Kew Gardens station . London Underground (District line) services run to Richmond and to central London. London Overground trains run to Richmond and (via Willesden Junction ) to Stratford . The 65 , 110 and R68 bus routes serve Kew. River bus services run from Kew Pier to Westminster Millennium Pier , Richmond and Hampton Court . Kew's several other sports clubs include: The nearest football club in
235-444: A laboratory near Kew Gardens station run by Cowey Engineering. Rayon was produced in a factory on South Avenue, off Sandycombe Road, before Courtaulds acquired the patents for rayon in 1904. Also on a site near Kew Gardens station, the engineering company F C Blake , now commemorated in the Kew street name Blake Mews, produced petrol -powered traction engines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kew Retail Park stands on
282-463: A limited number of documents. These charges were abolished for serious historical and literary researchers after a petition was signed in 1851 by 83 people including Charles Dickens and the historians Lord Macaulay and Thomas Carlyle . Between 1851 and 1858 a purpose-built archive repository was built next to the Rolls Chapel, to the design of the architect Sir James Pennethorne , and following
329-615: A result, the Public Record Office Act 1838 ( 1 & 2 Vict. c. 94) was passed to "keep safely the public records". The act established the Public Record Office, a non-ministerial department under the keepership of the Master of the Rolls , a senior judge whose job originally had included responsibility for keeping the records of the Court of Chancery , who appointed a Deputy Keeper as Chief Record Keeper . The first Master of
376-457: A senior judge. The Public Record Office still exists as a legal entity, as the enabling legislation has not been modified. The Record Commissions were a series of six Royal Commissions of Great Britain and (from 1801) the United Kingdom which sat between 1800 and 1837 to inquire into the custody and public accessibility of the state archives . The Commissions emphasised the poor conditions and variety of places in which records were held. As
423-504: A short distance from Chancery Lane's northern end. Historically, the street was associated with the legal profession , an association which continues to the present day; however, consulting firms, ancillary businesses and the Maughan Library also occupy the street. Lincoln's Inn occupies most of the western side north of Carey Street. The side of the street that falls in the City of London
470-512: Is a one-way street that forms part of the western boundary of the City of London . The east side of the street is entirely within the City, whilst the west side is in the City of Westminster south of Carey Street and the London Borough of Camden north of that street. The route originated as a 'new lane' created by the Knights Templar from their original 'old Temple' on the site of
517-885: Is a combination of two words: the Old French kai (landing place; " quay " derives from this) and Old English hoh (spur of land). The land spur is formed by the bend in the Thames. Kew forms part of the Richmond Park constituency in the UK Parliament; the Member of Parliament is Sarah Olney of the Liberal Democrats . For elections to the London Assembly it is part of the South West London Assembly constituency , which
SECTION 10
#1732848820443564-485: Is concerned with the history of Kew, as well as that of Richmond, Petersham and Ham. In the 19th century, Leopold Neumegen operated a school for Jews at Gloucester House in Kew after his earlier school in Highgate closed and when, for financial reasons, he needed to commence work again. Four churches in Kew are currently in use: Former churches include: A late Victorian Salvation Army hall at 6 North Road, built in
611-519: Is now the Maughan Library , the university's largest library. In April 2003 the PRO merged with the Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC) to form The National Archives . The HMC moved from its previous office, also located off Chancery Lane, to Kew in 2004. The National Archives of Scotland and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland were and remain separate institutions. The archive held
658-668: Is represented by Nicholas Rogers of the Conservative Party . Kew was added in 1892 to the Municipal Borough of Richmond which had been formed two years earlier and was in the county of Surrey . In 1965, under the London Government Act 1963 , the Municipal Borough of Richmond was abolished. Kew, along with Richmond, was transferred from Surrey to the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames , one of 32 boroughs in
705-477: Is situated in the ward of Farringdon Without . Local government boundaries were changed considerably in this area in 1994 – previously only a small part of the street, on its southern end, was within the City. Chancery Lane takes its name from the historic High Court of Chancery , which started its association with the area when Robert de Chesney , the Bishop of Lincoln acquired the 'old Temple' in 1161. The road
752-417: The "Winter Queen", was given a household at Kew in 1608. Queen Anne subscribed to the building of the parish church on Kew Green , which was dedicated to St Anne in 1714, three months before the queen's death. The Hanoverians maintained the strongest links with Kew, in particular Princess Augusta who founded the botanic gardens and her husband Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707–1751) who lived at
799-621: The 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens") , now a World Heritage Site , which includes Kew Palace . Kew is also the home of important historical documents such as Domesday Book , which is held at The National Archives . Julius Caesar may have forded the Thames at Kew in 54 BC during the Gallic Wars . Successive Tudor , Stuart and Georgian monarchs maintained links with Kew. During
846-771: The French Revolution , many refugees established themselves there and it was the home of several artists in the 18th and 19th centuries. Since 1965 Kew has incorporated the former area of North Sheen which includes St Philip and All Saints , the first barn church consecrated in England. It is now in a combined Church of England parish with St Luke's Church, Kew . Today, Kew is an expensive residential area because of its prosperous suburban attributes. Among these are sports-and-leisure open spaces, schools, transport links, architecture, restaurants, no high-rise buildings, modest road sizes, trees and gardens. Most of Kew developed in
893-511: The Premier League is Brentford FC , whose stadium , opened in 2021, is on the other side of Kew Bridge, near Kew Bridge station . The Kew Horticultural Society , founded in 1938, organises an annual show in late August/early September as well as talks, events and outings throughout the year. The Kew Society , founded in 1901 as the Kew Union, is a civic society that seeks to enhance
940-478: The Public Record Office (which has since become the National Archives ), the present Grade II* listed , Gothic Revival building designed by Sir James Pennethorne was built in 1851. In 1907 it became the museum of the Public Record Office and throughout the latter half of the 20th century records gradually moved to a new site located in Kew . In 2001 it underwent renovation and became the Maughan Library ,
987-649: The Second World War . The various models of De Sotos were named Richmond, Mortlake and Croydon ; Plymouths were Kew Six and Wimbledon . During the Second World War this Chrysler factory was part of the London Aircraft Production Group and built Handley Page Halifax aircraft assemblies. When wartime aircraft production ceased, the plant did not resume assembly of North American cars. Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester (c.1460–1526)
SECTION 20
#17328488204431034-550: The Tower of London and the Chapter House of Westminster Abbey , though Domesday Book was not moved from Westminster Abbey until 1859, when proper storage had been prepared. Until 1852 no right existed for the general public to consult the records freely, even for scholarly purposes, despite the intention of the Public Record Office Act 1838 to enable public access. Fees were payable by lawyers who in return were permitted to consult
1081-402: The 2011 census, 66.2% of Kew's population were White British . Other White was the second largest category at 16%, with 8.1% being Asian. In the past, a main mode of transport between Kew and London, for rich and poor alike, was by water along the Thames , which separated Middlesex (on the north bank) from Surrey : Kew was also connected to Brentford , Middlesex by ferry, first replaced by
1128-591: The PRO. Even so, growing interest in the records produced a need for the Office to expand, and in 1977 a second building was opened at Kew in south-west London. The Kew building was expanded in the 1990s and by 1997 all records had been transferred from Chancery Lane either to Kew or to the Family Records Centre in Islington , North London. The Chancery Lane building was acquired by King's College London in 2001, and
1175-497: The Rolls to take on this responsibility was Lord Langdale (d.1851) although his Deputy Keeper, the historian Sir Francis Palgrave (who wrote a voluminous work on ancient writs , many of which were housed in the PRO), had full-time responsibility for running the Office. The Office's original premises were the mediaeval Rolls Chapel (the former Domus Conversorum , a chapel for Jews who had converted to Christianity), on Chancery Lane at
1222-644: The Thames riverbank predated the royal palaces of Kew Palace and the White House. Excavations at Kew Gardens in 2009 revealed a wall that may have belonged to the property. In Elizabeth's reign, and under the Stuarts, houses were developed along Kew Green. West Hall , which survives in West Hall Road, dates from at least the 14th century and the present house was built at the end of the 17th century. Elizabeth Stuart (1596–1662), daughter of James I , later known as
1269-512: The UK's Freedom of Information Act 2000 came into full effect in 2005: the 30 year rule was abolished and closed records in The National Archives became subject to the same access controls as other records of public authorities. Some records do remain closed for longer periods, however: individual census returns, for example, are kept closed for 100 years. From 1838 to 1958 the nominal head of
1316-504: The White House in Kew. Augusta, as Dowager Princess of Wales, continued to live there until her death in 1772. Frederick commissioned the building of the first substantial greenhouse at Kew Gardens. In 1772 King George III and Queen Charlotte moved into the White House at Kew. Queen Charlotte died at the Dutch House (now Kew Palace) in 1818. King William IV spent most of his early life at Richmond and at Kew Palace, where he
1363-424: The beauty of Kew and preserve its heritage. It reviews all planning applications in Kew with special regard to the architectural integrity and heritage of the neighbourhood, and plays an active role in the improvement of local amenities. The Society, which is a member of Civic Voice , organises community events including lectures and outings and produces a quarterly newsletter. The Richmond Local History Society
1410-511: The chapel's demolition due to structural unsoundness, was extended onto that original site between 1895 and 1900. The growing size of the archives held by the PRO and by government departments led to the Public Records Act 1958 , which sought to avoid the indiscriminate retention of huge numbers of documents by establishing standard selection procedures for the identification of those documents of sufficient historical importance to be kept by
1457-493: The daughter of Henry VII and widow of the French king Louis XII . According to John Leland 's Cygnea Cantio ("Swan Song"), she stayed in Kew (which he refers to as "Cheva") for a time after her return to England. One of Henry VIII 's closest friends, Henry Norris (c.1482–1536), lived at Kew Farm, which was later owned by Elizabeth I 's favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (1532–1588). This large palatial house on
Public Record Office - Misplaced Pages Continue
1504-608: The important Six Clerks office. On the eastern side of the street, below Bream's Buildings and opposite the Law Society , was the original site of the Domus Conversorum founded by King Henry III in the 13th century. In the 14th century it became the estate of the Master of the Rolls , which included an official residence (Rolls House, based on the Domus Conversorum and storage for court records). The site later became
1551-472: The largest academic library of King's College London . The Patent Office was originally situated off Southampton Buildings and some of the minor side streets also are named after their associations with now defunct legal practices, such as Rolls Buildings and Cursitor Alley. Just to the south of the Maughan Library is the site of the former Serjeant's Inn . The principal building of The Law Society ,
1598-547: The late 19th century, following the arrival of the District line of the London Underground . Further development took place in the 1920s and 1930s when new houses were built on the market gardens of North Sheen and in the first decade of the 21st century when considerably more river-fronting flats and houses were constructed by the Thames on land formerly owned by Thames Water . The name Kew, recorded in 1327 as Cayho ,
1645-554: The newly created Greater London . The fashion clothing retailer Jigsaw 's headquarters, now at Water Lane, Richmond, were previously in Mortlake Road, Kew. A former industry in Kew was that of nameplate manufacturing, by the Caxton Name Plate Manufacturing Company, based on Kew Green. The company was founded in 1964 and folded in 1997. It was in Kew that viscose was first developed into rayon , in
1692-775: The office, known as the Keeper of the Records, was the Master of the Rolls of the day. The chief executive officer who oversaw the office's day-to-day operations was known as the Deputy Keeper of the Records. Deputy Keepers from 1838 to 1958 were: The 1958 act transferred responsibility for the PRO from the Master of the Rolls to the Lord Chancellor ; and the title of the chief executive was changed to Keeper of Public Records. The Keepers from 1958 to 2003 were: Chancery Lane Chancery Lane
1739-536: The official collection of records of public business for England, Wales and the central UK government , including the records of court proceedings going back to the Middle Ages , and the original manuscript of Domesday Book . Under the 1958 act, most documents held by the PRO were kept "closed" (or secret ) for 50 years: under an amending act of 1967 this period was reduced to 30 years (the so-called " thirty year rule "). These provisions changed significantly when
1786-417: The population rose from 9,445 to 11,436, the sharpest ten-year increase in Kew since the early 20th century. This was partly accounted for by the conversion of former Thames Water land to residential use, and increases in property sizes. The figures are based on those for Kew ward , the boundaries of the enlarged parish having been adjusted to allow for all wards in the borough to be equally sized. In
1833-534: The present Southampton Buildings on Holborn , in order to access to their newly acquired property to the south of Fleet Street (the present Temple ) sometime before 1161. Chancery Lane, numbered the B400 in the British road numbering scheme , connects Fleet Street at its southern origin with High Holborn . It gives its name to Chancery Lane Underground station which lies at the junction of Holborn and Gray's Inn Road ,
1880-486: The professional body for solicitors in England and Wales, is at No. 113. Ede and Ravenscroft , the oldest tailors in London, have their main (and historic) outlet and offices at No. 93, which is also their outlet for legal dress . The London Silver Vaults are located at the northern end of Chancery Lane. Kew Kew ( / k j uː / ) is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames . Its population at
1927-580: The site of a former aircraft factory established in 1918 by Harry Whitworth, who owned Glendower Aircraft Ltd. The factory built Airco DH.4s and Sopwith Salamanders for the British government in the First World War . In 1923 the now-redundant aircraft factory was sold and it became a factory for road vehicles. From the 1920s until 1967, Dodge made lorries at this factory, with the model name Kew . Cars were also manufactured there. Dodge Brothers became
Public Record Office - Misplaced Pages Continue
1974-483: The style of a chapel, was converted into flats (1–5 Quiet Way) in the early 21st century. Mortlake Crematorium and two cemeteries – North Sheen Cemetery and Mortlake Cemetery – are located in Kew. The crematorium serves the boroughs of Ealing , Hammersmith and Fulham , Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames and the two cemeteries are managed by Hammersmith and Fulham Council . I am His Highness' dog at Kew; Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you? And
2021-445: The western extremity of the City of London , near the border with the City of Westminster . Some of the records were court or departmental archives (established for several centuries) which were well-run and had good or adequate catalogues; others were little more than store-rooms. Many of the professional staff of these individual archives simply continued their existing work in the new institution. Many documents were transferred from
2068-419: The wildest dreams of Kew are the facts of Khatmandhu . Go down to Kew in lilac -time, in lilac-time, in lilac-time; Go down to Kew in lilac-time (it isn't far from London!) And you shall wander hand in hand with love in summer's wonderland; Go down to Kew in lilac-time (it isn't far from London!) Trams and dusty trees. Highbury bore me. Richmond and Kew Undid me. Lady Croom: My hyacinth dell
2115-410: Was educated by private tutors. During the French Revolution , many refugees established themselves in Kew, having built many of the houses of this period. In the 1760s and 1770s the presence of royalty attracted artists such as Thomas Gainsborough and Johann Zoffany . Unsurprisingly, many botanists have lived in Kew, near the botanic gardens: In the ten years from the time of the 2001 census,
2162-410: Was granted lands at Kew in 1517. When he died in 1526 he left his Kew estates to his third wife, Eleanor, with the remainder to his son George. In 1538 Sir George Somerset sold the house for £200 to Thomas Cromwell (c.1485–1540), who resold it for the same amount to Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk (c. 1484–1545). Brandon had probably already inhabited Kew during the life of his wife Mary Tudor ,
2209-618: Was originally known as New Street. It was renamed in 1377 to Chancellors Lane when King Edward II took over running of the Domus Conversorum (House of the Converts), a residence and chapel for Jews converted to Christianity , to use as the Keeper of the Rolls of Chancery. In later centuries the Court convened in Lincoln's Inn Old Hall and other buildings there for the Court's purposes, such as
#442557