Graphical version

London Metropolitan Archives

LICENSED TRADE CHARITY


IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference code(s): GB 0074 LMA/4662

Held at: London Metropolitan Archives

Title: LICENSED TRADE CHARITY

Date(s): 1794-2004

Level of description: Collection

Extent: 15 linear metres

Name of creator(s): Licensed Trade Charity

CONTEXT

Administrative/Biographical history:

The Licensed Trade Charity cares for people working in, or retired from, the licensed drink trade and their dependents. It was founded by Royal Charter on 3 May 1836 as the Society of Licensed Victuallers and adopted the working name Licensed Trade Charity in October 2004 following a merger with the Licensed Victuallers National Homes charity.

Today the Charity has two main aims: Support and Care, and Education, and its objectives are to:
Assist those who are sick, infirm or distressed
Provide assistance in the case of financial hardship
Provide assistance with the relief of the ills of old age
Educate children from the general public, with preference to those from families working in the licensed drinks trade, through guaranteed places, discounts and bursaries.

The Charity runs three independent schools. LVS Ascot is a day and boarding school for girls and boys aged 4 to 18 years providing education for 900 pupils. LVS Hassocks a specialist school offering day and residential education for girls and boys aged 8 to 19 with learning difficulties such as autism and Asperger's syndrome. The school opened in 2009. LVS Oxford which opened in 2014 and provides education and weekly residential places for children 11-19 years old who have a diagnosis on the Autism spectrum.

See website for further details www.licensedtradecharity.org.uk

The Society of Licensed Victuallers was founded in 1793 as a friendly society for the mutual benefit of publicans and the relief of members of the licensed victualing trade and their families. It was formed by men who could afford to pay an annual subscription of one guinea and the idea was to create a fund from which a weekly allowance could be paid to those on hard times. A daily newspaper the Morning Advertiser was established in 1794 to promote the Society's interests and raise funds. It was devoted to trade interests and still exists claiming the title of the oldest continually produced paper in the United Kingdom.

In 1803 the Licensed Victuallers School was established in Kennington. The school was built by the society to educate and look after the children of licensees. Although the school was initially small, numbers increased and the original school was demolished in 1835 and a new larger one built on the same site. In 1921 the school moved to new premises in Slough, Berkshire and then to Ascot in 1980. An additional school in Ilkley was acquired by the SLV in 1982 and closed in 2005.

In 1997 the SLV merged with the Licensed Trade Convalescent Homes (LTCH). The LTCH was founded in 1962 to provide a place where licensees and their wives could go to recuperate after illness. In 1965 a hotel was purchased in Margate, Kent (Croft House) shortly followed by another in Lytham St Anne's and a third in Exmouth. Over the years continuous investment saw the acquisition of the Grafton Hotel near Hereford and its development into a more modern rest home providing care and relaxation.

The Licensed Victuallers National Homes (LVNH) started life as the Licensed Victuallers Asylum became Licensed Victuallers Benevolent Institution in 1921 and the Licensed Victuallers National Homes in 1959.

The Licensed Victuallers' Asylum (LVA) was formed in 1826 to relieve poor and aged members of the licensed victualing trade and their wives or widows. Alms houses were built in Caroline Gardens (still there today) including a central chapel. The Alms houses were sold to Southwark Council in 1960 when the Licensed Victuallers Benevolent Institution decided to move the residents to new premises in Denham Garden Village, Buckinghamshire. The dwellings in Peckham are still used, although the chapel is listed on English Heritage's national register of buildings at risk.

Denham Garden Village was built in the 1950s by the Licensed Victuallers National Homes (LVNH) to provide accommodation for retired licensees and became part of about 30 estates UK wide owned by LVNH. Licensees could pay a yearly subscription that would enable them to be considered for a place in one of its estates and to receive a basic pension. Denham was innovative for the time. Residents lived in new bungalows with shared communal gardens. The 'village' had all amenities on site including a, shop, pub, social club as well as a nursing home, medical care and a welfare officer.

In the late 1990's LVNH transferred its homes to Anchor Housing Trust to enable the management and upgrading of the properties to be done to comply with changes in housing law.

CONTENT

Scope and content/abstract:

Records of the Licensed Trade Charity, made up of the two bodies which merged to form the LTC in 2004, the Licensed Victuallers National Homes and the Society of Licensed Victuallers.

Records of the Licensed Victuallers National Homes include:
LMA/4662/LVNH/01 Governance records (1826-1996) comprising documents of the foundation of the 'Victuallers Asylum', and minutes of committees including a complete set of from the Board of Management minutes from 1826-1962.
LMA/4662/LVNH/02 Finance (1827-1976)
LMA/4662/LVNH/03 Administration (1828-1984) including rules and regulations; papers of Alfred Annett former Secretary; papers relating to property owned the LVNH and a Register of residents at some LVNH homes 1924-1990.
LMA/4662/LVNH/04 Membership and Subscription (1834-1989) a series of ledgers recording the names of those who subscribed to the Licensed Victuallers Asylum and then the LVNH.
LMA/4662/LVNH/05 Licensed Victuallers Asylum, Peckham (1828-1960) papers relating to the Asylum in Old Kent Road, Camberwell. The series includes the petitions of individuals seeking residence in the Asylum (arranged alphabetically and these have been indexed by name); a registers of residents at the Asylum 1827-1960; papers relating to the Asylum Chapel from 1847; and a small series of photographs and prints including an album of photographs of the asylum chapel, memorial tablest and portraits of chairmen.
LMA/4662/LVNH/06 Residential Homes: Denham Garden Village (1958-2001) includes an interesting series of pocket books giving information on the homes and a series of photographs mainly of the annual garden party held in Denham.
LMA/4662/LVNH/07 Residential Homes: Edinburgh Estates (1960-1980) a series of photographs of other estates run by the LVNH.
LMA/4662/LVNH/08 Publicity and Media (1877-2004) includes a set of press cutting scrap books from 1887-1957, publications and examples of souvenir programmes and magazines produced by LVNH, and a series of photographs of LVNH events including the change of keys ceremony and fundraising.
LMA/4662/LVNH/09 Beer and Wine Benevolent Society (1834-1968) covering its foundation, Governance, finance until it merged with the LVNH in 1968. Also includes papers and plans about the asylum they ran, a 1954 annual report and a few photographs.

The records of the Society of Licensed Victuallers (SLV) comprise:
LMA/4662/SLV/01 Governance (1794 - 1997) and include the Foundation of the SLV, committee minutes with a complete set of Executive Committee minutes 1794 - 1990) minutes of the Morning Advertiser and the Schools (Kennington, Slough and Ascot).
LMA/4662/SLV/02 Finance (1894-1986) balance sheets and audit reports.
LMA/4662/SLV/03 Administration (1924-1985) including lists of Governors and Chairmen 1827 - 1964)
LMA/4662/SLV/04 Membership and Subscription (1858-1948) includes registers of members subscribing to the Society.
LMA/4662/SLV/05 Morning Advertiser (1783-1985) includes copies of the Morning Advertiser Annual 1979-1985.
LMA/4462/SLV/06 Schools (Kennington, Slough and Ascot) (1898-2003) includes school registers 1893-1960, school prospectuses from 1937-2000, a series of photographs mainly from and of the Slough school
LMA/4662/SLV/07 Licensed Trade Convalescent Homes (1970-1997) a short series including a register including a register of residents.
LMA/4662/SLV/08 Publicity and Media (1933-2003) covering programmes and menu cards from SLV events, publications including newsletters, histories of aspects of SLV and a series of photographs mainly portraits of past Governors, Chairs and Committees.

ACCESS AND USE

Language/scripts of material: English

System of arrangement:

Records are arranged in three sections as follows: >br/> LMA/4662/LTC records of the Licensed Trade Charity;
LMA/4662/LVNH records of the Licensed Victuallers National Homes;
LMA/4662/SLV records of the Society of Licensed Victuallers.

Conditions governing access:

These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information may be subject to access restrictions.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copyright is held by the depositor.

Finding aids:

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

ARCHIVAL INFORMATION

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Deposited in February and April 2013.

ALLIED MATERIALS

Related material:

See also CLC/015 Society of Licensed Victuallers, ACC/3122 National Licensed Victuallers Association and predecessors.

DESCRIPTION NOTES Rules or conventions: 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.

Date(s) of descriptions: Added October 2015


INDEX ENTRIES
Subjects
Charities | Charitable organisations | Associations | Organizations
Charity records | Documents | Information sources
Charity schools | Schools | Educational institutions
Publicans | Business people | People by occupation | People
Victuallers | Food industry personnel | Personnel | People by occupation | People
Nonprofit organizations

Personal names

Corporate names
Licensed Trade Charity

Places