LIEUTENANCY OF THE COUNTY OF LONDON: GENERAL

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: LCC/LTCY
Held at	: London Metropolitan Archives   Click here to find out how to view this collection at https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma ›
Full title	: LIEUTENANCY OF THE COUNTY OF LONDON: GENERAL
Date(s)	: 1888-1967
Level of description	: subfonds View parent record
Extent	: 4.33 linear metres
Name of creator(s)	: LCC | London County Council x London County Council

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Each county has a Lord Lieutenant as the royal representative. He is concerned with the auxiliary and cadet forces. On his recommendation new justices of the peace are appointed. The counties also have their sheriffs appointed by the monarch to see to the assembling of juries and the carrying out of the judgements of the courts. Commissions of the peace are issued, county justices are appointed, and courts of quarter sessions are regularly held for the trial of cases.

When the County of London was formed in 1888 it was given its own Lord Lieutenant and sheriff, commission of the peace and quarter sessions. The Act of Parliament stated that "all enactments, laws and usages with respect to counties in England and Wales, and to sheriffs, justices and quarter sessions shall so far as circumstances admit, apply to the County of London". The exception was the City of London which already had its own sheriffs, commission of the peace and quarter sessions, while the functions of the Lord Lieutenant were carried out by a group of commissioners presided over by the Lord Mayor.

The Lords Lieutenant of the County of London, appointed by the Sovereign under the provisions of the Militia Act, 1882, were as follows:
1889-1899 Hugh Lupus, 1st Duke of Westminster
1900-1912 Alexander William George, 1st Duke of Fife
1912-1944 Robert Offley Ashburton, 1st Marquess of Crewe
1944-1949 Gerald, 7th Duke of Wellington
1949-1950 Archibald Percival, 1st Earl Wavell
1950-1957 Alan Francis, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke
1957-1965 Harold Rupert Leofric George, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis (who also continued as Lord Lieutenant of Greater London until 1966).

Shortly after the appointment of Lord Crewe, the Clerk of the London County Council, Sir Laurence Gomme, was approached to accept additionally the post of Clerk to the Lieutenancy and to act also as Clerk to the London Justices Advisory Committee, the body responsible for advising the Lord Lieutenant of the names of persons suitable to be recommended by him to the Lord Chancellor for appointment as Justices of the Peace for the County of London. The London County Council concurred in the proposed arrangement (Council Minutes, 11 February 1913, at pages 247-248). It became the practice for each successive Clerk of the Council to be appointed to these positions.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Records of the London County Council relating to the Lieutenancy of the County of London, 1888-1967, including outgoing letter books; ceremonial presentation by the Lord Lieutenant of Medals of the Order of the British Empire and the King's Police Medal; Deputy Lieutenants Roll with copies of certificates of qualification to serve; procedure for appointment of Deputy Lieutenants and correspondence with prospective appointees; the Association of Lieutenants of Counties; notification of appointments of Special Constables; Lieutenancy dinners; participation by Lord Lieutenant in recruiting campaigns for the Territorial Army and other auxiliary forces; participation by Lord Lieutenant in appeals on behalf of social and charitable bodies; the London Justices Advisory Committee; the appointment of Justices; applications for appointment as Justices; appointment of Juvenile Court Justices; transfer of Justices between Divisions and Counties; Justices appointed by the Lord Chancellor without prior consultation; Royal Commission on the Selection of Justices of the Peace; complaints concerning Justices; emergency appointments to the Bench; resignations of Justices; appointment of women as Justices; correspondence on individual candidates for appointment as Justices, maps of boroughs showing distribution of home addresses of Justices; Deputy Lieutenants' Sub-Committee.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

LCC/LTCY/01: General papers.

Conditions governing access:

These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information are subject to access restrictions under the UK Data Protection Act, 1998.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copyright: City of London

Finding aids:

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

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Acquired with the records of its parent body, the London County Council.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

For further information on the history of the LCC please see Achievement: A Short History of the London County Council by W Eric Jackson (1965), LMA Library reference 18.0 1965, The London County Council 1938, LMA Library reference 18.7 SER 4, and The Youngest County: A description of London as a county and its public services, 1951, LMA Library reference 18.0 1951.

Description Notes

Archivist's note:

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:
April to June 2009