BEDFORD, James (1845-1904)

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0372 BEDFORD
Held at	: Bishopsgate Institute   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/library ›
Full title	: BEDFORD, James (1845-1904)
Date(s)	: 1891-1897
Level of description	: Fonds
Extent	: 3 volumes
Name of creator(s)	: Bedford | James | 1845-1904 | trade unionist

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Born in Birmingham, 1845; no formal education; worked as a newspaper boy at Euston Station then took a job as a porter and collector for a wholesale publishing company; moved to Sunderland and apprenticed to Dawson Brothers, ship owners; served time in the East India trade, visiting Persia, Arabia, Ceylon, India and Abyssinia by sea and earned himself a 'Chief Mate's' certificate.
Bedford left shortly after and established the first teetotal public house in London which was a commercial success; toured the country lecturing on temperance and the business of teetotal public house keeping and published several essays on the subject. Bedford also became a tailor, teaching himself cutting and other skills and established tailor's shops in Bethnal Green Road and Hackney Road. Bedford was also heavily involved with trade-unionism, serving as President of both the General Railway Workers Union and the Society of Firewood Choppers. Died 1904.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Three scrapbooks containing press cuttings, correspondence, manuscripts and printed material, 1891-1897, regarding Bedford's experiences as Labour candidate for Norwich in the 1892 General Election, his presidency of the General Railway Workers Union, work on the Bethnal Green Board of Guardians and accusations of corruption levelled at him by labour colleagues and trade unionists (1891-1897).

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

No further arrangement at present.

Conditions governing access:

OPEN

Conditions governing reproduction:

Documents cannot be photocopied at present. Digital photography (without flash) is permitted for research purposes on completion of the Library's Copyright Declaration form and with respect to current UK copyright law.

Finding aids:

No further finding aid available.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

No further information available at present.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

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:
Stefan Dickers, 12 July 2005.