IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0074 DRO/109
Held at: London Metropolitan Archives
Title: SAINT LAWRENCE, LITTLE STANMORE: SAINT LAWRENCE CLOSE, HARROW
Date(s): 1559-1993
Level of description: Collection
Extent: 3.9 linear metres
Name of creator(s): St Lawrence Church, Little Stanmore | Church of England
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
The parish of Little Stanmore dates back before 1200. The church of St Lawrence, otherwise known as St Lawrence Whitchurch, was first recorded as having been appropriated by St Bartholomew's Priory. The church was acquired by the Lake family of Little Stanmore in 1552. They built up the fortunes of the parish as trustees, setting up a charitable foundation in 1680 and building almshouses and a free school. By the eighteenth century the church had been inherited by the Duke of Chandos who appointed John James to rebuild it between 1714-1720. It is said that Handel played the church organ at the height of his career, while staying with the Duke nearby. Notable ministers of the church include John Theophilus Desaguliers, a Huguenot refugee who preferred natural philosophy to his church duties; he invented the planetarium. The population of the parish grew considerably during the 1920's and 30s with the coming of the underground railway to Stanmore. A separate parish (All Saints, Queensbury) was constituted from the southern part of Little Stanmore in 1932, following boundary changes.
Source: 'Little Stanmore: Church', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5: Hendon, Kingsbury, Great Stanmore, Little Stanmore, Edmonton Enfield, Monken Hadley, South Mimms, Tottenham (1976), pp. 122-124 (available online).
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Records of Saint Lawrence Church, Little Stanmore, including baptism, marriage, burial, banns and confirmation registers; registers of services; papers regarding tithes; papers regarding land ownership; papers relating to the maintenance and decoration of the church buildings; financial accounts; Church Council minutes; papers relating to charities including almshouses and the Free School; and parish magazines.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
In two series: DRO/109-1: Parish Registers; DRO/109-2: Parish Records.
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 for these records rests with the depositor.
Physical characteristics:
Fit.
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 two accessions, February and September 1996.
ALLIED MATERIALS
Related material:
For records relating to property please see reference ACC/0195.
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Date(s) of descriptions: March to April 2010.