London Westminster & Middlesex Family History Society

15/06/2026

On this day in 1215, King John set his seal to Magna Carta - the Charter of Liberties - which has come to symbolise our rights and freedoms in the UK. Of the 63 original clauses, 4 are still valid today: the right to a trial by jury and that no one is above the law; the ancient liberties and free customs of the City of London; and the freedom of the Church of England.
Pic: The British Library Cotton MS Augustus 11.106, Public Domain via Wikimedia

12/06/2026

Would you like to find out more about our Society? I was delighted to be interviewed by Emma Cox recently for her Journey into Genealogy podcast and this has just been posted on her website here: www.journeysintogenealogy.co.uk
Also on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon Music and Audible

09/06/2026

On this day in London in 1877 the inaugural Wimbledon Championship opened at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club at Worple Road, Wimbledon. Lawn tennis had only been devised a couple of years earlier by Major Walter Clopton Wingfield. The first championship only had one event: the Gentlemen’s Singles, which was won from a field of 22 by Spencer Gore. About 200 spectators paid one shilling to watch the final.
The Wimbledon Tennis Archives contains every result since that first match in 1877 and has a department dedicated to historical research.

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06/06/2026

On this day in 1832, Jeremy Bentham died aged 84 at his house in Queen Square Place, Westminster. He was a philosopher who founded utilitarianism, the theory that believes that actions which maximise happiness and well-being for as many people as possible should be the ones to follow. This meant he supported ideas such as education for all children, women’s rights, the abolition of slavery, the decriminalisation of homosexual acts, animal rights, the abolition of capital punishment and the right to divorce. He did not wish to be buried but asked that his body be preserved as an auto-icon, wearing one of his own suits and displayed sitting in his own chair (although the head is a wax copy). Since 1850 it has been displayed at University College London.
Pic: The Jeremy Bentham auto icon housed at UCL (Photo: UCL Digital Media), CC BY license

04/06/2026

On this day in 1913, suffragette Emily Wilding Davison ran in front of the king’s horse at the Epsom Derby. She died of her injuries 4 days later. Emily is known as a militant who fought to improve the voting rights for women who, at that time, were not allowed to vote. Five years later, at the end of the First World War, Parliament enfranchised women over the age of 30 who could pass property qualifications. It was not until 1928 that the voting age for women was lowered to 21, the same as for men.
Pic: Daily Sketch front page, public domain via Wikimedia Commons
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01/06/2026

The June edition of our journal METROPOLITAN will be landing in members’ inboxes and on their doormats any minute now. The journal is free to members and is packed full of information and stories about London, Westminster and Middlesex. In this edition we have a fascinating article on the FAN Club- how understanding your ancestors’ community can really help with your research! The spotlight is on Southgate, a district in the ancient parish of Edmonton, and we have a historical article on a London letter carrier which looks at the sources you can use. Of course there are many other articles and all our usual features. Membership starts at £12 for a whole year with an ejournal and includes free entry to our popular monthly Zoom talks, as well as the opportunity to have your own family history story published! We would love you to join us, link in comments.

31/05/2026

We're always happy to have more people helping! 😊

Next week is Volunteer's Week. If you haven't thought about volunteering before. NOW is the time to do it.
All our family history societies need volunteers. You can help in whatever way you can.

29/05/2026

On this day in London in 1660 the English monarchy was restored and King Charles II entered London on his 30th birthday. The celebrations included the first appearance of an actress on an English stage, the ex*****on of 10 regicides, the founding of the Royal Society and the exhumation from their graves, hanging at Tyburn and reburial of the bodies of Cromwell, Bradshaw and Ireton (who had ordered the ex*****on of his father).
Pic: Charles II being given the first pineapple grown in England by his royal gardener, John Rose by Hendrick Danckerts, public domain via Wikimedia Commons

27/05/2026

The establishment of the Chancery Rolls took place in 1199, following the coronation of King John on 27 May in order to have a record of letters issued in the king’s name. These range from charters making grants in perpetuity to small writs covering the minutiae of local business. Initially stored in the Tower of London, from 1290 the Master of the Rolls used a former chapel near Chancery Lane (they are now at The National Archives). This area became known as the Liberty of the Rolls. The former chapel, which is pictured here, was rebuilt twice, is now the Maughan Library of King’s College London. Have you used these for your family history?
Picture © LWMFHS

25/05/2026

Our revised, updated and expanded list of the main records of interest to the genealogical researcher for the area based on the ancient parish of St Anne Soho is out now! Our second edition has a massive extra 40 pages of useful information for you.
We have greatly expanded the sections about local burial grounds, business and company records, nonconformist registers and Poor Law records. Details include where records can be found, the dates covered, and whether they are original hard-copy records, transcriptions in books, or on the internet.
This central London parish was part of the Liberty of Westminster in the county of Middlesex and now forms part of the London Borough of the City of Westminster. This 80-page A5 illustrated booklet is part of our ongoing series of LWMFHS Parish Research Guides.