| Description | Most files are in their original covers, 335 x 214mm. Files for the years 1943-1950 and 1956-1960 inclusive are missing and have not survived.
They contain correspondence between officials of Battersea Polytechnic and those of the City Parochial Foundation and London County Council with regard to the City Parochial Foundation's funding contribution to the Polytechnic.
Regular content included funding contributions made to Battersea Polytechnic's Staff Provident Fund with details of the Provident Fund's regulations and contributions and service of individual staff. Funding for premises expansion also featured frequently, notably for the Department of Domestic Economy in 1908 and there is considerable correspondence regarding the attempt to purchase an athletic ground from 1918. Eventually a ground at Mitcham was purchased by the City Parochial Foundation in 1921 and leased jointly to Battersea and Chelsea Polytechnics and the Devas Institute. Details of the future use of the ground, annual rent, maintenance and expenditure on equipment are frequently referred to.
The City Parochial Foundation's attempt to sell some of its landholdings in Battersea Park Road and the area immediately surrounding the Polytechnic gave the Polytechnic officials cause for considerable concern. In June 1909 there was a proposal to build a music hall on vacant ground in Battersea Park Road which it was felt would be 'a source of perpetual temptation to students.' Another intended sale of vacant land in 1913 for the purposes of a 'first class Cinematograph Theatre,' again caused a large amount of correspondence with the Polytechnic officials.
The Polytechnic kept the Governing Body of the City Parochial Foundation informed as to developments affecting the grant which was received from the London County Council - for example in November 1912 when the block grant from the London County Council to the Polytechnics was the subject of a conference of governing bodies of Polytechnics.
Another regular feature of the correspondence was the attendance of the City Parochial Foundation representatives on Battersea Polytechnic's Governing Body.
See also Compassionate Fund and Devas Institute |
| Administrative History | The Foundation owes its origin to approximately 1,400 different charitable gifts and bequests, some of them dating back to Tudor times, originally held by the 112 parishes within the City of London for their own use or for the use of the poor. As the City grew to be a world financial centre during the 19th century, the income of the charities, many endowed with City properties, rose considerably. At the same time the population of the parishes and hence the number of beneficiaries dropped just as dramatically as people drifted further afield towards the suburbs leaving some parishes with no residents at all.
A Royal Commission was appointed to investigate this situation in 1878 and its report gave rise to the City of London Parochial Charities Act, 1883. This laid down that the five largest parishes should continue to manage their own charitable endowments, with the remainder being administered by a new corporate body known as the Trustees of the London Parochial Charities.
Schemes were prepared for the application of the funds with the area of benefit defined as the City of London and the Metropolitan Police District of London. A final Scheme of 1891 brought together all the endowments into two funds, a City Church Fund and a Central Fund. These made up the City Parochial Foundation with the Trustees of the 1883 Act acting as the Foundation's Central Governing Body.
The Foundation continues to be governed by the 1891 Central Scheme and subsequent amending Schemes. The Central Fund and the City Church Fund have both a permanent endowment fund and an income fund. The income from the Central Fund is restricted to the area of benefit and can be spent on furthering any charitable purpose which is directed to the benefit of poor inhabitants of the area. It can also be used for the benefit of poor persons who are temporarily located within the area of benefit. The Trustees therefore make grants to charitable organisations or projects which work to benefit poor inhabitants of the area.
Battersea Polytechnic fell into that category as it was specifically founded for the benefit of the poorer classes.
According to Sidney Webb, it was to sporting and recreational activities that the contributions from the City Parochial Charities Fund were regarded as contributing, leaving the Board of Education and County Council grants to be devoted exclusively to education.
Sources:
Webb, Sidney - London Education. Longmans, 1904
City Parochial Foundation website: http://www.cityparochial.org.uk/ [Accessed 16.03.2010] |