Records of the Lancashire & Cheshire Association for the Abolition of the State Regulation of Vice

The archive consists of minutes of the Manchester and District Association committee and executive committee meetings (1894-1921), of the Lancashire and Cheshire Association executive committee (1923-1939) and rough minutes and accounts of joint committee meetings with the Manchester Vigilance Association (1915-1917); accounts including audited annual accounts (1928, 1930), cashbook (1923-1939), receipt book (1931-1939) and receipted accounts (1923-1932); annual reports of the Manchester and District Association (1898-1920) and the Cheshire and Lancashire Association (1924-1931), copies of circular letters on the revival of the latter in 1923 and manuscript notes on the history the Manchester and District Association (1893-1913); membership papers (1900; 1930-1932); correspondence (1926, 1938); publications (1901-1930); list of records (1941).

The Lancashire & Cheshire Association for the Abolition of the State Regulation of Vice (1894-1939) began in 1894 as the Manchester & District Association for the Abolition of State Regulation of Vice. It had the status of a committee of the British Commission for the Abolition of the State Regulation of Vice in India and throughout the British Dominions, formerly the British, Continental and General Federation for the Abolition of Government Regulation of Prostitution. Until 1921 it operated as the Manchester & District Association which was formally closed at a meeting in Jan 1923. However, some members believed that there was a continuing need for the organisation, due to the continuation of the state regulation of prostitution in India and therefore the organisation was revived under the name of the Lancashire & Cheshire Association in Oct 1923 with Alison Neilans as Secretary. It continued its work until Mar 1939 when its activities came to an end.

This collection is available for research. Readers are advised to contact The Women's Library in advance of their first visit.

The papers of the Lancashire and Cheshire Association were received with the deposit of the Josephine Butler Society Library in 1957.

Fawcett Library Catalogue.

The records were deposited with the Association for Moral and Social Hygiene in 1941. This archive, together with the archives that make up Strand 3, was then deposited at The Women's Library by the Josephine Butler Society Library in 1957.

The Women's Library also holds the Josephine Butler Library Collection of printed and published materials. This was formerly the library of the Josephine Butler Society and was deposted with The Fawcett Library through the then librarian's long involvement with the organisation.

Additionally, The Women's Library holds the records of the parent body, the British Committee of the Continental & General Federation for Abolition of Government Regulation of Prostitution (3BGF); .

Closely related papers held at The Women's Library include:

Papers of Henry Joseph Wilson (3HJW); the Josephine Butler Autograph Letter Collection which can be consulted in microfilm format (3JBL); Records of the James Stansfeld Memorial Trust (3JSM); the records of the Ladies National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts (ref: 3LNA); the records of the National Association for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts (ref: 3NAR); Records of the International Bureau for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons: British National Committee (4BNC); Records of the British Vigilance Association (4BVA); the Records of the International Bureau for Suppression of Traffic in Persons (4IBS); the Records of the National Vigilance Association (4NVA); the papers of Richard F Russell, the general secretary of the International Bureau from 1957-1971 (4RFR); and Records of the Travellers' Aid Society (4TAS)