Materials on Local Government collated by Sidney and Beatrice Webb

Materials on local government collated by Sidney and Beatrice Webb, 1906-1930, mainly during research for their nine volume English Local Government from the Revolution to the Municipal Corporations Act (Longmans and Co, London, 1906-1929) and other works on local government and the poor law, including extensive notes taken from parliamentary papers and acts, books, newspapers and local records, and including bibliographical lists, summaries and reports of interviews with members of local authorities, and material on specific counties; material on the poor law, including correspondence and papers relating to the Royal Commission on the Poor Law, 1905-1909.

Beatrice and Sidney Webb pooled their respective talents into writing joint works on economic and social issues. They spent 25 years researching and writing their nine-volume English Local Government from the Reformation to the Municipal Corporations Act (Longmans and Co, 1906-1929, and produced other relevant works on the poor law and social relief. For a biographical history of Sidney and Beatrice Webb, see the description for the Passfield personal papers (Ref: Passfield).

The collection is arranged geographically by county.

Open.

Printed handlist available.

The physical condition of the volumes is fragile and care should be taken when handling them.

Sources: British Library of Political and Economic Science Archives catalogue. Compiled by Sarah Aitchison as part of the RSLP AIM25 project.

Copyright is held by the LSE. No documents may be photocopied.

Given by Sidney Webb in 1944. The collection was formerly known as Coll V/Local Government Collection.

The British Library of Political and Economic Science also holds papers collated by Beatrice Webb relating to the Poor Law (Ref: Coll Misc 0865); bylaws of various towns, collected by the Webbs (Ref: Coll Misc 0192-95); and correspondence between Beatrice Webb and Dr McLeary regarding the poor law (Ref: Coll Misc 0979). There is also material concerning poor law and local history in the Passfield papers (Ref: Passfield). For a full list of material relating to the Webbs in the Library and elsewhere, see the description for the Passfield papers.