PAPERS OF LAURENCE MARRIOTT WULCKO

When the collection was deposited, it was temporarily given reference numbers in a consecutive sequence.

First came 135 quarto notebooks. Numbers 1 - 56, 61 - 79, 100 - 109 were assigned numbers by Wulcko, 57 - 60, 80 - 99 never seem to have existed according to a list drawn up by him (see D 119/177). He called them Local History Notebooks [original LHNB numbers where they exist are given at the end of each entry].

All but two of the volumes are paginated, and all are very carefully laid out, being transcripts of notes taken directly from the original sources. His sources ranged from material at Companies House to specialist repositories. The LHNB's are of interest not simply due to their content but because Wulcko presents us with a clear picture of the local historian at work by describing what he was doing, what records he was consulting, and by inserting all relevant correspondence, including copies of his replies.

Next came various bundles of notes etc., which very often can be linked with a LHNB. They contain mainly rough notes which can be difficult to follow, especially those in pencil.

For this reason it has been noted when material is in typescript. Whenever possible, it is easier to consult one of the volumes.

Finally there was a series of indexes, many being to LHNBs. Wulcko also indexed a few of his volumes; such indexing has been noted.

The notebooks, bundles and indexes have now been grouped according to subject matter. Since Wulcko was working on many things at once the deposited sequence was in no sense truly consecutive.

LICENSED PREMISES Nos. 1 - 175

I Material relating to houses in several counties nos. 1-47

A General nos. 1-8

B Material from records of Courage & Co. Ltd., nos. 9-14

C Material from records of the London Assurance no. 15

D Material from records of the Royal Exchange Assurance nos. 16-26

E Material from records of the Sun Insurance Office nos. 27-46

F Material from records of the Westminster Fire Office no. 47

II Bedfordshire nos. 48-49

III Berkshire and Oxfordshire nos. 50-56

IV Buckinghamshire nos. 57-112

A General nos. 57-69

B Ashendon Hundred no. 70

C Aylesbury Hundred nos. 71-73

D Buckingham Hundred nos. 74-75

E Burnham Hundred no. 76

F Cottesloe Hundred nos. 77-78

G Desborough Hundred nos. 79-81

H Newport Hundred nos. 82-84

I Stoke Hundred nos. 85-89

J Individual localities arranged in alphabetical order nos. 90-106

K Individual Brewers arranged in alphabetical order nos. 107-110

L Insurance records nos. 111-112

VIII Essex nos. 113-118

A General nos. 113-115

B By Hundreds nos. 116-118

IX Hampshire nos. 119-151

A General nos. 119-125

B Records in repositories nos. 126-133

C Individual Brewers arranged alphabetically nos. 134-151

X HERTFORDSHIRE nos. 152-153

XI Kent nos. 154-156

XII London nos. 157-170

XIII Middlesex nos. 171-172

XVI Rutland no. 173

XX Wiltshire nos. 174-175

LOCAL HISTORY nos. 176 - 198

I General nos. 176-177

II Buckinghamshire nos. 178-197

A General nos. 178-179

B Buckingham no. 180

C Chalfonts, Amersham and district nos. 181-194

D Long Crendon no. 195

E Genealogy nos. 196-197

III Essex no. 198

INSURANCE nos. 199 - 227

I Historical Records: Committees of the CII and the II of London nos. 199-205

II Fire insurance history working party of the II nos. 206-211

III Industrial Firms arranged alphabetically: historical records and material relating to Mercantile Fire Insurance nos. 212-225

IV Fire Mark Circle nos. 226-227

FRIENDLY SOCIETIES nos. 228 - 242

I Buckinghamshire nos. 228-237 - arranged by parish.

II Hampshire nos. 238-240

III Miscellaneous nos. 241-242

GENERAL MISCELLANEOUS nos. 243 - 246

<span class="wrapper"><p>A substantial proportion of this collection, being concerned with London topography, etc., has been transferred to the Guildhall Library:-</p> <p>Subjects covered include:</p> <p>Notes on Threadneedle Street, Cornhill, Sweetings Alley, Fleet Street, Lombard Street, London Bridge, Covent Garden, South Sea Company, Levant Co., Muscovy Co., Royal Exchange, Merchant Taylors Hall. Article on the Stock Exchange of 1773. Coffee Houses, Goldsmiths, Clocks and Watchmakers, Printers and Booksellers, Trade Tokens, London Inn Signs, Pepys, Richardson, Wild, Walburgh, Willett and Sharpes families. Newspaper cuttings relating to London.</p></span>

L.M. Wulcko (1901-1977), local historian, was born and brought up in Essex, but eventually came to settle in the Chalfonts, Bucks. He worked as a fire insurance underwriter for the North British and Mercantile Company (London) and was a founder member (1959) of the Historic Records Committee of the Insurance Institute of London; an important member of the committee's working party into the development of mercantile fire insurance in the City; and associated with the Historical Records Committee of the Chartered Insurance Institute (C.I.I)

His interests in Local History were wide - ranging, but he was, in particular, concerned with licenced premises and Friendly Societies. Geographically, his main areas of interest were Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, London, and Essex.

Wulcko was an active member in many local history societies and was also an avid correspondent with other local historians.

His writings on Buckinghamshire include an article on early Friendly Societies and a typescript volume on the victuallers of Stoke Hundred (1950). He also supplied most of the material for the chapter on licenced premises in Elliott's Buckingham, (1975).

His most productive period as represented by this collection was c. 1955-70.