Catalogue description JAMES, DODDS AND BROWN

Rent Books.

Arthur Thompson and Arthur Thompson and March. (post 1949).

There are four basic series of books relating to the rents of properties managed by the firms. Two are rent books kept by the firm, the other two are the books kept by the rent collectors as they made their rounds.

1. Red Cover - Rent Books. Arranged annually volume by volume in districts, e.g. North, South, East, West of Middlesbrough and North Ormesby and Country etc. Each property is given a double page and the name of the tenant and amount of rent payable and received over the year entered.

2. Fawn Cover - Rent Books. Arranged annually by volume alphabetically under street names e.g. A - D, (one volume contains all areas). The information given is as above.

3. Notebooks - Rent Collector's Books. Arranged chronologically (usually weekly) and by rent collector's districts - within that arranged by collectors route. It usually gives the number of the property, the street and the amount received. It also has the initials of the collector and lists the complaints of the tenants, e.g. leaking pipe, 36, Marsh Road.

4. Blue Cover - Rent Collector's Books. Arranged as above and the information is the same as above. They may give the rent collector's name.

N.B. The A. Thompson deposit contains all four series, the Thompson and March only series 2 and 4.

James, Dodds and Brown

John Palling and Son, Middlesbrough, estate agents

Arthur Thompson, Middlesbrough, auctioneer, valuer and estate agent

Thomas O March and Son, Middlesbrough, auctioneers

Arthur Thompson and March Ltd, Middlesbrough, auctioneers, valuers and estate agents

• Land tenure

Although the collection was deposited by the firm of James, Dodds and Brown, Estate Agents, in fact the records are those of four other firms:

John Paling and Son, Estate Agents, of Grange Road, Middlesbrough. Although a late 19th century firm its records here date from approx. 1910 to 1949.

Arthur Thompson, Auctioneer, Valuer and Estate Agent, of Borough Road, West, Middlesbrough. Again, although a late 19th century firm its records here date from approx. 1915 to 1949.

Thomas O. March and Son, Auctioneers, of Grange Road, Middlesbrough. The firm started c. 1920 but its records here date from approx. 1924 to 1949.

Arthur Thompson and March Ltd., Auctioneers, Valuers and Estate Agents, of Borough Road, Middlesbrough. The records of this firm date from approx. 1949 to the mid-1960's.

Wherever possible, the records have been divided into the respective firms. Positive identification of ownership, however, is not always possible and unnamed records have been placed in the 'Unidentified Business' section.

In addition some overlap of dates may occur between the firms of Arthur Thompson, Thomas March, and Thompson and March after 1949 where a particular record or series of records have not been split.

However, it should be noted that some record series, such as rent books, which have been generated for instance by Arthur Thompson before 1950, from that date onwards have been catalogued under the firm of Thompson and March Ltd.

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