Papers of Sir Francis Hill (1899-1980), Solicitor, Mayor of Lincoln and Chancellor of TheUniversity of Nottingham, 1768-1979

The collection comprises papers of Sir Francis Hill (1899-1980) relating to his involvement in Lincoln City Council, his interest in the history of Lincolnshire, the Royal Commission for Local Government in England, and other bodies concerned with municipal and local government, both nationally and internationally. Principal series present include:

• Personal papers including correspondence, newspaper cuttings, historical papers and photographs.1879-1979;
• Papers of membership of the City of Lincoln Council including correspondence and printed papers.1937-1976;
• Manuscript and printed items from Sir Francis Hill's library, primarily concerning the history ofLincolnshire and British local government including manuscript copies of charters of Lincoln andGrimsby, pedigrees of Lincolnshire gentry, and historical notes on Boston. 1768-1977;
• Papers relating to Hill's membership of the Royal Commission of Local Government in England(Redcliffe-Maud Commission) including printed minutes and maps, evidence submitted to thecommission, reports and statistics. 1966-1969;
• Papers relating to Hill's membership of the International Union of Local Authorities includingprinted circulars and correspondence. 1960-1970;
• Papers relating to Hill's membership of the European Conference of Local Authorities includingprinted circulars and correspondence. 1960-1972;
• Papers relating to Hill's membership of the Association of Municipal Corporations includingprinted circulars and correspondence. 1942-1972;
• Papers relating to Hill's membership of the local Authorities Municipal Investment Trustincluding printed papers and correspondence, 1961-1967;
• Papers relating to Hill's membership of other bodies of concern to local government including:Local Government Boundary Committee 1945-1950, Local Government Summer School 1948-1950, 'People inLocal Government' management committee 1964-1970, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries RiverBoard 1948-1951, and the Committee on the Management of Local Government 1958-1966;
• Papers relating to Hill's chancellorship of The University of Nottingham and membership of theUniversity Council. c.1948-1978.

Sir (James William) Francis Hill was born in Lincoln on 15 September 1899 and was educated at theCity School, Lincoln and Trinity College, Cambridge where he graduated MA, 1925. From 1926 he was aqualified solicitor and he became a senior partner of the solicitors firm Andrew and Company ofLincoln. Sir Francis enjoyed a long and successful career in the civic governance of the City ofLincoln, of which he was a member of the City Council 1932-1974 and Mayor 1945-1946. He became amember of Nottingham University College Council in 1934 and continued his involvement after thecollege received university status in 1948. He served as president of Council 1948-1968,Pro-Chancellor 1959-1972 and Chancellor 1972-1978.

Throughout his life, Sir Francis was an enthusiastic local historian, and published a series ofhistories of the City of Lincoln. He was awarded the CBE in 1954 and was knighted in 1958. Otherawards included honorary degrees from the universities of Nottingham, Birmingham and Leicester.Beyond his civic duties, Sir Francis was keenly interested in issues of municipal government bothnationally and internationally. He was chairman of the Association of Municipal Corporations1957-1966, president of the European Conference of Local Authorities 1966-1968, president of theInternational Union of Local Authorities 1967-1971, and a member of the Royal Commission on LocalGovernment in England, 1966-1969. Sir Francis Hill died on 6 January 1980.

The Royal Commission on Local Government in England was appointed by Royal Warrant on 31 May 1966to consider the structure of local government in England, outside Greater London. It looked at theexisting structure of local government and made recommendations to authorities on boundaries andfunctions. The commission, chaired by The Rt. Hon. Lord Redcliffe-Maud, G.C.B., C.B.E., publishedits report in 1969. The report's findings were influential in the major reorganisation of localgovernment in 1973-1974.

The collection has been divided into sections according to subject. Only the papers concerningthe Royal Commission on Local Government in England (RC) have been catalogued at present. Thissection had an existing filing system which has been adhered to.

ACCESS: Restricted pending full cataloguing. Contact the Department for advice.

LANGUAGE: English

• Copyright on all finding aids belongs to The University of Nottingham.
• A catalogue of papers relating to Hill's membership of the Royal Commission of LocalGovernment in England (Redcliffe-Maud Commission) (FHL RC) is in the reading room of The Universityof Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections:Typescript Catalogue, 5pp
• A catalogue of papers relating to Hill's membership of the Royal Commission of LocalGovernment in England (Redcliffe-Maud Commission) (FHL RC) is at the Historical ManuscriptsCommission, London:Typescript Catalogue, 5pp

• Other collections are listed on the NationalRegister of Archives

COPYRIGHT: Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must besought in advance in writing from the Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts and SpecialCollections (email mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk).The Department will try to assist in identifying copyright owners but this can be difficult andresponsibility for copyright clearance before publication ultimately rests with the person wishingto publish.

REPROGRAPHIC: Photocopies and photographic copies can be supplied for educational use and privatestudy purposes only, depending on the condition and access status of the documents.

In 1970, Sir Francis Hill passed papers concerning his involvement in the Redcliffe-MaudCommission to The University of Nottingham's Department of Manuscripts. These were joined after hisdeath in 1980 by his personal, university and local historical papers.

• London School of Economics; British Library of Political and Economic Science: Papers of JohnPrimatt Redcliffe-Maud, Baron Redcliffe-Maud, including official papers of his time as chairman ofthe Royal Commission on Local Government in England, 1966-1969. Reference: GB 97REDCLIFFE-MAUD
• London School of Economics; British Library of Political and Economic Science: Papers of DerekSenior including papers of his time as member of the Royal Commission on Local Government inEngland, 1966-1969. Reference: GB 97 SENIOR
• Public Record Office: Papers of several departments relating to the Royal Commission on LocalGovernment in England, 1966-1976. References: GB 66 HLG 69, EW 7/1347, EW 10/73, HLG 120/1323, HLG155/4, HO 322-426,HO 241/126-128, LAB 20/1254, LAB 96/309
• Lincolnshire Archives: Correspondence, diaries and antiquarian papers of Sir Francis Hill,1916-1978.
• The University of Nottingham, Department of Manuscripts and Special Collections: Records ofUniversity College Nottingham and The University of Nottingham including: a speech by B.L. Hallwardproposing a toast to Hill as chancellor in 1978 (ACC 415) and a programme for the installation ofHill as chancellor in 1972 (ACC 1681 part). Reference: UN

• Royal Commission on Local Government in England, 1966-1969, Vol. 1, Report (TheRedcliffe-Maud Report (H.M.S.O.: London, 1969)