| Description | The borough rate fund was introduced by the Municipal Corporations Act, 1835. It empowered incorporated boroughs to raise a rate to finance essential services. To police, fire engines, registration and coroners were later added town hall management, libraries and the school board.
The district rate fund began in 1850, under the Local Board of Health (1848-1872), 'district' being the board of health district. It financed services related to public health and environmental matters, such as sewers and drainage, lighting, highway maintenance, public conveniences and bathing places.
Borough and district funds continued under the Urban Sanitary Authority (1872-1891) and after the reorganisation of the finance department in 1891. The Rating and Valuation Act, 1925, however, authorised the replacement of poor, district, borough and other rates with a single general rate; in Reading this came about in a further reorganisation in 1928.
Journals (cash or expenditure) record daily transactions as they occurred; cash books show the subsequent receipt of payments, and money flowing into and out of the account. The content of these volumes is summarised in account, cash and general ledgers. Ledger entries usually appear in chronological order or by subject. Records concerning general financial control include abstracts, epitomes, estimates and summary accounts.
In the double-entry bookkeeping method used, each transaction appears twice. The left page (marked Dr, Debtor) records the stock for which the customer is indebted to the Corporation, and the right hand page (Cr, Creditor) the money paid by the customer to keep himself in credit. Sometimes the Dr entries are laid out on the left page and a truncated right page, followed by the Cr entries on the next two sides. A parallel balance is always kept, either entry-by-entry or at the end of a section. |
| Arrangement | Arrangement
R/FB1 Local Board of Health, 1850-1891
R/FB2 Urban Sanitary Authority, 1878-1891
R/FB3 Borough fund, 1835-1891
R/FB4 Borough fund, 1891-1936
R/FB5 District fund, 1891-1928
R/FB6 General rate fund, 1928-1956
R/FB7 Corporation rent, 1892-1948
R/FB8 Utilities, 1899-1949
R/FB9 Staff, 1924-1986
R/FB10 Other departments, 1915-1964
R/FB 11 Summary accounts and estimates, 1890/1-1974/5 |