 County of London |
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| Status: | City, Metropolitan borough |
| Admin. HQ: | Westminster |
| Created: | 1900 |
| Abolished: | 1965 |
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| Successor: | London Borough of Westminster |
The Metropolitan Borough of Westminster was a metropolitan borough in the County of London, England, from 1900 to 1965. It was abolished in 1965 and its area became part of the City of Westminster along with the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington and the Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone.
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City status
By royal charter dated 29 October 1900 the borough was granted the title City of Westminster. Westminster had originally been created a city and seat of the shortlived Diocese of Westminster in 1541. The diocese was suppressed in 1550, but the area was still known as a "city", although without official sanction.
Arms and motto
The arms of Westminster represent two monarchs, closely associated with the City. Edward the Confessor, who rebuilt the church of St Peter (Westminster Abbey), and Henry VII, who added a chapel, within the Abbey. The portcullis and rose emblems are derived from the Tudor dynasty - from whom Westminster first achieved its status; and they appear throughout many public and religious buildings in Westminster, and the portcullis was adopted by the House of Commons. The supporting lions are adopted from the Cecil family, who have had a long association with the borough. The arms were first granted in 1601. The motto Custodi Civitatem Domine, is translated as O Lord, watch over the City[1].
Area
It consisted of the area that is now part of the City of Westminster and south of Oxford Street and Bayswater Road. It included Soho, Mayfair, St. James's, The Strand, Westminster, Pimlico, Belgravia, and Hyde Park. It was formed from various parishes:
- St Anne within the Liberty of Westminster (usually known as St Anne's Soho)
- St Clement Danes
- St George Hanover Square
- St Martin in the Fields
- St Mary le Strand
- St Paul Covent Garden
- St James Westminster (usually called St James Piccadilly)
- St Margaret and St John Westminster
- And the extra parochial places of the Close of the Collegiate Church of St Peter (or Westminster Abbey), the Precinct of the Savoy and the Liberty of the Rolls.
Previous to the borough's formation it had been administered by five separate local bodies.
Area and population
The Borough covered 2,503 acres (10.1 km²). The population recorded in the Census was: Civil parishes 1801-1899
| Year[2] | 1801 | 1811 | 1821 | 1831 | 1841 | 1851 | 1861 | 1871 | 1881 | 1891 | 1901 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 160,759 | 168,657 | 189,543 | 209,229 | 229,473 | 244,531 | 257,232 | 248,714 | 229,784 | 198,871 | 183,011 |
See also
External links
References
- ^ Civic Heraldry accessed 20 Jun 2007
- ^ Statistical Abstract for London, 1901 (Vol. IV); Census tables for Metropolitan Borough of Westminster
