Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury

Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury
Finsbury
Motto: Altiora Petimus (We seek higher things)
Finsbury Town Hall
Finsbury Town Hall
LondonMBFinsbury.png
Finsbury within the County of London
Geography
Status Metropolitan borough (1900—1965)
Civil parish (1915—1965)
1911/1931 area 587 acres (2.38 km2)
1931 area 586 acres (2.37 km2)
HQ Rosebery Avenue
History
Created 1900
Abolished 1965
Succeeded by London Borough of Islington
Demography
1911 population
- 1911 density
87,923
150/acre
1931 population
- 1931 density
69,888
119/acre
1931 population
- 1931 density
32,887
56/acre
Politics
Governance Finsbury Borough Council
Finsbury.jpeg
Coat of arms granted in 1931
Seal finsbury.png
Device adopted in 1900
Subdivisions
Type Civil parish
Finsbury parishes 1911.png
Civil parishes in 1911
Units Charterhouse (2)
Clerkenwell
Glasshouse Yard (3)
St Luke's
St Sepulchre (1)

The Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury was a Metropolitan borough within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Islington to form the London Borough of Islington.

Contents

Boundaries

It was created by the London Government Act 1899 from the parishes of Charterhouse, Clerkenwell, Glasshouse Yard, St Luke and St Sepulchre. The borough replaced local government structures created by the Metropolis Management Act 1855: Clerkenwell and St Luke's had previously been administered by separate parish vestries; the extra-parochial Liberty of Glasshouse Yard and St Sepulchre had formed part of the Holborn District Board of Works; Charterhouse, also extra-parochial, had no vestry.

The borough covered the areas of Finsbury, Moorfields, Clerkenwell, and St Luke's. It bordered Islington, Shoreditch, the City of London, Holborn and St Pancras.

Town hall

The metropolitan borough was administered from the town hall on Rosebery Avenue. The building was built as the headquarters of Clerkenwell Vestry, and had been officially opened on 14 June 1895 by Lord Rosebery, the Prime Minister.[1] The architect was C Evans Vaughan, and it was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as a "nice irregular brick building with Tudor windows and lantern".[2]

Area and population

Although metropolitan boroughs only dated from 1900, the London County Council compiled statistics in 1901 that show the population growth in London over the preceding century.

The area of the borough in 1901 was 587 acres (2.4 km2). The populations recorded in National Censuses were:

Constituent parishes 1801-1899

Year[3] 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891
Population 55,515 68,811 86,223 100,521 112,938 125,360 129,031 124,766 119,382 111,225

Metropolitan Borough 1900-1961

Year[4] 1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961
Population 101,463 87,923 75,995 69,888 [5] 35,370 32,887

By comparison, after amalgamation with Islington, to form the modern London Borough of Islington, the combined area became 14.86 km² - approximately 3,672 acres (14.86 km2); in 2005, this had a population of 182,600,[6] or a population density of 12,288/km². In 1901 Finsbury, the population density was 42,276/km².

Coat of arms

When the borough was incorporated in 1900, the corporation adopted a complicated device bearing six shields for each of the constituent parishes and extra-parochial places from which it was formed.

At the top were shields depicting the old Cripplegate of the City of London and the arms of Charterhouse.

At the centre of the seal, on the left, is the shield of Clerkenwell Vestry. The parish church was dedicated to Ss. James and John, and the shield showed St. James on the left and the cross of St. John on the right.

To the right of this was the emblem of St Luke's parish: as patron saint of artists, Luke was shown seated at an easel.

At the left base of the seal was a depiction of the gate of St. Botolph, representing the Liberty of Glasshouse Yard.

The design was completed by the shield of the parish vestry of St. Sepulchre. This parish was originally partly in the City of London, and partly in the county of Middlesex, and the shield combined the arms used bt the city and county.

In 1931 the borough received a grant of arms from the College of Arms. This also included references to Finsbury's constituent parts, but in a more unified design. The shield had the cross of St John, on which were placed a heraldic "fountain" for the New River and roundels and rings from the arms of Charterhouse School. At the top of the shield was a representation of the city wall and its gates.

The crest on top of the helm was for St sepulchre's parish, the shield held by the hand again combining elements of the arms of the City of London and Middlesex.

The supporters were a winged bull, emblem of St. Luke; and an heraldic dolphin, symbol of St. James. The dolphin supporter was "charged" with a well in reference to Clerkenwell.

The Latin motto chosen by the borough was Altiora Petimus or We seek higher things.

Politics

The first borough council was elected on November 1, 1900, when Conservative-supported Unionist and Moderate candidates took control. From 1903 to 1906 the Progressive Party held power. From 1906 to 1925 the Municipal Reform Party (allied to the Conservatives) controlled the borough. In 1925 a Ratepayer's Association stood in place of the Municipal Reformers, replacing them as majority party. From 1928 to 1931, the Labour Party held control, with the Ratepayers holding power from 1931 to 1934. In 1934 Labour regained power, which it held until the abolition of the borough in 1965.

The number of councillors returned at each election to the council was as follows:[7]

Local elections
Year 1900 1903 1906 1909 1912 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1945
Unionists 14
Moderates 4
Progressives 10 32 14 8 5 17
Liberals 5
Independent 1 1
Pro-conservatives 22
Municipal Reform 34 46 48 32 47 6
Ratepayers Assoc 40 27 47 9 8
Labour 1 5 7 14 29 9 47 48 47
Unofficial Labour 2
Communist 1

No Municipal Reform candidates were nominated after 1946, and Conservative candidates were nominated at local elections for the first time.

Year 1949 1953 1956 1959 1962
Labour 24 37 29 32
Conservative 5 2 5 2
Vacancies 5

For elections to Parliament, the borough initially formed the two constituencies of Finsbury Central and Finsbury East. In 1918 a new constituency of Finsbury was formed which was identical with the metropolitan borough. By 1950 the population of the borough had declined to such an extent that the Finsbury constituency was merged with the neighbouring constituency of Shoreditch to became Shoreditch and Finsbury.

There are some street nameplates which retain the label "Borough of Finsbury"[8]

Archival records

Islington Local History Centre holds records of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury, including council and committee minutes, rate books, publications and photographs.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Lord Rosebery On London Government". The Times: p. 16. 15 June 1895. 
  2. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus (1952). London except the Cities of London and Westminster. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin. p. 115. 
  3. ^ Statistical Abstract for London, 1901 (Vol. IV)
  4. ^ Islington MetB: Census Tables at Vision of Britain accessed on 14 Dec 2006
  5. ^ The census was suspended for World War II
  6. ^ 2005 estimate
  7. ^ Times Digital Library
  8. ^ Ludlow Street, Islington Google Maps Streetview accessed 6 July 2010
  9. ^ "Local History Collections". Islington Local History Centre. http://www.islington.gov.uk/Leisure/heritage/heritage_lhc/lhc_collections/localhistorycollections.asp. Retrieved 3 March 2011. 

Sources

Coordinates: 51°31′36″N 0°06′29″W / 51.5268°N 0.1080°W / 51.5268; -0.1080


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