Norton Folgate | |
---|---|
Norton Folgate in 1681 | |
Area | |
• 1901 | 8 acres (0.032 km2) |
Population | |
• 1801 | 1,752 |
• 1851 | 1,771 |
• 1901 | 1,663 |
Density | |
• 1901 | 208/acre |
History | |
• Abolished | 1900 (liberty) 1921 (civil parish) |
• Succeeded by | Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch Metropolitan Borough of Stepney |
Status | Liberty (until 1900) Extra-parochial area (until 1858) Civil parish (1858—1921) |
• HQ | Norton Folgate Street (c.1544-1744) White Lion Street (1744-1901) |
Norton Folgate was a liberty in Middlesex, England; adjacent to the City of London in what would become the East End of London.
It was located between the Bishopsgate ward of the City of London to the south, the parish of St Leonard, Shoreditch to the north and the parish of Spitalfields to the east.
The district, which was a component of the Tower Division, also known as the Tower Hamlets, ceased to exist when it merged into the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney in 1900. Following boundary changes in the 1990s, its former area is now divided between the City of London and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. [1]
The name is recorded c. 1110 as Nortune and means "north farmstead". It is formed from the Old English north and tūn, with the affix "Folgate" perhaps derived from the manorial family name Foliot. This possibly refers to Gilbert Foliot, Bishop of London or Richard Foliot, a canon of St Paul's Cathedral. [2] An alternative explanation found in The National Gazetteer from 1868 describes Folgate as derived "from the Saxon word Foldweg, a highway, in allusion to the old Roman Road (Ermine Street) which passed through this place". [3] It is remembered in the street of Norton Folgate and the 2009 album by the band Madness, called The Liberty of Norton Folgate .
Norton Folgate originated as the land occupied by the inner precinct of the Priory and Hospital of St Mary Spital. The priory was dissolved during the Reformation, but the land, which reverted to the Crown, retained its status as an extra-parochial liberty. Within the 8.7 acres (35,000 m2) of the former liberty are Folgate Street (formerly White Lyon Yard or White Lion Street), Spital Square, Elder Street, Fleur de Lis Street and Blossom Street.
Maps from the 18th century indicate that an area to the west of Bishopsgate was also part of Norton Folgate but was probably part of the broader manor and not part of the liberty. Its original extent was from what is now Worship Street (then called Hog Lane) in a narrow corridor that ran parallel to Bishopsgate as far south as Liverpool Street Station. By the 19th century it had been reduced to a small plot between Primrose Street and Worship Street. It has been suggested that Norton Folgate can be identified as the nine acres which the canons of St Paul's held at Bishopsgate (ad portam Episcopi) at the time of the Domesday Survey and was held similarly during the time of Edward the Confessor. [4]
In the 18th century breweries in Hog Lane and White Lion Street produced porter. [5] [4] The Gas Light and Coke Company established works, also known as the 'Curtain Road Works' from about 1812 when it was contracted to light Bishopsgate and supply the surrounding area with gas. The site was cramped, and riddled with springs. The company applied novel chemistry (devised by Fredrick Winsor) on an industrial scale. The works operated from about 1820 to 1871, when Beckton Gas Works took over the supply for much of London. The site was then used as a coal siding – for coaling trains at Broad Street and Liverpool Street. After that it was used as a yard for taxis before it was redeveloped in about 2000. [6]
Norton Folgate was once the residence of the playwright Christopher Marlowe. The theatrical association continued, with the construction in 1837 of the City of London Theatre by the architect Samuel Beazley. The theatre specialised in "domestic" and temperance drama, and closed in 1868. Performances included The Pickwick Papers between March and April 1837; and Nicholas Nickleby in November and December 1838. [7]
The liberty existed until October 1900, [4] although it continued to have nominal existence as a civil parish until 1921. The area to the west of Bishopsgate was removed and became part of the parish and borough of Shoreditch (which in turn became part of the London Borough of Hackney in 1965). [8] Since a revision of boundaries in the 1990s this area is now part of the City of London. The remaining parish to the east of Bishopsgate formed part of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney until it was abolished in 1921, absorbed by the parish of Spitalfields. [9]
In 2008, in opposition to a plan to demolish the Light Bar (built as a power station for the Great Eastern Railway) [10] in order to build an office block, local activists claimed that documents in the council archives showed that the abolition of the Liberty of Norton Folgate in 1900 was technically invalid and that it still existed. [11]
In 1732 the Parish Clerks of Shoreditch said that "All the Affairs of the Liberty are managed by the Ancients, who are in the Nature of a Vestry". [4] These "ancients" or "ancient inhabitants" may have originally been clerics but after the reformation were probably established landowners. Later records indicate that these "ancient inhabitants" took turns to occupy various offices including:
The ten "ancient inhabitants" were obliged to fill these offices unless they paid a fine excusing themselves. The Ancient Inhabitants appear to have replaced their numbers through co-opting residents of the Liberty. After a Local Act these ancient offices were replaced by a more democratic Board of Trustees who administered the Liberty from the Court House located in the centre of Norton Folgate Street (now called Norton Folgate). These twenty trustees were responsible for establishing and maintaining civic amenities such as sewerage, lighting and the maintenance of pavements. In 1743 the ancient Court House was pulled down and the courts of the manor were later held in a building on the north side of White Lion Street (later No. 1 Folgate Street) leased by the inhabitants and overseers of the liberty from 1744 onwards. This building was also used for meetings of the trustees until 1900; it was demolished in the 1960s.
The liberty was one of the components of the Tower Division, also known as the Tower Hamlets, an area best known for its military association with the Tower of London, but which also had a civil role. [12]
In 1855 the liberty became part of the Whitechapel District. In 1897 the trustees contemplated agitating, together with the neighbouring Liberty of the Old Artillery Ground, for inclusion in the City of London, but did not do so. In 1900 the liberty became merged in the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney and the last meeting of the trustees took place on 24 October of that year. The last chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Liberty was William Chillingworth. [13]
The liberty of Norton Folgate covered 8 acres (3 ha). The population as recorded in the Census was:
Liberty of Norton Folgate 1801-1901
Year [14] | 1801 | 1811 | 1821 | 1831 | 1841 | 1851 | 1861 | 1871 | 1881 | 1891 | 1901 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Population | 1,752 | 1,716 | 1,896 | 1,918 | 1,674 | 1,771 | 1,873 | 1,550 | 1,528 | 1,449 | 1,663 |
Bethnal Green is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By the 16th century the term applied to a wider rural area, the Hamlet of Bethnal Green, which subsequently became a Parish, then a Metropolitan Borough before merging with neighbouring areas to become the north-western part of the new Tower Hamlets.
Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north-east of the border with the City of London and is considered to be a part of London's East End.
Stepney is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name applied to a much larger manor and parish. Stepney Green is a remnant of a larger area of Common Land formerly known as Mile End Green.
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a borough of London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of the regenerated London Docklands area. The 2019 mid-year population for the borough is estimated at 324,745.
Commercial Street is an arterial road in Tower Hamlets, east London that runs north to south from Shoreditch High Street to Whitechapel High Street through the East End district of Spitalfields. The road is a section of the A1202 London Inner Ring Road and as such forms part of the boundary of the London congestion charge zone.
Bromley, commonly known as Bromley-by-Bow, is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, located on the western banks of the River Lea, in the Lower Lea Valley in East London.
Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate's name is traditionally attributed to Earconwald, who was Bishop of London in the 7th century. It was first built in Roman times and marked the beginning of Ermine Street, the ancient road running from London to York (Eboracum). The gate was rebuilt twice in the 15th and 18th centuries, but was permanently demolished in 1760.
Spitalfields is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and situated in the East End. Spitalfields is formed around Commercial Street and Brick Lane. It has several markets, including Spitalfields Market, the historic Old Spitalfields Market, Brick Lane Market and Petticoat Lane Market. The area has a long attracted migrants from overseas, including many Jews, whose presence gained the area the 19th century nickname of Little Jerusalem.
Bethnal Green was a civil parish and a metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1899 and 1965, when it was merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney and the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar to form the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965 it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
The Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch was a metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1899 and 1965, when it was merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington and the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney to form the London Borough of Hackney.
Brick Lane is a famous street in the East End of London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest, most commercially active part which runs through Spitalfields, or along its eastern edge. Brick Lane's southern end is connected to Whitechapel High Street by a short extension called Osborn Street.
Norton Folgate is a short length of street in London, connecting Bishopsgate with Shoreditch High Street, on the northern edge of the City of London.
The Tower Division was a liberty in the ancient county of Middlesex, England. It was also known as the Tower Hamlets, and took its name from the military obligations owed to the Constable of the Tower of London. The term ‘Hamlets’ probably referred to territorial sub-divisions of the parish of Stepney – and its daughter parishes – rather than to the usual meaning of a small village.
The Old Artillery Ground is an area of land in Spitalfields, London formerly designated one of the Liberties of the Tower of London and Crown Land.
Tower Hamlets was a parliamentary borough (constituency) in Middlesex, England from 1832 to 1885. It elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the first five of its type in the metropolitan area of London. It was enfranchised by the Reform Act 1832.
Bishopsgate (Low Level) was a railway station opened by the Great Eastern Railway (GER) on 4 November 1872 alongside the company's first London terminus, Bishopsgate, which stood on a viaduct (and thus became also known as Bishopsgate (High Level)). The newer station was on a lower route, leading south-west, which the GER was building to its future Liverpool Street terminus and was situated on Quaker Street, on the eastern side of Shoreditch High Street (now in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets but then in the Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green) near Bishopsgate.
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have universally accepted boundaries on its north and east sides, though the River Lea is sometimes seen as the eastern boundary. Parts of it may be regarded as lying within Central London. The term "East of Aldgate Pump" is sometimes used as a synonym for the area.
Mile End New Town is a former hamlet and then civil parish in the East End of London. Its former area is now part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Whitechapel was a local government district within the metropolitan area of London, England from 1855 to 1900.