Liberty of the Savoy

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The Savoy
Liberty of the Duchy of Lancaster
Westminster Civil Parish Map 1870.png
History
  Created1246
Status Manor, Liberty
GovernmentCourt Leet of the Savoy
   HQ Somerset House
Subdivisions
  TypeWards (4)
  UnitsChurch, Middle, Royal, Savoy

The Savoy was a manor and liberty located between the Liberty of Westminster, on two sides, the Inner and Middle Temple part of City of London and the River Thames. It was in the county of Middlesex. Named for the Savoy Palace, it came to be held by the Duchy of Lancaster, and was also known as the Liberty of the Duchy of Lancaster. The duchy continues to have land holdings within the area. The manor, enjoying the status of a liberty, comprised the precinct of the Savoy, the southern half and detached south-west of the parish of St Clement Danes and about three quarters of St Mary le Strand as it only, in a tiny part, extended north of the Strand whereas those parishes straddled this ancient road.

Contents

History

Toponymy

Savoy is derived from Peter II, Count of Savoy who was granted land by Henry III in 1246. [1]

Palace and hospital

The land for the palace was granted by Henry III to Peter of Savoy, uncle of his queen, Eleanor of Provence, and was renamed Savoy Palace. [2] Peter in turn gave the palace to the Congregation of Canons of the Great Saint Bernard, and it became the "Great Hospital of St Bernard de Monte Jovis in Savoy". [2] The hospital was purchased by Queen Eleanor who gave the site to her second son, Edmund, Earl of Lancaster. When Edward I became king, he confirmed the ownership of the Savoy area to Edmund with letters patent. [2]

Duchy liberty

In 1351 Henry of Grosmont, a great-grandson of Henry III, was created the 1st Duke of Lancaster for services in the Hundred Years War. The seat of Lancaster in Lancashire was raised to a county palatine. [notes 1] [3] This meant the area was ruled by hereditary noblemen possessing special authority and autonomy from the rest of the Kingdom of England. Although the noblemen swore allegiance to the king, they had the power to rule the county and its contiguous land largely independently of the king. All other properties attached to the Duchy of Lancaster, including the Savoy became subject to the laws of the duke. As a consequence, someone being pursued for a debt in London could reside in the Savoy without fear of arrest by people acting under the authority of The Crown. Royal writs were not enforceable within the County of Lancashire until the 19th century. Lancaster had its own Court of Chancery until the 1970s. These circumstances have been used in historical fiction, such as the Aubrey-Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brian or John Pearce series by David Donachie.

Governance

The area was a parcel of the Duchy of Lancaster. It was divided into four wards, Church, Middle, Royal and Savoy. It was governed by a court leet. [4]

The liberty of the Savoy was part of Middlesex, and those connected with it eligible to vote at parliamentary elections were electors for the seats of Westminster. [5]

The Liberty of the Savoy was a franchise coroner's district until 1930, when it became part of the Central district of the County of London. [6] [7]

The practice of beating the bounds was abandoned by the Duchy of Lancaster in 1969 and revived in 2010. [8]

The Duchy of Lancaster continues to have land holdings within the area. [9]

Geography

The Savoy had the River Thames as its southern limit. About 95% of it was south of the Strand. It was made up of parts of two parishes and one extra-parochial place. These were from west to east:

The limits are shown by a series of markers.

Notes

  1. Palatine (which has primary syllable stress) is the relevant adjective; Palatinate (which has stress on the second syllable) is the noun, used alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savoy Palace</span> Noble townhouse in London, destroyed during the Peasants Revolt of 1381

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Clement Danes (parish)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Mary le Strand (parish)</span>

St Mary le Strand was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, England. It was partly within the Liberty of the Savoy and partly within the Liberty of Westminster. It took its name from the church of St Mary and the Innocents. The church was demolished in 1548, during the construction of Somerset House, and not rebuilt until 1723. The parish was de facto merged with the Precinct of the Savoy as "St Mary Savoy", but an attempt to merge the parishes de jure in the early 18th century failed. It was restored as a separate parish following the construction of the New Church in the Strand in 1723. The parish was grouped into the Strand Poor Law Union in 1836 and the Strand District in 1855. In 1889 it became part of the County of London and from 1900 also part of the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster. It was abolished as a civil parish in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Martin-in-the-Fields (parish)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westminster St Margaret and St John</span>

St Margaret was an ancient parish in the City and Liberty of Westminster and the county of Middlesex. It included the core of modern Westminster, including the Palace of Westminster and the area around, but not including Westminster Abbey. It was divided into St Margaret's and St John's in 1727, to coincide with the building of the Church of St John the Evangelist, constructed by the Commission for Building Fifty New Churches in Smith Square to meet the demands of the growing population, but there continued to be a single vestry for the parishes of St Margaret and St John. This was reformed in 1855 by the Metropolis Management Act, and the two parishes formed the Westminster District until 1887. St Margaret and St John became part of the County of London in 1889. The vestry was abolished in 1900, to be replaced by Westminster City Council, but St Margaret and St John continued to have a nominal existence until 1922.

Sir Nicholas Atherton (c.1357-1420) of Atherton. Other titles; Nicholas de Atherton, Lord of Bickerstaffe. English politician and Member of parliament (MP) of the Parliament of England for Lancashire in 1401. A lifelong member of affinity who was knighted on the 27 October 1400 in York, and prorogued on 20 January 1401 in Westminster. Born into a position within the Lancashire gentry. Extensive service to the House of Lancaster. Bailiff and medieval tax collector.

References

  1. Mills, D. (2000). Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names. Oxford.
  2. 1 2 3 Walter Thornbury (1878). "The Savoy". Old and New London: Volume 3. British History Online. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
  3. Collins Dictionary
  4. Joseph Ritson (1789). A digest of the proceedings of the Court Leet and of the manor and liberty of the Savoy.
  5. "History of Parliament Trust. Constituency right to vote: Westminster". Historyofparliamentonline.org.
  6. [ dead link ]
  7. "AIM25 collection description". Aim25.ac.uk.
  8. "LONDON: Stately beating". Churchtimes.co.uk.
  9. "Properties and Estates". The Duchy of Lancaster. Retrieved 5 January 2023.

51°30′35″N0°07′12″W / 51.5097°N 0.1200°W / 51.5097; -0.1200