Metropolitan Borough of Holborn

Last updated

Holborn
Holborn Town Hall - geograph.org.uk - 668999.jpg
Holborn Town Hall
Metropolitan Borough of Holborn.svg
Holborn within the County of London
Area
  1911405 acres (1.64 km2)
  1931406 acres (1.64 km2)
  1961407 acres (1.65 km2)
Population
  191149,357
  193138,860
  196122,008
Density
  1911121/acre
  193196/acre
  196154/acre
History
  Created1900
  Abolished1965
  Succeeded by London Borough of Camden
Status Metropolitan borough
GovernmentHolborn Borough Council
   HQ High Holborn
   Motto Multi Pertransibunt et Augebitur Scientia
(Many shall pass through and learning shall be increased)
Holborn arms.png
Coat of arms of the borough council
Metropolitan Borough of Holborn Map of borough boundary

The Metropolitan Borough of Holborn was a metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965. The borough included most of Holborn (the parts outside the City of London) as well as Bloomsbury and St Giles.

Contents

In 1965 the borough amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras and the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead to form the new London Borough of Camden.

Formation and boundaries

The borough was formed in 1900 from seven civil parishes and extra-parochial places; all but the first of these were historically part of Holborn:

In 1930 these seven were combined into a single civil parish called Holborn, which was conterminous with the metropolitan borough. [1]

Previous to the borough's formation it had been administered by two separate local bodies: Holborn District Board of Works and St Giles District Board of Works. The Inns of Court and Inns of Chancery had not been under the control of any local authority prior to 1900.

Coat of arms

St Giles, St George (patron saint of Bloomsbury) and St Andrew (patron saint of Holborn) were depicted on the borough seal. The several constituent parishes were illustrated in the arms granted to Holborn in 1906, while the supporters, the Lion and the Griffin are from the arms of Lincoln's Inn and Gray's Inn (Inns of Court).

Charges from these arms were used, together with charges from the coats of arms of Hampstead and of St. Pancras, when the new coat of arms of the London Borough of Camden was designed in 1965.

Visible legacy

Several of the street name signs in the British Museum/Senate House area still bear the "Borough of Holborn" area designation. Holborn Town Hall, built in 1894, still exists, on High Holborn, and still has the coat of arms in the façade. [2] The entrance gate piers to the church of St Giles-in-the-Fields commemorate the Borough when it was amalgamated in 1965, and bear an inscription to this effect, although the arch that bore the borough's arms has since been removed. [3]

Population and area

Holborn was the smallest of the twenty-eight metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, with an area of between 405 and 407 acres (1.6 km2). Therefore, it was even smaller than the City of London. It also had the smallest population of any of the boroughs throughout its existence. The populations recorded in National Censuses were:

Constituent parishes 1801–1899

Year [4] 1801181118211831184118511861187118811891
Population67,10380,64288,17290,67093,76795,72694,07493,51378,66870,938

Metropolitan Borough 1900-1961

Year [5] 1901191119211931194119511961
Population59,40549,35743,19238,860 [6] 24,81022,008

Politics

A map showing the wards of Holborn Metropolitan Borough as they appeared in 1952. Holborn Met. B Ward Map 1952.svg
A map showing the wards of Holborn Metropolitan Borough as they appeared in 1952.

The borough was divided into nine wards for elections: Central St Giles, Lincoln's Inn, North Bloomsbury, North St Andrew, North St Giles, Saffron Hill, South Bloomsbury, South East St Andrew and St George the Martyr. [7] [8]

Borough council

Parliament constituency

For elections to Parliament, the borough was represented by one constituency:

In 1950 the borough's representation was reduced to half a seat, when it was merged with part of St Pancras:

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloomsbury</span> District in West End, London

Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest museum in the United Kingdom, and several educational institutions, including University College London and a number of other colleges and institutes of the University of London as well as its central headquarters, the New College of the Humanities, the University of Law, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the British Medical Association and many others. Bloomsbury is an intellectual and literary hub for London, as home of world-known Bloomsbury Publishing, publishers of the Harry Potter series, and namesake of the Bloomsbury Group, a group of British intellectuals which included author Virginia Woolf, biographer Lytton Strachey, and economist John Maynard Keynes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holborn</span> Human settlement in England

Holborn, an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Pancras, London</span> Area of central London, England

St Pancras is a district in central London. It was originally a medieval ancient parish and subsequently became a metropolitan borough. The metropolitan borough then merged with neighbouring boroughs and the area it covered now forms around half of the modern London Borough of Camden. The area of the parish and borough includes the sub-districts of Camden Town, Kentish Town, Gospel Oak, Somers Town, King's Cross, Chalk Farm, Dartmouth Park, the core area of Fitzrovia and a part of Highgate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell</span> Former Metropolitan Borough in England

Camberwell was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in south London, England. Camberwell was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey, governed by an administrative vestry from 1674. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and became part of the County of London in 1889. The parish of Camberwell became a metropolitan borough in 1900, following the London Government Act 1899, with the parish vestry replaced by a borough council. In 1965 the borough was abolished and its former area became part of the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras</span> Metropolitan borough of England

St Pancras was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and became part of the County of London in 1889. The parish of St Pancras became a metropolitan borough in 1900, following the London Government Act 1899, with the parish vestry replaced by a borough council. In 1965 the borough was abolished and its former area became part of the London Borough of Camden in Greater London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead</span> Former local authority in London

Hampstead was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and became part of the County of London in 1889. The parish of Hampstead became a metropolitan borough in 1900, following the London Government Act 1899, with the parish vestry replaced by a borough council. In 1965 the borough was abolished and its former area became part of the London Borough of Camden in Greater London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea</span> Former borough of London

The Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea was a metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1900 and 1965. It was created by the London Government Act 1899 from most of the ancient parish of Chelsea. Following the London Government Act 1963, it was amalgamated with the Royal Borough of Kensington in 1965 to form the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holborn and St Pancras (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

Holborn and St Pancras is a parliamentary constituency in Greater London that was created in 1983. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2015 by Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister since 2024 and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020.

Camden London Borough Council in London, England is elected every four years. Since the last boundary changes in 2022, 55 councillors have been elected from 20 wards.

The Holborn Division was one of four divisions of the Hundred of Ossulstone, in the county of Middlesex, England. The other divisions were named Finsbury, Kensington and Tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holborn Town Hall</span> Municipal building in London, England

Holborn Town hall is a municipal building on High Holborn, Holborn, London. It is a Grade II listed building.

The parliamentary borough of Finsbury was a constituency of the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 1832 to 1885, and from 1918 to 1950. The constituency was first created in 1832 as one of seven two-seat "metropolis" parliamentary boroughs other than the two which already existed: Westminster and the City of London; the latter until 1885 retained an exceptional four seats. Finsbury was directly north of the City of London and was smaller than the Finsbury division of the Ossulstone hundred but took in land of Holborn division to its southwest in pre-introduction changes by Boundary Commissioners. It included Finsbury, Holborn, Moorfields, Clerkenwell, Islington, Stoke Newington and historic St Pancras. The 1918 constituency corresponded to the smaller Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury ; it was a seat, thus electing a single member, fulfilling a longstanding aim of Chartism which underscored the 1832 reforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holborn (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1885–1950

Holborn was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Holborn district of Central London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Giles, London</span> Human settlement in England

St Giles is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Camden. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It gets its name from the parish church of St Giles in the Fields. The combined parishes of St Giles in the Fields and St George Bloomsbury were administered jointly for many centuries; leading to the conflation of the two, with much or all of St Giles usually taken to be a part of Bloomsbury. Points of interest include the church of St Giles in the Fields, Seven Dials, the Phoenix Garden, and St Giles Circus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holborn District (Metropolis)</span>

Holborn was a local government district in the metropolitan area of London to the north west of the City of London from 1855 to 1900.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Giles District (Metropolis)</span>

St Giles District was a local government district in the metropolitan area of London, England from 1855 to 1900. The district was created by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, and comprised the civil parish of St Giles in the Fields and St George Bloomsbury, Middlesex: the two parishes had been combined for civil purposes in 1774. The district was abolished in 1900 and its former area became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn. The civil parish was abolished in 1930. It is now part of the London Borough of Camden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Borough of Camden</span> London borough in United Kingdom

The London Borough of Camden is a borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies 1.4 mi (2.3 km) north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former metropolitan boroughs of Holborn, St Pancras and Hampstead.

St Andrew Holborn was an ancient English parish that until 1767 was partly in the City of London and mainly in the county of Middlesex. Its City, thus southern, part retained its former name or was sometimes officially referred to as St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coat of arms of the London Borough of Camden</span>

The coat of arms of the London Borough of Camden were granted on 10 September 1965. The borough was formed by the merger of three former boroughs, namely the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead, the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn and the Metropolitan Borough of St. Pancras, from whose arms elements were utilised in the arms of the new borough.

References

  1. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, Holborn CP through time | Census tables with data for the Parish-level Unit, A Vision of Britain through Time. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10234116 Date accessed: 19 February 2015
  2. Historic England. "Holborn Town Hall and Library (1378893)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  3. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol5/pt2/pp127-140
  4. Statistical Abstract for London, 1901 (Vol. IV); Census tables for Holborn Metropolitan Borough
  5. Holborn MetB: Census Tables at Vision of Britain accessed 14 Dec 2006
  6. The census was suspended for World War II
  7. Post Office London County Suburbs Directory, 1919. 1919. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  8. Ordnance Survey 'County Series 3rd Edition' Map of London (1912-14) at 1:2500 scale. Accessed at https://www.old-maps.co.uk/

Further reading

51°31′02″N0°07′22″W / 51.5171°N 0.1228°W / 51.5171; -0.1228