Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch

Shoreditch
Shoreditch
	; Shoreditch Town Hall
	; Shoreditch shown within the County of London;
Area
• 1911/1931	658 acres (2.66 km2)
• 1961	659 acres (2.67 km2)
Population
• 1911	111,390
• 1931	97,042
• 1961	40,455
Density
• 1911	169/acre
• 1931	147/acre
• 1961	61/acre
History
• Origin	Shoreditch and Norton Folgate
• Created	1899
• Abolished	1965
• Succeeded by	London Borough of Hackney
Status	Metropolitan borough
Government	Shoreditch Borough Council
• HQ	Old Street
• Motto	More Light, More Power
	; Coat of Arms adopted by the Borough Council;
	Map of borough boundary

Last updated August 13, 2024

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.

The borough was made up of three main districts, Shoreditch, Hoxton and Haggerston, and covered much of the north-western and northern East End of London. An individual coat of arms was never granted to the metropolitan borough council; they adopted the arms of the second lord of the manor of Shoreditch, John de Northampton.

Boundaries

The borough was in north-east London and comprised the area of the ancient parish of Shoreditch (St Leonard's) plus part of the ancient liberty of Norton Folgate to the south^[1] The parish vestry had taken on local administration from the 17th century onwards.

Civic buildings

The civic buildings of the borough included the Town Hall (originally the Vestry Hall) in Old Street with the Magistrates Court (derelict in 2007), the Coroner's Court in Boundary St and other civic offices nearby.

Motto

The borough motto commemorates the provision of electric power to the borough from the Vestry of St Leonard Shoreditch Electric Light Station^[2] later known as the Shoreditch Borough Refuse Destructor and Generating Station^[3] on Coronet Street. The building on Coronet Street is embellished with the motto E PULVERE LUX ET VIS (Out of the dust, light and power). It was built in 1896 and burned rubbish, to provide steam for the electricity generator. The waste heat was used to heat the public baths next door (and now demolished). The building is now home to the National Centre for Circus Arts.

Population and area

The metropolitan borough was conterminous with the Vestry authority, when it was formed in 1900. Statistics compiled by the London County Council, in 1901 show the population growth in London, over the preceding century.

The area of the borough in 1901 was 658 acres (2.7 km²). The populations recorded in National Censuses were:

Shoreditch Vestry 1801-1899

Population	34,766	43,930	52,966	68,564	83,432	109,257	129,364	127,164	126,591	124,009
Year^[4]	1801	1811	1821	1831	1841	1851	1861	1871	1881	1891

Metropolitan Borough 1900-1961

Population	118,668	111,390	104,248	104,248	^[6]	44,871	40,455
Year^[5]	1901	1911	1921	1931	1941	1951	1961

By comparison, after amalgamation with Hackney and Stoke Newington, to form the modern London Borough of Hackney, the combined area became 19.06 km² - approximately 4,710 acres (19.1 km²); in 2005, this had a population of 207,700,^[7] or a population density of 10,900/km². In 1901 Shoreditch the population density was 44,600/km².

Coat of arms

The borough used coat of arms, but these were never formally granted and, therefore, not official. When the borough was merged to found the London Borough of Hackney, other charges were used to represent Shoreditch in the new coat of arms of the London Borough of Hackney.^[8]^[9]

Politics

Under the Metropolis Management Act 1855 any parish that exceeded 2,000 ratepayers was to be divided into wards; as such the incorporated vestry of St Leonard Shoreditch was divided into eight wards (electing vestrymen): No. 1 or Moorfields (18), No. 2 or Church (21), No. 3 or Hoxton (21), No. 4 or Wenlock (18), No. 5 or Whitmore (12), No. 6 or Kingsland (12), No. 7 or Haggerstone (9) and No. 8 or Acton (9).^[10]^[11]

The metropolitan borough inherited these eight wards for elections: Acton, Church, Haggerston, Hoxton, Kingsland, Moorfields, Wenlock and Whitmore.^[12]^[13]

Borough council

Parliament constituency

For elections to Parliament, the borough was divided into two constituencies:

In 1918 the borough's representation was reduced to one seat:

Shoreditch

In 1950 the borough's representation was reduced to half a seat, when it was merged with Finsbury:

Shoreditch and Finsbury

Gallery

Detail of the town hall facade. Note that the imposing figure representing Progress carries an axe to clear the way to the future. (September 2005)

Related Research Articles

The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough in Inner London, England. The historical and administrative heart of Hackney is Mare Street, which lies 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Charing Cross. The borough is named after Hackney, its principal district. Southern and eastern parts of the borough are popularly regarded as being part of east London that spans some of the traditional East End of London with the northwest belonging to north London. Its population is estimated to be 281,120.

Dalston is an area of East London, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is four miles northeast of Charing Cross. Dalston began as a hamlet on either side of Dalston Lane, and as the area urbanised the term also came to apply to surrounding areas including Kingsland and Shacklewell, all three of which being part of the Ancient Parish of Hackney.

Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, in East London, England. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. It lies immediately northeast of the City of London financial district, and was once part of the civil parish and subsequent Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, prior to its incorporation into the London Borough of Hackney.

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.

Old Street is a 1-mile (1.6 km) street in inner north-east Central London, England that runs west to east from Goswell Road in Clerkenwell, in the London Borough of Islington, via St Luke's and Old Street Roundabout, to the crossroads where it meets Shoreditch High Street (south), Kingsland Road (north) and Hackney Road (east) in Shoreditch in the London Borough of Hackney.

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 Islington</span> Former local authority of London, England

Islington was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish within the county of Middlesex, and formed part of The Metropolis from 1855. The parish was transferred to the County of London in 1889 and became a metropolitan borough in 1900. It was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury to form the London Borough of Islington in Greater London in 1965.

The Metropolitan Borough of Hackney was a metropolitan borough of the County of London from 1900 to 1965. Its area became part of the London Borough of Hackney.

The Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington was a metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965 when it became part of the London Borough of Hackney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hackney South and Shoreditch (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1974 onwards

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliamentary constituencies in London</span>

The region of Greater London, including the City of London, is divided into 75 parliamentary constituencies which are sub-classified as borough constituencies, affecting the type of electoral officer and level of expenses permitted.

St Leonard's, Shoreditch, is the old parish church of Shoreditch, often known simply as Shoreditch Church. It is located at the intersection of Shoreditch High Street with Hackney Road, within the London Borough of Hackney in East London. The current building dates from about 1740 and is Grade I listed. The church is mentioned in the line ""When I grow rich", say the bells of Shoreditch" from the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons.

Shoreditch (St Leonard) was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex. It was both a civil parish, used for administrative purposes, and an ecclesiastical parish of the Church of England. The parish church is St Leonard's, Shoreditch, often simply called "Shoreditch Church".

Hackney was a parish in the historic county of Middlesex. The parish church of St John-at-Hackney was built in 1792, replacing the nearby former 16th-century parish church dedicated to St Augustine. The original tower of that church was retained to hold the bells until the new church could be strengthened; the bells were finally removed to the new St John's in 1854. See details of other, more modern, churches within the original parish boundaries below.

Hoxton was a borough constituency centred on the Hoxton district of London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.

Haggerston, formally known as the "Haggerston Division of Shoreditch", was a borough constituency centred on the Haggerston district of the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch in London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.

Southgate Road is a street in London, England, that runs from Baring Street in the south to the junction with Mildmay Park and Ball's Pond Road in the north. The street forms a part of the B102 road, leading from Newington Green to The City. The west side of Southgate Road is in the London Borough of Islington; and the east side is in the London Borough of Hackney. Southgate Road lies north of the Regent's Canal, west of De Beauvoir Town and east of Essex Road.

The coat of arms of the London Borough of Hackney is the official heraldic arms of the London Borough of Hackney, England. The coat of arms were granted on 25 July 1969.

This is a list of coats of arms of London.

References

↑ Hackney Council: History ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
↑ R. Crosley, London's coats of arms and the stories they tell (Robert Scott, London, 1928)
↑ Cherry, B. and Pevsner (1998) The Buildings of England: London 4: North: 520. London, Penguin
↑ Statistical Abstract for London, 1901 (Vol. IV)
↑ Shoreditch MetB: Census Tables at Vision of Britain accessed on 14 Dec 2006
↑ The census was suspended for World War II
↑ 2005 estimate
↑ Heraldry of the World: Hackney
↑ Civic Heraldry of England and Wales: Hackney lb
↑ The London Gazette Issue: 21802. 20 October 1855. pp. 3878–3879. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
↑ "H.M.S.O. Boundary Commission Report 1885 Shoreditch Map". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
↑ Post Office London County Suburbs Directory, 1919. 1919. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
↑ Ordnance Survey 'County Series 3rd Edition' Map of London (1912-14) at 1:2500 scale. Accessed at https://www.old-maps.co.uk/

External links

Shoreditch Town Hall Trust

51°31′30″N0°04′37″W / 51.525°N 0.077°W / 51.525; -0.077

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[1] Hackney Council: History ^{[ permanent dead link ]}

[2] R. Crosley, London's coats of arms and the stories they tell (Robert Scott, London, 1928)

[3] Cherry, B. and Pevsner (1998) The Buildings of England: London 4: North: 520. London, Penguin

[4] Statistical Abstract for London, 1901 (Vol. IV)

[5] Shoreditch MetB: Census Tables at Vision of Britain accessed on 14 Dec 2006

[6] The census was suspended for World War II

[7] 2005 estimate

[8] Heraldry of the World: Hackney

[9] Civic Heraldry of England and Wales: Hackney lb

[10] The London Gazette Issue: 21802. 20 October 1855. pp. 3878–3879. Retrieved 8 April 2015.

[11] "H.M.S.O. Boundary Commission Report 1885 Shoreditch Map". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 8 April 2015.

[12] Post Office London County Suburbs Directory, 1919. 1919. Retrieved 18 February 2015.

[13] Ordnance Survey 'County Series 3rd Edition' Map of London (1912-14) at 1:2500 scale. Accessed at https://www.old-maps.co.uk/

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v t e Local government districts abolished or transferred by the London Government Act 1963
London CC	Battersea Bermondsey Bethnal Green Camberwell Chelsea Deptford Finsbury Fulham Greenwich Hackney Hammersmith Hampstead Holborn Islington Kensington Lambeth Lewisham Paddington Poplar Shoreditch Southwark St. Marylebone St. Pancras Stepney Stoke Newington Wandsworth Westminster Woolwich	Constituent parts of Greater London
Essex	Barking Chigwell (part) Chingford Dagenham East Ham Hornchurch Ilford Leyton Romford Walthamstow Wanstead and Woodford West Ham
Hertfordshire	Barnet East Barnet
Middlesex, CC	Acton Brentford and Chiswick Ealing Edmonton Enfield Feltham Finchley Friern Barnet Harrow Hayes and Harlington Hendon Heston and Isleworth Hornsey Ruislip-Northwood Southall Southgate Tottenham Twickenham Uxbridge Wembley Willesden Wood Green Yiewsley and West Drayton
Kent	Beckenham Bexley Bromley Chislehurst and Sidcup Crayford Erith Orpington Penge
Surrey	Barnes Beddington and Wallington Carshalton Coulsdon and Purley Croydon Kingston-upon-Thames Malden and Coombe Merton and Morden Mitcham Sutton and Cheam Surbiton Richmond Wimbledon
Transfers	Middlesex to Hertfordshire: Potters Bar Middlesex to Surrey: Staines Sunbury-on-Thames

v t e History of the formation of the London Borough of Hackney
Metropolitan boroughs	Hackney Shoreditch Stoke Newington
District boards	Hackney
Parishes	Hackney Norton Folgate Shoreditch South Hornsey Stoke Newington