St Martin in the Fields (parish)

St Martin in the Fields
Civil parish
Area
• 1881/1921	286 acres (1.16 km2)
Population
• 1881	17,508
• 1901	12,980
• 1921	10,666
History
• Origin	Ancient parish
• Abolished	1922
• Succeeded by	City of Westminster (parish)
Status	Civil parish
Government	St Martin in the Fields Vestry
•  HQ	Vestry Hall, St Martin's Place
Contained within
• Poor Law Union	Strand (1868–1913) City of Westminster (1913–1922)
Today part of	City of Westminster

St Martin in the Fields was a civil parish in the county of Middlesex, later part of the new County of London, England. It took its name from the Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields and was within the Liberty of Westminster. Within its boundaries were the former extra-parochial areas of Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace. ^[1]

Geography

St Martin in the Fields was an ancient parish. In 1542, it gained the "lands between the church of St Clement Danes and the Palace of Westminster" from the parish of Westminster St Margaret. ^[2]

The parish originally included a number of areas that were carved out between 1645 and 1724 to create new parishes: ^[3]

Year	Parish	Localities
1645	St Paul Covent Garden	Covent Garden
1685	Westminster St James	Piccadilly
1687	St Anne Soho	Soho
1724	St George Hanover Square	Belgravia, Mayfair, Pimlico

The vestry

In 1855, the parish vestry became a local authority within the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works. 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 Martin in the Fields was divided into three wards (electing vestrymen): No. 1 (12), No. 2 (12) and No. 3 (12). ^{[4] [5]} In 1896, as the population of the parish had increased, the incorporated vestry was re-divided into three new wards (electing vestrymen): Park (15), Long Acre (12) and Embankment (9). ^[6]

Poor law

St. Martin in the Fields (Poor Relief) Act 1770
Act of Parliament
Parliament of Great Britain
Long title	An Act for building a Workhouse in the Parish of Saint Martin in the Fields, within the Liberty of Westminster, in the County of Middlesex.
Citation	10 Geo. 3. c. 75
Territorial extent	Great Britain
Dates
Royal assent	29 March 1770
Commencement	9 January 1770 [a]
Other legislation
Amended by	Workhouse (Westminster) Act 1772
Repealed by	London Government (City of Westminster) Order in Council 1901
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

Workhouse (Westminster) Act 1772
Act of Parliament
Parliament of Great Britain
Long title	An Act to amend an Act of the Tenth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, for building a Workhouse in the Parish of Saint Martin in the Fields, within the City of Westminster, in the County of Middlesex.
Citation	12 Geo. 3. c. 34
Territorial extent	Great Britain
Dates
Royal assent	21 May 1772
Commencement	21 January 1772 [a]
Other legislation
Amends	St. Martin in the Fields (Poor Relief) Act 1770
Repealed by	London Government (City of Westminster) Order in Council 1901
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

St Martin in the Fields had a parish workhouse since 1724 sited on an old burial ground between Hemmings Row, Dukes Court, St Martin's Place and Castle Street. 51°30′33″N0°07′41″W / 51.50917°N 0.12806°W / 51.50917; -0.12806 It was enlarged in 1772 under the St. Martin in the Fields (Poor Relief) Act 1770 (10 Geo. 3. c. 75) and the Workhouse (Westminster) Act 1772 (12 Geo. 3. c. 34). It was demolished in 1871, for an extension to the National Gallery. ^[7]

St Martin in the Fields was a single parish for the poor law, following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, until 1868, when it became part of the Strand Poor Law Union.

Reform

In 1889, the parish became part of the new County of London, and in 1900, it became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster. The St Martin in the Fields Vestry was replaced by Westminster City Council, and the vestry hall became Westminster City Hall. The civil parish was abolished in 1922.

Notes

1. Start of session.

References

1. Sir Walter Besant and Geraldine Edith Mitton(1903). The Strand District , The Fascination of London.Adam and Charles Black at Project Gutenberg
2. "Estate and Parish History | British History Online".
3. Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN   0-901050-67-9.
4. The London Gazette Issue: 21802. 20 October 1855. pp. 3896–3898. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
5. "H.M.S.O. Boundary Commission Report 1885 Westminster Map". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
6. The London Gazette Issue: 26709. 14 February 1896. pp. 860–861. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
7. "The Workhouse in St Martin in the Fields". workhouses.org.uk.

51°30′32″N0°07′37″W / 51.50889°N 0.12694°W / 51.50889; -0.12694