St Martin in the Fields
Civil parish

Area
 • 1881/1921286 acres (1.16 km2)
Population
 • 188117,508
 • 190112,980
 • 192110,666
History
 • OriginAncient parish
 • Abolished1922
 • Succeeded byCity of Westminster (parish)
StatusCivil parish
GovernmentSt Martin in the Fields Vestry
 • HQVestry Hall, St Martin's Place
Contained within
 • Poor Law UnionStrand (1868–1913)
City of Westminster (1913–1922)
Today part ofCity 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]

YearParishLocalities
1645St Paul Covent GardenCovent Garden
1685Westminster St JamesPiccadilly
1687St Anne SohoSoho
1724St George Hanover SquareBelgravia, 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 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.

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.

51°30′32″N 0°07′37″W / 51.50889°N 0.12694°W / 51.50889; -0.12694

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