Norton Folgate was a

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, England; adjacent to the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

in what would become the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

. It was located between the

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bishop ...

ward of the City of London to the south, the parish of St Leonard, Shoreditch to the north and the parish of Spitalfields to the east. The district, which was a component of the Tower Division, also known as the Tower Hamlets, ceased to exist when it merged into the

Metropolitan Borough of Stepney The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965 it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formation and boundaries The borough was formed from thirteen civil parishes ...

in 1900. Following boundary changes in the 1990s, its former area is now divided between the

and the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...

Toponymy

The name is recorded as ''Nortune'' and means "north farmstead". It is formed from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''north'' and ''tūn'', with the affix "Folgate" perhaps derived from the manorial family name ''Foliot''. This is possibly referring to

Gilbert Foliot Gilbert Foliot ( c. 1110 – 18 February 1187) was a medieval English monk and prelate, successively Abbot of Gloucester, Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London. Born to an ecclesiastical family, he became a monk at Cluny Abbey in ...

, Bishop of London or Richard Foliot, a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

. An alternative explanation found in ''The National Gazetteer'' from 1868 describes ''Folgate'' as derived "from the Saxon word ''Foldweg'', a highway, in allusion to the old Roman Road (

Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London (''Londinium'') to Lincoln (''Lindum Colonia'') and York (''Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earningas'', ...

) which passed through this place". It is remembered in the street of

Norton Folgate Norton Folgate is a short length of street in London, connecting Bishopsgate with Shoreditch High Street, on the northern edge of the City of London. It constitutes a short section of the A10 road (England), A10 road, the former Roman Empire, ...

and the 2009 album by the band Madness, called ''

The Liberty of Norton Folgate ''The Liberty of Norton Folgate'' is the ninth studio album by the British band Madness, released on 18 May 2009. The band worked on the album for close to three years and it was their first album of new material since 1999's '' Wonderful''. ...

''.

History

Norton Folgate originated as the land occupied by the inner precinct of the Priory and Hospital of St Mary Spital. The priory was dissolved during the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, but the land which reverted to

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

, retained its status as an extra-parochial liberty. Within the of the former liberty are Folgate Street (formerly White Lyon Yard or White Lion Street), Spital Square, Elder Street, Fleur de Lis Street and Blossom Street. Maps from the 18th century indicate that an area to the west of Bishopsgate was also part of Norton Folgate but was probably part of the broader manor and not part of the liberty. Its original extent was from what is now Worship Street (then called Hog Lane) in a narrow corridor that ran parallel to Bishopsgate as far south as

Liverpool Street Station Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...

. By the 19th century it had been reduced to a small plot between Primrose Street and Worship Street. It has been suggested that Norton Folgate can be identified as the nine acres which the canons of St Paul's held at Bishopsgate (''ad portam Episcopi'') at the time of the

Domesday Survey Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

and was held similarly during the time of

Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ; la, Eduardus Confessor , ; ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was one of the last Anglo-Saxon English kings. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 to 1066. Edward was the son of Æth ...

.Sheppard 1957. In the 18th century breweries in Hog Lane and White Lion Street produced

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

. The

Gas Light and Coke Company The Gas Light and Coke Company (also known as the Westminster Gas Light and Coke Company, and the Chartered Gas Light and Coke Company), was a company that made and supplied coal gas and coke. The headquarters of the company were located on H ...

established works, also known as the 'Curtain Road Works' from about 1812 when it was contracted to light

and supply the surrounding area with gas. The site was cramped, and riddled with springs. The company applied novel chemistry (devised by Fredrick Winsor) on an industrial scale. The works operated from about 1820 to 1871, when

Beckton Gas Works Beckton Gasworks was a major London gasworks built to manufacture coal gas and other products including coke from coal. It has been variously described as 'the largest such plant in the world' Winchester C (Ed), ''Handling 2,000,000 tons of coa ...

took over the supply for much of London. The site was then used as a coal siding – for coaling trains at Broad Street and Liverpool Street. After that it was used as a yard for taxis before it was redeveloped in about 2000. Norton Folgate was once the residence of the playwright

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe (; baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon the ...

. The theatrical association continued, with the construction in 1837 of the ''City of London Theatre'' by the architect

Samuel Beazley Samuel Beazley (1786–1851) was an English architect, novelist, and playwright. He became the leading theatre architect of his time and the first notable English expert in that field. After fighting in the Peninsular War, Beazley returned to Lo ...

. The theatre specialised in "domestic" and

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

drama, and closed in 1868. Performances included ''

The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was Charles Dickens's first novel. Because of his success with ''Sketches by Boz'' published in 1836, Dickens was asked by the publisher Chapman & Hall to s ...

'' between March and April 1837; and ''

Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...

'' in November and December 1838. The liberty existed until October 1900, although it continued to have nominal existence as a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

until 1921. The area to the west of Bishopsgate was removed and became part of the parish and borough of

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

(which in turn became part of the

London Borough of Hackney London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1965). Since a revision of boundaries in the 1990s this area is now part of the

. The remaining parish to the east of Bishopsgate formed part of the

until it was abolished in 1921, absorbed by the parish of

Spitalfields Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...

. In 2008, in opposition to a plan to demolish the Light Bar (built as a power station for the

Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...

) in order to build an office block, local activists claimed that documents in the council archives showed that the abolition of the Liberty of Norton Folgate in 1900 was technically invalid and that it still existed.

Government

Liberty of Norton Folgate on 1873 OS map

In 1732 the Parish Clerks of Shoreditch said that "All the Affairs of the Liberty are managed by the Ancients, who are in the Nature of a Vestry". These "ancients" or "ancient inhabitants" may have originally been clerics but after the reformation were probably established landowners. Later records indicate that these "ancient inhabitants" took turns to occupy various offices including: * ''

Headborough In English law, the term headborough, head-borough, borough-head, borrowhead, or chief pledge, referred historically to the head of the legal, administrative, and territorial unit known as a tithing, which sometimes, particularly in Kent, Surrey ...

'' (a sort of Mayor) * 2 x ''Overseers of the Poor'' (who managed rents) * ''Constable'' (supervising three

Beadle A beadle, sometimes spelled bedel, is an official of a church or synagogue who may usher, keep order, make reports, and assist in religious functions; or a minor official who carries out various civil, educational, or ceremonial duties on the ...

s) * ''Scavenger'' (who managed street cleaning) The ten "ancient inhabitants" were obliged to fill these offices unless they paid a fine excusing themselves. The Ancient Inhabitants appear to have replaced their numbers through co-opting residents of the Liberty. After a

Local Act Proposed bills are often categorized into public bills and private bills. A public bill is a proposed law which would apply to everyone within its jurisdiction. This is unlike a private bill which is a proposal for a law affecting only a single p ...

these ancient offices were replaced by a more democratic ''Board of Trustees'' who administered the Liberty from the ''Court House'' located in the centre of Norton Folgate Street (now called

). These twenty trustees were responsible for establishing and maintaining civic amenities such as sewerage, lighting and the maintenance of pavements. In 1743 the ancient Court House was pulled down and the courts of the manor were later held in a building on the north side of White Lion Street (later No. 1 Folgate Street) leased by the inhabitants and overseers of the liberty from 1744 onwards. This building was also used for meetings of the trustees until 1900, it was demolished in the 1960s. The liberty was one of the components of the Tower Division, also known as the Tower Hamlets, an area best known for its military association with the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

, but which also had a civil role. In 1855 the liberty became part of the Whitechapel District. In 1897 the trustees contemplated agitating, together with the neighbouring Liberty of the Old Artillery Ground, for inclusion in the City of London, but did not do so. In 1900 the liberty became merged in the

and the last meeting of the trustees took place on 24 October of that year. The last chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Liberty was William Chillingworth.Minute Book of the Liberty of Norton Folgate (at Bancroft Public Records Library), 24.10.1900

Population and area

The liberty of Norton Folgate covered . The population as recorded in the Census was: Liberty of Norton Folgate 1801-1901

References

External links

Large scale 1885 Map of the Liberty and surrounding areaLocal administration of Norton FolgateTower Hamlets ArchivesCampaign to Revive the Liberty of Norton Folgate (Norton-Folgate.co.uk)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton Folgate, Liberty of History of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets History of the London Borough of Hackney Liberties of London Parishes united into districts (Metropolis) Former civil parishes in London