Finsbury is a district of
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characte ...
, forming the south-eastern part of the
London Borough of Islington. It borders the
City of London.
The
Manor
Manor may refer to:
Land ownership
*Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England
*Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism
*Man ...
of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man called Finn".
[Mills, D. (2000). ''Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names''. .] Finsbury lay just outside
Cripplegate (and on its later construction,
Moorgate) in
London Wall. At that time, much of the manor was part of the ''"great fen which washed against the
northern wall of the
City
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
"''.
Finsbury gave its name to two larger administrative areas: the
Finsbury Division of the
Ossulstone Hundred of
Middlesex, from the 17th century until 1900, and from 1900 to 1965 the
Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. The Metropolitan Borough included Finsbury (also known as
St Luke's) and
Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England.
Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington.
The well after which it was named was redisc ...
.
The area should not be confused with
Finsbury Park, a public space roughly to the north, which gives its name to its surrounding mainly residential area.
Geography
The area lies immediately north of the
City of London, and approximates to the part of the
London Borough of Islington east of
Goswell Road
Goswell Road, in Central London, is an end part of the A1. The southern part ends with one block, on the east side, in City of London; the rest is in the London Borough of Islington, the north end being Angel. It crosses Old Street/ Clerken ...
and south of
City Road. It also includes a small area north of City Road, focused on the
City Road Basin.
The parts of the City of London's
Coleman Street Ward that lie outside the line of the former City walls (now mostly covered by
Finsbury Circus) were historically part of the Manor of Finsbury and still sometimes described as part of the area.
Finsbury Town Hall
Finsbury Town Hall is a municipal building in Finsbury, London. The structure is a Grade II* listed building.
History
The building was commissioned by the Parish of St James's Church, Clerkenwell to replace an early 19th century vestry hall at ...
and the
Finsbury Estate lie further west, in
Clerkenwell
Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England.
Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington.
The well after which it was named was redisc ...
and are named after the former borough of Finsbury which included both Finsbury and Clerkenwell.
Origins and administration
Soke of Cripplegate
The Soke of Cripplegate was a landholding outside
Cripplegate and
Aldersgate
Aldersgate is a Ward of the City of London, named after one of the northern gates in the London Wall which once enclosed the City.
The Ward of Aldersgate is traditionally divided into Aldersgate Within and Aldersgate Without, the suffix denot ...
. Bordered (in part at least) by the
Walbrook to the east, it covered the areas subsequently known as
Aldersgate Without and the parish of
St Giles-without-Cripplegate (which included
Cripplegate Without, the part of
Coleman Street Ward north of the wall and the Manor of Finsbury).
The Soke was granted to
St. Martin's Le Grand
St. Martin's Le Grand is a former liberty within the City of London, and is the name of a street north of Newgate Street and Cheapside and south of Aldersgate Street. It forms the southernmost section of the A1 road.
College of canons and col ...
by
William the Conqueror in 1068, in exchange for prayers for the souls of his parents. It is thought the estate may be much older dating back to the establishment of the Diocese of London in the 7th century.
The churches of
St Botolph without Aldersgate and
St Giles-without-Cripplegate appear to have been built in the early decades of the twelfth century (possibly under the aegis of
Matilda of Blessed Memory) and there was very little, if any, development north of the wall before that time.
St Martins rights to the Soke were confirmed by the
Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda ( 7 February 110210 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as ...
(daughter of
Matilda of Blessed Memory) around 1140. St Martins was permitted to enclose land there to prevent rubbish dumping in the area, but it is thought the Empress' principle intention was to promote planned development of a northern suburb.
The development of streets such as Redcross Street, Whitecross Street, Grub Street, Fore Street, Moor Lane, Chiswell Street and others were subsequently recorded.
Manor and parishes
It is not entirely clear how the territory and rights of the Soke evolved into the subsequent administrative and ecclesiastical units.
The area covered by the Soke was served by two parishes; the little parish of
St Botolph without Aldersgate served the extramural City Ward of
Aldersgate Without, while the parish of
St Giles-without-Cripplegate served the extramural City Ward of
Cripplegate Without and the Manor (estate) of Finsbury. In the 17th Century, Little and Lower Moorfields, previously in the Manor of Finsbury and Parish of St Giles, was transferred to the
Coleman Street Ward of the City of London (and also to the parish of
St Stephen Coleman Street
St. Stephen's Church, Coleman Street, also called "St Stephen's in the Jewry", was a church in the City of London, at the corner of Coleman Street and what is now Gresham Street (and in Coleman Street Ward), first mentioned in the 12th century. I ...
for religious purposes). This meant that Coleman Street Ward also possessed an extramural area.
From mid-12th century the Manor of Finsbury was owned by St Paul's cathedral and managed as a
Prebendary Manor to provide a prebend (a stipend of money or goods) to support an ecclesiastic person such as a
canon, or an institution. For a long time the prebendary income went to
Holywell Priory in nearby
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 ...
, so the estate became known as the ''Prebend of Halliwell and Finsbury'', though the Priory itself did not lie adjacent to the prebendary manor or form part of it.
The prebendary manor of Finsbury was, from 1315, leased by the
Lord Mayor of London, so that after that the formal title of the Mayors has been ''Mayor of London and Lord of Finsbury''. The mayoral manor house, ''Finsbury Court'', lay on the junction of
Chiswell Street and Finsbury Pavement.
In this way the part of St Giles parish, ''Cripplegate Without'', that was part of the city was also known as ''The Freedom'' and governed by the Mayor as a part of, or a dependency of the city. The remaining part, ''The Manor of Finsbury'', was also known as ''The Lordship'', where the Mayor's position was that of a lessee, albeit with the title ''Lord of the Manor of Finsbury''.
Other accounts suggest the Manor passed to the Lord Mayors later, being made over their use by
Richard II
Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...
, in gratitude for the killing of
Wat Tyler by Mayor
William Walworth at Smithfield in 1381.
In 1733, the growth of the local population, led to the part of St Giles-without-Cripplegate outside the city, the area which had been the Manor of Finsbury, being made an independent parish, known as ''St Luke's'', after the parish church.
Latter administration and representation
The parts of the parish of St Giles outside of the city (originally the Manor of Finsbury, later organised as the Parish of St Luke) were part of the
Hundred of
Ossulstone in
Middlesex. By the 17th century, population growth made this unit inefficient, so it was sub-divided with the area north of the walls becoming part of a new
Finsbury Division which handled the responsibilities previously managed by the Hundred. Parish-level institutions continued to manage the
Poor Law
In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...
and ecclesiastical matters.
In 1832 the
parliamentary borough of Finsbury was created to represent the area in parliament. This area loosely approximated to the
Finsbury division, but also included parts of west London. In 1857
Finsbury Park was opened some three miles north, for the enjoyment of the residents of this parliamentary borough.
[
The Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury in the County of London was created in 1900, covering the area of Finsbury (also known as St Luke's) and Clerkenwell, with ]Finsbury Town Hall
Finsbury Town Hall is a municipal building in Finsbury, London. The structure is a Grade II* listed building.
History
The building was commissioned by the Parish of St James's Church, Clerkenwell to replace an early 19th century vestry hall at ...
located on Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell. In 1938, Dr. Chuni Lal Katial
Chuni Lal Katial (1898 – 14 November 1978) was a South Asian medical doctor and politician, who became the first UK's South Asian mayor, after being elected mayor of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury in 1938. He was born in the Punjab Regio ...
was elected mayor of Finsbury, making him the first Asian mayor in the United Kingdom.
The Borough's coat of arms included an embattled chief (top of the shield) representing the London Wall, a Barbican representing the three northern gates (Aldersgate, Cripplegate and Moorgate) and a Winged Bull, the heraldic symbol of St Luke.
In 1965 the area merged with Islington
Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
to form the new London Borough of Islington, though Finsbury Circus remains part of the City of London.
History
Growth
Urbanisation was slow, despite the building of a new gate in the adjacent London Wall, Moorgate, in 1511. In 1665 the Bunhill Fields
Bunhill Fields is a former burial ground in central London, in the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London. What remains is about in extent and the bulk of the site is a public garden maintained by the City of London Cor ...
burial ground was opened in the area.
Building on Finsbury Fields began in the late 17th century. The parish church of St Luke's was built in 1732–33, development was accelerated by the building of the City Road in 1765, and at the end of the 18th century a residential suburb was built with its centre at Finsbury Square.[Weinreb, B. and Hibbert, C. (eds.) (1983) ''The London Encyclopaedia''. Macmillan ] Little and Lower Moorfields remained open until Finsbury Circus was developed after 1815.
Military history
In 1641 the Honourable Artillery Company moved to Finsbury, where it still remains. The City of London Yeomanry, founded at the time of the Second Boer War, made its headquarters in Finsbury Square.
In 1862 Finsbury gave its name to a volunteer infantry unit — the Finsbury Rifles, which recruited in both Finsbury and Clerkenwell, and saw distinguished service in several conflicts.
Medical district
Before Harley Street
Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, which has, since the 19th century housed a large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery. It was named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.< ...
rose to prominence, Finsbury was London's principal medical district. In the mid-19th century it was home to a large number of hospitals, but now only Moorfields Eye Hospital remains.
The area included the following hospitals:
* Royal Hospital for Diseases of the Chest
* Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital (Moorfields)
* St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics
St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics was founded in London in 1751 for the treatment of incurable pauper lunatics by a group of philanthropic apothecaries and others. It was the second public institution in London created to look after mentally ill pe ...
* French Huguenot Hospital
* St Mark's Hospital for Fistula and other Diseases of the Rectum
* Holborn & Finsbury Poor Law Union
* Bethlem Hospital, on the site of what is now Finsbury Circus
Famous residents
* Charles Gordon, cricketer and grandson of the founder of Gordon's Gin
* Violet Kray, mother of the gangster Kray brothers
Ronald Kray (24 October 193317 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were identical twin brothers, gangsters and convicted criminals. They were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London, Eng ...
. Twins Ronnie and Reggie were arrested at her flat in Braithwaite House, Finsbury, in connection with gangland crimes including murder and fraud on 8 May 1968.
* Eric Maxon, Shakespearean and early film actor, died in Finsbury
* Arthur Mullard, comic actor
* Dadabhai Naoroji
Dadabhai Naoroji (4 September 1825 – 30 June 1917) also known as the "Grand Old Man of India" and "Unofficial Ambassador of India", was an Indian political leader, merchant, scholar and writer who served as 2nd, 9th, and 22nd President of t ...
, Indian politician
Points of interest
* St Luke Old Street
St Luke's is a historic Anglican church building in central London, and in the London Borough of Islington. It served as a parish church from 1733 to 1959. It was designed by John James and Nicholas Hawksmoor, and is a Grade I listed building.
...
(also known as Finsbury St Luke),completed in 1733 as the parish church, now used as a concert venue by the London Symphony Orchestra.
* Ironmonger Row Baths
Ironmonger Row Baths were built as a public wash house and later upgraded to a Turkish Bath. They are located at Ironmonger Row, in the St Luke's district, near Old Street, Islington, London.
Description
The baths include a steam room, a Victor ...
* Whitecross Street Market
* Moorfields Eye Hospital
* Artillery Ground, an open space and historic cricket venue.
* Bunhill Fields
Bunhill Fields is a former burial ground in central London, in the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London. What remains is about in extent and the bulk of the site is a public garden maintained by the City of London Cor ...
, a former burial ground and open space.
* Finsbury Square
* King Square Gardens
King Square Gardens is a park in the area of St Luke's in the London Borough of Islington, to the west of King Square. The park is designated as a Site of Local Importance to Nature Conservation.
The park was used in the opening scene of the Pin ...
* City Road Basin, a canal basin on the Regent's Canal.
* Golden Lane Estate
* City, University of London
* Finsbury Circus, in Coleman Street Ward, in the City of London.
References
External links
*
{{LB Islington
Areas of London
Districts of the London Borough of Islington
Places formerly in Middlesex