The Metropolitan Borough of Kensington was a

Metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolitan ...

in the County of London from 1900 to 1965, which since 1901 was known as the Royal Borough of Kensington, following the death of Queen Victoria, in accordance with her wishes.

History

It bordered Chelsea,

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, Paddington, and Westminster. It included

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, South Kensington, Earls Court, Notting Hill, Brompton and part of

Kensal Green Kensal Green is an area in north-west London. It lies mainly in the London Borough of Brent, with a small part to the south within Kensington and Chelsea. Kensal Green is located on the Harrow Road, about miles from Charing Cross. To the w ...

. In 1901 it was granted the status of a royal borough, and therefore from then was also known as the Royal Borough of Kensington. The status was granted after the death of Queen Victoria, in accordance with her wish (she was born at

Kensington Palace Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, and is currently the official L ...

in the borough). In 1965 it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea to form the

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is an Inner London borough with royal status. It is the smallest borough in London and the second smallest district in England; it is one of the most densely populated administrative regions in the ...

. A number of street signs in the area still bear the designation "Royal Borough of Kensington". The old Town Hall was demolished "in controversial circumstances" involving an impending conservation order in June 1982.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms is derived from those of the former Lords of the Manor, and that of the parish church, which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Population and area

The Kensington borough covered once part of Kensal New Town (a detached part of Chelsea before 1901) became incorporated. The population of Kensington recorded in the Census, which excludes Kensal New Town before 1901, was: Kensington Vestry 1801–1899 Metropolitan Borough 1900–1961

Politics

Under the Metropolis Management Act 1855 any parish that exceeded 2,000 ratepayers was to be divided into wards; however the parish of St Mary Abbots Kensington had already been divided into three wards by a local act in 1851 - "The Kensington Improvement Act, 1851". So the incorporated vestry inherited these wards and assigned vestrymen to them: The Holy Trinity Brompton (27), St John's Notting Hill & St James' Norland (27) and St Mary Abbots (30). In 1894 as its population had increased the incorporated vestry was re-divided into eight wards (electing vestrymen): Golborne (18), Norland (15), Pembridge (15), Holland (15), Earl's Court (12), Queen's Gate (15), Redcliffe (15) and Brompton (15). The metropolitan borough was divided into nine

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

for elections: Brompton, Earl's Court, Golborne, Holland, Norland, Pembridge, Queen's Gate, Redcliffe and St Charles.

Borough council

Parliament constituency

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

Kensington North Kensington North was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Kensington district of west London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United K ...

* Kensington South In 1950 the borough's representation was increased to two and a half seats, when part of it was merged with Chelsea: * Chelsea *

* Kensington South In 2010, the constituencies of Kensington North and South were merged to create a single constituency once again and Chelsea was branched off to create a new constituency. *

* Chelsea and Fulham