The Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury 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 ...

within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the

Metropolitan Borough of Islington Islington was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish within the county of Middlesex, and formed part of The Metropolis from 1855. The parish was transferred to the County of London in 1889 and became ...

to form the London Borough of Islington.

Formation and boundaries

The borough was formed from five civil parishes and

extra-parochial places In England and Wales, an extra-parochial area, extra-parochial place or extra-parochial district was a geographically defined area considered to be outside any ecclesiastical or civil parish. Anomalies in the parochial system meant they had no chu ...

: Charterhouse, Liberty of Glasshouse Yard, St James & St John Clerkenwell,

St Luke Middlesex St Luke's is an area in central London in the Borough of Islington. It lies just north of the border with the City of London near the Barbican Estate, and the Clerkenwell and Shoreditch areas. The area takes its name from the now redundant pari ...

and

St Sepulchre Middlesex St Sepulchre was an ancient parish which had its southern part within the boundaries of the City of London and its northern part outside. Its former area is now within the contemporary neighbourhoods of Smithfield, Farringdon and Clerkenwell. T ...

. In 1915 these five were combined into a single civil parish called Finsbury, which was conterminous with the metropolitan borough. Previous to the borough's formation it had been administered by three separate local bodies:

Holborn District Board of Works Holborn was a local government district in the metropolitan area of London to the north west of the City of London from 1855 to 1900. The district was formed by the Metropolis Management Act 1855 from the following Middlesex civil parishes and p ...

, Clerkenwell Vestry and St Luke's Vestry. Charterhouse had not been under the control of any local authority prior to 1900. The borough covered the areas of

Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man called Finn ...

, Moorfields,

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 redisco ...

, and St Luke's. It bordered

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 ...

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 ...

, the City of London, Holborn and St Pancras.

Town Hall

The metropolitan borough was administered from

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 ...

on Rosebery Avenue. The building was built as the headquarters of Clerkenwell Vestry, and had been officially opened on 14 June 1895 by Lord Rosebery, the Prime Minister. The architect was C Evans Vaughan, and it was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as a "nice irregular brick building with Tudor windows and lantern". Finsbury Town Hall is now home to the Urdang Academy, a successful performing arts college.

Population and area

Although metropolitan boroughs only dated from 1900, the London County Council compiled statistics in 1901 that show the population growth in London over the preceding century. The area of the borough in 1901 was . The populations recorded in National Censuses were: Constituent parishes 1801-1899 Metropolitan Borough 1900-1961 By comparison, after amalgamation with

, to form the modern London Borough of Islington, the combined area became 14.86 km² - approximately ; in 2005, this had a population of 182,600, or a population density of 12,288/km². In 1901 Finsbury, the population density was 42,276/km².

Coat of arms

When the borough was incorporated in 1900, the corporation adopted a complicated device bearing six shields for each of the constituent parishes and

extra-parochial In England and Wales, an extra-parochial area, extra-parochial place or extra-parochial district was a geographically defined area considered to be outside any ecclesiastical or civil parish. Anomalies in the parochial system meant they had no ch ...

places from which it was formed. At the top were shields depicting the old Cripplegate of the City of London and the arms of Charterhouse. At the centre of the seal, on the left, is the shield of

Vestry. The parish church was dedicated to Ss. James and John, and the shield showed St. James on the left and the cross of St. John on the right. To the right of this was the emblem of St Luke's parish: as patron saint of artists, Luke was shown seated at an easel. At the left base of the seal was a depiction of the gate of St. Botolph, representing the Liberty of Glasshouse Yard. The design was completed by the shield of the parish vestry of St. Sepulchre. This parish was originally partly in the City of London, and partly in the county of Middlesex, and the shield combined the arms used bt the city and county. In 1931 the borough received a grant of arms from the College of Arms. This also included references to Finsbury's constituent parts, but in a more unified design. The shield had the cross of St John, on which were placed a heraldic fountain for the New River and roundels and rings from the arms of

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

. At the top of the shield was a representation of the city wall and its gates. The crest on top of the helm was for St sepulchre's parish, the shield held by the hand again combining elements of the arms of the City of London and Middlesex. The supporters were a winged bull, emblem of

St. Luke Luke the Evangelist (Latin: '' Lucas''; grc, Λουκᾶς, '' Loukâs''; he, לוקאס, ''Lūqās''; arc, /ܠܘܩܐ לוקא, ''Lūqā’; Ge'ez: ሉቃስ'') is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of t ...

; and an heraldic dolphin, symbol of St. James. The dolphin supporter was "charged" with a well in reference to

. The Latin motto chosen by the borough was ''Altiora Petimus'' or ''We seek higher things''.

Politics

The borough was divided into eleven

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: City Road East, City Road West, East Finsbury, Old Street, Pentonville, St James', St John's, St Mark's, St Phillip's, St Sepulchre and West Finsbury.

Borough council

The first borough council was elected on 1 November 1900, when Conservative-supported Unionist and Moderate candidates took control. From 1903 to 1906 the Progressive Party held power. From 1906 to 1925 the Municipal Reform Party (allied to the Conservatives) controlled the borough. In 1925 a Ratepayer's Association stood in place of the Municipal Reformers, replacing them as majority party. From 1928 to 1931, the Labour Party held control, with the Ratepayers holding power from 1931 to 1934. In 1934 Labour regained power, which it held until the abolition of the borough in 1965. The number of councillors returned at each election to the council was as follows: ;Local elections No Municipal Reform candidates were nominated after 1946, and Conservative candidates were nominated at local elections for the first time.

Parliament constituency

For elections to Parliament, the borough initially formed the two constituencies of

Finsbury Central Finsbury Central was a parliamentary constituency that covered the Clerkenwell district of Central London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the ...

and Finsbury East. In 1918 a new constituency of

was formed which was identical with the metropolitan borough. By 1950 the population of the borough had declined to such an extent that the Finsbury constituency was merged with the neighbouring constituency of Shoreditch to become Shoreditch and Finsbury.

Archival records

Islington Local History Centre Islington Local History Centre is a local studies centre and archive which holds material documenting the history of the London Borough of Islington. History Islington Local History Centre, which is located in Finsbury Library, was opened in 2003 ...

holds records of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury, including council and committee minutes, rate books, publications and photographs. There are some street nameplates which retain the label "Borough of Finsbury".

References

Sources

*
Census Tables for Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury, from Vision of Britain
* Crosley, Richard (1928) ''London's Coats of Arms and the Stories They Tell'' * Beningfield, T. J. (1965) ''London 1900 - 1964: Armorial Bearings and Regalia of the London County Council, The Corporation of London and The Metropolitan Boroughs''. Cheltenham & London: Ed. J. Burrow & Co. {{DEFAULTSORT:Finsbury, Metropolitan Borough of Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London History of the London Borough of Islington Politics of the London Borough of Islington 1900 establishments in the United Kingdom 1965 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Districts abolished by the London Government Act 1963