St Clement Danes was 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 ...
in the metropolitan area of
London
London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England; an ecclesiastical version remains (see its
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
church,
St Clement Danes
St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th century by the Danes, the current ...
). The parish was split between the
Liberty of Westminster
The City and Liberty of Westminster was a unit of local government in the county of Middlesex, England. It was located immediately to the west of the City of London. Originally under the control of Westminster Abbey, the local authority for the ...
and the
Liberty of the Duchy of Lancaster (also known as of the Savoy). The area is colloquially split between
Aldwych
Aldwych (pronounced ) is a street and the name of the List of areas of London, area immediately surrounding it in central London, England, within the City of Westminster. The street starts Points of the compass, east-northeast of Charing Cros ...
and
Adelphi areas associated with the larger
Strand
Strand may refer to:
Topography
*The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a:
** Beach
** Shoreline
* Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida
Places Africa
* Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa
* Strand Street ...
area in the extreme east of the
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...
. It includes hotels, restaurants, the Indian and Australian High Commissions and the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
. To its west is
Charing Cross station
Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a central London railway terminus between the Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South Eastern Main Line to Dover via Ashfo ...
which faces
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
.
Toponymy
It took its name from the dedication of the church of
St Clement Danes
St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th century by the Danes, the current ...
. It is recorded in the early 12th century as ''parochia Sancti Clementis ecclesie Dacorum'' or 'the parish of St Clement's church of the Danes'. The name suggests there were
Danes
Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural.
Danes generally regard t ...
living in the area, to the west of the City of London.
Governance
It was first recorded in 1190,
[ being as such a relatively ]ancient 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. ...
; about half was in the Liberty of Westminster
The City and Liberty of Westminster was a unit of local government in the county of Middlesex, England. It was located immediately to the west of the City of London. Originally under the control of Westminster Abbey, the local authority for the ...
and half in the Ossulstone
Ossulstone is an obsolete subdivision (hundred) covering 26.4% of – and the most metropolitan part – of the historic county of Middlesex, England.British History Online Hundreds of Middlesex/ref> It surrounded but did not include the ...
hundred of 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 ...
until its final forms when other parishes had been created absorbing parts of its earlier area. The medieval parish lay partly in the vill of Westminster, being one of four parishes of Westminster, and partly in the soke of Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
a city in the English Midlands. The Ossulstone section formed part of the Liberty of the Duchy of Lancaster. The parish was included in the returns of the Bills of mortality from 1604.
In 1826 the stocks
Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...
belonging to the parish, situated in Portugal Street were removed and destroyed. They were thought to be the last remaining in London.
The parish was grouped into the Strand District in 1855 when it came within the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works
The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London County ...
. In 1889 the parish became part of the County of London
The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...
and in 1900 it became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster
The Metropolitan Borough of Westminster was a metropolitan borough in the County of London, England, from 1900 to 1965.
City status
By royal charter dated 29 October 1900, the borough was granted the title City of Westminster. Westminster had o ...
. It was abolished as a civil parish in 1922.
Hospital
King's College Hospital
King's College Hospital is a major teaching hospital and major trauma centre in Denmark Hill, Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It is managed by K ...
was originally opened in 1840 in the disused St Clement Danes parish workhouse
In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...
in Portugal Street, as a training facility where medical students of King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
could practice and receive instruction from the college's own professors. Booth
Booth may refer to:
People
* Booth (surname)
* Booth (given name)
Fictional characters
* August Wayne Booth, from the television series ''Once Upon A Time''
*Cliff Booth, a supporting character of the 2019 film ''Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' ...
's poverty map shows a generation later remnant streets of the intense poverty which formed much of the parish of the 1840s — overcrowded tenements characterised by poverty and disease
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
and the hospital was treating annually 1,290 inpatients in 120 bed
A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax.
Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...
s, with two patients sharing a bed by no means unusual. The hospital later moved to its present site in Denmark Hill
Denmark Hill is an area and road in Camberwell, in the London Borough of Southwark. It is a sub-section of the western flank of the Norwood Ridge, centred on the long, curved Ruskin Park slope of the ridge. The road is part of the A215 road, A21 ...
.
Geography
The parish consisted of two areas extending into the left (north) half of the Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
.
The main part formed the east part of Westminster vill which was largely gardens and rural until the late medieval period. It adjoined the Liberty of the Rolls
The Liberty of the Rolls was a liberty, and civil parish, in the metropolitan area of London, England.
The Liberty was probably created in the late medieval period by its removal from the Farringdon Without Ward of City of London,London 800-1216: ...
and the Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
area of 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 ...
. To the west it had a straight boundary with two parishes of contrasting size: St Martin in the Fields (large) and St Mary le Strand (very small). To the north it was bounded by St Giles in the Fields
St Giles in the Fields is the Anglican parish church of the St Giles district of London. It stands within the London Borough of Camden and belongs to the Diocese of London. The church, named for St Giles the Hermit, began as a monastery and ...
.
The western detached part was very small; it lay between an arm of St Martin in the Fields by the river and the few-acres Precinct of the Savoy
The Precinct of the Savoy, also known as Savoy St John the Baptist, was a component of the Liberty of the Savoy in the county of Middlesex, England, located between the Strand and the River Thames. Formerly extra-parochial, it was a civil parish ...
of similar size to St Mary le Strand also by the river.
;Demography
;Ecclesiastical successor
The boundaries are the same in the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
as the final form of the civil parish save that St Mary le Strand is combined; it has a third place of worship, King's College Chapel, London. The two churches are known as the "island churches" forming traffic islands.
References
External links
St Clement Danes: The parish, Old and New London: Volume 3 (1878)
London Lives: St Clement Danes
{{History of the formation of the City of Westminster
History of the City of Westminster
History of local government in London (pre-1855)
Parishes united into districts (Metropolis)
Former civil parishes in London
Bills of mortality parishes