St Martin-in-the-Fields was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England. It took its name from the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields and was within 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 ...

. It included within its boundaries the former

extra-parochial areas 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 c ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

and

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Altho ...

Adjustments

It was an ancient parish. In 1542 it gained most of what became its final form "lands between 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 ...

and the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...

" from the parish of

Westminster St Margaret St Margaret was an ancient parish in the City and Liberty of Westminster and the county of Middlesex. It included the core of modern Westminster, including the Palace of Westminster and the area around, but not including Westminster Abbey. It was ...

. It originally included four other areas, carved out as new parishes. It originally amounted to the area in green on the map, the whole Liberty, except for the part of St Margarets which formed Knightsbridge (the far west) and the part of St Clement Danes and St Mary le Strand within the ancient Liberty, very small areas north of the Strand (in the Liberty's extreme east): The four daughter parishes were, with their year of inception:-

Poor law

It was a single parish for poor law following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 until 1868 when it became part of the Strand Poor Law Union.

Reform

In 1855 the parish vestry became a local authority within the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works. Under the Metropolis Management Act 1855 any parish that exceeded 2,000

ratepayers Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government. Some other countries have taxes with a more or less comparable role ...

was to be divided into wards; as such the incorporated vestry of St Martin in the Fields was divided into three wards (electing vestrymen): No. 1 (12), No. 2 (12) and No. 3 (12). In 1896 as its population had increased the incorporated vestry was re-divided into three new wards (electing vestrymen): Park (15), Long Acre (12) and Embankment (9). In 1889 the parish became part of the County of London 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 ...

. The St Martin in the Fields Vestry was replaced by Westminster City Council and the vestry hall became

Westminster City Hall Westminster City Hall is a municipal building in Victoria Street in Westminster, London. It is the headquarters of Westminster City Council. History In the late 19th century the parishes of St Margaret and St John held their meetings at the ...

. The civil parish was abolished in 1922.

References

{{coord, 51, 30, 32, N, 0, 07, 37, W, region:GB, display=title History of the City of Westminster History of local government in London (pre-1855) Parishes governed by vestries (Metropolis) Former civil parishes in London 1922 disestablishments in England Bills of mortality parishes