St George Hanover Square 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 ...
created in 1724 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 ...
,
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 ...
, which was later part of 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.
The creation of the parish accompanied the building of
St George's, Hanover Square
St George's, Hanover Square, is an Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London (the Queen Anne C ...
, constructed by the
Commission for Building Fifty New Churches to meet the demands of a growing population. The parish was formed from part of the quite early medieval (in legal parlance called ancient) parish of Saint Martin in the Fields in the consequent Liberty of Westminster, probably one parish at the time of the Norman conquest, and in the hundred of
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 ...
. It included some of the most fashionable areas of what later became the
West End of London
The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...
, including
Belgravia
Belgravia () is a Districts of London, district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' Tudor Period, during the ...
and
Mayfair
Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...
. Civil parish administration, known as a
select vestry
A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...
, was dominated by members of the
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
and
landed gentry
The landed gentry, or the ''gentry'', is a largely historical British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. While distinct from, and socially below, the British peerage, th ...
until the parish adopted the
Vestries Act 1831
The Vestries Act 1831, commonly known as Hobhouse's Vestry Act (named after the Whig frontbencher Sir John Hobhouse, later created Lord Broughton), was an Act of Parliament in 1831 and was a local government overhaul which also affected the Est ...
. The vestry was reformed again in 1855 by the Metropolis Management Act. 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 the vestry was abolished in 1900, to be replaced by
Westminster City Council
Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...
. The parish continued to have nominal existence until 1922. As created, it was a parish for both church and civil purposes, but the boundaries of the ecclesiastical parish were adjusted in 1830, 1835 and 1865.
Creation
The New Churches in London and Westminster Act 1710 created the
Commission for Building Fifty New Churches with the purpose of building new churches to deal with the increasing population. The commission also chose the boundaries of the new parishes and selected suitable persons to be parish officers and vestrymen. Within the parish were some of the most fashionable areas of the
West End of London
The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...
, with an aristocratic population. The select vestry created by the commission included 100 men. Much of the population of the parish was resident for only
part of the year. The parish was created in 1724 from part of the ancient parish of
St Martin in the Fields. It 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 ...
and the county 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 ...
. The parish vestry therefore had overlapping jurisdiction with the
Westminster Court of Burgesses
The Westminster Court of Burgesses was established by Act of Parliament in 1585 and abolished in 1900. It formed part of the local government of the City and Liberty of Westminster in London, England.
The court was set up following the dissol ...
as well as the Westminster and Middlesex
sessions.
Geography
The northern boundary was Bayswater Road and Oxford Street from
Lancaster Gate
Lancaster Gate is a mid-19th century development in the Bayswater district of central London, immediately to the north of Kensington Gardens. It consists of two long terraces of houses overlooking the park, with a wide gap between them openi ...
, past
Marble Arch
The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 to be the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is toda ...
, to
Oxford Circus. The western boundary was the
River Westbourne. The southern boundary was the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
. The parish included the part of Hyde Park northeast of the
Serpentine and the
Mayfair
Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...
area. To the south it narrowed, including the
Belgravia
Belgravia () is a Districts of London, district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' Tudor Period, during the ...
area,
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End.
...
,
Victoria Station and
Pimlico
Pimlico () is an area of Central London in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by London V ...
.
Hanover Square was located near to the northeastern boundary. It included within its boundaries the grounds of
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 ...
, although the palace itself was in St Martin in the Fields.
Reform
The parish adopted the
Vestries Act 1831
The Vestries Act 1831, commonly known as Hobhouse's Vestry Act (named after the Whig frontbencher Sir John Hobhouse, later created Lord Broughton), was an Act of Parliament in 1831 and was a local government overhaul which also affected the Est ...
, which provided for election of vestrymen by all
ratepayer
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 ...
s. The aristocratic dominance of the vestry declined. In 1815, 40% of vestrymen had titles and in 1845 it was half that.
In 1855, the parish vestry became a local authority 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 ...
.
Under the
Metropolis Management Act 1855
The Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c.120) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Metropolitan Board of Works, a London-wide body to co-ordinate the construction of the city's infrastructure. The Act al ...
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; however the parish of St George Hanover Square had already been divided into seven wards by a local act in 1827 - "An Act for better paving, lighting, regulating and improving the parish of Saint George Hanover-square within the liberty of the city of Westminster" (7 Geo. 4). So the incorporated vestry inherited these wards and assigned
vestrymen
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
to them: Dover (6), Conduit (9), Grosvenor (12), Brook (15), Curzon (12), Knightsbridge (27) and The Out (27).
Ecclesiastical division
It was initially a parish for both ecclesiastical and civil purposes. However, by 1865 it was divided into eleven
ecclesiastical district
A particular church ( la, ecclesia particularis) is an ecclesiastical community of faithful headed by a bishop (or equivalent), as defined by Catholic canon law and ecclesiology. A liturgical rite depends on the particular church the bishop (or eq ...
s.
Poor law
St George was a
local act parish
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
* Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...
and so it did not become part of the New Poor Law system, following the
Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
The ''Poor Law Amendment Act 1834'' (PLAA) known widely as the New Poor Law, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed by the Whig government of Earl Grey. It completely replaced earlier legislation based on the ''Poor Relie ...
. This meant it did not form part of a union and the parish vestry remained in control of poor law functions, instead of a separately elected board of guardians as was typical. Following the
Metropolitan Poor Act 1867
The Metropolitan Poor Act 1867 was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, the first in a series of major reforms that led to the gradual separation of the Poor Law's medical functions from its poor relief functions. It also led to the creati ...
, it was joined with
St Margaret and St John for this purpose in 1870 as the St George's Union and a board of guardians elected.
Abolition
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 ...
. The vestry was abolished in 1900 and replaced by Westminster City Council when it became part of the
Metropolitan Borough of Westminster. It was abolished as a civil parish in 1922.
Population
Notable people
*
Lady Amabel Kerr
Lady Amabel Kerr (, Cowper; 1846 – 15 October 1906) was a British writer of religious literature, biographies, children's literature, and novels. She was also a translator from German to English, and a magazine editor. She was described in the ...
(1846-1906), writer
References
External links
Church of St George, Hanover Square
{{Coord , 51, 30, 45, N, 0, 8, 35, W, type:adm3rd_region:GB-WSM, 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
1724 establishments in England
1922 disestablishments in England