The City and Liberty of Westminster was a unit of local government in the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, England. It was located immediately to the west 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 f ...

. Originally under the control of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

, the local authority for the area was 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 ...

from 1585 to 1900. The area now forms the southern part of the City of Westminster in Greater London.

Governance

Following the

dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

, a court of burgesses (the

) was formed in 1585 to govern the Westminster area, previously under the Abbey's control. The City and Liberties of Westminster were further defined by Letters Patent in 1604, and the court of burgesses and

liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

continued in existence until 1900, and the creation of the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster. The court of burgesses (or court leet) was headed by the High Steward of

, who was usually a prominent national politician. He appointed a high bailiff, who served for life, and performed most of the functions usually exercised by a high sheriff of a county. The city and liberty were divided into twelve wards, each with a burgess and assistant burgess, this arrangement being adopted from the system then used in the

. Eight wards were located in the parish of St Margaret, three in St Martin in the Fields, and one for St Clement Danes and the Strand area. The burgesses chose two head burgesses, one for the city and one for the liberty, who ranked next after the high bailiff. A high constable was appointed by the court leet, under whom was a force of constables. These were absorbed by the Metropolitan Police in 1829. Following the dissolution of the court of burgesses in 1900, a link has been retained to the old corporation, as the Lord Mayor of Westminster is '' ex officio'' Deputy

High Steward of Westminster Abbey The High Steward of Westminster Abbey is an honorary role at Westminster Abbey, London. He is appointed by the Dean and Chapter, and holds the office for life. Past holders have included Robert Cecil (in the 16th century) and Douglas Hurd (fl. ...

. Westminster returned two members to parliament. Although outside the Liberty of Westminster, eligible inhabitants of the

Liberty of the Savoy The Savoy was a manor and liberty sandwiched between the Liberty of Westminster, on two sides, the Inner and Middle Temple corner of City of London and a steep bank of the Tideway. It was in the county of Middlesex. It was all held by the Duchy ...

, which included part of the parishes of St Clement Danes and St Mary le Strand voted with Westminster. The City and Liberty of Westminster was a franchise coroner's district until 1930, when it became part of the Central district of the County of London.

Constituent parishes and other areas

The City of Westminster consisted of: *The main part of the parish of St Margaret; after 1727 the combined parishes of St Margaret and St John. *The extra-parochial

Close of the Collegiate Church of St Peter The Close of the Collegiate Church of St Peter was an extra-parochial area, and later civil parish, in the metropolitan area of London, England. It corresponded to the area of Westminster Abbey and was an enclave between the parishes of St Marga ...

around Westminster Abbey The Liberty of the City of Westminster consisted of: *The detached part of the parish of St Margaret *The parish of St Martin in the Fields; later partly divided into St Anne (1687), St George Hanover Square (1724), St Paul Covent Garden (1645) and St James (1685) *Part of the parish of St Clement DanesRemainder in the

*Part of the parish of

St Mary-le-Strand St Mary le Strand is a Church of England church at the eastern end of the Strand in the City of Westminster, London. It lies within the Deanery of Westminster (St Margaret) within the Diocese of London. The church stands on what was until rec ...

*The extra-parochial St James's Palace * Privy Gardens (also known as Whitehall Gardens) *Verge of the Palaces of St James and Whitehall (also known as

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

)

Geography

The

Penny Cyclopaedia ''The Penny Cyclopædia'' published by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge was a multi-volume encyclopedia edited by George Long and published by Charles Knight alongside the '' Penny Magazine''. Twenty-seven volumes and three sup ...

in 1843 describes the boundaries as:

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westminster History of the City of Westminster Liberties of London Hundreds and divisions of Middlesex