Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury

Finsbury
Motto: Altiora Petimus (We seek higher things)
Finsbury Town Hall
Finsbury within the County of London
Geography
Status	Metropolitan borough (1900—1965) Civil parish (1915—1965)
1911/1931 area	587 acres (2.38 km2)
1931 area	586 acres (2.37 km2)
HQ	Rosebery Avenue
History
Created	1900
Abolished	1965
Succeeded by	London Borough of Islington
Demography
1911 population - 1911 density	87,923 150/acre
1931 population - 1931 density	69,888 119/acre
1931 population - 1931 density	32,887 56/acre
Politics
Governance	Finsbury Borough Council
Coat of arms granted in 1931
Device adopted in 1900
Subdivisions
Type	Civil parish
Civil parishes in 1911
Units	Charterhouse (2) Clerkenwell Glasshouse Yard (3) St Luke's St Sepulchre (1)

The Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury was a Metropolitan borough within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Islington to form the London Borough of Islington.

Boundaries

It was created by the London Government Act 1899 from the parishes of Charterhouse, Clerkenwell, Glasshouse Yard, St Luke and St Sepulchre. The borough replaced local government structures created by the Metropolis Management Act 1855: Clerkenwell and St Luke's had previously been administered by separate parish vestries; the extra-parochial Liberty of Glasshouse Yard and St Sepulchre had formed part of the Holborn District Board of Works; Charterhouse, also extra-parochial, had no vestry.

The borough covered the areas of Finsbury, Moorfields, Clerkenwell, and St Luke's. It bordered Islington, Shoreditch, the City of London, Holborn and St Pancras.

Town hall

The metropolitan borough was administered from the town hall 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.^[1] The architect was C Evans Vaughan, and it was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as a "nice irregular brick building with Tudor windows and lantern".^[2]

Area and population

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 587 acres (2.4 km²). The populations recorded in National Censuses were:

Constituent parishes 1801-1899

Year[3]	1801	1811	1821	1831	1841	1851	1861	1871	1881	1891
Population	55,515	68,811	86,223	100,521	112,938	125,360	129,031	124,766	119,382	111,225

Metropolitan Borough 1900-1961

Year[4]	1901	1911	1921	1931	1941	1951	1961
Population	101,463	87,923	75,995	69,888	[5]	35,370	32,887

By comparison, after amalgamation with Islington, to form the modern London Borough of Islington, the combined area became 14.86 km² - approximately 3,672 acres (14.86 km²); in 2005, this had a population of 182,600,^[6] 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 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 Clerkenwell 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. 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; and an heraldic dolphin, symbol of St. James. The dolphin supporter was "charged" with a well in reference to Clerkenwell.

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

Politics

The first borough council was elected on November 1, 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:^[7]

Local elections

Year	1900	1903	1906	1909	1912	1919	1922	1925	1928	1931	1934	1937	1945
Unionists	14
Moderates	4
Progressives	10	32	14	8	5	17
Liberals	5
Independent			1		1
Pro-conservatives		22
Municipal Reform			34	46	48	32	47						6
Ratepayers Assoc								40	27	47	9	8
Labour	1					5	7	14	29	9	47	48	47
Unofficial Labour													2
Communist													1

No Municipal Reform candidates were nominated after 1946, and Conservative candidates were nominated at local elections for the first time.

Year	1949	1953	1956	1959	1962
Labour		24	37	29	32
Conservative		5	2	5	2
Vacancies		5

For elections to Parliament, the borough initially formed the two constituencies of Finsbury Central and Finsbury East. In 1918 a new constituency of Finsbury 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 became Shoreditch and Finsbury.

There are some street nameplates which retain the label "Borough of Finsbury"^[8]

Archival records

Islington Local History Centre holds records of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury, including council and committee minutes, rate books, publications and photographs.^[9]

See also

• Metropolis Management Act 1855
• London Government Act 1899
• London Government Act 1963
• London Borough of Islington

References

1. ^ "Lord Rosebery On London Government". The Times: p. 16. 15 June 1895. 
2. ^ Pevsner, Nikolaus (1952). London except the Cities of London and Westminster. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin. p. 115. 
3. ^ Statistical Abstract for London, 1901 (Vol. IV)
4. ^ Islington MetB: Census Tables at Vision of Britain accessed on 14 Dec 2006
5. ^ The census was suspended for World War II
6. ^ 2005 estimate
7. ^ Times Digital Library
8. ^ Ludlow Street, Islington Google Maps Streetview accessed 6 July 2010
9. ^ "Local History Collections". Islington Local History Centre. http://www.islington.gov.uk/Leisure/heritage/heritage_lhc/lhc_collections/localhistorycollections.asp. Retrieved 3 March 2011. 

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.

Coordinates: 51°31′36″N 0°06′29″W / 51.5268°N 0.1080°W / 51.5268; -0.1080