57-539: Devereux Court , a street in the City of Westminster located just south of the Strand and east of Essex Street , is completely pedestrianised. This narrow lane is lined with well-preserved seventeenth-century buildings. The court's distinctive dog-leg layout has remained unchanged since its establishment in the 1670s on the grounds of Essex House , a stately home renowned for its expansive gardens. Devereux Court, situated on
114-550: A portcullis as the main charge, which now forms the crest . The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the City of Westminster. London borough The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London , England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at
171-469: A "super-council". Each would retain its own political identity, leadership and councillors but staff and budgets would be combined for cost savings. Lambeth and Southwark likewise expressed an interest in sharing services. The management thinker and inventor of the Vanguard Method , Professor John Seddon , claims that shared service projects based on attempts to achieve economies of scale are
228-503: A London borough and its council to be changed. This was used by the London Borough of Hammersmith (changed to Hammersmith and Fulham) on 1 April 1979 and the London Borough of Barking (changed to Barking and Dagenham) on 1 January 1980. Borough names formed by combining two locality names had been discouraged when the boroughs were created. The London boroughs were created by combining whole existing units of local government and it
285-628: A car or van, 6.0%; work mainly at or from home, 5.5%; bicycle, 3.1%; train, 3.0%. Westminster Children's Services administers many primary and secondary schools. In addition, there are several state-funded faith schools, primarily Church of England (CE), and Roman Catholic (RC), but Christian non-denominational (ND) schools are also in the borough, and there are several non-profit-making junior and senior independent schools . The city operates two reference libraries; Westminster Reference Library and Marylebone Information Service. Westminster Reference Library holds several special collections: of which
342-676: A city. In 1585 the Westminster Court of Burgesses was established to administer certain judicial powers in an area known as the City and Liberty of Westminster . From 1856 the area was also governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works , which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London. In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the County of London . From 1856 until 1900
399-525: A few days ahead of that a royal charter was issued conferring city status on the new borough of Westminster from its creation. The Court of Burgesses, which had ceded most practical powers to the newer authorities, was finally abolished in 1901. The modern borough was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963 . It was a merger of the old Paddington, St Marylebone and Westminster metropolitan boroughs, and Westminster's city status
456-420: A mix of a) the plausibly obvious and b) a little hard data , brought together to produce two broad assertions, for which there is little hard factual evidence. He argues that shared service projects fail (and often end up costing more than they hoped to save) because they cause a disruption to the service flow by moving the work to a central location, creating waste in hand-offs, rework and duplication, lengthening
513-417: A number of relatively small alterations in borough boundaries. London borough councils provide the majority of local government services (schools, waste management, social services, libraries), in contrast to the strategic Greater London Authority , which has limited authority over all of Greater London. The councils were first elected in 1964 , and acted as shadow authorities until 1 April 1965. Each borough
570-444: A population of 204,300 at the 2021 census. The original settlement of Westminster was historically a separate urban area to the west of London, growing up around the minster church of Westminster Abbey. Westminster was an important centre of royal authority from Saxon times, and was declared a city in 1540. It was gradually absorbed into the urban area of London, but London's official city boundaries remained unchanged, covering just
627-669: Is a London borough with city status in Greater London , England. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government . It contains a large part of central London , including most of the West End , such as the major shopping areas around Oxford Street , Regent Street , Piccadilly and Bond Street , and the entertainment district of Soho . Many London landmarks are within
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#1732801884216684-601: Is a local education authority . Shared services are borough council services shared between two or more boroughs. Shared services were previously resisted due to councils guarding their authority. However, as the need for budget cuts in the late 2000s became apparent some councils have sought service mergers. Westminster and Hammersmith & Fulham were due to merge their education services, including school admissions and transport, by 2011. In October 2010, Hammersmith & Fulham , Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster announced plans to merge all their services to create
741-580: Is a large Place with good Houses, and by Reason of its Vicinity to the Temple london, has a good Resort, consisting of Public Houses, and noted Coffee Houses; from this Court is a Passage into Essex-street". Although the Twining family owned residences in other locations, several family members, including Richard Twining , were born in Devereux Court. Richard Twining, born in 1749 at Devereux Court,
798-514: Is at 14 St James's Square . Many countries' embassies or High Commissions are in Westminster. The current Westminster coat of arms was given by an official grant on 2 September 1964. Westminster had other arms before, which had a chief identical to the chief in the present arms. The symbols in the lower two thirds of the shield stand for former municipalities now merged with the city, Paddington and St Marylebone. The original arms had
855-631: Is divided into electoral wards , subject to periodic review, for the purpose of electing councillors. Council elections take place every four years, with the most recent elections in 2022, and the next elections due in 2026. The political make-up of London borough councils is dominated by the Conservative , Labour and Liberal Democrat parties. Twenty-eight councils follow the leader and cabinet model of executive governance, while five have directly elected mayors ( Croydon , Hackney , Lewisham , Newham , and Tower Hamlets ). The City of London
912-805: Is instead governed by the City of London Corporation (and the Inner and Middle Temples, which are not governed by the City of London Corporation). There are four boroughs that do not have "London Borough" in their official names: the City of Westminster, and the Royal Boroughs of Kingston upon Thames, Kensington and Chelsea, and Greenwich. From the mid-1930s, the Greater London area comprised four types of local government authorities. There were county boroughs , municipal boroughs , urban districts and metropolitan boroughs . The large county boroughs provided all local government services and held
969-455: The Diocese of London in 1540, by letters patent which also granted city status to Westminster, a status retained after the diocese was abolished in 1550. The area was historically part of the county of Middlesex . Whilst an important centre of royal authority from Saxon times, Westminster was not formally incorporated as a borough for local government purposes until 1900. However, it
1026-559: The Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) and Big Ben . Charing Cross is the notional centre of London and the location where distances from London are measured. This custom appears to have begun with the set distances of the 12 Eleanor crosses to Lincoln, England in the north, and expanded even after destruction of most of the crosses. These include Green Park , Hyde Park , Kensington Gardens , Regent's Park and St James's Park . In addition to parks and open spaces within
1083-589: The City of Westminster also have a large concentration of hedge fund and private equity funds. The West End is known as the Theatre District and is home to many of the leading performing arts businesses. Soho and its adjoining areas house a concentration of media and creative companies. Oxford Street is a busy shopping destination. The City of Westminster contains some of the most famous sites in London, including Buckingham Palace , Westminster Abbey ,
1140-832: The City of Westminster"). In 2000 the Greater London Authority was created, comprising the Mayor of London and the London Assembly . As a strategic authority, it absorbed only limited powers, such as major highways and planning strategy, from the borough councils. Sadiq Khan ( L ) Statutory Deputy Mayor Joanne McCartney ( L/Co ) London Assembly Lord Mayor Peter Estlin London boroughs ( list ) Vacant The London boroughs are administered by London borough councils (sometimes abbreviated LBCs), which are elected every four years. They are
1197-590: The County of London was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs . The parish of Paddington became the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington , and the parish of the St Marylebone became the Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone . The various territories within the old City and Liberty of Westminster became the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster . The new boroughs came into being on 1 November 1900;
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#17328018842161254-531: The Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the London borough councils responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. Several London borough councils and the GLC were involved in the rate-capping rebellion of 1985. On 1 April 1986 the GLC was abolished and
1311-912: The Sherlock Holmes, Arts and Business collections are the most comprehensive. In addition to the collections in Westminster Reference Library the city has two specialist libraries: the Westminster Music Library , the largest music library in the UK and the Westminster Chinese Library in the Charing Cross Library. Free City of Westminster operated public lending libraries in Westminster include: The London Library , an independent lending library funded by subscription,
1368-531: The South Coast including Clapham Junction , Sutton , Brighton , Eastbourne , Gatwick Airport ( [REDACTED] ), Guildford , Portsmouth , and Southampton . Services operated by Southern . Gatwick Airport [REDACTED] Services operated by Gatwick Express . The City of Westminster is served by 27 London Underground stations and 10 of the 11 lines. By 2009 Westminster City Council had electric vehicle charging points in 15 locations through
1425-413: The adjoining fields, eventually absorbing nearby villages such as Marylebone and Kensington , and gradually creating the vast Greater London that exists today. Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries abolished the abbey at Westminster, although the former abbey church is still called Westminster Abbey . The church was briefly the cathedral of the Diocese of Westminster created from part of
1482-450: The area called the City of London , broadly corresponding to the medieval walled city. From the 19th century some metropolis -wide administrative bodies were introduced. The County of London was created in 1889, replaced in 1965 by the larger administrative area of Greater London , which since 2000 has been led by the Mayor of London . The cities of London and Westminster retain their separate city statuses despite having long been part of
1539-529: The border with the City of London formed the Strand District . Beyond the liberty to the north, the two parishes of Paddington and St Marylebone were also governed by their vestries. The Westminster District was renamed the St Margaret and St John Combined Vestry in 1887, and unsuccessfully petitioned to be incorporated as a borough in 1897. In 1900 the lower tier of local government within
1596-463: The borough councils gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal . The Inner London Education Authority continued to exist as an ad hoc authority. In 1990 it was abolished and the Inner London borough councils also became local education authorities. The Local Government Act 1972 provided a mechanism for the name of
1653-437: The borough, including Buckingham Palace , Westminster Abbey , Whitehall , Westminster Cathedral , 10 Downing Street , and Trafalgar Square . The borough also has a number of major parks and open spaces , including Hyde Park , and most of Regent's Park . Away from central London the borough also includes various inner suburbs, including St John's Wood , Maida Vale , Bayswater , Belgravia and Pimlico . The borough had
1710-660: The borough, the City owns and maintains East Finchley Cemetery and crematorium in the London Borough of Barnet . Four National Rail stations serve the City of Westminster: [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Heathrow Airport [REDACTED] Services operated by Heathrow Express and Elizabeth line ( [REDACTED] ) . [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] South London, Sussex and
1767-410: The city (13 car parks and two on-street points). Users pay an annual fee to cover administration costs to register and use the points. By 2018 there were 60 electric vehicle charging locations. In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: underground, metro, light rail, tram, 21.0% of all residents aged 16–74; on foot, 9.3%; bus, minibus or coach, 9.3%; driving
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1824-487: The ethnic group of respondents in the 1991 to 2021 censuses in Westminster. The borough ranks highest on one standard criteria in analysing housing supply and demand, the proportion of private rented accommodation relative to other types of housing in England. A study in 2017 by Trust for London and The New Policy Institute found that Westminster has the third-highest pay inequality of the 32 London boroughs. It also has
1881-438: The existence of an Inner London Education Authority , praised by official Opposition and government who further noted that unusually the former County of London's many small local authorities had no history of providing education. The City of London continued to be administered by the City of London Corporation , and the Inner and Middle Temples continued to govern their own areas. Elections were held on 7 May 1964 , with
1938-542: The former Roman city with its still-existing Roman walls, was repopulated and Lundenwic declined, becoming pastoral and partly known as Aldwych (Aldwic—'old village'), the name of which lives on for a section of Westminster. The origins of the City of Westminster pre-date the Norman Conquest of England. In the mid-11th century, King Edward the Confessor began the construction of an abbey at Westminster, only
1995-661: The former grounds of the grand Essex House , was previously the site of the Outer Temple , originally owned by the Knights Templar . It was named after Robert Devereux , the 2nd Earl of Essex. Devereux was a beloved favourite of Queen Elizabeth I , although he later led an unsuccessful uprising against her, resulting in his besiegement within Essex House . Following changes in ownership, the developer Nicholas Barbon established Essex Street and Devereux Court on
2052-408: The foundations of which survive today. Between the abbey and the river he built a palace, thereby guaranteeing that the seat of Government would be fixed at Westminster, and inevitably drawing power and wealth west out of the old City of London. For centuries Westminster and the City of London were geographically quite distinct. It was not until the sixteenth century that houses began to be built over
2109-578: The historic site once held by Essex House . Distinguished as the only remaining private dwelling in London's Temple district, Last Temple House is currently undergoing thorough renovations to restore its original splendour. In the 17th century, Temple was meticulously developed by Nicholas Barbon , the visionary responsible for the district's initial residential structures. Over time, nearly all of Barbon's original residential buildings, estimated at 98%, have been converted into commercial spaces and multi-family accommodations. Today, Last Temple House stands as
2166-474: The land in 1675 and 1680. During the 18th century and up until 1843, this establishment was renowned as one of London's premier coffee houses known as The Grecian , frequented by notable figures such as Oliver Goldsmith and Sir Richard Steele , the founder of The Tatler . A pub now occupies the site where Devereux's London residence once stood, with a stone bust prominently displayed on its façade in his honour. As described by Robert Seymour in 1735, "It
2223-609: The latter two being separated from Westminster by the River Thames . Charing Cross in Westminster is the notional centre of London, being the point from which distances from London are measured. After the depopulation of Roman London in the 5th century, an Anglo Saxon agricultural and trade settlement likely developed to its west, associated with the Middle Saxons , sometimes called Lundenwic ('London village' or London port'). Over time, Lundenburh ('London fort'),
2280-503: The lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various parish vestries and district boards . Within the City and Liberty of Westminster, the three parishes of St George Hanover Square , St James Piccadilly and St Martin-in-the-Fields were governed by their vestries , whilst the parishes covering the central part of Westminster formed the Westminster District and the parishes and territories adjoining
2337-517: The new councils acting as shadow authorities before coming into their powers the following year. The boroughs were created as follows. Some relatively minor changes have been made to the boundaries of boroughs since 1965, and two have changed their names. Between 1965 and 1986 the boroughs were part of a two-tier system of government and shared power with the Greater London Council (GLC). The split of powers and functions meant that
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2394-473: The powers usually invested in county councils. The municipal borough and urban district authorities had fewer powers. The situation was made more complex because county councils could delegate functions such as elementary education and library provision to the municipal borough and district councils, and this was implemented piecemeal. Reform of London local government sought to regularise this arrangement. The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London
2451-578: The principal local authorities in London and are responsible for running most local services, such as schools, social services, waste collection and roads. Some London-wide services are run by the Greater London Authority , and some services and lobbying of government are pooled within London Councils . Some councils group together for services such as waste collection and disposal . The boroughs are local government districts and have similar functions to metropolitan boroughs . Each borough council
2508-600: The provisions of the Municipal Corporations Act 1882 . In the London boroughs the legal entity is not the council, as elsewhere in the country, but the inhabitants incorporated as a legal entity by royal charter (a process abolished elsewhere in England and Wales under the Local Government Act 1972 ). Thus, a London authority's official legal title is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of X" (or "The Lord Mayor and Citizens of
2565-523: The review a series of relatively minor adjustments were made to borough boundaries, for example uniting the whole of the Becontree estate in Barking and Dagenham . The commission noted that many of its recommendations were strongly opposed and were not implemented. The boundary of the City of London with adjacent boroughs was adjusted to remove some anomalies. The London boroughs were incorporated using
2622-414: The same time as Greater London on 1 April 1965 by the London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) and are a type of local government district. Twelve were designated as Inner London boroughs and twenty as Outer London boroughs. The City of London , the historic centre, is a separate ceremonial county and sui generis local government district that functions quite differently from a London borough. However,
2679-519: The same urban area. The modern borough was created in 1965 as part of the same reforms which created Greater London, covering the area of the three former metropolitan boroughs of Westminster , Paddington and St Marylebone . The local authority is Westminster City Council . To the east, Westminster borders the City of London , with the boundary marked by Temple Bar . Other neighbouring boroughs (anti-clockwise from north-east) are Camden , Brent , Kensington and Chelsea , Wandsworth and Lambeth ,
2736-406: The second-least affordable private rent for low earners in London, behind only Kensington and Chelsea . In education, 82% of adults and 69% of 19-year-olds having Level 3 qualifications. The City of Westminster covers all or part of the following areas of London : Many global corporations have their global or European headquarters in the City of Westminster. Mayfair and St James's within
2793-533: The solitary private residence in London's Temple precinct. The Temple Society is a non-profit organisation dealing with restoration of the western boundary of Temple . Since 2023, they have been working on improving the public realm of what was once Devereux Court. This London -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 51°30′47″N 0°06′45″W / 51.512989°N 0.112610°W / 51.512989; -0.112610 City of Westminster The City of Westminster
2850-600: The two counties together comprise the administrative area of Greater London as well as the London Region , all of which is also governed by the Greater London Authority , under the Mayor of London . The London boroughs have populations of between 150,000 and 400,000. Inner London boroughs tend to be smaller, in both population and area, and more densely populated than Outer London boroughs. The London boroughs were created by combining groups of former local government units. A review undertaken between 1987 and 1992 led to
2907-581: Was consensus for the change between all the relevant local authorities. This provision was used to exchange two islands on the River Thames between Richmond upon Thames and Surrey. (See List of Greater London boundary changes .) The Local Government Boundary Commission for England was established by the Local Government Act 1972 to review periodically the boundaries of Greater London and the London boroughs. The first review of boundaries commenced on 1 April 1987 and reported in 1992. Following
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#17328018842162964-418: Was declared a city in 1540 on the elevation of Westminster Abbey to being a cathedral . From at least 1545 there was also a Westminster parliamentary borough (constituency). The Anglican Diocese of Westminster was short-lived, being absorbed back into the Diocese of London in 1550. Despite having no borough corporation and having ceased to be the seat of a diocese, Westminster continued to be described as
3021-437: Was established in 1957 and the report was published on 19 October 1960. It proposed 52 "Greater London Boroughs" with a population range of 100,000 to 250,000. This was made up of a mixture of whole existing units, mergers of two or three areas, and two boroughs formed as the result of a split. In December 1961 the government proposed that there would be 34 boroughs rather than 52, and detailed their boundaries. The proposed number
3078-512: Was further reduced to 32 in 1962. On 1 April 1965, the 32 London boroughs and Greater London were created by the London Government Act 1963 . Twelve boroughs in the former County of London area were designated Inner London boroughs and the 20 others were designated Outer London boroughs. Outer London borough councils were local education authorities , but Inner London borough councils were so designated primarily to continue
3135-429: Was one of Daniel Twining's three sons. His mother, Mary Twining (formerly Little), was Daniel Twining's second wife. Richard received his education at Eton College . Devereux Court houses Devereux Chambers and three esteemed public houses: The George, The Devereux , and The Edgar Wallace (formerly The Essex Head ). Last Temple House , the sole surviving private residence in London's Temple district, now occupies
3192-588: Was realised that this might provide arbitrary boundaries in some places. The London Government Act 1963 provided a mechanism for communities on the edge of Greater London to petition for transfer from London boroughs to a neighbouring county district. This was used in 1969 in the transfers of Knockholt in Bromley to Kent, and of Farleigh and Hooley in Croydon to Surrey. The Act also provided for transfers between London boroughs and neighbouring counties where there
3249-513: Was transferred to the enlarged borough. In 1966 the city was granted the right to appoint a lord mayor . The local authority is Westminster City Council, which meets at Westminster Council House (also known as Marylebone Town Hall ) and has its main offices at Westminster City Hall on Victoria Street. Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly , the borough forms part of the West Central constituency. The following table shows
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