Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch

Shoreditch
Shoreditch
	; Shoreditch Town Hall
	; Shoreditch shown within the County of London;
Area
• 1911/1931	658 acres (2.66 km2)
• 1961	659 acres (2.67 km2)
Population
• 1911	111,390
• 1931	97,042
• 1961	40,455
Density
• 1911	169/acre
• 1931	147/acre
• 1961	61/acre
History
• Origin	Shoreditch and Norton Folgate
• Created	1899
• Abolished	1965
• Succeeded by	London Borough of Hackney
Status	Metropolitan borough
Government	Shoreditch Borough Council
• HQ	Old Street
• Motto	More Light, More Power
	; Coat of Arms adopted by the Borough Council;
	Map of borough boundary

The Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch was a metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1899 and 1965, when it was merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington and the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney to form the London Borough of Hackney.

The borough was made up of three main districts, Shoreditch, Hoxton and Haggerston, and covered much of the north-western and northern East End of London. An individual coat of arms was never granted to the metropolitan borough council; they adopted the arms of the second lord of the manor of Shoreditch, John de Northampton.

Boundaries

The borough was in north-east London and comprised the area of the ancient parish of Shoreditch (St Leonard's) plus part of the ancient liberty of Norton Folgate to the south^[1] The parish vestry had taken on local administration from the 17th century onwards.

Civic buildings

The civic buildings of the borough included the Town Hall (originally the Vestry Hall) in Old Street with the Magistrates Court (derelict in 2007), the Coroner's Court in Boundary St and other civic offices nearby.

Motto

The borough motto commemorates the provision of electric power to the borough from the Vestry of St Leonard Shoreditch Electric Light Station^[2] later known as the Shoreditch Borough Refuse Destructor and Generating Station^[3] on Coronet Street. The building on Coronet Street is embellished with the motto E PULVERE LUX ET VIS (Out of the dust, light and power). It was built in 1896 and burned rubbish, to provide steam for the electricity generator. The waste heat was used to heat the public baths next door (and now demolished). The building is now home to the National Centre for Circus Arts.

Population and area

The metropolitan borough was conterminous with the Vestry authority, when it was formed in 1900. Statistics compiled by the London County Council, in 1901 show the population growth in London, over the preceding century.

The area of the borough in 1901 was 658 acres (2.7 km²). The populations recorded in National Censuses were:

Shoreditch Vestry 1801-1899

Population	34,766	43,930	52,966	68,564	83,432	109,257	129,364	127,164	126,591	124,009
Year^[4]	1801	1811	1821	1831	1841	1851	1861	1871	1881	1891

Metropolitan Borough 1900-1961

Population	118,668	111,390	104,248	104,248	^[6]	44,871	40,455
Year^[5]	1901	1911	1921	1931	1941	1951	1961

By comparison, after amalgamation with Hackney and Stoke Newington, to form the modern London Borough of Hackney, the combined area became 19.06 km² - approximately 4,710 acres (19.1 km²); in 2005, this had a population of 207,700,^[7] or a population density of 10,900/km². In 1901 Shoreditch the population density was 44,600/km².

Coat of arms

The borough used coat of arms, but these were never formally granted and, therefore, not official. When the borough was merged to found the London Borough of Hackney, other charges were used to represent Shoreditch in the new coat of arms of the London Borough of Hackney.^[8]^[9]

Politics

Under the Metropolis Management Act 1855 any parish that exceeded 2,000 ratepayers was to be divided into wards; as such the incorporated vestry of St Leonard Shoreditch was divided into eight wards (electing vestrymen): No. 1 or Moorfields (18), No. 2 or Church (21), No. 3 or Hoxton (21), No. 4 or Wenlock (18), No. 5 or Whitmore (12), No. 6 or Kingsland (12), No. 7 or Haggerstone (9) and No. 8 or Acton (9).^[10]^[11]

The metropolitan borough inherited these eight wards for elections: Acton, Church, Haggerston, Hoxton, Kingsland, Moorfields, Wenlock and Whitmore.^[12]^[13]

Borough council

Parliament constituency

For elections to Parliament, the borough was divided into two constituencies:

In 1918 the borough's representation was reduced to one seat:

Shoreditch

In 1950 the borough's representation was reduced to half a seat, when it was merged with Finsbury:

Shoreditch and Finsbury

Gallery

Detail of the town hall facade. Note that the imposing figure representing Progress carries an axe to clear the way to the future. (September 2005)

References

^ Hackney Council: History ^{[permanent dead link]}
^ R. Crosley, London's coats of arms and the stories they tell (Robert Scott, London, 1928)
^ Cherry, B. and Pevsner (1998) The Buildings of England: London 4: North: 520. London, Penguin
^ Statistical Abstract for London, 1901 (Vol. IV)
^ Shoreditch MetB: Census Tables at Vision of Britain accessed on 14 Dec 2006
^ The census was suspended for World War II
^ 2005 estimate
^ Heraldry of the World: Hackney
^ Civic Heraldry of England and Wales: Hackney lb
^ The London Gazette Issue: 21802. 20 October 1855. pp. 3878–3879. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
^ "H.M.S.O. Boundary Commission Report 1885 Shoreditch Map". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
^ Post Office London County Suburbs Directory, 1919. 1919. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
^ Ordnance Survey 'County Series 3rd Edition' Map of London (1912-14) at 1:2500 scale. Accessed at https://www.old-maps.co.uk/

External links

Shoreditch Town Hall Trust

51°31′30″N 0°04′37″W / 51.525°N 0.077°W / 51.525; -0.077

[1] Hackney Council: History ^{[permanent dead link]}

[2] R. Crosley, London's coats of arms and the stories they tell (Robert Scott, London, 1928)

[3] Cherry, B. and Pevsner (1998) The Buildings of England: London 4: North: 520. London, Penguin

[4] Statistical Abstract for London, 1901 (Vol. IV)

[5] Shoreditch MetB: Census Tables at Vision of Britain accessed on 14 Dec 2006

[6] The census was suspended for World War II

[7] 2005 estimate

[8] Heraldry of the World: Hackney

[9] Civic Heraldry of England and Wales: Hackney lb

[10] The London Gazette Issue: 21802. 20 October 1855. pp. 3878–3879. Retrieved 8 April 2015.

[11] "H.M.S.O. Boundary Commission Report 1885 Shoreditch Map". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 8 April 2015.

[12] Post Office London County Suburbs Directory, 1919. 1919. Retrieved 18 February 2015.

[13] Ordnance Survey 'County Series 3rd Edition' Map of London (1912-14) at 1:2500 scale. Accessed at https://www.old-maps.co.uk/

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v t e Local government districts abolished or transferred by the London Government Act 1963
London CC	Battersea Bermondsey Bethnal Green Camberwell Chelsea Deptford Finsbury Fulham Greenwich Hackney Hammersmith Hampstead Holborn Islington Kensington Lambeth Lewisham Paddington Poplar Shoreditch Southwark St. Marylebone St. Pancras Stepney Stoke Newington Wandsworth Westminster Woolwich	Constituent parts of Greater London
Essex	Barking Chigwell (part) Chingford Dagenham East Ham Hornchurch Ilford Leyton Romford Walthamstow Wanstead and Woodford West Ham
Hertfordshire	Barnet East Barnet
Middlesex, CC	Acton Brentford and Chiswick Ealing Edmonton Enfield Feltham Finchley Friern Barnet Harrow Hayes and Harlington Hendon Heston and Isleworth Hornsey Ruislip-Northwood Southall Southgate Tottenham Twickenham Uxbridge Wembley Willesden Wood Green Yiewsley and West Drayton
Kent	Beckenham Bexley Bromley Chislehurst and Sidcup Crayford Erith Orpington Penge
Surrey	Barnes Beddington and Wallington Carshalton Coulsdon and Purley Croydon Kingston-upon-Thames Malden and Coombe Merton and Morden Mitcham Sutton and Cheam Surbiton Richmond Wimbledon
Transfers	Middlesex to Hertfordshire: Potters Bar Middlesex to Surrey: Staines Sunbury-on-Thames

v t e History of the formation of the London Borough of Hackney
Metropolitan boroughs	Hackney Shoreditch Stoke Newington
District boards	Hackney
Parishes	Hackney Norton Folgate Shoreditch South Hornsey Stoke Newington