Metropolitan Borough of Holborn explained

Start:1900
End:1965
Map:
Holborn within the County of London
Holborn
Government:Holborn Borough Council
Status:Metropolitan borough
Hq:High Holborn
Replace:London Borough of Camden
Motto:Multi Pertransibunt et Augebitur Scientia
(Many shall pass through and learning shall be increased)
Arms:
Coat of arms of the borough council
Populationfirst:49,357
Populationfirstyear:1911
Areafirst:405acres
Areafirstyear:1911
Densityfirst:121/acre
Densityfirstyear:1911
Populationsecond:38,860
Populationsecondyear:1931
Areasecond:406acres
Areasecondyear:1931
Densitysecond:96/acre
Densitysecondyear:1931
Populationlast:22,008
Populationlastyear:1961
Arealast:407acres
Arealastyear:1961
Densitylast:54/acre
Densitylastyear:1961
Footnotes: Map of borough boundary

The Metropolitan Borough of Holborn was a metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965. The borough included most of Holborn (the parts outside the City of London) as well as Bloomsbury and St Giles.

In 1965 the borough amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras and the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead to form the new London Borough of Camden.

Formation and boundaries

The borough was formed in 1900 from seven civil parishes and extra-parochial places; all but the first of these were historically part of Holborn:

In 1930 these seven were combined into a single civil parish called Holborn, which was conterminous with the metropolitan borough.[1]

Previous to the borough's formation it had been administered by two separate local bodies: Holborn District Board of Works and St Giles District Board of Works. The Inns of Court and Inns of Chancery had not been under the control of any local authority prior to 1900.

Coat of arms

St Giles, St George (patron saint of Bloomsbury) and St Andrew (patron saint of Holborn) were depicted on the borough seal. The several constituent parishes were illustrated in the arms granted to Holborn in 1906, while the supporters, the Lion and the Griffin are from the arms of Lincoln's Inn and Gray's Inn (Inns of Court).

Charges from these arms were used, together with charges from the coats of arms of Hampstead and of St. Pancras, when the new coat of arms of the London Borough of Camden was designed in 1965.

Visible legacy

Several of the street name signs in the British Museum/Senate House area still bear the "Borough of Holborn" area designation. Holborn Town Hall, built in 1894, still exists, on High Holborn, and still has the coat of arms in the façade.

Population and area

Holborn was the smallest of the twenty-eight metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, with an area of between 405 and 407acres. Therefore, it was even smaller than the City of London. It also had the smallest population of any of the boroughs throughout its existence. The populations recorded in National Censuses were:

Constituent parishes 1801–1899

Year[2] 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891
Population 67,10380,64288,17290,67093,76795,72694,07493,51378,66870,938
Metropolitan Borough 1900-1961
Year[3] 19011911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961
Population 59,40549,357 43,192 38,860 [4] 24,810 22,008

Politics

The borough was divided into nine wards for elections: Central St Giles, Lincoln's Inn, North Bloomsbury, North St Andrew, North St Giles, Saffron Hill, South Bloomsbury, South East St Andrew and St George the Martyr.[5] [6]

Parliament constituency

For elections to Parliament, the borough was represented by one constituency:

In 1950 the borough's representation was reduced to half a seat, when it was merged with part of St Pancras:

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, Holborn CP through time | Census tables with data for the Parish-level Unit, A Vision of Britain through Time. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10234116 Date accessed: 19 February 2015
  2. Statistical Abstract for London, 1901 (Vol. IV); Census tables for Holborn Metropolitan Borough
  3. http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_census_page.jsp?u_id=10086980&c_id=10001043 Holborn MetB: Census Tables
  4. The census was suspended for World War II
  5. Book: Post Office London County Suburbs Directory, 1919. 1919. 18 February 2015.
  6. Ordnance Survey 'County Series 3rd Edition' Map of London (1912-14) at 1:2500 scale. Accessed at https://www.old-maps.co.uk/