St Martin in the Fields (parish)

St Martin in the Fields
St Martin in the Fields
Civil parish
	;
Area
• 1881/1921	286 acres (1.16 km2)
Population
• 1881	17,508
• 1901	12,980
• 1921	10,666
History
• Origin	Ancient parish
• Abolished	1922
• Succeeded by	City of Westminster (parish)
Status	Civil parish
Government	St Martin in the Fields Vestry
• HQ	Vestry Hall, St Martin's Place
Contained within
• Poor Law Union	Strand (1868–1913); City of Westminster (1913–1922)
Today part of	City of Westminster

St Martin in the Fields was a civil parish in the county of Middlesex, later part of the new County of London, England. It took its name from the Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields and was within the Liberty of Westminster. Within its boundaries were the former extra-parochial areas of Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace.^[1]

Geography[edit]

St Martin in the Fields was an ancient parish. In 1542, it gained the "lands between the church of St Clement Danes and the Palace of Westminster" from the parish of Westminster St Margaret.^[2]

The parish originally included a number of areas that were carved out between 1645 and 1724 to create new parishes:^[3]

Year	Parish	Localities
1645	St Paul Covent Garden	Covent Garden
1685	Westminster St James	Piccadilly
1687	St Anne Soho	Soho
1724	St George Hanover Square	Belgravia, Mayfair, Pimlico

The vestry[edit]

In 1855, the parish vestry became a local authority within the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works. 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 Martin in the Fields was divided into three wards (electing vestrymen): No. 1 (12), No. 2 (12) and No. 3 (12).^[4]^[5] In 1896, as the population of the parish had increased, the incorporated vestry was re-divided into three new wards (electing vestrymen): Park (15), Long Acre (12) and Embankment (9).^[6]

Poor law[edit]

St Martin in the Fields was a single parish for the poor law, following the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, until 1868, when it became part of the Strand Poor Law Union.

Reform[edit]

In 1889, the parish became part of the new County of London, and in 1900, it became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster. The St Martin in the Fields Vestry was replaced by Westminster City Council, and the vestry hall became Westminster City Hall. The civil parish was abolished in 1922.

References[edit]

^ Sir Walter Besant and Geraldine Edith Mitton (1903). The Strand District, The Fascination of London. Adam and Charles Black at Project Gutenberg
^ "Estate and Parish History | British History Online".
^ Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-901050-67-9.
^ The London Gazette Issue: 21802. 20 October 1855. pp. 3896–3898. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
^ "H.M.S.O. Boundary Commission Report 1885 Westminster Map". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
^ The London Gazette Issue: 26709. 14 February 1896. pp. 860–861. Retrieved 8 April 2015.

51°30′32″N 0°07′37″W / 51.50889°N 0.12694°W / 51.50889; -0.12694

[1] Sir Walter Besant and Geraldine Edith Mitton (1903). The Strand District, The Fascination of London. Adam and Charles Black at Project Gutenberg

[2] "Estate and Parish History | British History Online".

[Youngs-3] Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-901050-67-9.

[4] The London Gazette Issue: 21802. 20 October 1855. pp. 3896–3898. Retrieved 9 April 2015.

[5] "H.M.S.O. Boundary Commission Report 1885 Westminster Map". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 9 April 2015.

[6] The London Gazette Issue: 26709. 14 February 1896. pp. 860–861. Retrieved 8 April 2015.

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v t e Metropolitan Board of Works
Boards of works	Fulham Greenwich Hackney Holborn Lee/Plumstead Lewisham Limehouse Poplar St Giles St Olave St Saviour's Strand Wandsworth Westminster Whitechapel	Headquarters at Spring Gardens
Incorporated vestries	Battersea Bermondsey Bethnal Green Camberwell Chelsea Clerkenwell Fulham Hackney Hammersmith Hampstead Islington Kensington Lambeth Mile End Old Town Newington Paddington Plumstead Rotherhithe St George Hanover Square St George in the East St Luke Middlesex St Martin-in-the-Fields St Marylebone St Pancras Shoreditch Southwark St George the Martyr Stoke Newington Westminster St Margaret and St John Westminster St James Woolwich
Undertakings	Metropolitan Buildings Office Metropolitan Commission of Sewers Metropolitan Fire Brigade
Major works	Charing Cross Road Hammersmith Bridge London sewer system Northumberland Avenue Putney Bridge Southwark Street Shaftesbury Avenue Thames Embankment Waterloo Bridge
Legislation	Royal Commission on the City of London Metropolis Management Act 1855 Local Government Act 1888 London Government Act 1899
People	Francis Fowler Frederick Marrable James McGarel-Hogg John Thwaites Joseph Bazalgette List of Members

v t e History of the formation of the City of Westminster
Metropolitan boroughs	St Marylebone Paddington Westminster
District boards	Strand Westminster
Parishes	Close of the Collegiate Church of St Peter Liberty of the Rolls Precinct of the Savoy St Anne Within the Liberty of Westminster St Clement Danes St George Hanover Square St Martin-in-the-Fields St Mary le Strand St Paul Covent Garden Westminster St James Westminster St Margaret and St John
Liberties	The Savoy Westminster