Everything about City Of London totally explained
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The
City of London is a geographically small
city within
Greater London,
England. It is the historic core of
London around which, along with
Westminster, the modern
conurbation grew. The City's boundaries have remained almost constant since the
Middle Ages, and hence it's now only a tiny part of the much larger London metropolis. It is often referred to as just
the City or as the
Square Mile, as it's almost exactly one square mile (2.6 km²) in area.
These terms are also often used as
metonyms for the
United Kingdom's
financial services industry, which is principally based there. It should be noted that the City is
not one of the 32
London boroughs.
In the
medieval period the City was the full extent of London, and distinct from the nearby, but then separate, settlement of Westminster, which became the
City of Westminster. The term
London now refers to a much larger conurbation containing both 'cities'. The City of London is still part of London's
city centre, but apart from financial services, most of London's metropolitan functions are centred on the
West End. The City is today a major business and financial centre, ranking on a par with
New York City as the leading centre of
global finance. The City has a resident population of under 10,000, whilst the City employs 340,000 professional workers, mainly in the financial sector, who commute on a daily basis - making the area's transport system extremely busy during certain peak times.
The City is governed by the
City of London Corporation, which has some unusual responsibilities for a local authority, such as being the police authority for the City. It also has responsibilities and ownerships which lie beyond the City's boundaries.
The
Latin motto of the City of London is "
Domine dirige nos", which translates as "
Lord, guide us".
Extent
The City of London is England's smallest
ceremonial county by both population and area covered and is the second smallest
British city in both population and size, after
St David's in
Wales.
Changes over time
The size of the City was constrained by a defensive perimeter wall, known as
London Wall, which was built by the
Romans in the late 2nd century to protect their strategic port city. However, the boundaries of the City of London are no longer the old city wall as the City has expanded its jurisdiction slightly over time. During the medieval era, the City's jurisdiction expanded westwards along
Fleet Street to
Temple Bar and also took in the other "City bars" such as at Holborn, Aldersgate, Bishopsgate and Aldgate. These were the important entrances to the City and their control was vital in maintaining the City's special privileges over certain trades.
The walls have disappeared, although several sections remain visible. A section near the
Museum of London was revealed after the devastation of an air-raid on
29 December 1940 at the height of the
Blitz. Other visible sections are at
St Alphage, and there are two sections near the
Tower of London.
The boundary of the City remained fixed until boundary changes made in 1993, in which the City expanded slightly to the west, north and east, taking small parcels of land from the London Boroughs of
Westminster,
Camden,
Islington,
Hackney and
Tower Hamlets. The 1993 boundary changes were done primarily to tidy up the boundary in places where over the centuries the urban landscape had changed so dramatically that the old boundary was meaningless. In the process the City also lost small parcels of land, though there was an overall net gain of land to the City. Most notably the boundary changes placed the (then recently developed)
Broadgate estate entirely in the City.
Southwark, to the south of the City on the other side of the
Thames, came within the City's extent between 1550 and 1899 (as the
Ward of Bridge Without). Today it forms part of the
London Borough of Southwark. The Tower of London has always been beyond the boundary of the City and today comes under Tower Hamlets.
Today's boundary
Beginning in the west, where the City borders Westminster, the border cuts across the
Victoria Embankment from the Thames, passing to the west of
Middle Temple, then going east along
Strand and
Fleet Street, north up
Chancery Lane, where it becomes instead the border with Camden. It continues north to
Holborn, turns east, continues to Holborn Circus, and then goes northeast to
Charterhouse Street. As it crosses
Farringdon Road it becomes the border with Islington. It continues to
Aldersgate, goes north, and turns east into some back streets soon after Aldersgate becomes
Goswell Road. Here, at Baltic Street West, is the most northerly extent of the City. The border includes all of the
Barbican Estate and ends up on Ropemaker Street which, as it continues east past
Moorgate, becomes South Place. It goes north, becomes the border with Hackney, then east, north, east on back streets, with Worship Street as the most northerly extent before the border turns south at
Norton Folgate and becomes the border with Tower Hamlets. It continues south into
Bishopsgate, and takes some backstreets to Middlesex Street where it continues south-east then south. It makes a divergence to the west at the end of Middlesex Street to allow the
Tower of London to be in Tower Hamlets, and then reaches the river.
The City's boundary runs down the centre of the Thames, though unusually the City controls the full spans of
London Bridge and
Blackfriars Bridge, but only half of the river underneath them. The boundaries of the City are marked by black bollards bearing the City's emblem, though at major entrances to the City (such as at
Temple Bar on Fleet Street) a grander monument, with a dragon facing outwards, marks the boundary.
Official boundary map with wards.
In some places the financial district extends slightly beyond the political boundaries of the City, notably to the north and east, into the London Boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Islington, and informally these locations are seen as part of the "Square Mile". Since the 1990s the eastern fringe of the City, extending into Hackney and Tower Hamlets, has increasingly been a focus for large office developments due to the availability of large sites there compared to within the City.
History
The City of London has been administered separately since 886, when
Alfred the Great appointed his son-in-law
Earl Æthelred of Mercia as Governor of London. Alfred made sure that there was suitable accommodation for merchants from northwest Europe, which was then extended to traders from the
Baltic and
Italy.
The City developed its own code of law for the mercantile classes, developing such autonomy that Sir
Laurence Gomme regarded the City as a separate Kingdom making its own laws. The City was composed of wards governed by
Aldermen, who chaired the Wardmotes. There was a
folkmoot for the whole of the city held in the shadows of
St Paul's Cathedral. In the
tenth century,
Athelstan permitted eight
mints to be established, compared with six in his capital,
Winchester, indicating the wealth of the city.
Following the
Battle of Hastings,
William the Conqueror marched on London, to
Southwark and failed to get across London Bridge or to defeat the Londoners. He eventually crossed the River Thames at
Wallingford, pillaging the land as he went. Rather than continuing the war
Edgar Ætheling,
Edwin of Mercia and
Morcar of Northumbria surrendered at
Berkhamsted. William rewarded London in granting the citizens a charter in 1075; the City of London was one of the few institutions where the English retained some authority.
William ensured against attack by building three castles nearby, to keep the Londoners subdued:
The City burned nearly to the ground twice, first in 1212 and then again (and more famously) in the
Great Fire of London in 1666. Both of these fires were referred to as
the Great Fire.
The City elected four members to the
unreformed House of Commons, which it retained after the
Reform Act 1832 and into the 20th century. Today it's included wholly in the
Cities of London and Westminster constituency, and statute requires that it not be divided between two neighbouring areas. An attempt was made in 1894 to
amalgamate the City and the surrounding County of London, but it didn't succeed.
The City's population fell rapidly in the 19th century and through most of the 20th century as people moved outwards to London's vast
suburbs and many houses were demolished to make way for modern office blocks. The largest residential section of the City today is the
Barbican Estate, constructed between 1965 and 1976. Here a major proportion of the City's population now live. The
Museum of London is located here, as are a number of other services provided by the Corporation.
The 1970s saw the construction of tall office buildings including the 600ft, 42-storey
Natwest Tower, which became the first
skyscraper in the UK. Office space development has intensified especially in the central, northern and eastern parts of the City, with a second (
30 St Mary Axe) and most recently a third skyscraper (
Broadgate Tower) being built.
Present Day Developments
The trend for purely office development is beginning to reverse as the Corporation encourages residential use, although the resident population isn't expected to exceed 10,000 people. Some of the extra accommodation is in small pre-
World War II commercial buildings, which are not suitable for occupation by the large companies which now provide much of the City's employment.
Since the 1990s, the City has diversified away from near exclusive office use in other ways. For example, several hotels have opened and the City's first
department store. A shopping mall is being built at New Change, near St Paul's Cathedral. However, large sections of the City remain very quiet at weekends, especially those areas in the eastern section of the City, and it's quite common to find
pubs and cafes closed on these days.
Large developments in the City.
Bishopsgate Tower - 63 floors, 288m
Heron Tower - 46 floors, 246m
Leadenhall Building - 48 floors, 225m
100 Bishopsgate - 165m (not to start construction until 2011)
Broadgate Tower - 35 floors, 165m
The Walkie Talkie Tower - 36 floors, 160m
Population
| Year |
Population |
Notes |
| 1700 |
208,000 |
(of which 139,000 within the walls) (estimates) |
| 1750 |
144,000 |
(of which 87,000 within the walls) (estimates) |
| 1801 |
128,129 |
(census figure) |
| 1841 |
123,563 |
(census figure) |
| 1881 |
50,569 |
(census figure) |
| 1901 |
26,846 |
(census figure) |
| 1911 |
19,657 |
(census figure) |
| 1921 |
13,709 |
(census figure) |
| 1931 |
10,999 |
(census figure) |
| 1951 |
5,324 |
(census figure) |
| 1961 |
4,767 |
(census figure) |
| 1971 |
4,234 |
(census figure) |
| 1981 |
6,700 |
(mid-year estimate)1 |
| 1991 |
5,400 |
(mid-year estimate) |
| 2001 |
7,400 |
(mid-year estimate) |
| 2004 |
8,600 |
(mid-year estimate) |
| 2006 |
7,800 |
(mid-year estimate) |
| 1. figure not strictly comparable with the 1971 figure |
Financial industry
The City of London houses the
London Stock Exchange (
shares and
bonds),
Lloyd's of London (
insurance), and the
Bank of England. The
Docklands began development in the 1980s as an alternative financial centre for London and is now home to the
Financial Services Authority, as well as important financial institutions such as
Barclays Bank,
Bank of America,
Citigroup and
HSBC. There are over 500
banks with offices in the City and Docklands, with established leads in areas such as
Eurobonds,
foreign exchange markets,
energy futures and global insurance. The
Alternative Investments Market has been a growth market over the past decade, allowing London to also expand as an international
equity centre for smaller firms.
Since 1991
Canary Wharf a few miles east of the City, in Tower Hamlets, has become a second centre for London's financial services industry and now houses banks and other institutions formerly located in the Square Mile. However, fears that the City would be damaged by this development appear to have been unfounded with growth occurring in both locations. Indeed Canary Wharf may have been of great service to the Square Mile by providing large floorplate office buildings at a time when this was difficult within the City boundary, and therefore preventing companies such as
HSBC from relocating abroad.
Big Bang (financial markets)
The Wimbledon Effect
, report by Corporation of London & Oxford Economic Forecasting, November 2006
, report by Corporation of London & Z/Yen, November 2005
Local government
sui generis), a legacy of its uninterrupted integrity as a corporate city since the Anglo Saxon period and its singular relationship with the Crown. Historically its system of government wasn't unusual, but it wasn't reformed by the Municipal Reform Act 1835 and little changed by later reforms.
It is administered by the City of London Corporation, headed by the Lord Mayor of London (not the same post as the more recently created position of London Mayor). The City is a ceremonial county too, although instead of having its own Lord-Lieutenant, the City of London has a Commission, headed by the Lord Mayor, exercising this function.
The City itself contains two independent enclaves — Inner Temple and Middle Temple. These form part of the City and ceremonial county, but are not governed by the City of London Corporation. The Corporation governs the rest of the City and is responsible for a number of functions and owns a number of locations beyond the City's boundaries.
The City is made up of 25 which have recently had their boundaries changed (though the number of wards and their names wasn't changed).
Elections
The City has a unique electoral system, which follows very few of the usual forms and standards of democracy. Most of its voters are representatives of businesses and other bodies which occupy premises in the City. Its ancient wards also have very unequal numbers of voters.
The principal justification put forward for the non-resident vote is that about 450,000 non-residents constitute the city's day-time population and use most of its services, far outnumbering the City's residents, who are fewer than 10,000. Nevertheless, the system has long been the cause of controversy. The business vote was abolished in all other UK local authority elections in 1969 and was retained only in the City of London.
A private act of Parliament in 2002 reformed the voting system for electing Members to the Corporation of London and received the Royal Assent on 7 November 2002. Under the new system, the number of non-resident voters has doubled from 16,000 to 32,000. Previously disfranchised firms (and other organizations) are entitled to nominate voters, in addition to those already represented, and all such bodies are now required to choose their voters in a representative fashion.
Bodies employing fewer than ten people may appoint one voter, those employing ten to fifty people may appoint one voter for every five employees; those employing more than fifty people may appoint ten voters and one additional voter for each fifty employees beyond the first fifty.
The Act also removed other anomalies which had developed over time within the City's system, which had been unchanged since the 1850s.
Proposals for further change
The present system is widely seen as undemocratic, but adopting a more conventional system would place the 7,800 actual residents of the City of London in control of the local planning and other functions of a major financial capital which provides most of its services to hundreds of thousands of non-residents.
Proposals to annex the City of London to one of the neighbouring London boroughs, possibly the City of Westminster, have not widely been taken seriously. However, one proposal floated as a possible further reform is to allow those who work in the City to each have a direct individual vote, rather than businesses being represented by appointed voters.
In May 2006, the Lord Chancellor stated to Parliament that the government was minded to examine the issue of City of London elections at a later date, probably after 2009, in order to assess how the new system has bedded down.
Other functions
The Corporation owns and is responsible for a number of locations beyond the boundaries of the City. These include various open spaces (parks, forests and commons) in and around London, including most of Epping Forest and Hampstead Heath. Within the City, the Corporation owns and runs the Smithfield Market, but it also owns Old Spitalfields Market and Billingsgate Fish Market, both of which are within the neighbouring London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Corporation also owns and helps fund the Old Bailey criminal court, despite its use as a central criminal court for England and Wales.
The City has its own independent police force, the City of London Police. The Corporation is the police authority. The rest of Greater London is policed by the Metropolitan Police Service, based at New Scotland Yard.
The City of London houses one hospital - St Bartholomew's Hospital. Founded in 1123 and fondly known as 'Barts', the hospital is situated at Smithfield, and is about to undergo a much publicised, controversial but long awaited regeneration.
The City is a major patron of the arts. It oversees the Barbican Centre and subsidises several important performing arts companies.
The Port of London's health authority is also the responsibility of the Corporation, which includes the handling of imported cargo at London Heathrow airport. The Corporation oversees the running of the Bridge House Trust, which maintains five key bridges in central London, including London Bridge and Tower Bridge. The City's flag can be seen flying over Tower Bridge..
Education
The City of London has only one directly maintained primary school, sited at Aldgate. The school is called the Sir John Cass's Foundation Primary School (ages 4 to 11). It is a voluntary-aided Church of England school, maintained by the Education Service of the City of London.
City of London residents may send their children to schools in neighbouring Local Education Authorities (LEAs).
For secondary schools children enrol in schools in neighbouring LEAs, such as Islington, Tower Hamlets, Westminster and Southwark. Children who have permanent residence in the City are eligible for transfer to the City of London Academy, an independent secondary school sponsored by the City of London that's located in Southwark.
The City of London controls three other independent schools. Two are located in the City, City of London School (all male) and City of London School for Girls (all female); the third, City of London Freemen's School (co-educational), is located in Ashtead, Surrey. The City of London School for Girls has its own preparatory department for entrance at age seven.
The City is also home to Guildhall School of Music and Drama and parts of three of the universities in London: The Maughan Library, which serves King's College London's Strand Campus, the Cass Business School and the business school of London Metropolitan University. A third business school in the city is a campus of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. The London School of Economics is just located outside the City, in Westminister adjacent to Temple Bar.
Gardens
Gardens are maintained by the Corporation within the City of London. These range through formal gardens such as the one found in Finsbury Circus (it contains a bowling green and bandstand) to churchyards such as one belonging to the church of St Olave Hart Street which may be entered from Seething Lane.
Gardens etc. include
Barber-Surgeon's Hall Garden - London Wall
Cleary Garden - Queen Victoria Street
Finsbury Circus - Blomfeld Street or London Wall or Moorgate
Jubilee Garden - Houndsditch
Portsoken Street Garden - Portsoken Street or Goodman's Yard
Postman's Park - Aldersgate or King Edward Street
Seething Lane Garden - Seething Lane
St Dunstan-in-the-East - St Dunstan's Hill or Idol Lane
St Mary Aldermanbury - Aldermanbury
the churchyard of St Olave Hart Street - Seething Lane
St Paul's Churchyard - St Paul's Cathedral
West Smithfield Garden - West Smithfield
Whittington Gardens - College Street or Upper Thames Street
Security
The City's position as the United Kingdom's financial centre and a critical part of the country's economy, contributing about 2.5% of the UK's gross national product, has resulted in it becoming a target for political violence. The Provisional IRA exploded several bombs in the City in the early 1990s, including the 1993 Bishopsgate bombing.
The area is also spoken of as a possible target for al-Qaeda. For instance, when in May 2004 the BBC's Panorama programme examined the preparedness of Britain's emergency services for a terrorist attack on the scale of September 11, 2001 attacks, they simulated a chemical explosion on Bishopsgate in the east of the City.
See also City of London's "Ring of Steel" for measures that have been taken against these threats.
London Fire Brigade
The City has many risks, including: St. Paul’s Cathedral, The Old Bailey, Mansion House, Smithfields Market, the Bank of England, the Guildhall, Tower 42 (formerly known as the NatWest Tower) and the Swiss Re Tower. There is just one fire station within the City, at Dowgate - with just one pumping appliance. The City relies upon neighbouring stations, in the surrounding London boroughs, to support it at some incidents. Within the City, on average, the first fire engine is in attendance in roughly five minutes - and when required, the second will be there in little over five and a half minutes. Tallest buildings
This is a list of buildings over 150 metres that are either under construction or are proposed in the City of London.
Further Information
Get more info on 'City Of London'.
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