Sovereign state United Kingdom Area 21.48 km² | Constituent country England Local time Monday 5:42 AM | |
Weather 5°C, Wind SW at 11 km/h, 87% Humidity Colleges and Universities University of Westminster, London School of Economic, King's College London, Imperial College London, City of Westminster College |
The City of Westminster (/ˈwɛstmɪnstər/ or /ˈwɛsmɪnstər/) is an Inner London borough which also holds city status. It occupies much of the central area of Greater London including most of the West End. It is to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary is the River Thames. It was created with the 1965 establishment of Greater London. Upon creation, Westminster was awarded city status, which had been previously held by the smaller Metropolitan Borough of Westminster.
Contents
- Map of City of Westminster UK
- Coat of arms
- History
- Local government
- Districts
- Economy
- Landmarks
- Parks and open spaces
- Bridges
- National Rail stations
- London Underground
- Electric charging points
- Travel to work
- Education
- Universities and colleges
- Public libraries
- Home ownership
- References
Map of City of Westminster, UK
Aside from a number of large parks and open spaces, the population density of the district is high. Many sites commonly associated with London are in the borough, including St. James's Palace, Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, and 10 Downing Street. The borough is divided into a number of localities including the ancient political district of Westminster around the Palace of Westminster; the shopping areas around Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Bond Street; and the night time entertainment district of Soho. Much of the borough is residential, and in 2008 it was estimated to have a population of 236,000. The local authority is Westminster City Council.
Coat of arms
The current Westminster coat of arms were given to the city by an official grant on September 2, 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 a portcullis as the main charge, which now forms the crest.
History
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 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 the adjoining fields, eventually absorbing nearby villages such as Marylebone and Kensington, and gradually creating the vast Greater London that exists today. Westminster briefly became a city (in the sense of the seat of a bishop) in 1540 when Henry VIII created the short-lived Diocese of Westminster.
Following the dissolution of Westminster Abbey, a court of burgesses (the Westminster Court of Burgesses) was formed in 1585 to govern the Westminster area, previously under the Abbey's control. The City and Liberties of Westminster were further defined by Letters Patent in 1604, and the court of burgesses and liberty continued in existence until 1900, and the creation of the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster.
The present-day City of Westminster as an administrative entity with its present boundaries dates from 1965, when the City of Westminster was created from the former area of three metropolitan boroughs: St Marylebone, Paddington, and the smaller Metropolitan Borough of Westminster, which included Soho, Mayfair, St. James's, Strand, Westminster, Pimlico, Belgravia, and Hyde Park. This re-structuring took place under the London Government Act 1963, which significantly reduced the number of local government districts in London, resulting in local authorities responsible for larger geographical areas and greater populations.
The Westminster Metropolitan Borough was itself the result of an administrative amalgamation which took place in 1900. Sir John Hunt O.B.E was the First Town Clerk of the City of Westminster, 1900–1928.
Prior to 1900, the area occupied by what would become the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster had been administered by five separate local bodies: the Vestry of St George Hanover Square, the Vestry of St Martin in the Fields, Strand District Board of Works, Westminster District Board of Works and the Vestry of Westminster St James.
The boundaries of the City of Westminster today, as well as those of the other London boroughs, have remained more or less unchanged since the Act of 1963.
Local government
The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. Westminster City Council is currently composed of 44 Conservative Party members and 16 Labour Party members.
A Lord Mayor is elected annually to serve as the official representative of the city for one year. See List of Lord Mayors of Westminster for a list of former Mayors (1900–1965) and Lord Mayors (1965 to date).
Districts
The City of Westminster covers all or part of the following areas of London:
Economy
The City of Westminster is home to a large number of companies. Many leading global corporations have chosen to establish their global or European headquarters in the City of Westminster. Mayfair and St. James's within 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 one of the leading shopping destinations in the world. The list of companies includes
The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London is in Westminster.
Companies that previously had their head offices in the City of Westminster include Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), British Aircraft Corporation, British Midland (Portland House), British United Airways, British Mediterranean Airways, Cadbury, Diageo, BAA Limited, Lloyd International Airways, and P&O Princess Cruises. In addition, Iran Air previously had its Piccadilly main sales office in the city.
Landmarks
The City of Westminster contains many of the most famous sites in London. Some of the popular tourist sites are Buckingham Palace, the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) which includes Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben), and nearby Westminster Abbey.
Parks and open spaces
These include Green Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Regent's Park and St. James's Park. In addition to parks and open spaces within the borough, the City owns and maintains East Finchley Cemetery and crematorium in the London Borough of Barnet.
Bridges
These include Chelsea Bridge, Grosvenor Bridge, Vauxhall Bridge, Lambeth Bridge, Westminster Bridge, Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge, listed west to east (downstream).
National Rail stations
Stations include: London Charing Cross; serving the South Eastern Main Line via South East London and Kent. London Marylebone; serving the Chiltern Main Line via North West London, the West Midlands and Birmingham. London Paddington; serving the Great Western Main Line via South West England, Wales and Heathrow Airport and London Victoria; serving the Brighton Main Line and the Chatham Main Line. These are all main London termini stations.
London Underground
The City of Westminster is served by 27 tube stations, and 10 of the 11 London Underground lines (the Waterloo and City line is the exception).
Electric charging points
Westminster City Council now has electric vehicle charging points in 15 locations through 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.
Travel to work
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 a car or van, 6.0%; work mainly at or from home, 5.5%; bicycle, 3.1%; train, 3.0%.
Education
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.
Universities and colleges
Public libraries
The London Library, an independent lending library, is at 14 St. James Square.
The city operates two reference libraries; Westminster Reference Library and Marylebone Information Service. Westminster Reference Library holds several special collections: of which the Sherlock Holmes, Arts and Business collections are the most comprehensive.
Free City of Westminster operated public lending libraries in Westminster include:
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 United Kingdom, and the Westminster Chinese Library in the Charing Cross Library.
Home ownership
In terms of tenure, 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. This is indicative of a high density of development and higher investment demand relative to other districts in England and most of the 15 highest-ranking local authorities are boroughs of Greater London. Tourism also increases the proportion of willing third-party landlords, as the two authorities which are outside London in the list are England's largest south coast holiday resorts.