The
Metropolitan Borough of Holborn was a
Metropolitan boroughThe term metropolitan borough was used from 1900 to 1965, for the subdivisions of the County of London created by the London Government Act 1899....
in the
County of LondonThe County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government Act 1888. The Act created an administrative County of...
between 1900 and 1965, when it was amalgamated with the
Metropolitan Borough of St PancrasThe Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1900 and 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead and the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn to form the London Borough of Camden...
and the
Metropolitan Borough of HampsteadThe Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras and the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn to form the London Borough of Camden....
to form the
London Borough of CamdenIn 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
.
Boundaries
The borough was formed from the following civil parishes and places:
- St Andrew Holborn Above the Bars with St George the Martyr
St Andrew Holborn Above the Bars with St George the Martyr was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England, from 1767 to 1930.-History:...
(Holborn District Board of Works)
- St Giles in the Fields and St George Bloomsbury (St Giles District Board of Works)
- The Liberty of Saffron Hill, Hatton Garden, Ely Rents and Ely Place (Holborn District Board of Works)
- two of the Inns of Court
The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. All such barristers must belong to one such association. They have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. The Inns also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional...
: Lincoln's InnThe Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
and Staple InnStaple Inn is a building on the south side of High Holborn in London, England. Located near Chancery Lane tube station, it is used as the London office of the Institute of Actuaries and is the last surviving Inn of Chancery and is a listed building....
Coat of arms
St Giles, St George and St Andrew were depicted on the borough seal. The several constituent parishes were illustrated in the
armsA coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
granted to Holborn in 1906, while the supporters, the Lion and the
GriffinThe griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
are from the arms of
Lincoln's InnThe Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
and
Gray's InnThe Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
(
Inns of CourtThe Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. All such barristers must belong to one such association. They have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. The Inns also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional...
).
Several of the street name signs in the
British MuseumThe British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
/
Senate HouseSenate House is the administrative centre of the University of London, situated in the heart of Bloomsbury, London between the School of Oriental and African Studies to the north, with the British Museum to the south...
area still bear the "Borough of Holborn" area designation.
Holborn Town Hall still exists, on
High HolbornHigh Holborn is a road in Holborn in central London, England. It starts in the west near St Giles Circus, then goes east, past the Kingsway and Southampton Row, and continues east. The road becomes Holborn at the junction with Gray's Inn Road....
.
Area and population
Holborn was the smallest of the twenty-eight metropolitan boroughs of the
County of LondonThe County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government Act 1888. The Act created an administrative County of...
, with an area of between 405 and 407 acres (1.6 km²). Therefore it was even smaller than the
City of LondonThe City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. It also had the smallest population of any of the boroughs throughout its existence. The populations recorded in National Censuses were:
Constituent Civil Parishes 1801-1899
| Year |
1801 |
1811 |
1821 |
1831 |
1841 |
1851 |
1861 |
1871 |
1881 |
1891 |
| Population |
67,103 |
80,642 |
88,172 |
90,670 |
93,767 |
95,726 |
94,074 |
93,513 |
78,668 |
70,938 |
Metropolitan Borough 1900-1961
| Year |
1901 |
1911 |
1921 |
1931 |
1941 |
1951 |
1961 |
| Population |
59,405 |
49,357 |
43,192 |
38,860 |
|
24,810 |
22,008 |