The Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea was a metropolitan borough of the

County of London The 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 A ...

between 1900 and 1965. It was created by the

London Government Act 1899 The London Government Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. 14) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the administration of the capital. The Act divided the County of London into 28 metropolitan boroughs, replacing the 41 parish ...

from most of the ancient parish of

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. It was amalgamated in 1965 under the

London Government Act 1963 The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...

, with the Royal Borough of Kensington to form the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Ecclesiastical parish

The ancient parish, was originally dedicated to All Saints, but by the late 17th century it had been rededicated to St Luke. It was in the Diocese of London. In 1824 a new parish church was built in the centre of the parish, it was also dedicated to St Luke and the original parish church became a chapel-at-ease known as All Saints, Chelsea or Chelsea Old Church. From 1831, as the population of Chelsea increased, a number of new parishes were formed: * Holy Trinity, Upper Chelsea in 1831 * St Saviour, Upper Chelsea in 1840 * St Jude, Upper Chelsea in 1844, (merged into Holy Trinity, Upper Chelsea in 1892) * All Saints, Chelsea (Chelsea Old Church) voluntarily took care of certain streets from 1855, became a separate parish in 1951 * Park Chapel, Chelsea Park in c.1855, (renamed Emmanuel, Chelsea Park in 1906; then St Andrew, Chelsea Park in 1912) * St Simon Zelotes, Upper Chelsea in 1859 * Christ Church, Chelsea in 1860 * St John, Chelsea World's End in 1877 In the detached part of Chelsea parish, around the hamlet of Kensal Green (

Kensal Town Kensal Town is a district located partly in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and partly in the City of Westminster. The area lies four miles north-west of Charing Cross and is part of the W postcode area. Kensal Town was an exclave ...

), a number of new parishes were also formed: * St John the Evangelist, Kensal Green in 1845 ''with parts of Kensington, Paddington, Hammersmith and Willesden'' * St Luke the Evangelist, Kensal Green in 1877 ''with parts of Holy Trinity, Kilburn'' * St Jude, Kensal Green in 1879

Population and area

The area of the borough was , once

was transferred to Kensington and

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

. The population recorded in the Census was: Chelsea Vestry 1801–1899 Metropolitan Borough 1900–1961

Coat of arms

The borough was granted a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovere ...

on 28 February 1903. The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...

was: :''Gules within a cross voided or a crozier in pale of the last in the first quarter a winged bull statant in the second a lion rampant reguardant both argent in the third a sword point downwards proper pomel and hilt gold between two boars' heads couped at the neck of the third and in the fourth a stag's head caboshed of the second.'' The winged bull is the symbol of St Luke, patron saint of

( St Luke's parish church is just off the King's Road). The other emblems referred to various holders of the manor over the centuries: the crozier for

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

, the lion for Earl Cadogan (first mayor of the borough), the boars' heads and sword for the Sloane family and the stag's head for the Stanley family. The motto was ''Nisi dominus frustra'' or "It is vain without the Lord". The fourfold division of the shield was a design favoured by

Albert Woods Sir Albert William Woods (16 April 18167 January 1904) was an English officer of arms, who served as Garter Principal King of Arms from 1869 to 1904. The Woods family has a strong tradition of service at the College of Arms. Albert Woods was t ...

, Garter King of Arms for municipal grants: other examples in London being the metropolitan boroughs of

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham ...

, Camberwell, Islington, Kensington, Southwark

Politics

Under the

Metropolis Management Act 1855 The Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c.120) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Metropolitan Board of Works, a London-wide body to co-ordinate the construction of the city's infrastructure. The Act al ...

any parish that exceeded 2,000 ratepayers was to be divided into wards; as such the incorporated vestry of St Luke Chelsea was divided into four wards (electing

vestrymen A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

): No. 1 or Stanley (9), No. 2 or Church (18), No. 3 or Hans Town (21) and No. 4 or Royal Hospital (12). In 1894 as its population had increased the incorporated vestry was re-divided into five wards (electing

): Stanley (12), Church & Cheyne (15), Hans Town (12), Royal Hospital (9) and Kensal Town (12). The metropolitan borough was also divided into five wards for elections: Cheyne, Church, Hans Town, Royal Hospital and Stanley.Ordnance Survey 'County Series 3rd Edition' Map of London (1912-14) at 1:2500 scale. Accessed at https://www.old-maps.co.uk/

Borough council

The borough council was controlled by the

Municipal Reform Party The Municipal Reform Party was a local party allied to the parliamentary Conservative Party in the County of London. The party contested elections to both the London County Council and metropolitan borough councils of the county from 1906 to 1945 ...

, which was allied to the Conservative Party, from its creation until 1949. In that year, the "Municipal Reform" label was discarded, and the Conservative Party governed the borough until the borough's abolition in 1965. Chelsea Town Hall, a neo-classical building containing frescos, remains in use. It is situated on King's Road, at the corner of

Chelsea Manor Street Chelsea Manor Street is a street in Chelsea, London. It runs roughly north to south from Britten Street, crossing King's Road to St Loo Avenue. The southern continuation, Cheyne Gardens ends at Cheyne Walk. It was originally called Manor St ...

Parliament constituency

For elections to

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, the borough formed a single constituency. By 1950, the decline in population meant that the Chelsea constituency also included the Brompton area of the

Metropolitan Borough of Kensington The Metropolitan Borough of Kensington was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London from 1900 to 1965, which since 1901 was known as the Royal Borough of Kensington, following the death of Queen Victoria, in accordance with her wishes. His ...

References

External links

''A Vision of Britain''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chelsea, Metropolitan Borough of Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London History of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Parishes governed by vestries (Metropolis) 1900 establishments in England 1965 disestablishments in England Districts abolished by the London Government Act 1963 Metropolitan Borough of