Finsbury is a district of

Central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

, forming the southeastern part of the

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough, borough in North London, England. Forming part of Inner London, Islington has an estimated population of 215,667. It was formed in 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, by the amalg ...

. It borders the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. The Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man called Finn".Mills, D. (2000). ''Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names''. . Finsbury lay just outside

Cripplegate Cripplegate was a city gate, gate in the London Wall which once enclosed the City of London, England. The Cripplegate gate lent its name to the Cripplegate Wards of the City of London, ward of the City, which encompasses the area where the gat ...

(and on its later construction,

Moorgate Moorgate was one of the City of London's northern gates in its defensive wall, the last to be built. The gate took its name from the Moorfields, an area of marshy land that lay immediately north of the wall. The gate was demolished in 1762, but ...

) in

London Wall The London Wall is a defensive wall first built by the Ancient Rome, Romans around the strategically important port town of Londinium in AD 200, as well as the name of a #modern, modern street in the City of London, England. Roman London was ...

. At that time, much of the manor was part of the ''"great fen which washed against the northern wall of the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

"''. Finsbury gave its name to two larger administrative areas: the

Finsbury Division The Finsbury Division was one of four divisions of the Hundred of Ossulstone, in the historic county of Middlesex, England. The area of the Finsbury Division is now the core of modern north London. The other divisions were named Holborn, Kensin ...

of the

Ossulstone Hundred Ossulstone is an obsolete subdivision (hundred) covering 26.4% of – and the most metropolitan part – of the historic county of Middlesex, England.British History Online �Hundreds of Middlesex/ref> It surrounded but did not includ ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, from the 17th century until 1900, and from 1900 to 1965 the

Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury The Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury was a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Islington to form the Borough ...

. The Metropolitan Borough included Finsbury (also known as St Luke's) and

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...

. The area should not be confused with

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in Harringay, north London, England. The park lies on the southern-most edge of the London Borough of Haringey. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal ...

, a public space roughly to the north, which gives its name to its surrounding mainly residential area.

Geography

The area lies immediately north of the

, and approximates to the part of the

east of

Goswell Road Goswell Road, in Central London, is an end part of the A1. The southern part ends with one block, on the east side, in City of London; the rest is in the London Borough of Islington, the north end being Angel. It crosses Old Street/Clerkenwel ...

and south of

City Road City Road or The City Road is a road that runs through central London. The northwestern extremity of the road is at Angel where it forms a continuation of Pentonville Road. Pentonville Road itself is the modern name for the eastern part of Lo ...

. It also includes a small area north of City Road, focused on the

City Road Basin The City Road Basin is an English canal basin and part of the Regent's Canal in Central London, owned by the Canal & River Trust. It opened in 1820, and made a large contribution to the prosperity of the Regent's Canal. By the 1950s, its surro ...

. The parts of the City of London's

Coleman Street Ward Coleman Street is one of the 25 ancient wards of the City of London, England, and lies on the City's northern boundary with the London Borough of Islington. The ward, which includes land lying on either side of the former city wall, takes its ...

that lie outside the line of the former City walls (now mostly covered by

Finsbury Circus Finsbury Circus is a park in the Coleman Street Ward of the City of London, England. The 2 acre park is the largest public open space within the City's boundaries. It is not to be confused with Finsbury Square, just north of the City, or Fins ...

) were historically part of the Manor of Finsbury and still sometimes described as part of the area.

Finsbury Town Hall Finsbury Town Hall is a municipal building in Finsbury, London. The structure is a Grade II* listed building. History The building was commissioned by the Clerkenwell Vestry to replace an early 19th century vestry hall at the corner of Garnault ...

and the

Finsbury Estate Finsbury Estate is a large-scale housing estate in the Clerkenwell area of London, England (in the former Borough of Finsbury), comprising four purpose-built blocks of flats located on a level site, providing 451 residences. Patrick Coman House ...

lie further west, in

and are named after the former borough of Finsbury which included both Finsbury and Clerkenwell.

Origins and administration

Soke of Cripplegate

The Soke of Cripplegate was a landholding outside

and

Aldersgate Aldersgate is a Wards of the City of London, Ward of the City of London, England, named after one of the northern City gate, gates in the London Wall which once enclosed the City. The Ward of Aldersgate is traditionally divided into Aldersga ...

. Bordered (in part at least) by the

Walbrook Walbrook is a Ward of the City of London and a minor street in its vicinity. The ward is named after a River Walbrook, river of the same name. The ward of Walbrook contains two of the City's most notable landmarks: the Bank of England and the ...

to the east, it covered the areas subsequently known as Aldersgate Without and the parish of

St Giles-without-Cripplegate St Giles-without-Cripplegate is an Church of England, Anglican church in the City of London, located on Fore Street (London), Fore Street within the modern Barbican Estate, Barbican complex. When built it stood without (that is, outside) the Lond ...

(which included

Cripplegate Without St Giles-without-Cripplegate is an Anglican church in the City of London, located on Fore Street within the modern Barbican complex. When built it stood without (that is, outside) the city wall, near the Cripplegate. The church is dedicated to S ...

, the part of

north of the wall and the Manor of Finsbury). The Soke was granted to

St. Martin's Le Grand St. Martin's Le Grand is a former liberty within the City of London, and is the name of a street north of Newgate Street and Cheapside and south of Aldersgate Street. It forms the southernmost section of the A1 road. For many years St. Martin' ...

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

in 1068, in exchange for prayers for the souls of his parents. It is thought the estate may be much older dating back to the establishment of the Diocese of London in the 7th century. Empress Mathilda

The churches of St Botolph without Aldersgate and

appear to have been built in the early decades of the twelfth century (possibly under the aegis of Matilda of Blessed Memory) and there was very little, if any, development north of the wall before that time. St Martins rights to the Soke were confirmed by the

Empress Matilda Empress Matilda (10 September 1167), also known as Empress Maud, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter and heir of Henry I, king of England and ruler of Normandy, she went to ...

(daughter of Matilda of Blessed Memory) around 1140. St Martins was permitted to enclose land there to prevent rubbish dumping in the area, but it is thought the Empress' principle intention was to promote planned development of a northern suburb. The development of streets such as Redcross Street, Whitecross Street, Grub Street, Fore Street, Moor Lane, Chiswell Street and others were subsequently recorded.

Manor and parishes

It is not entirely clear how the territory and rights of the Soke evolved into the subsequent administrative and ecclesiastical units. The area covered by the Soke was served by two parishes; the little parish of St Botolph without Aldersgate served the extramural City Ward of Aldersgate Without, while the parish of

served the extramural City Ward of

and the Manor (estate) of Finsbury. In the 17th century, Little and Lower Moorfields, previously in the Manor of Finsbury and Parish of St Giles, was transferred to the

of the City of London (and also to the parish of

St Stephen Coleman Street St. Stephen's Church, Coleman Street, also called "St Stephen's in the Jewry", was a church in the City of London, at the corner of Coleman Street and what is now Gresham Street (and in Coleman Street Ward), first mentioned in the 12th century. ...

for religious purposes). This meant that Coleman Street Ward also possessed an extramural area. Map 1682 Bethlem in Moorfields

From mid-12th century the Manor of Finsbury was owned by St Paul's cathedral and managed as a

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

Manor to provide a prebend (a stipend of money or goods) to support an ecclesiastic person such as a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

, or an institution. For a long time the prebendary income went to

Holywell Priory Holywell Priory or Haliwell, Halliwell, or Halywell (various spellings), was a religious house in Shoreditch, formerly in the historical county of Middlesex and now in the London Borough of Hackney. Its formal name was the Priory of St John the B ...

in nearby

Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...

, so the estate became known as the ''Prebend of Halliwell and Finsbury'', though the Priory itself did not lie adjacent to the prebendary manor or form part of it. The prebendary manor of Finsbury was, from 1315, leased by the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

, so that after that the formal title of the Mayors has been ''Mayor of London and Lord of Finsbury''. The mayoral manor house, ''Finsbury Court'', lay on the junction of

Chiswell Street Chiswell Street is in the London Borough of Islington. It includes several buildings listed by Historic England. Location The street, in St Luke's, Islington, runs east-west and forms part of the B100 road. At the west end it becomes Beech St ...

and Finsbury Pavement. Ward Coleman Street plaque London

In this way the part of St Giles parish, ''Cripplegate Without'', that was part of the city was also known as ''The Freedom'' and governed by the Mayor as a part of, or a dependency of the city. The remaining part, ''The Manor of Finsbury'', was also known as ''The Lordship'', where the Mayor's position was that of a lessee, albeit with the title ''Lord of the Manor of Finsbury''. Other accounts suggest the Manor passed to the Lord Mayors later, being made over their use by

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Joan, Countess of Kent. R ...

, in gratitude for the killing of

Wat Tyler Wat Tyler (1341 or – 15 June 1381) was a leader of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in Kingdom of England, England. He led a group of rebels from Canterbury to City of London, London to oppose the collection of a Tax per head, poll tax and to dem ...

by Mayor

William Walworth Sir William Walworth (died 1385) was an English nobleman and politician who was twice Lord Mayor of London (1374–75 and 1380–81). He is best known for killing Wat Tyler during the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. He was also the first commoner in ...

at Smithfield in 1381. In 1733, the growth of the local population, led to the part of St Giles-without-Cripplegate outside the city, the area which had been the Manor of Finsbury, being made an independent parish, known as ''St Luke's'', after the parish church.

Latter administration and representation

The parts of the parish of St Giles outside of the city (originally the Manor of Finsbury, later organised as the Parish of St Luke) were part of the

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

Ossulstone Ossulstone is an obsolete subdivision (hundred) covering 26.4% of – and the most metropolitan part – of the historic county of Middlesex, England.British History Online �Hundreds of Middlesex/ref> It surrounded but did not includ ...

. By the 17th century, population growth made this unit inefficient, so it was sub-divided with the area north of the walls becoming part of a new

which handled the responsibilities previously managed by the Hundred. Parish-level institutions continued to manage the

Poor Law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

and ecclesiastical matters. In 1832 the parliamentary borough of Finsbury was created to represent the area in parliament. This area loosely approximated to the

Finsbury division The Finsbury Division was one of four divisions of the Hundred of Ossulstone, in the historic county of Middlesex, England. The area of the Finsbury Division is now the core of modern north London. The other divisions were named Holborn, Kensin ...

, but also included parts of west London. In 1857

was opened some three miles north, for the enjoyment of the residents of this parliamentary borough. Finsbury Met

The

in the County of London was created in 1900, covering the area of Finsbury (also known as St Luke's) and Clerkenwell, with

located on

Rosebery Avenue Rosebery Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the boroughs of Camden and Islington, Central London. It starts southwest from the intersection with Theobald's Road, Holborn, and ends northeast at St John Street, Clerkenwell. Finsbury Town Hall ...

, Clerkenwell. In 1938, Dr.

Chuni Lal Katial Chuni Lal Katial (1898 – 14 November 1978) was a South Asian medical doctor and politician, who became the first UK's South Asian mayor, after being elected mayor of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury in 1938. He was born in the Punjab Region ...

was elected mayor of Finsbury, making him the first Asian mayor in the United Kingdom. The Borough's coat of arms included an embattled chief (top of the shield) representing the London Wall, a Barbican representing the three northern gates (Aldersgate, Cripplegate and Moorgate) and a Winged Bull, the heraldic symbol of St Luke. In 1965 the area merged with

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

to form the new

, though

remains part of the

History

Growth

Urbanisation was slow, despite the building of a new gate in the adjacent

, in 1511. In 1665 the

Bunhill Fields Bunhill Fields is a former burial ground in central London, in the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London. What remains is about in extent and the bulk of the site is a public garden maintained by the City of London Cor ...

burial ground was opened in the area. Moorgate Hollar

Building on Finsbury Fields began in the late 17th century. The parish church of St Luke's was built in 1732–33, development was accelerated by the building of the

in 1765, and at the end of the 18th century a residential suburb was built with its centre at

Finsbury Square Finsbury Square is a square in Finsbury in central London which includes a six-rink grass bowling green. It was developed in 1777 on the site of a previous area of green space to the north of the City of London known as Finsbury Fields, in the p ...

.Weinreb, B. and Hibbert, C. (eds.) (1983) ''The London Encyclopaedia''. Macmillan Little and Lower Moorfields remained open until

was developed after 1815.

Military history

In 1641 the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

moved to Finsbury, where it still remains. The

City of London Yeomanry A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

, founded at the time of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, made its headquarters in Finsbury Square. In 1862 Finsbury gave its name to a volunteer infantry unit — the

Finsbury Rifles The Finsbury Rifles was a unit of Britain's Volunteer Force (Great Britain), Volunteer Force and later Territorial Army (United Kingdom), Territorial Army from 1860 to 1961. It saw action at Gallipoli Campaign, Gallipoli, in Sinai and Palestine C ...

, which recruited in both Finsbury and Clerkenwell, and saw distinguished service in several conflicts.

Medical district

Before

Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer. The area included the following hospitals: * Royal Hospital for Diseases of the Chest * Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital (Moorfields) *

St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics was founded in London in 1751 for the treatment of incurable pauper lunatics by a group of philanthropic apothecaries and others. It was the second public institution in London created to look after mentally ill p ...

* French Huguenot Hospital * St Mark's Hospital for Fistula and other Diseases of the Rectum * Holborn & Finsbury Poor Law Union *

Bethlem Hospital Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in Bromley, London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films, and television series, most notably '' Bedlam'', ...

, on the site of what is now

Famous residents

* Charles Gordon, cricketer and grandson of the founder of

Gordon's Gin Gordon's is a brand of London dry gin first produced in 1769. The top markets for Gordon's are the United Kingdom, the United States and Greece. It is owned by the British multinational alcoholic beverage company Diageo. It is the world's best- ...

* Violet Kray, mother of the gangster

Kray brothers Ronald Kray (24 October 193320 March 1995) and Reginald Kray (24 October 19331 October 2000) were English gangsters or organised crime figures and identical twin brothers from Haggerston who were prominent from the late 1950s until their arrest ...

. Twins Ronnie and Reggie were arrested at her flat in Braithwaite House, Finsbury, in connection with gangland crimes including murder and fraud on 8 May 1968. * Eric Maxon, Shakespearean and early film actor, died in Finsbury *

Arthur Mullard Arthur Ernest Mullard ( né Mullord; 19 September 1910His obituary in ''The Times'' gives his date of birth as 10 November 1910 but conflicts with the birthdate given in his death registration. His year of birth appears as 1908, 1910, 1912 and 19 ...

, comic actor *

Dadabhai Naoroji Dadabhai Naoroji (4 September 1825 – 30 June 1917), also known as the ''"Grand Old Man of India"'' and "Unofficial Ambassador of India", was an Indian independence activist, political leader, merchant, scholar and writer. He was one of the f ...

, Indian politician

Points of interest

St Luke Old Street St Luke's is a historic Church of England, Anglican church building in central London, and in the London Borough of Islington. It served as a parish church from 1733 to 1959. It was designed by John James (architect), John James and Nicholas Hawk ...

(also known as Finsbury St Luke),completed in 1733 as the parish church, now used as a concert venue by the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

. *

Ironmonger Row Baths Ironmonger Row Baths were built in two phases. The first, a public wash house and slipper baths, opened in 1931. The second phase, comprising the main swimming pool, the children's pool, and Victorian-style Turkish baths, opened in 1938. They a ...

Whitecross Street Market Whitecross Street is a short street in Islington, in Inner London. It features an eponymous street market and a large housing estate. Since 2010, there has been an annual Whitecross Street Party one weekend in the summer, together with an exhi ...

Moorfields Eye Hospital Moorfields Eye Hospital is a specialist National Health Service (NHS) eye hospital in Finsbury in the London Borough of Islington in London, England run by Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Together with the UCL Institute of Ophthal ...

Artillery Ground The Artillery Ground in Finsbury is an open space originally set aside for archery and later known also as a cricket venue. Today it is used for military exercises, cricket, rugby and football matches. It belongs to the Honourable Artillery Comp ...

, an open space and historic cricket venue. *

, a former burial ground and open space. *

* King Square Gardens *

, a canal basin on the Regent's Canal. *

Golden Lane Estate The Golden Lane Estate is a 1950s council housing complex in the City of London. It was built on the northern edge of the City, on a site devastated by bombing during the Second World War. Since 1997, the estate has been protected by a grade II ...

City, University of London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" an ...

, in

, in the City of London.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Areas of London Districts of the London Borough of Islington Places formerly in Middlesex