St Mary le Strand was an ancient parish in the county of

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 ...

, England. It was partly within the

Liberty of the Savoy The Savoy was a manor and liberty located between the Liberty of Westminster, on two sides, the Inner and Middle Temple part of the City of London and the River Thames. It was in the county of Middlesex. Named for the Savoy Palace, it came to b ...

and partly within the

Liberty of Westminster The City and Liberty of Westminster was a unit of local government in the county of Middlesex, England. It was located immediately to the west of the City of London. Originally under the control of Westminster Abbey, the local authority for the ...

. It took its name from the church of St Mary and the Innocents. The church was demolished in 1548, during the construction of

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

, and not rebuilt until 1723. The parish was de facto merged with the Precinct of the Savoy as "St Mary Savoy", but an attempt to merge the parishes

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

in the early 18th century failed. It was restored as a separate parish following the construction of the New Church in the Strand in 1723. The parish was grouped into the Strand Poor Law Union in 1836 and the Strand District in 1855. In 1889 it became part 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 ...

and from 1900 also part of the

Metropolitan Borough of Westminster The Metropolitan Borough of Westminster was a metropolitan borough in the County of London, England, from 1900 to 1965. City status By royal charter dated 29 October 1900, the borough was granted the title City of Westminster. Westminster had o ...

. It was abolished as a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in 1922.

History

The ancient parish church of St Mary and the Innocents was demolished in 1548 when

was constructed. Edward Seymour, recently created

Duke of Somerset Duke of Somerset, from the county of Somerset, is a title that has been created five times in the peerage of England. It is particularly associated with two families: the Beauforts, who held the title from the creation of 1448, and the Seymours ...

, promised to provide a replacement, but none was ever built. The parish was not counted separately from 1549 to 1723. Parishioners initially used the church of

St Clement Danes St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is now situated near the 19th-century Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in Aldwych. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th cent ...

and then from 1558 the

Savoy Chapel The King's Chapel of St John the Baptist in the Precinct of the Savoy, also known as the King's Chapel of the Savoy (called The Queen's Chapel during much of modern history in the reigns of Victoria and Elizabeth II), is a church in the City of ...

.The Church chronicle, a monthly record of Church life and Church work, (1869) The parish was de facto merged with the Precinct of the Savoy, becoming known as "St Mary Savoy". In 1606 "St Mary Savoy" was added to the returns of the

Bills of mortality Bills of mortality were the weekly mortality statistics in London, designed to monitor burials from 1592 to 1595 and then continuously from 1603. The responsibility to produce the statistics was chartered in 1611 to the Worshipful Company of Pari ...

. In 1702 the

Savoy Hospital The Savoy Palace, considered the grandest nobleman's townhouse of medieval London, was the residence of prince John of Gaunt until it was destroyed during rioting in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. The palace was on the site of an estate given t ...

was closed and in 1703

Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset (24 January 164329 January 1706) was an English politician, courtier and poet. Early life Sackville was born on 24 January 1643, son of Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset (1622–1677). His mother was th ...

, attempted in parliament, as part of the Savoy Hospital Bill, to combine the parishes

."Petition of Charles, E. Dorset and Middlesex, and of certain of his tenants, on behalf of themselves and the rest of the Earl's tenants in the parish of St. Mary-le-Strand, co. Middlesex. In the Bill for enabling her Majesty to settle the lands and revenues of the late dissolved hospital of the Savoy to such charitable and public uses as are therein mentioned, there are several clauses relating to the uniting the said parish to the precinct of the Savoy, by which Petitioners will be much prejudiced. Pray to be heard against these clauses." This was opposed and never carried out. The parishioners of St Mary le Strand were made to renounce their claim before they were permitted to use the Savoy Chapel again. From 1700 to 1727 "St Mary Savoy in the Strand" appears in the bills of mortality.Collection of Yearly Bills of Mortality, from 1657 to 1758 Inclusive, A. Miller, (1759) In 1723 a replacement New Church in the Strand was built by the

Commission for Building Fifty New Churches The Commission for Building Fifty New Churches (in London and the surroundings) was an organisation set up by Act of Parliament in England in 1711, to implement the New Churches in London and Westminster Act 1710, with the purpose of building f ...

. In the annual bills returns from 1726 there is an entry for St Mary le Strand and the Precinct of the Savoy appears separately from 1728.

Governance

In 1836 the parish was grouped into the Strand Poor Law Union, with two guardians elected for the Westminster part and one guardian elected for the Duchy of Lancaster part. It was grouped into the Strand District in 1855 when it came within the area of responsibility of the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the upper tier of local government for London between 1856 and 1889, primarily responsible for upgrading infrastructure. It also had a parks and open spaces committee which set aside and opened up severa ...

. In 1889 the parish became part of the

and in 1900 it became part of the

. It was abolished as a civil parish in 1922.

Geography

It had a southern boundary with the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. The part within the Liberty of Westminster was north of the Strand and the part within the Liberty of the Savoy was primarily to the south of the Strand.

Population

The population of St Mary le Strand at the decennial census was:

Notes

References

{{coord, 51.512171, -0.116904, region:GB, display=title History of local government in London (pre-1855) Parishes united into districts (Metropolis) Former civil parishes in the City of Westminster Bills of mortality parishes