Liberty of Norton Folgate

Norton Folgate
Norton Folgate
	; Norton Folgate in 1681;
Area
• 1901	8 acres (0.032 km2)
Population
• 1801	1,752
• 1851	1,771
• 1901	1,663
Density
• 1901	208/acre
History
• Abolished	1900 (liberty); 1921 (civil parish)
• Succeeded by	Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch; Metropolitan Borough of Stepney
Status	Liberty(until 1900); Extra-parochial area(until 1858); Civil parish(1858—1921)
•HQ	Norton Folgate Street (c.1544-1744); White Lion Street (1744-1901)

Norton Folgatewas alibertyinMiddlesex,England; adjacent to theCity of Londonin what would become theEast End of London.

It was located between theBishopsgateward of the City of London to the south, theparish of St Leonard, Shoreditchto the north and theparish of Spitalfieldsto the east.

The district, which was a component of theTower Division, also known as the Tower Hamlets,ceased to exist when it merged into theMetropolitan Borough of Stepneyin 1900. Following boundary changes in the 1990s, its former area is now divided between theCity of Londonand theLondon Borough of Tower Hamlets.^[1]

Toponymy

The name is recordedc. 1110asNortuneand means "north farmstead". It is formed from theOld Englishnorthandtūn,with the affix "Folgate" perhaps derived from the manorial family nameFoliot.This possibly refers toGilbert Foliot,Bishop of London or Richard Foliot, acanonofSt Paul's Cathedral.^[2]An alternative explanation found inThe National Gazetteerfrom 1868 describesFolgateas derived "from the Saxon wordFoldweg,a highway, in allusion to the old Roman Road (Ermine Street) which passed through this place ".^[3]It is remembered in the street ofNorton Folgateand the 2009 album by the bandMadness,calledThe Liberty of Norton Folgate.

History

Norton Folgate originated as the land occupied by the inner precinct of the Priory and Hospital of St Mary Spital. The priory wasdissolvedduring theReformation,but the land, which reverted tothe Crown,retained its status as an extra-parochial liberty. Within the 8.7 acres (35,000 m²) of the former liberty are Folgate Street (formerly White Lyon Yard or White Lion Street), Spital Square, Elder Street, Fleur de Lis Street and Blossom Street.

Maps from the 18th century indicate that an area to the west of Bishopsgate was also part of Norton Folgate but was probably part of the broadermanorand not part of the liberty. Its original extent was from what is now Worship Street (then called Hog Lane) in a narrow corridor that ran parallel to Bishopsgate as far south asLiverpool Street Station.By the 19th century it had been reduced to a small plot between Primrose Street and Worship Street. It has been suggested that Norton Folgate can be identified as the nine acres which the canons of St Paul's held at Bishopsgate (ad portam Episcopi) at the time of theDomesday Surveyand was held similarly during the time ofEdward the Confessor.^[4]

In the 18th century breweries in Hog Lane and White Lion Street producedporter.^[5]^[4]TheGas Light and Coke Companyestablished works, also known as the 'Curtain Road Works' from about 1812 when it was contracted to lightBishopsgateand supply the surrounding area with gas. The site was cramped, and riddled with springs. The company applied novel chemistry (devised by Fredrick Winsor) on an industrial scale. The works operated from about 1820 to 1871, whenBeckton Gas Workstook over the supply for much of London. The site was then used as a coal siding – for coaling trains atBroad StreetandLiverpool Street.After that it was used as a yard for taxis before it was redeveloped in about 2000.^[6]

Norton Folgate was once the residence of the playwrightChristopher Marlowe.The theatrical association continued, with the construction in 1837 of the City of London Theatre by the architectSamuel Beazley.The theatre specialised in "domestic" andtemperancedrama, and closed in 1868. Performances includedThe Pickwick Papersbetween March and April 1837; andNicholas Nicklebyin November and December 1838.^[7]

The liberty existed until October 1900,^[4]although it continued to have nominal existence as acivil parishuntil 1921. The area to the west of Bishopsgate was removed and became part of the parish and borough ofShoreditch(which in turn became part of theLondon Borough of Hackneyin 1965).^[8]Since a revision of boundaries in the 1990s this area is now part of theCity of London.The remaining parish to the east of Bishopsgate formed part of theMetropolitan Borough of Stepneyuntil it was abolished in 1921, absorbed by the parish ofSpitalfields.^[9]

In 2008, in opposition to a plan to demolish the Light Bar (built as a power station for theGreat Eastern Railway)^[10]in order to build an office block, local activists claimed that documents in the council archives showed that the abolition of the Liberty of Norton Folgate in 1900 was technically invalid and that it still existed.^[11]

Government

In 1732 the Parish Clerks of Shoreditch said that "All the Affairs of the Liberty are managed by the Ancients, who are in the Nature of a Vestry".^[4]These "ancients" or "ancient inhabitants" may have originally been clerics but after the reformation were probably established landowners. Later records indicate that these "ancient inhabitants" took turns to occupy various offices including:

Headborough(a sort of Mayor)
2 xOverseers of the Poor(who managed rents)
Constable(supervising threeBeadles)
Scavenger(who managed street cleaning)

The ten "ancient inhabitants" were obliged to fill these offices unless they paid a fine excusing themselves. The Ancient Inhabitants appear to have replaced their numbers through co-opting residents of the Liberty. After aLocal Actthese ancient offices were replaced by a more democraticBoard of Trusteeswho administered the Liberty from theCourt Houselocated in the centre of Norton Folgate Street (now calledNorton Folgate). These twenty trustees were responsible for establishing and maintaining civic amenities such as sewerage, lighting and the maintenance of pavements. In 1743 the ancient Court House was pulled down and the courts of the manor were later held in a building on the north side of White Lion Street (later No. 1 Folgate Street) leased by the inhabitants and overseers of the liberty from 1744 onwards. This building was also used for meetings of the trustees until 1900; it was demolished in the 1960s.

The liberty was one of the components of theTower Division, also known as the Tower Hamlets,an area best known for its military association with theTower of London,but which also had a civil role.^[12]

In 1855 the liberty became part of theWhitechapel District.In 1897 the trustees contemplated agitating, together with the neighbouringLiberty of the Old Artillery Ground,for inclusion in the City of London, but did not do so. In 1900 the liberty became merged in theMetropolitan Borough of Stepneyand the last meeting of the trustees took place on 24 October of that year. The last chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Liberty was William Chillingworth.^[13]

Population and area

The liberty of Norton Folgate covered 8 acres (3 ha). The population as recorded in the Census was:

Liberty of Norton Folgate 1801-1901

Year^[14]	1801	1811	1821	1831	1841	1851	1861	1871	1881	1891	1901
Population	1,752	1,716	1,896	1,918	1,674	1,771	1,873	1,550	1,528	1,449	1,663

References

^"The City and London Borough Boundaries Order 1993".
^Mills, D. (2000).Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names.Oxford.
^GenUKI Middlesex, Norton Folgate
^^a ^b ^c ^dSheppard 1957.
^London Trade Directories.
^Hackney History,vol. 7.
^Theatres in Victorian Londonaccessed on 21 Dec 2006
^Thomas, C., Sloane, B., and Phillpotts, C. (1997)Excavations at the Priory and Hospital of St Mary Spital, London.Museum of London.
^Youngs, F. A. (1979).Guide to the Administrative Units of England.Vol. 1. London: Royal Historical Society. pp. 306, 336.ISBN 0-901050-67-9.
^J. E. Connor,"The Great Eastern Light"^{[permanent dead link]},2000, p.12
^Norton Folgate Raises Flag and Declares 'UDI'
^London Encyclopaedia, Weinreb and Hibbert, 1983
^Minute Book of the Liberty of Norton Folgate (at Bancroft Public Records Library), 24.10.1900
^Statistical Abstract for London, 1901 (Vol. IV) - Census tables for Liberty of Norton Folgate.

External links

51°31′16″N0°04′44″W/ 51.5211°N 0.0788°W/51.5211; -0.0788

[SI_1993/1445-1] "The City and London Borough Boundaries Order 1993".

[Mills-2] Mills, D. (2000).Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names.Oxford.

[3] GenUKI Middlesex, Norton Folgate

[SoL-4] Sheppard 1957.

[5] London Trade Directories.

[6] Hackney History,vol. 7.

[7] Theatres in Victorian Londonaccessed on 21 Dec 2006

[8] Thomas, C., Sloane, B., and Phillpotts, C. (1997)Excavations at the Priory and Hospital of St Mary Spital, London.Museum of London.

[9] Youngs, F. A. (1979).Guide to the Administrative Units of England.Vol. 1. London: Royal Historical Society. pp. 306, 336.ISBN 0-901050-67-9.

[10] J. E. Connor,"The Great Eastern Light"^{[permanent dead link]},2000, p.12

[11] Norton Folgate Raises Flag and Declares 'UDI'

[12] London Encyclopaedia, Weinreb and Hibbert, 1983

[13] Minute Book of the Liberty of Norton Folgate (at Bancroft Public Records Library), 24.10.1900

[14] Statistical Abstract for London, 1901 (Vol. IV) - Census tables for Liberty of Norton Folgate.

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v t e History of the formation of theLondon Borough of Hackney
Metropolitan boroughs	Hackney Shoreditch Stoke Newington
District boards	Hackney
Parishes	Hackney Norton Folgate Shoreditch South Hornsey Stoke Newington