Wards of the City of London in the context of "Barbican tube station"

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⭐ Core Definition: Wards of the City of London

The City of London (also known simply as "the City") is divided into 25 wards. The city is the historic core of the much wider metropolis of Greater London, with an ancient and sui generis form of local government, which avoided the many local government reforms elsewhere in the country in the 19th and 20th centuries. Unlike other modern English local authorities, the City of London Corporation has two council bodies: the now largely ceremonial Court of Aldermen, and the Court of Common Council.

The wards are a survival of the medieval governmental system that allowed very small areas to exist as self-governing units within the wider city. They are both electoral/political sub-divisions and permanent ceremonial, geographic and administrative entities within the city. They had their boundaries changed in 2003, and to a lesser extent in 2013, though the number of wards and their names did not change.

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In this Dossier

Wards of the City of London in the context of Holborn

Holborn (/ˈhbərn/ HOH-bərn or /ˈhlbərn/ HOHL-bərn), an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London.

The area has its roots in the ancient parish of Holborn, which lay on the west bank of the now buried River Fleet; the district takes its name from an alternative name for the river: the Holbourne (or Oldbourne). The area is sometimes described as part of the West End of London or of the wider West London area.

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Wards of the City of London in the context of Cripplegate

Cripplegate was a gate in the London Wall which once enclosed the City of London, England.

The Cripplegate gate lent its name to the Cripplegate ward of the City, which encompasses the area where the gate and the former city wall once stood. The ward is divided into two parts: Cripplegate Within and Cripplegate Without, a division that originated from the gate and wall. Each part has a designated beadle and a deputy (alderman). Following boundary changes in 1994 (City) and 2003 (ward), the majority of the ward now falls within Cripplegate Without, as the ward of Bassishaw has expanded significantly into the Cripplegate Within area.

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Wards of the City of London in the context of Bishopsgate

Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate's name is traditionally attributed to Earconwald, who was Bishop of London in the 7th century. It was first built in Roman times and marked the beginning of Ermine Street, the ancient road running from London to York (Eboracum). The gate was rebuilt twice in the 15th and 18th centuries, but was permanently demolished in 1760.

Bishopsgate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into Bishopsgate Within, inside the line of the former wall, and Bishopsgate Without beyond it. Bishopsgate Without is described as part of London's East End. The ancient boundaries of the City wards were reviewed in 1994 and 2013, so that the wards no longer correspond very closely to their historic extents. Bishopsgate Without gained a significant part of Moorfields from the London Borough of Hackney, while nearly all of Bishopsgate Within was transferred to other wards.

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Wards of the City of London in the context of Royal Exchange, London

The Royal Exchange in London was founded in the 16th century by the merchant Sir Thomas Gresham on the suggestion of his factor Richard Clough to act as a centre of commerce for the City of London. The site was provided by the City of London Corporation and the Worshipful Company of Mercers, who still jointly own the freehold. The original foundation was ceremonially opened by Queen Elizabeth I who granted it its "royal" title. The current neoclassical building has a trapezoidal floor plan and is flanked by Cornhill and Threadneedle Street, which converge at Bank junction in the heart of the city. It lies in the Ward of Cornhill.

The exchange building has twice been destroyed by fire and subsequently rebuilt. The present building was designed by Sir William Tite in the 1840s. The site was notably occupied by the Lloyd's insurance market for nearly 150 years. Today, the Royal Exchange contains restaurants and luxury shops.

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Wards of the City of London in the context of Smithfield, London

Smithfield, properly known as West Smithfield, is a district located in Central London, part of Farringdon Without, the most westerly ward of the City of London, England.

Smithfield is home to a number of City institutions, such as St Bartholomew's Hospital and livery halls, including those of the Butchers' and Haberdashers' Companies. The area is best known for the Smithfield meat market, which dates from the 10th century, has been in continuous operation since medieval times, and is now London's only remaining wholesale market. Smithfield's principal street is called West Smithfield. Each summer, from the 12th century to the 19th century the area hosted Bartholomew Fair, and the area also contains the City's oldest surviving church building, St Bartholomew-the-Great, dating from 1123 (most City churches were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666).

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Wards of the City of London in the context of Farringdon Without

Farringdon Without is the most westerly ward of the City of London, England. Its suffix Without reflects its origin as lying beyond the City's former defensive walls. It was first established in 1394 to administer the suburbs west of Ludgate and Newgate, including West Smithfield and Temple. This was achieved by splitting the very large, pre-existing Farringdon Ward into two parts, Farringdon Within (inside the wall) and Farringdon Without (outside the wall). The large and prosperous extramural suburb of Farringdon Without has been described as having been London's first West End.

The ward was reduced in size considerably after a boundary review in 2003, and no longer corresponds closely to its historic extent, although it remains the largest of the City's 25 wards. Its resident population is 1,099 (2011).

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Wards of the City of London in the context of Bassishaw

Bassishaw is a ward in the City of London. Small, it is bounded by wards: Coleman Street, east; Cheap, south; Cripplegate, north; Aldersgate, west.

It first consisted of Basinghall Street with the courts and short side streets off it, but since a boundary review in 2003 (after which the ward expanded into Cripplegate Within) it extends to streets further west, including Aldermanbury, Wood Street, and, to the north, part of London Wall and St Alphage Garden. The ward was historically the City's smallest.

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Wards of the City of London in the context of Southwark

Southwark (/ˈsʌðərk/ SUDH-ərk) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed due to its position at the southern end of the early versions of London Bridge, for centuries the only dry crossing on the river. Around 43 AD, engineers of the Roman Empire found the geographic features of the south bank here suitable for the placement and construction of the first bridge.

London's historic core, the City of London, lay north of the bridge and for centuries the area of Southwark just south of the bridge was partially governed by the City, while other areas of the district were more loosely governed. The section known as Liberty of the Clink became a place of entertainment. By the 12th century Southwark had been incorporated as an ancient borough, and this historic status is reflected in the alternative name of the area, as Borough. The ancient borough of Southwark's river frontage extended from the modern borough boundary, just to the west of the Oxo Tower, to St Saviour's Dock (originally the mouth of the River Neckinger) in the east. In the 16th century, parts of Southwark near London Bridge became a formal City ward, Bridge Without.

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Wards of the City of London in the context of Broad Street (ward)

Broad Street is one of the 25 ancient wards of the City of London.

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