Westminster, Middlesex

In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Westminster like this:

Westminster.-- parl. bor. and city, Middlesex, on N. bank of river Thames, in W. of London, 2546 ac., pop. 229,238. The parl. limits include the pars. of St James Westminster, St Margaret and St John the Evangelist Westminster, St George Hanover Square. St Anne Soho, St Martin in the Fields, &c. ...

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Westminster is the seat of government and the residence of royalty, and contains, besides Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, St James's Palace, Buckingham Palace, &c. It was formerly separated from the city of London by Temple Bar. It owes its origin to a market and fair granted to the abbot and convent of Westminster Abbey in 1259. It was made a separate diocese at the suppression of religious houses, but was re-incorporated with the diocese of London in 1550. It was made a parl. bor. in the time of Edward VI.; it returns 3 members to Parliament (3 divisions - viz., Hanover Square, Abbey, and Strand, 1 member for each division); its representation was increased from 2 to 3 members in 1885.

Westminster through time

Westminster is now part of WESTMINSTER District. Click here for graphs and data of how WESTMINSTER has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Westminster itself, go to Statistics.

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