St Anne Within the Liberty of Westminster

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St Anne
Civil parish

Area
 • 188154 acres (0.22 km2)
Population
 • 188116,608
 • 190111,493
 • 19216,699
History
 • Preceded by
City of Westminster (parish)
Status
Civil parish (1687–1922)
GovernmentSt Anne Vestry (1687–1900)
 • HQVestry Hall, Dean Street, Soho
Contained within
 • District
Strand
(1837–1868)
Westminster (1868–1913)
City of Westminster (1913–1922)

St Anne Within the Liberty of Westminster, also known as St Anne Soho, was a

civil parish in the county of Middlesex, later part of the new County of London
, England.

The parish was formed in 1687 from part of the ancient parish of

Liberty of Westminster. It included the eastern section of the contemporary districts of Soho to the north of Shaftesbury Avenue and Chinatown
to the south of it. The creation of the parish accompanied the building of St Anne's Church, Soho, to meet the demands of a growing population. Initially controlled by a select vestry, the parish was governed by an
Westminster City Council
.

St Anne Soho continued to exist as a civil parish until 1922.

Creation

It was created in 1687 from part of the ancient parish of

open vestry of all parishioners.[3]

Government

A map showing the St Anne ward of Westminster Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916.

The parish vestry of St Anne's had responsibility for the church, poor relief, and certain civil functions. These included street paving, sanitation, lighting the streets, watching, and the prevention of fire. In common with other parishes, these functions were absorbed by ad hoc authorities as local government was reformed.

Reform

It was grouped into the Strand District in 1855, when it came within the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works. It was an exclave of the district, with the main part located to the southeast and adjacent to the River Thames. The parish elected twenty-four vestrymen to the Strand District Board of Works.

In 1889 the parish became part of the County of London and in 1900 it became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster. It was abolished as a civil parish in 1922.

Geography

Plan of the parish of St Anne

The northern boundary was Oxford Street, the western boundary was Berwick Street/Rupert Street, to the south was an irregular boundary around Leicester Square, and the eastern boundary was to the west of Charing Cross Road north of Cambridge Circus and to the east of it to the south. In modern terms it corresponded to the eastern section of Soho including Chinatown.

Poor law

After the introduction of the

City of Westminster
parish for poor law purposes.

Population

The population at each census was:[7][8]

Year 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921
Population 11,637 12,288 15,215 15,600 16,480 17,335 17,426 17,562 16,608 12,317 11,493 9,286 6,699

References