Westminster St James facts for kids

Westminster St James
Geography
Status	Civil parish
1881 area	815 acres (3.30 km2)
1901 area	766 acres (3.10 km2)
1921 area	767 acres (3.10 km2)
HQ	Vestry Hall, Piccadilly
History
Origin	Bailiwick of St James
Created	1685
Abolished	1900 (vestry) 1922 (civil parish)
Succeeded by	Metropolitan Borough of Westminster
Quick facts for kids Demography
1881 population	29,941
1901 population	21,588
1921 population	13,644
Politics
Governance	St James Vestry (1685–1900)

Westminster St James (or St James Piccadilly) was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England. The creation of the parish followed the building of the Church of St James, Piccadilly, in 1684. After several failed attempts, the parish was formed in 1685 from part of the ancient parish of St Martin in the Fields in the Liberty of Westminster and county of Middlesex. It included part of the West End of London, taking in sections of Soho, Mayfair and St James's. Civil parish administration was in the hands of a select vestry until the parish adopted the Vestries Act 1831. The vestry was reformed again in 1855 by the Metropolis Management Act. In 1889 the parish became part of the County of London and the vestry was abolished in 1900, replaced by Westminster City Council. The parish continued to have nominal existence until 1922.

Creation

There were attempts in 1664, 1668 and 1670 to create a new parish, with its own church, from the area of the bailiwick of St James within the ancient parish of St Martin in the Fields. The creation of the new parish was resisted by the vestry of St Martin in the Fields. In 1684 the Church of St James, Piccadilly, was constructed which improved the case for providing a new parish.

St. James' Parish, Westminster Act 1685
Act of Parliament
Parliament of England
Long title	An Act for erecting a new Parish, to be called the Parish of St. James, within the Liberty of Westminster.
Citation	1 Ja. 2. c. 10
Dates
Royal assent	27 June 1685

It was created in 1685 from part of the ancient parish of St Martin in the Fields, and was within the Liberty of Westminster. The parish was included in the returns of the Bills of mortality.

The legislation creating the parish in 1685 provided for a select vestry of 34 vestrymen.

Geography

It corresponded to the western portion of the contemporary district of Soho, the eastern part of Mayfair and the northern part of St James's. To the north the boundary was along Oxford Street with St Marylebone, to the east it had a boundary with St Anne, Soho, running along Berwick Street and Rupert Street. To the south there was a boundary with St Martin in the Fields, roughly along Pall Mall. In the west there was a somewhat more irregular boundary with St George Hanover Square, partly following Conduit Street, Old Bond Street and Dover Street. The building of Regent Street in the early 19th century made the division of the parish between the Mayfair and Soho areas more defined.

Poor law

The parish was independent for the administration of the New Poor Law, until it joined the Westminster Union in 1868.

Abolition

In 1889 the parish became part of the County of London and in 1900 it became part of the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster, with the parish vestry replaced by Westminster City Council. It was abolished as a civil parish in 1922.

Population

The population of the parish as recorded in the decennial census was: