Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras

London - Pax Britannica

St Pancras was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and became part of the County of London in 1889. The parish of St Pancras became a metropolitan borough in 1900, following the London Government Act 1899, with the parish vestry replaced by a borough council. In 1965 the borough was abolished and its former area became part of the London Borough of Camden in Greater London.

Geography

It included Tottenham Court Road, Camden Town, St Pancras, Kings Cross, Somers Town, Kentish Town, Euston, and part of Regent's Park. There are still a few street name signs with "Borough of St Pancras" on them.

Governance

St Pancras was just outside the area of London mortality statistics known as the bills of mortality, and was counted as one of the "five villages beyond the Bills".[1] In 1801 it was included as a metropolitan parish for census purposes and was part of statistical returns for the Metropolis from that date. The parish adopted the Vestries Act 1831, which provided for election of vestrymen by all ratepayers. The vestry was incorporated as a local authority by the Metropolis Management Act 1855. St Pancras had a local act to regulate the poor law so was unaffected by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834. The Metropolitan Poor Act 1867 later provided that the Poor Law Board could add it to a poor law union or install a board of guardians. The parish was transferred from the County of Middlesex to the County of London in 1889. Following the London Government Act 1899, the civil parish of St Pancras also became a metropolitan borough. The vestry was replaced with a borough council.