The City of London which is not part of London (2016)
The City of London, dating back to Roman times, maintains independence within London. With unique governance, flag, and autonomy, it stands as a distinct entity with rich history and traditions.
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The City of London, a historic area within London, dates back to Roman times when Londinium was established as a trading center. Despite being surrounded by the expanding city, the City of London maintained its independence and governance. Over the centuries, it retained its unique status with its own flag, police force, and mayor. Even after the formation of Greater London in 1965, the City of London continued to operate autonomously. With a population of 8,072 and an area of 1.12 square miles, the City of London is a distinct entity with a rich history. Governed by a Corporation and led by the Lord Mayor of London, the City remains separate from the rest of London, requiring even the monarch to seek permission to enter. This historical enclave serves as a reminder of London's past and its enduring traditions.
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18 commentsThe City is part of London under any normal person's interpretation of that word. Being as charitable as possible, it is true that the ceremonial county of Greater London does not contain the City. But the Greater London administrative area does.
It's also not "secret". Many people aren't aware of it, but that's through ignorance on their part rather than secrecy on the part of the City. The City plasters its logo all over the place: on all street signs in the City, on police uniforms, on statues, etc. Even the bollards in the City bear the colors of the City's flag. It's impossible not to notice that the City is different from the rest of London.
So that's two mistakes in the headline alone.
> The mayor of Greater London has nothing to do with the original City of London, which still has separate governing bodies and a mayor.
This is wrong. The Mayor of London has authority over the City of London, through the Greater London Authority (although some power is delegated to the Corporation, in the same way it is to borough councils).
There is indeed also a mayor of the City (confusingly called the Lord Mayor of London), but that mayorship is largely ceremonial in nature.
> Oddly enough, if the monarch wants to enter the City of London, she first must ask the Lord Mayor for permission.
This is just an urban myth, no such permission is required. In fact, the sovereign has precedence over the Lord Mayor (in the context of formal events and such like).
"The Secret City inside of London Revealed" (2012) https://youtu.be/LrObZ_HZZUc
Highly recommended.
https://www.thecollector.com/what-makes-the-city-of-london-u...
There's a good book called "treasure islands" all about tax havens... The city definitely features.
Are there some books that comprehensively cover several aspects around the City of London?
The City of London appeared quite often in Lee Kwan Yu's memoirs
https://www.greektownbaltimore.org/what-the-difference-betwe...
[1] https://www.ft.com/content/2b96763f-5cb2-475b-b20c-7c2d02050...
I suspect I could get him to do an AMA here if people would like to hear more about the City and its fascinating ways.
Seriously, we could actually do this!
[1] https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/about-us/plans-policies/our-...
For one, the exact origins are unknown. the earliest record we have is from 1067 CE with the William Charter [1]. William granted the City rights in exchange for not attacking and the City recognizing him as King, which this article sort of mentions. But the interesting part is that William was simply recognizing the rights of something that already existed. For how long? Nobody knows. It's likely somewhere in the 7th or 8th century when Anglo-Saxons resettled the previously abandoned Roman walled city of Londinium after their departure in 410 CE.
It's also fascinating because it's managed to survive for nearly 1000 yaers since then, largely recognizable from its earlier form although there have been various changes and reforms. There have been efforts to disband it too but obviously they failed.
It also survived uncertain times like the Vikings would cojme along every now and again and burn down London Bridge.
London's development as a financial center goes back to 1066 too and a key part was likely due, at least in part, to the arrival of Jews during William's reign [2].
Why was this important? Well, Jews were prohibited from charging interest to other Jews. Muslims and Christians had similar constraints. But an oddity of Judaism was that Jews could charge interest to non-Jews [3]. This later likely contributed to conspiracy theories about Jews (eg blood libel) and antisemitism.
So ancient civil institutions like the Court of Aldermen still exist and certain rights given to the Freemen of the City of London still exist, like the ancient right to bring sheep in to the City over the bridge [4].
[1]: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/history-and-her...
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_England...
[3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loans_and_interest_in_Judaism
[4]: https://www.euronews.com/culture/2022/09/27/unbaalievable-sh...
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