C. Extent and Divisions, Population, &c.

C. Extent and Divisions, Population, &c.-The site of the metropolis is chiefly low ground along both sides of the Thames, between the high grounds of Middlesex on the N and the hills of Surrey and Kent on the S. It includes swells and gentle rising grounds, but is mostly flat or very little diversified, and, except in the outermost suburbs, was all, at a comparatively recent geological period, covered by sea or by widespread estuary. The principal part of it on the S side lies from 2 feet below high-water mark to 22 feet above, on the N side rises from 2 to 90 feet above. A portion on the S side is protected from inundation by artificial embankments, and a considerable area there consists of an alluvial formation, which extends thence in a narrow belt down to Sheppey Isle, and overlaps the N bank down to Tilbury fort. The rest of the area on both sides consists of the lower eocene formation called London clay, which is associated with plastic clay, the Woolwich beds, and the Thanet sand. This formation extends southward to Croydon, northward to the vicinity of Ware, westward to the neighbourhood of Hungerford, eastward on the S side of the river beyond Herne Bay, and east-north-eastward across all Essex and into the borders of Suffolk. It has been found to contain about four hundred species of shells and some fifty species of fish; it includes, immediately under the metropolis, great diluvial deposits, which chronicle vast action of deluge waters and contain bones of the hippopotamus, the rhinoceros, and the elephant, and it there overlies beds of sand, reservoirs of pure water trickling or flowing into it from the circumjacent higher strata, and yielding, through artesian wells, a daily supply of above 12,000,000 gallons of water. The surface, before being worked or altered by man, must have been nearly all marsh or jungle forest. The appearance of it, in the early periods of the city, could not have been pleasant, and the character of it was such as evidently required much and prolonged labour to bring it into fair condition. The appearance of it now, either in the edificed areas or in the open environs, presents little or no remains of its ancient state. The very elevation of the city proper, or at least of the older portions of it, has been raised to the aggregate of from 15 to 20 feet. Rubbish accumulated on the pristine thoroughfares, debris accumulated from crumbling edifices; successive foundations, on the space of previous ones, were laid at the higher level of the raised surface, and the original floor of the city, or the floor of it in the Roman times, came gradually to be buried from 15 to 20 feet below the pavement of the present streets. The swamps in the NE, over Moorfields and elsewhere, were drained and consolidated during the periods of progress which followed the Restoration, and swamps in the W, such as that now covered by the grand suburb of Belgravia, were drained and consolidated after the commencement of the 19th century. The metropolis, not only as to its buildings but likewise as to its site, has an entirely new face, and exhibits one of the most wonderful transformations by art ever seen on the earth's surface.

The tracts on the N side of the Thames, from the eastern extremity to the vicinity of the Tower, and thence to the N, are in general flat and lie exposed to easterly winds. The tracts from the vicinity of the Tower to the vicinity of Tothill Fields, and thence to the N, rise in a sort of slightly amphitheatrical form, and are protected from northerly winds by rising grounds about Highbury and Islington and by the hills of Highgate and Hampstead. The chief swell within the city rises towards St Paul's Churchyard, and even that, at the base of St Paul's Cathedral, has a height of only 52 feet above high-water mark. The ground rises in the NW toward Islington, and attains, at the N side of the aqueduct over the Regent's Canal, a height of 102 1/2 feet. Fine hills, with charming views, diversify the N and NW suburbs about Hornsey, Highgate, and Hampstead, and those at the last of these places have an altitude of about 400 feet. Most of Westminster, except the site of the abbey and part of Horseferry Road, lies very slightly above high-water mark. Great George Street, opposite the S end of King Street, lies 5 1/2 feet above; the N end of Northumberland Avenue, Strand, 19 1/2 feet; Essex Street, 27 feet; Wellington Street, Strand, 35 1/2 feet; St James' Street, 46 1/2 feet; the S part of Stratford Place, 59 1/2 feet; the N part of Drury Lane, 65 feet; Gloucester Place, 70 feet; part of Regent Street, 76 feet; the centre of Regent Circus, 77 1/2 feet; Cleveland Street, 80 feet. The tracts on the S side of the Thames, with few exceptions, are low and flat. The mean temperature ranges between an average of 36° in January and an average of 63° in July. The mean fall of rain is from 23 to 24 inches.

The returns of the Registrar General for 1883 showed that during that year the number of births registered was 132,795, being in the proportion of 31.0 annually per 1000 of the estimated population. The deaths registered during that year numbered 91,536, being in the proportion of 21.3 annually per 1000 of the population. The death-rate was 1.2 per 1000 in excess of the average rate in the previous five years, having been raised considerably by the mortality from diphtheria and influenza. Of the 91,536 deaths registered, the deaths from violence were 3425, a number which included 448 suicides, 58 from murder or manslaughter, and 2918 deaths from accident; and the latter number included the deaths of 556 infants under one year of age who had been suffocated in bed, and of 304 persons who had been killed in the streets by vehicles and horses. The Registrar General also pointed out that the number of deaths returned as arising from the street traffic is far below the actual loss of life which occurs, as many deaths thus caused are registered under such indefinite headings as "fractures," &c. Thus it will be seen that the deaths from violence in London in a single year are greater in number than those which have attended some of the decisive battles of the world. Another, and a very striking fact in connection with the death-rate of London, was that out of the 91,536 deaths registered, 24,598 or 26.9 per cent. occurred in public institutions. The percentages in the several classes of institutions were as follows:- 13.1 per cent. in workhouses and workhouse infirmaries, 2.4 in Metropolitan asylum hospitals, 9.6 in other hospitals, 1.8 in public lunatic or imbecile asylums. Thus about 1 in every 8 deaths occurred in a workhouse or workhouse infirmary, 1 in 42 in a Metropolitan asylum hospital, 1 in 10 in some other hospital, and 1 in 56 in a public lunatic or imbecile asylum. Although the death-rate for 1893 was 1.2 per 1000 in excess of the average of the previous five years, when it is compared with that of the whole of England and Wales, and with other large cities, London appears to be a fairly healthy place. The death-rate of London, as we have said, was 21.3 per 1000; that of the whole of England and Wales was for the same period 19.17 per 1000; and the rate of the thirty-three great towns of England and Wales was 21.6 per 1000. The death-rate for the same year in certain home and foreign cities was as follows:-

It is very difficult to say what is the exact size of London inasmuch as there is no definite boundary, and hence different estimates may be formed according to the way in which the surrounding suburbs are included or excluded. Commencing with the largest estimate that can be taken, viz., the district under the care of the Metropolitan police, we find that it extends over the whole of Middlesex (exclusive of the city of London, which has its own police), and the surrounding parishes in the counties of Surrey, Kent, Essex, and Hereford, of which any part is within 12 miles from Charing Cross, and those also of which any part is not more than 15 miles in a straight line from the same point. This certainly includes all that can in any way be reckoned as properly within the limits of London, but it is too extensive for a natural boundary, and, while many parishes within the police district are entirely rural and quite sequestered from the great city, at several points there are large towns, of which Croydon is an example, chiefly bound to London by the daily intercourse of their populations. This district embraces an area of 443,421 statute acres, with streets and roads measuring 7000 miles in length. Next in extent comes the district within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court, and this, though less than the former, is yet too large to be properly considered as London. It includes the city of London, the administrative counties of London and Middlesex, the civil parishes of Barnes, Kew, Merton, Mortlake, Richmond, and Wimbledon, in Surrey; the hamlet of Mottingham, in Kent; the civil parishes of Barking, Chingford, East Ham, Ilford, Little Ilford, Low Leyton, Walthamstow, Wanstead, West Ham, and Woodford.in Essex; and the civil parish of Monken Hadley, and parts of the civil parishes of Enfield and South Mimms, in Hertford. This district has an area of 269,140 statute acres. If we take in addition to the old divisions of the Port, City, West End, and Borough, the suburban villages which have been gradually absorbed, the metropolis from Stratford and Blackwall on the E to Kew Bridge and Acton on the W, and from Clapham and Herne Hill on the S to Hornsey and Highgate on the N, is about 14 miles long by 8 wide. The area of the administrative county of London (shown in the map prefixed to this volume), including the city of London, which is co-extensive with that of the former district of the Metropolitan Board of Works as defined in the Act 18 and 19 Vict., c. 120, and which is coextensive with the district of the School Board and Parliamentary London, comprises rather a less extent than this, but yet extends to an area of 75,442 statute acres or nearly 122 square miles. The area of the administrative county alone is 74,771 statute acres, and that of the city of London 671 statute acres. The area of the county and city together is occupied by nearly 8000 streets and roads, their aggregate length being about 3500 miles. Registration London, viz., the area adopted for registration of births, marriages, and deaths, is slightly less in area than that of the administrative county, owing to the circumstance that the civil parish of Penge, which is included in the administrative county, is for registration purposes included in the district of Croydon. Penge has an area of 770 statute acres, so that the area of the metropolitan registration district is returned as 74,672 statute acres.

The following table shows the relation of the administrative county to the ancient counties of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent:-

* Consisting of the civil parishes and other places which constituted the District of the Metropolitan Board of Works (by Act 18 & 19 Vict. c. 120), and corresponding with the Registration County of London, with the addition of the hamlet or civil parish of Penge.

The next table shows the limits of the boundaries adopted for various purposes, with the areas, inhabited houses, and populations in 1881 and 1891:-

The subjoined table gives the population of London for the last nine decennial censuses:-

From the census returns of 1891 it appears that of the inhabitants of London about one-third consists of persons born outside its limits, and that it contains a very large foreign population. As the metropolis of the empire it is thither the representatives of other nations, of the colonies, and of Scotland and Ireland, resort; but it is chiefly the field in which the population of the several counties of England find scope for their talents and their industry. The number of the natives of the counties of England and Wales resident in London in 1891 was upwards of a million. Of other persons not natives of London, but resident there, we find that there are of-

while there are also about 50,000 Jews. It has been observed that there are in London more Jews than in Palestine, and more Roman Catholics than in Rome.

In connection with the growth and movements of the population of London, we may quote the following from the preliminary report of the census commissioners:-"Looked at in any light the magnitude and growth of London are marvellous. ... It grows as the power of England grows; it is the emporium of capital, and its people are in communication by birth and blood, by trade and intelligence, with all the affiliated, cities in these islands. The railways have not only put the population of the kingdom in free communication with the metropolis, but have enabled large numbers of men of all ranks to settle around its borders. The central parts are converted into markets, exchanges, warehouses, stations, offices, which are thronged during the day but are deserted during the night by their occupants. A double force of displacement is at work; men are driven from London and Westminster by the high rents of the central houses, and are attracted outside by the charms of the surrounding country, with which the railways put them in easy communication. From 1801 to 1851 the population of the city remained almost stationary, the numbers being in 1801, 128,269, and in 1851, 127,869. The next return, however, showed a marked decrease, the number in 1861 being only 112,063, and this decrease has continued ever since at the same rapid rate, the difference from 1881 to 1891 having been from 50,658 to 37,705. At the same time, while the number of inhabitants has declined, the number of persons actually engaged, occupied, or employed daily in it, as well as the number of persons who, as clients, customers, and other frequenters, resort to it daily, has very largely increased." In 1881 the Corporation of London, dissatisfied with the return for the city given in the census reports, ordered a day census to be taken, which showed that although the night population only amounted to 50,658, no less than 261,061 persons were actually resident or employed within the city on the day of investigation-an increase of 90,928 in excess of the ascertained results of the day census of 1866. The inquiry was further extended to the number of persons entering the city by the various inlets, sixty in all, including railway termini, steamboat piers and bridges, streets, lanes, courts, and alleys, and it was ascertained that during twenty-four hours 797,563 persons entered the city precincts on foot and in vehicles; about one-thirteenth (57,923) of the number passing in the eight hours of night, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., and the remainder during the sixteen, hours of the day. The busiest hour of traffic was between 9 and 10 in the morning, when 101,111 passengers were recorded, although the preceding hour gave 93,205, these being the times when the crowd of banking, mercantile, commercial, and legal persons pass in to their daily occupations. Thus more than one-fourth of the passengers streamed by in two hours out of the twenty-four. Of vehicles of all kinds there were 71,893; one-fourteenth (4984) passing during the eight hours of the night. The analysis gave 15,766 cabs, 6176 omnibuses, 29,396 heavy vans and waggons, and 20,355 light two-wheeled carts. In the case of both passengers and vehicles no account was taken of those going out of the city. No similar return has since been taken, but it is certain that the above figures have very much increased.

The social divisions, or those which arise from the occupation and rank of the people, are not marked by definite boundaries, and sometimes blend into one another or have capricious overlappings, yet they exhibit as distinctive characters as if they stood hundreds of miles asunder. The section on the N bank of the Thames, from the eastern extremity to the vicinity of the Tower, is crowded with wharves, docks, shipbuilding yards, manufactories, and warehouses, and inhabited by dock mechanics, lightermen, sailors, labourers, slop-sellers, and dealers in marine stores. The section N of this, including Spitalfields, Bethnal Green, and part of Shoreditch, was formerly crowded with the dwellings of silk-weavers; but, though many of the old houses with their long "weavers' windows" still remain, the industry has almost disappeared. The city proper is the main seat of commercial transactions; ranges in character from the business of the wharves and the custom-house at the river, through that of the banks and the exchange at the centre, to that of all sorts of merchants in the radiating streets, and, over much of its extent, presents the strange alternating spectacle of a loud strong whirl of men and vehicles during business hours, and of almost complete silence and solitude on Sundays and holidays. Clerkenwell, immediately NW of the city, is densely peopled with the class of well-skilled and well-paid artisans. Islington, to the N of Clerkenwell, is inhabited mainly by the various grades of the middle classes. The Bloomsbury and Bedford Square region, to the SW of Clerkenwell, is occupied chiefly by lawyers and merchants, and, prior to the great migration toward the west about 1828, was a fashionable quarter. The Covent Garden and Strand region, to the S of this, is in large degree occupied by shops and lodging-houses. The Leicester Square region, to the W of the preceding, is noted for the residence of foreigners. The Regent's Park region, extending northward from Oxford Street to Camden Town and Somers Town, was once all fashionable, retains a considerable dash of its quondam character, and is largely and rapidly merging into the occupancy of the middle classes. The Hyde Park region, with Tyburnia on the N, Belgravia on the S, and Kensington on the W, is now the fashionable quarter. Westminster proper, adjoining the SE side of Belgravia, was anciently the seat of the Royal Court, later became notorious for its poverty, but has been considerably improved of late years. Brompton, adjoining the opposite side of Belgravia, is in great degree the retreat of the wealthy. The portions of the Surrey side nearest to the river are, to a great extent, seats of manufacture, with numerous pottery, glass, engineering, and chemical works; but the portions farther off and toward the outskirts are largely occupied by the middle classes and by opulent merchants.

For poor-law purposes London is divided into forty unions, in some cases single parishes, in others groups of parishes, while, for the carrying out of the Metropolitan Buildings Act of 1885, the metropolis is divided into fifty-six districts, of which four are in the city, five in the city of Westminster, thirty in other parts of the metropolis N of the Thames, and seventeen S of the Thames. The civil parishes in the administrative county of London and in the city of London, with their areas, number of inhabited houses, and populations, are shown in the following table:-

OF LONDON AND IN THE CITY OF LONDON, -with their Area, Number of Inhabited Houses, and Population.

* The greater part of this parish is outside the limits of the city of London; the entire parish contains 16 inhabited houses and 121 of a population.

†This part of the parish consists of the liberty of Glasshouse Yard, the remaining and greater part being situated within the city of London; the entire parish contains 273 inhabited houses and 2449 of a population.
‡ Staple Inn is partly in the city of London; the entire parish contains 10 inhabited houses and 21 of a population.
§ This parish is partly in the city of London; the entire parish contains 3311 inhabited houses and 32,326 of a population.

* The remaining part of this parish, consisting of the liberty of Glasshouse Yard, is outside the limits of the city of London; the entire parish contains 273 inhabited houses; population, 2449.
† The greater part of Stale Inn is outside the limits of the city of London.

The county contains the parliamentary city of London and twenty-seven other parliamentary boroughs, most of which are sub-divided, the number of constituencies being fifty-eight. The London University forms an additional constituency. The following table gives a list of the parliamentary boroughs and their divisions, areas, and populations:-

PARLIAMENTARY BOROUGHS AND THEIR DIVISIONS, AREA, AND POPULATION

Freeholders in the metropolitan parliamentary boroughs are entitled to vote in the several divisions of the ancient counties of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent to which the boroughs are attached for this purpose, as follows:-Bethnal Green, Hackney, Shoreditch, and Tower Hamlets, to the Tottenham Division of Middlesex; City of London, Finsbury, and Islington, to the Hornsey Division of Middlesex; Hampstead, Marylebone, Paddington, and St Pancras, to the Harrow Division of Middlesex; Chelsea, Fulham, Hammersmith, Kensington, St George, Hanover Square, Strand, and Westminster, to the Ealing Division of Middlesex; Battersea and Clapham, Camberwell, Deptford (the part in Surrey), Lambeth, Newington, Southwark, and Wandsworth, to the North-Eastern or Wimbledon Division of Surrey; Lewisham and Deptford (the part in Kent), to the Western or Sevenoaks Division of Kent; and Greenwich and Woolwich, to the North-Western or Dartford Division of Kent.

The spot where formerly stood Temple Bar is the recognised or conventional point of separation between the E and the W-between the scenes of trade and the scenes of luxury- and at the same time marks the boundary between the city and Westminster. Charing Cross is the focus of cabs, and one of the great foci of railway communication; and also is the topographical centre of the great metropolitan police territory. Shoreditch, Spitalfields, Bethnal Green, Hackney, Stoke Newington, Islington, Charing, Paddington, Kensington, Chelsea, Lambeth, and Clapham, all were originally villages or manors situated in the country, at marked distances from London. Dense portions to the E and the N of the city, and within the city itself, are almost a labyrinth to strangers. Some improvements have been made in recent years, but the streets there to a vast amount are short, bent, and narrow, diverging at all angles, and running in all directions. Even the comparatively modern sections, such as Clerkenwell and Islington, though they have streets much better arranged, often in straight lines or at right angles, have few of considerable length or airiness. The very streets around the boundary line between the city and Westminster, bounded on the N by Holborn, and on the S by Fleet Street and Strand, form somewhat of a puzzle. A stranger, far from being unfamiliar with large towns, and after carefully consulting a map, has entered one of these streets from Strand with the view of taking the shortest course to Holborn ; has begun, after a time, to think the distance unexpectedly long; and has ended by emerging on a broad thoroughfare which he felt confident to be Holborn, but which proved to be the Strand. But most of the W of the metropolis is well-aligned, with straight streets, mostly connected at right angles; and all the newest portions of it, as well as many of the less new, have some long wide thoroughfares, many spacious streets, and a considerable aggregate of squares, parks, or other open places, to act as lungs in the capital's vitality. One of the longest single streets in the W bearing one name is Oxford Street, which is fully 1 1/2 mile in length. No one thoroughfare, on a straight line, goes from end to end or from side to side of the metropolis, nor does any such go from end to end or from side to side even of the city. The main thoroughfares, as compared with the main mass of either the entire metropolis or London proper, are few, and the crowdedly-frequented ones bear successions of names, and run in somewhat sinuous lines. The chief one from end to end commences in the E at the Grove, Stratford, goes west-south-westward-but not in strictly straight line-under the names of Bow Road, Mile End Road, Mile End, Whitechapel Road, Whitechapel High Street, and Aldgate High Street, to an acute angle at the junction of Leadenhall Street and Fenchurch Street; proceeds thence, a little S of westward, tinder the names of Leadenhall Street and Cornhill, to the front of the Bank of England; goes thence, a little to the N of westward, under the names of Poultry and Cheapside, to the N end of St Paul's Churchyard; proceeds west-south-westward, through the churchyard to the head of Ludgate Hill; goes in a curve from the direction of W by N to that of WSW, under the names of Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street, to Temple Bar; proceeds in the direction of SW by W, under the names of Strand and West Strand, to Charing Cross; curves there, and goes west-north-westward, under the name of Cockspur Street, to Pall Mall; proceeds north-northwestward, along either Haymarket or Regent Street, to Piccadilly; goes west-south-westward, along Piccadilly, to Hyde Park corner; and proceeds thence, nearly westward, along Knightsbridge and Kensington Gore, through Kensington. A main line through much of the S. commences about a quarter of a mile N of the Thames, and nearly a mile S of the Grove at Stratford, goes upwards of 1 1/2 mile in the direction of W by N, under the name of Commercial Road, and makes a junction of about 200 yards in length, north-north-westward, with the great main line at Whitechapel High Street. A main line within the city commences at the Tower; goes west-north-westward, under the names of Great Tower Street, Eastcheap, Cannon Street, and West Cannon Street, to the SE corner of St Paul's Churchyard; has a curve at Eastcheap, but otherwise is not far from parallel with the Cornhill, Poultry, and Cheapside line, and runs through the S side of St Paul's Churchyard, into line with Ludgate Hill and Fleet Street. A splendid new street, known as Queen Victoria Street-one of the greatest of the modem improvements of the city-which was opened in 1871, starts from the Mansion House, and, crossing Cannon Street, passes in a curved line to Blackfriars Bridge, where it joins the Victoria Embankment. A main line through the W portion of the city, and thence to the W suburbs, commences by slight deflection from the W end of Cheapside; goes in the direction of NW by W, under the names of Newgate Street, Holborn Viaduct, Holborn Hill, Holborn, and High Holborn, to a bend of the last toward Broad Street; takes there the name of Oxford Street, and proceeds under that name, and afterwards west-south-westward under the name of Uxbridge Road. One main. line from the northern suburbs goes somewhat sinuously, first southward, next south-south-westward, under the names of Stamford Hill, Stoke Newington High Street, Kingsland Road, Shoreditch, Norton Folgate, Bishopsgate Street, Gracechurch Street, and King William Street, to London Bridge; another goes from Holloway, first south-eastward under the name of Holloway Road; then southward as Upper Street, Islington; then south-eastward under the name of the City Road; next south-south-eastward under the same name; next nearly southward under the names of Artillery Place, Finsbury Square, Finsbury Place, and. Moorgate Street; next south-eastward, under the names of Prince's Street and King William Street; and thence southward, under the name of King William Street, to London Bridge; another, starting from Pentonville, goes chiefly south-south-eastward, but with curves and deviations, under the names of Goswell Road, Aldersgate Street, and St Martins-le-Grand, to the N end of St Paul's Churchyard; another 1/2 leaving Pentonville, at a point nearly half a mile further W, goes bendingly southward, south-eastward, south-south-eastward, and southward, under the names of King's Cross Road, Faringdon Street, and New Bridge Street, to Blackfriars. Bridge; another, commencing at King's Cross, goes south-south-eastward, under the names of Gray's Inn Road, Gray's Inn Terrace, and Gray's Inn Lane, to Holborn; another,. commencing at Camden Town, goes first southward under the name of Hampstead Road, then south-south-eastward, under the name of Tottenham Court Road, to the E part of Oxford Street, and is continued on the other side under the name of Charing Cross Road to Charing Cross; from Broad Street, Oxford Street, a fine road called Shaftesbury Avenue passes on to Piccadilly Circus; another, commencing at Park Crescent near Regent's Park, goes chiefly south-south-eastward, under the names of Portland Place, Langham Place, and Regent Street, to Pall Mall, but makes curves in Langham Place and at the Quadrant; and another, proceeding from the extreme NW suburbs, and bearing the name of Edgeware Road, goes south-eastward to the W end of Oxford Street, at the Cumberland Gate of Hyde Park. Six main thoroughfares, on the S side of the river, go from six of the bridges to a convergence at the tavern known as the Elephant and Castle, situated about a mile more or less from each of the bridges, and three diverge thence in different directions, toward Kent, Camber-well, and Kennington. Victoria Street, Westminster, is a fine thoroughfare with many large groups of buildings known as " mansions," constructed in flats and used as residences. It commences at Westminster Abbey and extends to Victoria station.

The total of streets, supposing them all arranged in one line, would extend upwards of 3500 miles, but in consequence of the narrowness and packedness of most of them they occupy remarkably small space. The parks, the squares, and the other open places, especially those in the west and in the suburbs, occupy comparatively a larger area.