LONDON CALLING
What county is London in?
A look at the fascinating history of the capital city of England
LONDON is one of the most famous - and visited - cities in the world, with a population of over 8.9 million.
The metropolis may be known for its city-centre landmarks like Big Ben and Tower Bridge but London actually stretches much further than the areas that tourists make a beeline for.
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What county is London in?
London is in the ceremonial county of Greater London.
It is governed by the Greater London Assembly and the Mayor and covers an area of 607 square miles.
Although the City of London, which covers just one square mile, falls within the administrative area of Greater London it is actually a separate ceremonial county.
The City of London is the smallest city in England, with about 10,000 residents and another half a million people who work there.
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City of London Police govern the small city while Met Police are responsible for London's boroughs.
Generally, people say "London" to refer to the whole area of Greater London.
Transport for London (TfL) is part of the Greater London Authority although the transport system does extend beyond those boundaries.
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What counties does London cover?
Greater London was created in 1965 out of the former County of London, which had existed since 1889.
From 1965, Greater London incorporated parts of historic counties Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire, Surrey and most of Middlesex, which was once a county itself.
There are many areas in Greater London where people still identify with the county they were once in, such as "Stanmore, Middlesex", "Hayes, Kent" or "Barking, Essex".
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Some still have postcodes that have not been updated - like Bromley, which is now in south-east London but has retained a Kent postcode.
These homes around the borders pay London taxes and are under the governance of the Greater London Borough Councils.
How many boroughs does London have?
London has 32 boroughs.
Twelve are designated as Inner London while the other twenty are classed as Outer London.
The twelve inner boroughs are:
- Camden
- Greenwich
- Hackney
- Hammersmith and Fulham
- Islington
- Kensington and Chelsea
- Lambeth
- Lewisham
- Southwark
- Tower Hamlets
- Wandsworth
- Westminster
And the outer London boroughs are:
- Barking and Dagenham
- Barnet
- Bexley
- Brent
- Bromley
- Croydon
- Ealing
- Enfield
- Haringey
- Harrow
- Havering
- Hillingdon
- Hounslow
- Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
- Merton
- Newham
- Redbridge
- Richmond upon Thames
- Sutton
- Waltham Forest
All the boroughs are governed by local councils apart from the City of London which has its own governance.
The councils decide policies on services like libraries, waste collection, and adult and social services.
The Greater London Authority, meanwhile, has jurisdiction over other elements of daily life such as transport, police services and fire services.
Has London always been the capital of England?
There is some disagreement amongst historians about what the first capital of England was.
According to some, the first capital city of England on record was actually Colchester, now in Essex.
This was said to have been chosen as capital by the Romans in around 50BC.
The settlement known as Londonium, which would eventually grow and merge with other cities to become modern day London, was reportedly later picked as their capital.
When the Romans left, however, the capital city of England changed multiple times.
These changes were made according to which kingdom was most powerful.
Tamworth, then capital city of Mercia, was declared capital city of England under King Offa in the 600s.
This was followed by Winchester, capital of then Wessex, which became the capital of England in the late 800s under Alfred the Great.
Some historians name Winchester as the first official capital of England.
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In the year 913, when Northampton was reclaimed from the Danes, that became the next capital of England.
London was then the capital for the Normans after their invasion in 1066 and the city’s existing rights and privileges were established by William Duke of Normandy (also known as William the Conquerer) in 1067.
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