Shoreditch Metropolitan Borough Council
| Shoreditch | |
|---|---|
 Shoreditch Town Hall |
|
 Shoreditch shown within the County of London |
|
| Area | |
| • 1911/1931 | 658 acres (2.66 km2) |
| • 1961 | 659 acres (2.67 km2) |
| Population | |
| • 1911 | 111,390 |
| • 1931 | 97,042 |
| • 1961 | 40,455 |
| Density | |
| • 1911 | 169/acre |
| • 1931 | 147/acre |
| • 1961 | 61/acre |
| History | |
| • Origin | Shoreditch and Norton Folgate |
| • Created | 1899 |
| • Abolished | 1965 |
| • Succeeded by | London Borough of Hackney |
| Status | Metropolitan borough |
| Government | Shoreditch Borough Council |
| • HQ | Old Street |
| • Motto | More Light, More Power |
 Coat of arms adopted by the borough council |
|
The Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch was a Metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1899 and 1965, when it was merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington and the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney to form the London Borough of Hackney.
The borough was made up of three main districts: Shoreditch, Hoxton and Haggerston. An individual coat of arms was never granted to the metropolitan borough council; they adopted the arms of the second lord of the manor of Shoreditch, John de Northampton.
The borough comprised the area of the ancient parish of Shoreditch (St Leonard's) plus part of the ancient liberty of Norton Folgate to the south The parish vestry had taken on local administration from the 17th century onwards.
The civic buildings of the borough included the Town Hall (originally the Vestry Hall) in Old Street with the Magistrates Court (derelict in 2007), the Coroner's Court in Boundary St and other civic offices nearby.
The original Vestry Hall of 1866 was described at the time as the 'grandest in London' and was designed by Caesar Augustus Long, a local architect about whom little is known. On the abolition of the London Vestries it became the town hall and was extended and enlarged in 1902 and 1938. The building is embellished with symbolic statuary alluding to the borough motto: "More Light, More Power". As the 1902 extensions were being completed the building caught fire and substantial rebuilding was needed. Surplus to requirements following the abolition of Shoreditch Borough in 1965 it fell into increasing disuse and was leased to a charitable Trust in 1998 who carried out a £3.5m restoration and now run it as a self-sustaining community business.
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