Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea
The Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea was a metropolitan borough of the County of London between 1900 and 1965. It was created by the London Government Act 1899 from most of the ancient parish of Chelsea. Following the London Government Act 1963, it was amalgamated with the Royal Borough of Kensington in 1965 to form the Royal [Borough of Kensington and Chelsea].
Ecclesiastical parish
The ancient parish was originally dedicated to All Saints, but by the late 17th century it had been rededicated to St Luke. It was in the Diocese of London. In 1824 a new parish church was built in the centre of the parish, it was also dedicated to St Luke and the original parish church became a chapel-at-ease known as All Saints, Chelsea or Chelsea Old Church. From 1831, as the population of Chelsea increased, a number of new parishes were formed:- Holy Trinity, Upper Chelsea in 1831
- St Saviour, Upper Chelsea in 1840
- St Jude, Upper Chelsea in 1844,
- All Saints, Chelsea voluntarily took care of certain streets from 1855, became a separate parish in 1951
- Park Chapel, Chelsea Park in c.1855,
- St Simon Zelotes, Upper Chelsea in 1859
- Christ Church, Chelsea in 1860
- St John, Chelsea World's End in 1877
- St John the Evangelist, Kensal Green in 1845 with parts of Kensington, Paddington, Hammersmith and Willesden
- St Luke the Evangelist, Kensal Green in 1877 with parts of Holy Trinity, Kilburn
- St Jude, Kensal Green in 1879
Population and area
The area of the borough was, once Kensal Town was transferred to Kensington and Paddington. The borough's only railway station was Chelsea & Fulham, on the West London Line, which closed in 1940. The borough's only tube station was Sloane Square.The population recorded in the Census was:
Chelsea Vestry 1801–1899
| Year | 1801 | 1811 | 1821 | 1831 | 1841 | 1851 | 1861 | 1871 | 1881 | 1891 |
| Population | 11,604 | 18,262 | 26,860 | 32,371 | 39,796 | 56,185 | 59,881 | 67,717 | 73,079 | 74,466 |
Metropolitan Borough 1900–1961
| Year | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1941 | 1951 | 1961 |
| Population | 73,842 | 66,385 | 63,697 | 59,031 | 50,957 | 47,256 |
Coat of arms
The borough was granted a coat of arms by the College of Arms on 28 February 1903. The blazon was:The winged bull is the symbol of St Luke, patron saint of Chelsea. The other emblems referred to various holders of the manor over the centuries: the crozier for Westminster Abbey, the lion for Earl Cadogan, the boars' heads and sword for the Sloane family and the stag's head for the Stanley family.
The motto was Nisi dominus frustra or "It is vain without the Lord".
The fourfold division of the shield was a design favoured by Albert Woods, Garter Principal [King of Arms|Garter King of Arms] for municipal grants: other examples in London included those of the metropolitan boroughs of Bermondsey, Camberwell, Islington, Kensington and Southwark.
The arms can still be seen, in full colour, on a lamp post on Chelsea Bridge. Another bears the arms of the former Borough of Battersea, at the bridge's other end.
Politics
Under the Metropolis Management Act 1855 any parish that exceeded 2,000 ratepayers was to be divided into wards; as such the incorporated vestry of St Luke Chelsea was divided into four wards : No. 1 or Stanley, No. 2 or Church, No. 3 or Hans Town and No. 4 or Royal Hospital.In 1894 as its population had increased the incorporated vestry was re-divided into five wards : Stanley, Church & Cheyne, Hans Town, Royal Hospital and Kensal Town.
The metropolitan borough was also divided into five wards for elections: Cheyne, Church, Hans Town, Royal Hospital and Stanley.