LONDON, CITY OF

The Strand and the south facade of the Royal Courts of Justice, London. The griffin-topped Temple municipal corporation and borough, London. Sometimes called the Square Mile, it lies on the north bank of the River Thames between the Temple Bar memorial pillar (commemorating the old Temple Bar gate) and the base of Tower Hill. The City Corporation is Britain's oldest local government; it has the status of a county, with powers that exceed those of London's 32 other boroughs (collectively called Greater London), notably the control of its own police force. The City, as it is known, is only a component, relatively small in area, of the larger urban area known as London. Its area corresponds closely to that of the medieval city from which modern London has grown. The City belongs geographically to the historic county of Middlesex, but its special status and privileges gave it autonomy from that county for most of its history. (For more detailed coverage of the City's history and geography, see the article on London.) Interactive map of Central London, including the historic City of London and parts of Westminster, Near the City's centre stand the Bank of England, the Royal Exchange (which no longer functions), the Stock Exchange, and the rest of London's financial district. Also in the City are St. Paul's Cathedral, the Guildhall, Mansion House (the residence of the lord mayor), the Barbican arts complex and residential area, the Museum of London, and the College of Arms. West of St. Paul's is Fleet Street, once the hub of London's newspaper establishment. The Temple and the Royal Courts of Justice, constituting the heart of the legal profession, are on the boundary with Westminster. Within its area the City maintains small open spaces, but from the 1870s it has acquired green areas in other London boroughs and in Kent, Surrey, and Buckinghamshire for public use and for protection from development. About a quarter of a million workers and tens of thousands of other visitors commute daily to the City via motorway, bus, the Underground (subway), or train stations at Blackfriars and at Liverpool, Fenchurch, and Cannon streets. Because of migration to other areas of London and to the suburbs, the resident population of the Square Mile decreased markedly after 1851, when 127,869 persons were counted, to 26,923 in 1901 and 5,234 in 1951. Thereafter the population remained somewhat stable. Area 1.2 square miles (3.2 square km). Pop. (1998 est.) 5,000.