Liberty of Westminster

By
Rebecca Caron

The city of London was enclosed by stone walls and gates erected during the middle ages. However, because so many houses were built during that time, London was joined to Westminster. It was joined to Westminster because many of the houses were built on the western side of London, outside the city walls. London was divided by three parts, the first part was called the City. The City was surrounded by the stone walls mentioned above, and the people who resided there were mostly merchants. The second part of London was the Liberty of Westminster. Here is where the courts are, and the people who lived there were noblemen. It was the wealthy part of the city, therefore the noblemen could afford to live there. The Liberty of Westminster is about a mile away from Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster, making its name appropriate given its placement. 

 

Bibliography

De Saussure, Cesar. A Foreign View of England in the Reigns of George I and George II. Ed. and trans. by Madame Van Muyden, London: J Murray, 1902.

The purple shown on the map displays where Westminster was in 18th century England.

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