Finsbury

At that time, much of the manor was part of the "great fen which washed against the northern wall of the City".

The Soke was granted to St. Martin's Le Grand by William the Conqueror in 1068, in exchange for prayers for the souls of his parents.

St Martins was permitted to enclose land there to prevent rubbish dumping in the area, but it is thought the Empress' principle intention was to promote planned development of a northern suburb.

[7] In the 17th century, Little and Lower Moorfields, previously in the Manor of Finsbury and Parish of St Giles, was transferred to the Coleman Street Ward of the City of London (and also to the parish of St Stephen Coleman Street for religious purposes).

By the 17th century, population growth made this unit inefficient, so it was sub-divided with the area north of the walls becoming part of a new Finsbury Division which handled the responsibilities previously managed by the Hundred.

This area loosely approximated to the Finsbury division, but also included parts of west London.

In 1857 Finsbury Park was opened some three miles north, for the enjoyment of the residents of this parliamentary borough.

The Borough's coat of arms included an embattled chief (top of the shield) representing the London Wall, a Barbican representing the three northern gates (Aldersgate, Cripplegate and Moorgate) and a Winged Bull, the heraldic symbol of St Luke.

The City of London Yeomanry, founded at the time of the Second Boer War, made its headquarters in Finsbury Square.

Before Harley Street rose to prominence, Finsbury was London's principal medical district.

Origin of Finsbury: The Soke included Aldersgate Without , Cripplegate Without , the parts of Coleman Street Ward north of the Wall and a much larger area, in the modern London Borough of Islington , that would become the Manor of Finsbury.
The Empress Matilda wished to develop a northern suburb.
Detail from London Map by William Morgan (1682), showing siting of new Bethlem Hospital (1676) built in Moorfields, North London
Lower Moorfields, north London in 1676, including the re-sited Bethlem Hospital . London's Wall and the Moorgate are clearly shown, and some of the administrative boundaries can also be discerned.
The parts of Coleman Street Ward north of the Wall, were part of the Manor of Finsbury.
The wards of the Metropolitan Borough preserved the boundary between Finsbury (St Luke's) and Clerkenwell. Finsbury comprised the five eastern wards.
Moorgate was built in 1511, the last gate to be created in the originally Roman wall. The creation of the gate encouraged development to the north of the wall.
Finsbury Barracks
Finsbury Moorfields Eye Hospital