City Status in the British Isles, 1830-2002Based on a wide variety of government and civic records, this book traces the evolution of the changing nature of city status, particularly through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Beginning with an explanation of how city status first became connected to cathedrals in the medieval period, the book explores how during the nineteenth century, links evolved between Anglican diocesan sub-divisions and city creation. It then shows how in a few years, between 1888 and 1907, the traditional interpretation of a city was overturned as the most major British industrial and commercial towns received city status and lord mayoralties. The second half of the book concentrates on city status during the twentieth century, and particularly the politicisation of the process and the linking of grants to royal occasions. The study concludes by looking at the city status competitions of 2000 and 2002 in relation to the previous two hundred years of city history. |
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Alderman Anglican announcement application Archives Armagh asked become a city Belfast Birmingham Bishop borough Bradford Cambridge Cardiff cathedral celebrations centre century charter Chelmsford church city status civic pride civil servants civitas claims Colchester conferred corporation Councillor Coventry Croydon Derby dignity diocesan diocese Dundee Dunfermline England English towns Exeter favour Golden Jubilee competition grants of city Home Office Home Secretary honour Ibid importance industrial Inverness July June King Labour Lancaster Leeds Leicester letters patent Liverpool London Lord Chancellor's department lord mayor lord mayoralty Majesty Manchester March millennium competition municipal Newcastle Newport Northern Ireland Nottingham petition Plymouth political population Portsmouth Preston PRO HO Queen Ripon royal rule Salford Scotland Scottish Sheffield Southampton Southwell St Albans St Asaph St Davids Strutt success Sunderland Swansea title of city told town clerk town council town hall town's Truro urban Victorian Wakefield Wales Welsh Wolverhampton wrote