Editing Bloomsbury (section)

===Administrative history===
[[File:German Historical Institute London 5 Dec 2016.jpg|thumb|left|The historic seat of the [[Royal Historical Society]]]]
The area was part of the [[Civil Parish#Ancient Parishes|Ancient Parish]] of [[St Giles, London|St Giles]], served by the church of [[St Giles in the Fields]]. Some sources indicate that the parish was in place before 1222<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol5/pt2/pp1-2 |access-date=8 September 2021 |title=Boundary of the parish of St. Giles-in-the-Fields |website=British History Online }}</ref> while others suggest 1547.<ref name="Youngs">{{cite book |first=Frederic |last=Youngs |title=Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England |volume=I: Southern England |year=1979 |publisher=[[Royal Historical Society]] |location=London |isbn=0-901050-67-9 }}</ref> From 1597 onwards, English parishes were obliged to take on a civil as well as ecclesiastical role, starting with the [[Act for the Relief of the Poor 1597|relief of the poor]].

In 1731 a small new independent parish of ''Bloomsbury'' was created, based on a small area round [[Bloomsbury Square]]. In 1774 these parishes recombined, for civil purposes, to form the parish of ''St Giles in the Fields and St George Bloomsbury'' – which had the same boundaries as the initial parish of ''St Giles''.<ref name="Youngs"/>

The area of the combined civil parish was used for the [[St Giles District (Metropolis)]], established under the [[Metropolis Management Act 1855]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/London-life19th.jsp |title=London History - London, 1800-1913 - Central Criminal Court |publisher=oldbaileyonline.org |access-date=26 July 2010 |archive-date=15 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115183928/http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/London-life19th.jsp |url-status=live }}</ref> This body managed certain infrastructure functions, while the civil parish continued with its responsibilities until the abolishment of the Poor Law in 1930; however it was not formally abolished until the creation of Greater London in 1965.
[[File:St Giles &amp; Holborn Civil Parish Map 1870.png|thumb|The combined parishes of ''St Giles in the Fields and St George Bloomsbury'' (west) joined with most of Holborn District to form the Met. Borough of Holborn, in 1900]]

In 1900 the area of the ''St Giles District (Metropolis)'' merged with [[Holborn District (Metropolis)]] (excluding those parts of [[Finsbury division|Finsbury Division]] which had been temporarily attached to Holborn) to form a new [[Metropolitan Borough of Holborn]]. The traditional boundaries of ''St Giles'' and ''Bloomsbury'' were used for wards in the new borough, though these were subject to minor rationalisations to reflect the modern street pattern rather than the historic basis of the older streets and pre-urban field boundaries. The combined civil parish continued to operate, in parallel, for a considerable time after.

In 1965 the [[Metropolitan Borough of Holborn]] merged with [[St Pancras, London|St Pancras]] and [[Hampstead]] to form the new [[London Borough of Camden]].