American Reacts to London’s Boroughs Explained

[@juliarabbitts1595]

I loved your comment at the beginning about London being planned; London was never planned and apart from Westminster and the original square mile a lot of the rest were villages that as the housing expanded were gradually incorporated into ‘London’

[@mouse9727]

Just like New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, and so many other cities. How Tyler wasn’t aware of that is hysterically funny

[@martar.2085]

Exactly. It's so amusing every time. It'd be over here like saying that Warsaw was supposed to be the capital (& I'm saying that as a warszawianka) 😂.

[@martar.2085]

​@@mouse9727yup. 😂

[@carolineskipper6976]

Jay Foreman does great videos - very entertaining and yet instructional. He definitely has done more videos on the various Boroughs, so look out for them! (we ponounce it 'Burru' btw)

[@kevintipcorn6787]

In Californian I'd read that as Boo-Roo (like the Bu in Burrito) instead of borough.

[@alicemilne1444]

@@kevintipcorn6787 Spanish influence 😅 The actual pronunciation is more like "buh-ruh".

[@clementsphil]

First thing to remember is that they are called 'boroughs', pronounced 'burrers'. Burrows are holes in the ground, generally inhabited by rabbits!

[@thefurrybastard1964]

Or a type of donkey.

[@juliecobbina2024]

Give it a rest

[@clementsphil]

@@juliecobbina2024 😜 Details matter!

[@rorymilsom1491]

nobody pronounces it burrer, maybe burra

[@thefurrybastard1964]

@@rorymilsom1491 I'll give you that.

[@geofffletcher840]

I'm a Brit living in London and Kent and never knew the history of this and at 74 years I have an American informing me. Thanks for this vid I'm sure it's enlightened many Brits.

[@johnp8131]

Definitely worth looking at more of Jay Foremans offerings? His "Map Men" series is brilliant.

[@pvuccino]

The City of London is so called, because it was the original settlement the Romans built as Londinium back in 50 AD. All of the rest of London grew around it, so for many centuries it was the actual City of London, with all the rest of it still empty fields. When London finally expanded, it kept the title due to tradition and to show it was the center of the city, which it still is.

[@Myne1001]

It also has some weird roles in British law. The City Of London needs to be consulted when a new monarch is proclaimed and the Lord Mayor of The City Of London also is basically on the same level as the Prime Minister.

[@what-uc]

A big Brittish city is a collection of old towns and villages that joined up. An American city starts with a virtually clean sheet.

[@spacechannelfiver]

Depends on the American city.

[@fionagregory9147]

Spell British properly please.

[@clivenewman4810]

Since when did British have 2 "TS"?

[@theukyankee]

I hope you enjoy part 2. I live in one of the boroughs and have lived in 3 others. There are definitely BIG differences in taxes, what they spend, the governance, etc. It's very interesting.

[@robward367]

75% of local borough spending comes from central government. The GLC (Greater London Council) used to use economies of scale to procure and run common services for iLondon boroughs- ie schools (ILEA), roads, transportation, fire etc. The GLC was abolished by Thatcher in the 80s but TfL (Transport for London) takes on some of those services today (main roads, buses, tube etc)

[@偉享林]

@@robward367 But council tax rate for each band can vary wildly depending on each borough. Then there's the cross borough combined services like the ones by Westminster, RBKC and H&F. It lasted for quite a few years before our left leaning H&F got so fed up with the other two poshos and left.

[@librasgirl08]

In Berlin we had 23 boroughs till 2000. We have 12 now, same as in London, two or three were combined, except the ones, that already had a population of more than 200.000. But the districts were kept as well. For example Mitte (Center) includes Mitte, Moabit, Hansaviertel, Tiergarten, Wedding and Gesundbrunnen. We still use the district names.

[@slavecek]

Don't tell me you had a neighbourhood called "Wedding", and the name chosen for the combination ended up being just "Mitte"!? How uninspired! :D (And also, frankly, how stereotypically German... J/k, we Czechs actually secretly envy the German efficiency and matter-of-factness.)

[@librasgirl08]

@@slavecek oh the district is still called Wedding, but the boroughs is Mitte. I live in Wedding 😉 en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_(Berlin)

[@jimbo6059]

We still have 32 in London.

[@donaldanderson6604]

Every part of London has its own character and it's best to think of each area as being a separate village. I grew up in South London and it's about as different from North London as it's possible to imagine.

[@Isleofskye]

You are right. London has nearly 500 Villages. On a good day,this 68-year-old Londoner can name just over 400 ..lol

[@brigidsingleton1596]

I live (& have mostly) in South East London, which is different again, from South London. 🖖

[@paulharvey9149]

Just to confuse you further, two of the boroughs are called cities - City of London and City of Westminster. There are various boroughs and metropolitan bought elsewhere in England and Wales - while in Scotland, the word used is burgh - which is more or less the same thing but without the 200,000 population stipulation!

[@Isleofskye]

The City Of London being the 33rd Borough:)

[@StrongandStable17]

City of London isn't a Borough. That's it's own complicated separate thing.

[@pedanticlady9126]

Jay also has a number of "Party Tricks" up his sleeve, including being able to "sing out of sync", "singing every County in England" and "naming every London Underground Station"! A singing comedian with a sureal brain... even his adverts are worth watching 😁

[@S.Sfavorites]

It's normal for all city's in UK to be divided into district's/boroughs

[@mareiketje4899]

I think it's normal for every city anywhere ...

[@I_Evo]

Birmingham the second largest city in the UK isn't.

[@S.Sfavorites]

@@I_Evo yes

[@quintuscrinis]

@I_Evo technically it is, if you look at the whole metropolis. Although there is a Birmingham District Council, the metropolis also includes Sandwell, Durley, Walsall and arguably Wolverhampton or Solihull.

[@I_Evo]

@@quintuscrinis Nope there's Birmingham City Council that's a unitary authority, the others you refer to are surrounding boroughs. There's no 'metropolis', there was a West Midlands County Council until Maggie got rid and there is a West Midlands geographical region but that's much larger. And there is a West Midlands Mayor (who most people can't name and fewer want) but there's no equivalent of The Greater London Assembly.

[@mskatonic7240]

Jay Foreman is great, well worth subscribing to! Part 2 probably has more but the differences between boroughs are probably very locally specific. Also there's the London Mayor and Assembly that look after the entire city. They are more recent and worth their own video.

[@fayesouthall6604]

He’s brilliant

[@davidthorne7712]

Don’t forget the prequel explaining how Greater London got it’s current shape

[@joannemoore3976]

This was great. I'm a Brit, from the Midlands, so I honestly didn't know a lot of this. I knew the names of quite a few of the Boroughs but the history was fascinating.

[@hareecionelson5875]

the midlands don't exist🙃

[@joannemoore3976]

@@hareecionelson5875 er... I think it does

[@hareecionelson5875]

@@joannemoore3976 nah, midlands is just the South

[@joannemoore3976]

@@hareecionelson5875 well I guess it's all relative. But I think Smethwick is very different to Southampton 🙂 though nowadays I'm in Stratford..Still pretty mid..

[@hareecionelson5875]

@@joannemoore3976 I'm just having a little laugh with you

[@thatmarchingarrow]

Jay Foreman's entire channel is great. I think his Unfinished London series (which this video is a part of) would be great for you to react to. And Map Men too possibly.

[@frankparsons1629]

Its pronounced "Burrers" Tyler, funny lot the Brits. You must remember that in the early 1700s the City was not much larger than the "One Square Mile" it had recently (100 years prior to that) broken outside of the Roman walls and the farmland and villages beyond that had their own place names. The Borough of Greenwich is named after its settlement, its village, and so on. There were still windmills dotted over the countryside, it was very rural. I understand the Windmill Theatre was very near to one!

[@Joanna-il2ur]

In Bede there’s reference to a Northumbrian lord, Imma, who was seized and taken to London, which is described in 678AD as a thriving city. They recently realised that he was in Lundunwick, the area outside the Roman walls, rather than Lundunburh inside the walls. Lundunwick was roughly when Covent Garden now is. Lundunburh was mostly ruins plus St Paul’s Cathedral where the Bishop lived.

[@mervinmannas7671]

I was a child when the big change happened but i do remember even for years after there was arguments and wrangaling. I live in Redbrudge and never knew thats how we got our name (though it sounds obvious). Although each council within each borough runs itsself they were all anserable on certain things to the GLC (Greater London Coucil). This no lobger exists as we now have a Mayor.

[@dilligaf73]

I moved out of London 4 months ago after living there for 48 years. All boroughs are different. Some I would never set foot in. All have good and bad parts

[@stevemichael8458]

I've lived for 22 years first in Hammersmith and Fulham, and then in Wandsworth - and I learned quite a lot from this :)

[@SuzieLady]

Im a Londoner and live in the borough of Islington 💪 It has a bit of everything and I love it here.

[@riyadougla539]

Islington is the most diverse area in the country.

[@johnkemp8904]

In the UK a burrow (‘burroh’) is the dwelling of a rabbit. The subjects of this video are boroughs, pronounced ‘burrers’. This is how the US misconception arises about the capital of Scotland being pronounced ‘Edin-burroh’ when it is actually ‘Edin-burrer’.

[@davebirch1976]

And it's even spelt Edinburgh, so I don't know where they get burrow from, if they pronounced it as edin-ber I'd let them off, they also have a habit of adding a "h" in places ending Cester making it Chester 😆

[@mrdarren1045]

I'd say it was more like edin bruh

[@marionjustice2018]

No Scot would say Edin-burrer! It's Edin-burruh or Edin-bruh!

[@jasonsmart3482]

My home town is in LB Bromley (post code County of Kent) the largest and greenest of the London Borough's. We dont have the tube down in this part of SE London but we do have a tram!

[@SpiritmanProductions]

Just watch all his London stuff - it's all brilliant. 🙂

[@petertrabaris1629]

Tyler, probably the easiest for you to grasp in a U.S. context would be counties, townships, towns, villages, etc. They are just the most local governing units in any society. I grew up just outside of Chicago, in Skokie, IL. We were part of Cook County. But Cook County included the likes of, City of Chicago, Village of Skokie, City of Evanston, Village of Morton Grove, etc. Each their own local government. Great video. Can't wait to see part two. Peace

[@enemde3025]

It's pronounced BURRAS, as the guy in the video says it. BURROWS are what animals live in ! EALING = EELING. ENFIELD = EN( as in hen)FIELD. LEWISHAM = LEWISHUM.

[@DruncanUK]

I think Tyler managed to pronounce every name wrong - that takes some doing! Well done Tyler! 🤣🤣

[@martar.2085]

​@@DruncanUK😂 as a Pole, I understand him. English pronounciation is difficult, very difficult! Apparently even for an American, though. Heh

[@susieq9801]

Quite enjoyed the little gags like the council woman @13:14 with the moustache, the dead goat on the street, the battling hams.

[@bobclarke1815]

The building behind the bus is the Bank of England, Known as "The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street".

[@HankD13]

Jay Foreman is brilliant, and his Mapmen series is entertaining and educational. There is a City of London guide as well - used to work in the City - on London Wall, and love the place. Steeped in history and it was always fun finding the still standing bits of the old Roman wall tucked away. Watch more!

[@DavidRobinson1978]

Greetings from Ealing, West London, a place most famous for Ealing Studios and Various Bands that either started, rehearsed or performed here. Ealing as it is now used be made up of several smaller local authorities. So things used to be even more complicated or harder to run from administrative point of view.

[@Taylor23890]

The great Freddie Mercury for one . I also grew up in the London borough of Ealing . Going out in Ealing Broadway for nights out Broadway bvld

[@AM-dz2sh]

LOVE Ealing!!!!

[@AliceLucindaBronte]

I'm glad you're reacting to some Jay Foreman, he does great stuff!

[@nige4287]

A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.

[@jenniferharrison8915]

In Australia all cities and country regions are divided into Local Council and Electoral Voting areas/zones, these may include a few connected suburbs! I assume it's similar! I have read books about Regency England where second sons worked hard to make the right powerful political friends who controlled certain superior Boroughs! No to "Rotten" boroughs! 😉 There are old movies about this political history too! I saw a really old movie recently where one declared itself a Republic, it didn't go well, a very funny movie! 😁

[@pedanticlady9126]

"Passport to Pimlico" 👍😁

[@BritishBeachcomber]

*Tyler,* you have *just discovered* the *best ambassador London has ever had.*

[@jono_cc2258]

Ironically some of the funniest bits are the sketches at the end for the sponsors, Jay Foreman is amazingly witty and funny!

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

I love this presenter's videos. Of course, today's London is a metropolitan area which evolved over 2000 yrs. Scores, even hundreds of what were formerly villages and hamlets are now one big built-up area. There are even two cathedrals - St Paul's and Southwalk. New York, Boston, Montréal, and Toronto have similarly evolved out of previously distinct villages, gradually over 400+ years.

[@judithhope8970]

I've watched a lot of his videos and really enjoy them. Map men. Excellent.

[@royking1]

Jay Foreman, Tom Scott, Geoff Marshall and The Tim Traveller are all fascinating KZbinrs.

[@tintedspider4412]

hey tyler just found your channel i,m loving it your reaction to the uk is funny ....

[@davidlindop3213]

Good work once again Mr Rumple. Fun + reasonably informative. I lived in London for about 18 years of my adult life (arrived age 21) before moving out to one of the next counties … it is quite interesting how the Boroughs influence life in their areas, and yet … kind of … don’t …. Most people have a division in their mind between inner and outer london roughly, the central 10 or so boroughs, and the rest. Or, between the relatively affluent areas … Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Richmond-Upon-Thames … and the relatively modest areas … Hackney, Lambeth, Soothwark … BUT … all the more affluent boroughs have some poorer parts, and all the more “normal” boroughs nave some very wealthy enclaves. So, overall, I think it kind of works. Nicely mixed / diverse, but with just enough local culture to make things “interesting” …. You will notice that the tube / rail systems and of course the roads cut across the boundaries very easily, so I think London is more of a cohesive unit than you might think after watching this … like you thought beforehand, I think.

[@SilvanaDil]

"Unwittingly" -- a perfect word for you

[@brunogardoz3360]

Pathetic is the perfect word for you

[@SilvanaDil]

@@brunogardoz3360 - Um, stalker, you're the one replying to my comments across multiple channels. Creepy perv.

[@cazzyuk8939]

Greenwich Borough was given Royal status not long before 2012, can't remember exact year, & is now Royal Borough of Greenwich. Has this mainly as Greenwich was seat of Henry VIII, he set up & stocked Greenwich Park, the Royal Observatory is here, as well as the Royal Naval College & Maritme Museum as well as other Royal connections but was bestowed this by QE.

[@tonys1636]

Royal is reserved for boroughs that have a Royal Palace within the boundary. Doesn't have to be occupied by the Royal Family but be a part of the Crown Estate.

[@weedle30]

@@tonys1636Queen Anne’s House (Palace) is IN Greenwich Park….

[@petejones7878]

some of the new Boroughs ,also moved from county lines ,like Romford which used to be in Essex

[@1337MRfresh]

Watch more jay foreman! He’s great and you’ll learn a lot- as a Londoner is nice seeing you learn about the city. You should visit!

[@RWBHere]

It's called the City of London because it encompasses the approximate boundary of Roman Londinium.

[@ChrisGBusby]

The Foreman brothers are both talented. Jay with is funny and educational videos and Darren who is better known as Beardyman, one of the best beatboxers around :)

[@jollybodger]

I was amazed when I found out that the fantastically funny Jay Foreman is the brother of my favourite 2000s beat-boxer Beardyman.

[@katherinebirkett4706]

I love Jay Foreman's videos!!!!! Watch them all!

[@Well-in-the-garden]

No this is fascinating. I had no idea this is how it happened. My parents lived in Hackney but then moved to the outer London suburbs and I grew up in several different boroughs. I was born in the London Borough of Carshalton but also lived in Wallington and Sutton but worked in Croydon as a teenager. Much later on as an adult I moved out of Surrey down to the South coast, so out of the London boroughs completely.

[@johnsbone]

A borough is a "local council" - it is the school district, and the town planning authority, its voters elect "councillors" - some bigger cities in the UK do not have boroughs. Birmingham City for example is 1 million population. London's current 32 boroughs were formed in 1966. Outside of London the last big reinvention of local government was in 1972.

[@dilligaf73]

This was hilarious how the jokes went straight over your head. I grew up in havering and moved to neighbouring barking and Dagenham in 1990. These are 2 different boroughs but they interlocked theses boroughs and included Redbridge when it comes to certain things like health service (home care etc). Then there's the mental health team that covers North and East London (the other boroughs have different teams). So yes, we are separate, people in East London speak totally different to West London, there are posh areas and some not so posh (being polite), most stick to the areas they live so we don't usually venture further afield but we are all part of London

[@AlanEvans789]

I also grew up in Havering. Lived there until I joined the RAF in 1983. I'm now living in another borough, The Borough of Great Yarmouth. By the time I came out of the RAF in 92 I couldn't afford to move back anywhere close to London. Now in a little village on the Norfolk Broads, Yarmouth is a big brough.

[@dilligaf73]

@@AlanEvans789 my rent is dearer here than when I lived in Dagenham. A very close friend of mine from havering also lives in great Yarmouth...small world

[@robward367]

Interesting about New-Ham. Borough comes from saxon I think, burh, you can see the connected language route to borough (Scotland has -burghs) bourg, berg, burgo etc in Europe?

[@michaeltunnicliffe4935]

I've really enjoyed watching these unfinished London videos since I went to London on holiday last November. I can tell you one thing about the boroughs though. I went on a Jack the Ripper tour which went across a couple of London's boroughs. It started in the City of London and ended in Whitechapel which is a part of Tower Hamlets. The tour guide pointed out that we were crossing the boundary because she pointed to the bollards keeping cars off the pavement. She pointed out that the ones in City of London are exclusive to the City of London and that as soon as the bollards change, you know you are in a new Borough. But I noticed an even bigger indicators than mere bollards changing. The border was along a road. As I looked back towards City of London, it was a very clean, very impressive, historic borough with skyscrapers on it's horizon and just all round, a nice place. As I looked forward to Whitechapel, it well... It was a shithole. Litter, broken paving slabs, graffiti, new buildings which looked older because they were in dire need of repair. I'm sure that not all of Tower Hamlets is like this, but on that specific road, on that specific border, it was day and night. Like stepping out of a palace and into a trailer park. The difference between boroughs was stark. And you see this alot wandering around London. Camden was an area which is very Hipstery, embracing the strange, the fashionable and not being too bothered about graffiti seeing it as artistic expression. Meanwhile Greenwich is very nice, old fashioned, green and definitely feeling more traditional. Lambeth felt very run down despite the fact I went there specifically for a concert in what is a well known area of London for live music and entertainment. And then Kensington was filled to the brim with history and wealth. It is so diverse, it's hard to believe.

[@nigelgordon]

One of my lecturers at Law School had been working in the Civil Service when the new set-up was being done. Then he had just qualified as a solicitor. He said he would have about a hundred letters a day on his desk from people complaining about the naming of their boroughs.

[@-R.Gray-]

Also from Jay Foreman - "Why are British place names so hard to pronounce ?", "English Counties Explained".

[@Dean256]

You have to do part 2 which is the window on the top right at the end. Jay is amazing I have been subscribed to his channel for years. Watch his map men series they are great too. He even does one about America which I found fascinating being from the UK.

[@TerryD15]

There is the realtively small City of London and the area known as Greater London which is what most visitors think of a London. Ealing = Eeling. We have towns which were boroughs, I live near Market Harborough and went to a famous (in the UK) University in Loughborough, bothin the English Midlands and once worked in MiddlesBrough in the NE and of course also worked for a year recently In EdinBurgh in Scotland (both endings shortened versions of borough). You can also go to holiday towns on the coast such as Scarborough. A Borough basically is a self governing local area with it's own government (Councils) who are responsible for local amenities including schools, parks, leisure facilities, libraries, local roads, trash collection etc etc.(and usually Mayors - mostly ceremonial these days)

[@_Churchy]

Totally love yr channel, Tyler, but I can't get past the frequent references to the abodes of rabbits without a chuckle 🤣🤣🤣.

[@j0hnf_uk]

Most boroughs were their own separate hamlets or villages, but as time progressed, they were incorporated/swallowed up by the larger nearby towns/cities to become part of them. If you were to look at maps of some of these places from 100 years ago, you'd see the familiar names as villages or hamlets with roads linking them to neighbouring settlements. London was only ever the small part next to the river Thames, but as the city expanded, the surrounding places became part of it.

[@Isleofskye]

Serendipitously, you have found a real KZbin gem in Jay Foreman. He is hilarious and very witty and knowledgeable as you will continue to see in Part 2, Tyler. ENJOY:)

[@jimbo6059]

The city of London is the original site of Roman London built in around ad 50. It has stayed roughly the same ever since. The 32 boroughs are a conurbation called Greater London and the borough's wrap themselves around the core. A lot of these outer boroughs were part of the county they came from such as Kingston upon Thames was in Surrey, a lot of these boroughs were swallowed up in the 1960s.

[@richardj9016]

Check out part 6. It’s just incredibly interesting !

[@pedanticlady9126]

Jay's "Unfinished London" Series is full of interesting gems including stuff about London Bridge and Tower Bridge which many people confusingly think is the same thing. NOT! 🙂

[@philipmason9537]

There are many videos just on The City of London, you should post one of those. The City is one of three absolutely unique places in the world with unique powers, the other two being Washington DC and The Vatican. Interestingly the second most powerful person in Britain after the Monarch is not the Prime Minister but the Lord Mayor of The City of London( very different from the London mayor of the other 31 boroughs).

[@TheRattyBiker]

I'm from the North in the UK and I'm familiar with Boroughs... But I learned something today. 👍

[@robertofraser101]

So confusing eh ? Very enjoyable thank you hope you show part 2

[@maryannburnett5255]

Hi Tyler nameexplain is good one to watch I liked the how London boroughs got there names

[@SvensssonboiMapping]

You should really react to more of Jay Foreman!

[@SirBradiator]

Definitely worth looking more into the City of London

[@ms.antithesis]

in the uk all counties are divides into boroughs. But sometimes counties encapsulate entire cities (ie. london) so whilst in most uk counties, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, West Midlands etc. the City portion is divided into a single borough within the county (City of liverpool borough, manchester city borough, birmingham borough) then the areas that aren't in that city have seperate boroughs (st.helens borough, wigan borough, dudley borough etc.) although sometimes the exact city lines aren't 1:1 with the borough lines. London is the only city in the uk that has its own county dedicated to a city due to its size, hence having it's own boroughs.

[@Joanna-il2ur]

The county of London was created in the 1880s out of bits of Kent, Surrey, Essex and Middlesex, the first new county in centuries. It was much smaller than Greater London, which was created in 1964. I used to work in Kingston and colleagues talked of ‘going to London’, when they were already in London. My big sister used to live in Sutton and denied she lived in London. I pointed out to her that it’s called The London Borough of Sutton. She wasn’t happy.

[@UnknownUser-rb9pd]

Most cities grew by expanding into surrounding villages and towns, at least until green belt laws were implemented. This is why large cities end up with a series of mixed administrative areas, sometimes called boroughs. These administrative areas are usually controlled by elected local representatives (Councillors). Generally, a city also has a body of elected councillors that control functions that spread over the whole city. In London's case this is called the Greater London Council (GLC). The GLC looks after things like transport, non local roads, policing, economic development etc. that affect the whole city and are not applicable to a single borough.

[@linkspeaks]

Please watch more of Jay Foreman's videos. They're all funny and all educational

[@Londronable]

Here in Belgium we're combining all sorts of small towns instead of splitting up big regions. Towns needed to be within walking distance to sell food originally and all that so 3-4 miles inbetween towns and each town having it's own mayor and all that would be rather wasteful. Think each church/market place that used to be it's own town now gets combined with it's neighbor closest by more or less. 1 miles from my place there is a town center with a market place. But to get my town stuff done I need to travel another 3 miles to a different city center because the 2 towns belong under one banner. You could probably pick them out from a shot from the air. Big and small town with a lot of green around them close by? Probably one "region" but both towns would have a name and their own postal code. Big cities have a dozen of these "towns" hanging from them. Smaller cities have 1-3. Few that are like, totally on their own.

[@leecrockford8567]

Most cities in the UK have boroughs. It’s so each can be managed by it’s own council and mayors. I live in the borough of Sandwell

[@michaelhammond5412]

If you consider Sandwell as part of Birmingham quite frankly you are a disgrace.

[@Joanna-il2ur]

Under the pre 1832 election laws, Parliament returned (had elections for) two members for every county in England and two burgesses for every borough, essentially larger towns, or what were larger towns in the 1360s. When Wales, then Scotland, then Ireland were added, the numbers increased. We developed over the centuries Rotten Boroughs and Pocket Boroughs. The former were towns where the population had massively declined, the most famous being Old Sarum in Wiltshire. As the water table dropped, all the locals moved to the valley below and founded New Sarum, which is now the beautiful city of Salisbury. Old Sarum declined till it had a tiny number of voters, yet it still returned two members to Parliament. A Pocket Borough was so called because one firm employed pretty much all the voters, so whoever the company boss favoured tended to get elected. Voting was in public, so everyone knew who you’d voted for. The atmosphere is well caught in Dickens’ Pickwick Papers, where Pickwick visits the imaginary town of Eatanswil (eat and swill, geddit), where there was an election. Said to be based on Haverhill, a town in Suffolk. The Great Reform Act of 1832 changed all that.

[@pedanticradiator1491]

Pocket boroughs were usually controlled by individual landowners not companies

[@Joanna-il2ur]

@@pedanticradiator1491 But they owned companies which employed the majority of voters and if they valued their jobs they voted as the boss said. Voting was in public at the hustings. One such place was Haverhill, Suffolk, which is the Eatanswil of Dickens. There’s pedantic and there’s pointless.

[@grahamsmith9541]

Most of London is not City. The City of London covers just 1.12 sq. miles. Is separate from the rest of London. With a population of less than 10,000 people. Run by the City of London Corporation. That is older than parliament. The City have a person in parliament called The Remembrancer. Currently Paul Double. It's his job to monitor any legislation introduced into parliament. Reporting back to the Corporation anything likely to impact the City's interests. The reigning Monarch has to ask for permission to enter the City of London. The City of London boundary is marked by statues of Dragons. To the West of the City of London is The City of Westminster. Where Houses of parliament, Elizabeth Tower containing Big Ben and Buckingham palace are. Covers 8.29 sq miles with a population of 204,236 in 2021. Which along with the 31 London boroughs that are not city, is Run by the Greater London Authority.

[@HulaBeulah]

What until you hear how Barking, Dagenham and Romford all got booted out of Essex and forced into London in 1965 thanks to this 32 borough idea causing a big argument that still happens to this day. Spoiler, we all say we are still in Essex when everyone else says "no you're not" 😉

[@MadnessQuotient]

I am sure you have exactly the same sort of local structures in the USA if you think about it. Even from abroad I am aware that you have elected councils, elected mayors, elected state assemblies, elected federal assemblies. Whether you call your councils "assembly" or "council" or some other term probably varies by state and how English/French/Spanish/German it was, and whether you use the term "borough" "county" or some other terms probably varies along similar lines. I would hazard a guess that a lot of this would make a lot more sense if you had the foundational knowledge of your own local systems already solidly built. But I guess this series wouldn't be the same if you were not a tabula rasa.

[@armandoguzmannieves5472]

To learn about the “City of London”, watch CGP Grey’s video on the topic

[@danielferguson3784]

As a city like London spreads it absorbs ancient villages & towns. These will already have been boroughs in their own right. Borough simply is an old term for 'town', hence in names like Scarborough, Marlborough, Peterborough etc. The video tries to explain how these have been organised in recent times. People often associate more with their home Borough than with London as a whole.

[@tonys1636]

What's more confusing for many is that many 'towns' within a borough have retained their old county in the postal address i.e. Bexley Kent and Richmond Surrey. Although the use of a county in a postal address has been superceded by Post Codes.

[@Temeraire101]

Good video. Suggestion you do a vid on London markets including Borough Market.

[@toranshaw4029]

As someone who grew up in Ealing, we pronounce it as... Iealin'. 🙂 Jay Foreman does make some really good videos, especially with his comedy sketches.

[@The-Battle-Brother]

@toranshaw4029 It's pronounced E-ling. And you know it.

[@toranshaw4029]

@@The-Battle-Brother not the way I say it...

[@chesterfieldeditsspierites9072]

"how could he do this to me" this is a brilliant line

[@10C45E]

Disputes over who owns what happens EVERYWHERE in the UK, all of the time. Its just part of living in such a diverse but small nation. You should visit sometime!

[@domramsey]

You should probably learn about that weird City Of London bit next. CGP Grey's video is the go-to source for that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqOyk42Vfb-Ni8U

[@TheJpf79]

Basically a Borough is a state on a smaller scale, they were indivdual settlemens that formed together over time to create London, this happened all over the south part of the Island and the Bigger Boroughs joined together, this is why the accents and lifestyles of Yorkshire and London as example are totally different like Texas and which ever other state, they've all got their things going on. This is repeated in Scotland and in Wales, Ireland, lots of regions joined together like the American ones did, England trying to force everyone else to join them is what all the fighting was for.

[@Brookspirit]

London is basically a collection of villages that have merged together.

[@johnhowe3772]

Yeh - we want pt II !!

[@ianbentley-rb7hs]

I grew up in what was then the Borough of Harrow in the County of Middlesex, it said so the front of my school exercise books. Then one morning in my mid teens I woke up to discover that overnight I had ceased to be a Middle Saxon and was now (horror of horrors), a Londoner 😱 Actually I soon discovered that nothing had really changed. There was no amalgamation with an adjoining bunch of Oiks and us Harrovians could continue to ignore the unwashed masses beyond our borders. The only difference seemed to be the gradual appearance of the word "London" in front of "Borough of Harrow" on the street signs. I think we came out of the whole sorry shambles rather well.🤗

[@mskatonic7240]

14:00 Ealing, rhymes with feeling. Enfield = Hen Field without the H. You got Bexley and Lewisham right though!

[@rob11rr]

Borough is pronounced as "Burrah" rather "Burrow" which is a place inhabited by rabbits. Hope this helps? Great video though, looking forwards to part two.

[@Hard-Boiled-Bollock]

I decided to subscribe because you seem like a good guy

[@loonyTlu]

Re: boroughs. The term is probably related to the term “bureau”. Both are basically an autonomous administrative entity. Interestingly, the five boroughs of New York City are also their own counties, but the four outer counties answer to the larger authority of New York County, which is Manhattan. It’s why mail addressed to Manhattan are the only ones listing New York, NY.

[@pedanticradiator1491]

The word borough comes from the Germanic Burg (or similar) meaning a fortified place I'm not sure if bureau has the same etymology

[@mranima748]

@@pedanticradiator1491Bureau comes from Purros, the ancient Greek term for red, not sure why

[@pedanticradiator1491]

@mranima748 thank you I didn't know that

[@jacquilewis8203]

Northern Ireland went from 26 Boroughs to 11 in 2015. UK Secretary of State in early 2000's had wanted 7, but NI Government said no and 11 was agreed. Its not great as council services are very stretched now, as resources get less, and each set the yearly Rates (Council tax) at different levels. In my Borough we're going up 5.999% from April, people are raging.

[@DutchBlackMantha]

If you're confused about the City of London, you can watch Jay's video about that very topic. Than you can be bewildered instead.

[@carolinewood5580]

I learn as you do and watch other videos you make about uk

[@gregweatherup9596]

This is part of Jay’s larger “Unfinished London” series which is worth a look. If you want more about the ’square mile City of London’, CGP Grey has a two-part video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqOyk42Vfb-Ni8U

[@DarkStorm2711]

Greetings from Hillingdon 😊x

[@andrewburton7480]

I grew up in east anglia which is about 80 miles north of London but now I live in the north west Lake District national park so I’m not a Londoner. However I worked and lived in London for 4or5 years and then in 1970’s 80’ s I wasn’t really aware of the official boundaries but think people still refer to the old names of areas to be more specific to area they are going to or referring to. And the city of London within London is a very different and specific thing as appose to the city of Westminster within London that are like two cities side by side. I was always told that because the queen/ king lives in city of Westminster that she/ he had to ask permission of the Lord Mayor of the city of London ti enter city of London from the city of Westminster. It’s a bit like when they changed the counties of England a lot of people still refer to them as they were. Like I live in cUmbria which was made up of Westmorland and Cumberland and we still recognise that division. Out of my front door is Westmorland and out of my back window is Cumberland.