City of westminster vs city of london

[Headless Rat]

Having recently visied London for the first time, I learned that London is comprised of two cities; City of Westminster and City of London. What is the reason for this, was it always this way, where is the physical divide?
If anyone has any useful links or knowledge they would liek to pass on it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[kujawski]

i may be talking b******, but could it have something to do with cathedrals, ie Westminster Cathedral/abbey in westminster and St Pauls in the city of London?

dont know just a quess.

[kujawski]

i know that to get status of a city a cathedral is needed or has that changed.

[kempie]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_London
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Westminst er

Since the 16th Century city status has not been dependent on the existence of a cathedral .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_status_in_th e_United_Kingdom

[spudqueen]

The City of London was where the city of London grew round. That is the oldest part of the city. William I built the White Tower at the Tower of London in the City of London. Westminster was a completely seperate place divided from London by fields, just as were places like Fulham, Chelsea, Camden and Islington. Gradually over the years the places became more and more built up until they merged into one. Even reading novels by Charles Dickens gives an idea of this as he describes walking through fields to places like Camden.

[jno]

the City was the earliest settlement, built by the Romans at the most convenient place for crossing the river, with a wall around it. It has been occupied more or less constantly for 2000 years, though it may have been abandoned for a while in the Dark Ages, when people seem to have lived further upstream near Aldwych. It is now the business centre, and mostly dead after dark. Westminster developed separately but became the royal city. They gradually spread into one metropolis from the middle ages, as spudqueen says. Too many people came to live there and they had to start living outside the old walls (of which there are still a few bits standing - you can see them in the Musum of London).

Westminster Abbey was an abbey (with an abbot and monks), not a cathedral. It too was originally founded by royalty rather than by the church. Westminster Cathedral is the much more recent Catholic building up the road.

[Dave G]

The city of London has never been captured which is why when the queen wants to enter officilly she has to ask by Black Rod banging on the door,
and westminster is only the overspill

[davkel]

london is a place of work,economy.going back hundreds of years.each trade had own guild still evident today at guild hall.the lord mayor of london i believe is elected from here.this is not the same as mayor of london.if memory serves the queen has to be escorted by lord mayor to to he guild hall.this would have been the hub of london