Why does London have 32 boroughs?

- - - UNFINISHED LONDON EPISODE 9 - - -

Written by
Jay Foreman @jayforeman
Paul Kendler @kendlerpaul

Edited by
Jay Foreman

Director of Photography
Paul Kendler

Camera Assistant
Urs Robbe

Props, Costume, Fight Director and Production Runner
Jade Nagi @jade_nagi

Additional (invaluable!) research
Ian Pleace @lccmunicipal

VFX (The Brent Monster)
Chris Walker @BigDamnArtist

Political maps by
Matt from @ElectionMapsUK

Stressed office worker
Dodie Clark @doddleoddle

Kid on climbing frame
Alexander Wolf Fraser

Priest
Barry Kendler

Funeral Widow
Ailsa Mainwaring

Keith Sinjohn Joseph
Tim Byrne @TheTimTraveller

Mr. Wembley
Paul Kendler @kendlerpaul

Miss Willesden
Funso Foluso-Henry
@itsfunso (insta)

Thanks to:

New London Architecture at The Building Centre
Pipers Models - creators of the New London Model

Liz Clutterbuck @lizclutterbuck
Nikki Druce @MacabreLondon

Shaan Ali, Daniel Bloom, Ed and Douglas Finch, Andrew Fisher, Matthew Gabriel, Simon Kendler, Ryan McNish and Lakshman Pathak.

[thederpygoatman]

He's been doing unfinished london for so long that it's going to be finished london before he is done

[christiandaniell]

Things I learned:

A: Penguins can't use computers
B: Some stuff about London

[SpiritmanProductions]

My favourite sentence in the whole video:

"But this was precisely the sort of silliness getting rid of this entire exercise was the point of."

Makes perfect sense when you hear it. :)

[RootlessNZ]

I grew up in the East End in the 50s. I lived in Bow, went to school in Stepney, visited relatives in Poplar and played football in Hackney. I remember most people didn't fuss when Tower Hamlets was declared. Nobody could give a toss. There was nothing we could do about it anyway not being toffs. The old names endure. Mile End, even Globe Town were still spoken of. Some of these place names date back to 13th Century London. What Tyler and the men of Kent met Richard 2nd in Mile End in 1381. The Peasant's Revolt is still remembered there.

[LowBudgetHistory]

So there's essentially 2 reasons why London has 32 boroughs.
1.) 33 was too many
B.) 31 was too few

[alistairlee]

Jay Foreman: Find out in part 2.

Well, we'll see him in 2030

[teh-maxh]

New York is divided into four *iconic* boroughs, and also Staten Island.

[vice.nor.virtue]

Can I just say... I'm so happy you exist.
I was born and raised in London and the city doesn't exactly vomit it's history not you for all the time you live there, and it's so great to be taught these little histories by you. I feel a greater level of civic pride despite the fact I now live in Berlin (since 4 years).

[rahmathkakkotkallery]

1:50 can we just appreciate that he gathered a dozen men in suit and priest just for that one bit.

[joyphobic]

I still love the little "ad is incoming" mark on the top right screen. No one makes better ads than Jay Foreman.

[JessJurkovic]

When one comes across a video that’s so smart and interesting it has both 0:55 the presenter tossing aside a child who goes “aaaagh” as well as 5:07 a Fawlty Towers image as a background, one realizes one will have to watch every Jay Foreman video at least 5.3 times in order to catch everything and thus laugh as much as possible. So, one shall.

[austinrossi]

In the city of Montréal, Canada, a lot the boroughs are just multiple old borough's names slapped together (e.g. Villeray-St-Michel-Parc-Extension, or One notable exception is 'Le Sud-Ouest, ' which just means 'the Southwest, ' with no place name in it doesn't exactly roll of the tongue in French).

[drink__more__water]

"Ham Sweet Ham" was a huge missed opportunity.

[jihongji]

Reasons why this channel has been inactive the last couple months:
-Had to record a scream for Tom Scott
-

[The_Industry]

OMG first time rewatching this in over a year and I just noticed the main theme of Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy (the radio show) playing at around 5:50 when discussing the "Answer to The Question" being 32. Brilliant!
Also, as a worldbuilder, Unfinished London and Map Men are incredibly useful. Cheers.

[value]

Technically, the arrondissements of Paris also have official names in addition to their numbers (for example, the 5th is "Panthéon"), but these are almost never used in daily life.

[RyuakiraX]

Oh yes, the best weirdly specific documentary, with the weirdly best British comedian.

[poekie]

1:48 Imagine going to your grandfathers funeral and then suddenly Jay Foreman joins in and starts talking about London's buroughs

[aoifeann]

5:47 I adore that you used the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy theme. It was so subtle I had to rewatch. Thank you for so much intricacy and detail!

[scoot.]

8:17

You better not forget our name Chelsea when you name our new borough or I’m gonna come round here and I’ll fwnngywywgygg and I’ll whwyhwhwhhwshhwnfhwnfwfwnfshw