author
William Ferneley Allen
1816–1877
A Victorian writer, publisher, and civic figure, he is best remembered for a concise history of the City of London’s ancient rights and institutions. His work opens a window onto how nineteenth-century London understood its own traditions, power, and public life.
1 Audiobook
The Corporation of London, Its Rights and Privileges
by William Ferneley Allen
About the author
Born in 1816, William Ferneley Allen was an English publisher and author associated with W. H. Allen & Co., a London bookselling and publishing firm whose early owners and staff included members of the Allen family. He is also linked with public life in the City of London, and contemporary records identify him as serving as sheriff of London and Middlesex and later as Lord Mayor of London in 1867–1868.
Allen is known as the author of The Corporation of London: Its Rights and Privileges, published in 1858. The book explains the history, structure, and legal standing of the City of London’s governing institutions in a compact, accessible way, making it especially interesting for listeners drawn to London history, civic traditions, and nineteenth-century political culture.
Some catalogs also attribute A Book of Christian Sonnets to him, suggesting a range that went beyond civic history. He died in 1877, leaving behind a small but distinctive body of work connected to London’s institutions, publishing, and public life.