author
William Ferneley Allen
1816–1877
A 19th-century civic writer with an insider’s view of the City of London, this author wrote about municipal power, tradition, and public life from direct experience. His best-known work explores the rights and history of the Corporation of London in a clear, practical way.
1 Audiobook
The Corporation of London, Its Rights and Privileges
by William Ferneley Allen
About the author
Born in 1816, William Ferneley Allen was a British civic figure and writer closely connected to the government of the City of London. The surviving records I could confirm show him as sheriff of London and Middlesex and alderman of the Ward of Cheap, roles that gave him first-hand knowledge of the institutions he wrote about.
Allen is best known for The Corporation of London, Its Rights and Privileges, published in the mid-19th century. In that book, he examines the history, structure, and legal standing of the Corporation of London, writing not as a distant observer but as someone involved in civic affairs.
He also appears in historical references as Lord Mayor of London in 1867, and he died in 1877. Reliable biographical detail beyond his public offices is limited in the sources I could confirm, but his writing remains a useful window into Victorian ideas about city government and public authority.