London's importance as a centre of trade, population and wealth secured it rights and liberties earlier than other towns and cities. The right of the City to run its own affairs was gradually won as concessions were gained from the Crown. ![]() It is likely that the Court of Aldermen developed from the administrative side of the work of the Court of Husting. ![]() There is reliable evidence of its existence in 1032, although it was probably much older, and by the mid-12th century it was held weekly. In Saxon London and in the medieval period, municipal authority rested principally with Aldermen ('elder' men or elderfolk), who met in the City's ancient Court of Husting - the supreme court of the medieval City, with administrative and judicial functions. ![]() That London enjoyed certain freedoms and had a form of civic administration before the Norman conquest, can be seen in the Charter granted by William the Conqueror in 1067, in which he promised to recognise the rights, privileges and laws that the City had enjoyed since the time of Edward the Confessor (1042-62). Its constitution is rooted in the ancient rights and privileges enjoyed by citizens before the Norman Conquest in 1066. The City of London developed a unique form of government which led to the system of parliamentary government at local and national level. The oldest continuous municipal democracy
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