the monastery, was the cause of a dispute that faced the municipal authorities, who promoted a modification of the rules, and those who sought to restrict new construction. The subject was particularly delicate in those days, given the frequent visits of the Royal family to the site; these visits led to an increase in demand for land to build houses and support buildings mainly for civil servants working in the Royal household.
The resolution of the conflict came from King Carlos III, who, on May 3, 1767, authorized housing next to the market of the monastery, which was the birth of the municipality of San Lorenzo de El Escorial and the beginning of a process which culminated in the emancipation of the town from El Escorial. The development of this new Hamlet was very fast, reaching a population of more than a thousand only a few years afterCarlos III allowed the town's expansion.
The new settlement emerging at the foot of the monastery did not achieve self-rule until much later. The administrative structure designed by Philip II of Spain was blurring, first with the appointment of a Governor by Carlos III—detrimental to the powers of the Lord Mayor and El Escorial's Prior—and, subsequently, with the privatization of land.
This was key to the structural development of the current municipality of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, since thisprivatization extended over most of the royal lands except for the Herrería farms, land surrounding the monastery, the Príncipe and the Infante Casitas.
On September 26, 1836, San Lorenzo de El Escorial became an independent municipality. In 1887, it elected its first mayor. To date, 22 people have served in this role.
During the Spanish Civil Ward (1936–1939), the people remained loyal to the Republican government and briefly changed the town's name to El Escorial of the Sierra.
Today the city of San Lorenzo de El Escorial consists of 12 localities: Colmenar of the Arroyo, Colmenarejo,
