Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London

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Metropolitan borough (London)
  • Also known as:
  • Borough
County of London, 1961.svg
CategoryLocal government district
LocationEngland
Found inCounty of London
Created byLondon Government Act 1899
Created
  • 1900
Abolished by
Abolished
  • 1965
Number28 (as of 1965)
Possible status
  • City (1)
  • Royal (1)
Government
  • Borough Council

The term metropolitan borough was used from 1900 to 1965, for the subdivisions of the County of London and were created by the London Government Act 1899.[1]

History[]

Parliamentary boroughs covering the metropolitan area were created in 1832. They were Finsbury, Greenwich, Lambeth, Marylebone, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Westminster. Soon after their creation it was proposed that they should be incorporated for local government purposes[2] and this was also a finding of the Royal Commission on the City of London, but this did not happen.

The metropolitan boroughs were created in 1900 by the London Government Act 1899 which created 28 metropolitan boroughs as sub-divisions of the County of London. Their borough councils replaced vestries and district boards as the second tier of local government.

Some boroughs were formed as amalgamations of parishes, but most were continuations of existing units of local government with the parish vestry or district board elevated to a borough council.[3] With the creation of the boroughs, the opportunity was taken to correct a number of boundary anomalies. All civil parishes in the County of London, continued to exist, although their role was reduced to administration of the New Poor Law and they were amalgamated over time to become aligned with the boroughs.

In 1965 the County of London was abolished by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced with the much larger Greater London. The 28 metropolitan boroughs were also abolished and merged to create 12 of the 32 larger London boroughs[4] and are also known as Inner London boroughs.

List of boroughs[]

They were the following:

Metropolitan Borough

County

Created

Abolished

Successor(s)

No. on map

Battersea Met. B London 1900 1965 Wandsworth 28
Bermondsey Met. B London 1900 1965 Southwark 8
Bethnal Green Met. B London 1900 1965 Tower Hamlets 6
Camberwell Met. B London 1900 1965 Southwark 10
Chelsea Met. B London 1900 1965 Kensington and Chelsea 29
Deptford Met. B London 1900 1965 Lewisham 11
Finsbury Met. B London 1900 1965 Islington 4
Fulham Met. B London 1900 1965 Hammersmith 25
Greenwich Met. B London 1900 1965 Greenwich 14
Hackney Met. B London 1900 1965 Hackney 16
Hammersmith Met. B London 1900 1965 Hammersmith 24
Hampstead Met. B London 1900 1965 Camden 20
Holborn Met. B London 1900 1965 Camden 3
Islington Met. B London 1900 1965 Islington 18
Kensington Met. B (Royal Borough) London 1900 1965 Kensington and Chelsea 23
Lambeth Met. B London 1900 1965 Lambeth 27
Lewisham Met. B London 1900 1965 Lewisham 12
Paddington Met. B London 1900 1965 Westminster 22
Poplar Met. B London 1900 1965 Tower Hamlets 15
Shoreditch Met. B London 1900 1965 Hackney 5
Southwark Met. B London 1900 1965 Southwark 9
St Marylebone Met. B London 1900 1965 Westminster 21
St Pancras Met. B London 1900 1965 Camden 19
Stepney Met. B London 1900 1965 Tower Hamlets 7
Stoke Newington Met. B London 1900 1965 Hackney 17
Wandsworth Met. B London 1900 1965 Lambeth, Wandsworth 26
Westminster Met. B (City) London 1900 1965 Westminster 2
Woolwich Met. B London 1900 1965 Greenwich, Newham 13

No. 1 on the map indicates the City of London. This was not a Metropolitan Borough, nor was it part of the County of London. It predated the Metropolitan Boroughs, was not abolished in 1965, and is still in existence.

References[]

  1. ^ London Government Act 1899 c.14, s.1: "Establishment of metropolitan boroughs in London"
  2. ^ The Westminster Review: Volumes 25-26, 1 January 1835, Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy - Publisher
  3. ^ "London's Boroughs". History Today. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  4. ^ London Government Act 1963 c.33, s.3: "the following administrative areas and their councils (and, in the case of a borough, the municipal corporation thereof) shall cease to exist, that is to say, the counties of London and Middlesex, the metropolitan boroughs, and any existing county borough, county district or parish the area of which falls wholly within Greater London"

Further reading[]

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