metropolitan boroughs of the County of London

{{Short description|none}}

{{About|the former County of London's boroughs|the current Greater London boroughs|London boroughs|the current metropolitan borough across England|Metropolitan Boroughs}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Use British English|date=July 2022}}

{{Infobox subdivision type

| name = Metropolitan borough (London)

| alt_name = Borough

| map = 300px

| category = Local government district

| territory = England

| upper_unit = County of London

| start_date = 1900

| legislation_begin = London Government Act 1899

| legislation_end = London Government Act 1963

| end_date = 1965

| current_number = 28

| number_date = 1965

| status = City (1)

| status1 = Royal (1)

| government = Borough Councils

}}

Metropolitan boroughs were subdivisions of the County of London from 1900 to 1965. The 28 boroughs were created by the London Government Act 1899.London Government Act 1899 c.14, s.1: "Establishment of metropolitan boroughs in London" In 1965 they were abolished and replaced by larger London boroughs within the new area of Greater London.

The City of London, indicated no. 1 on the map, was not a metropolitan borough. It predated the metropolitan boroughs and is still in existence.

History

File:County Hall, the Colonnade - geograph.org.uk - 3418760.jpg in London, although they are hard to glimpse]]

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 purposesThe Westminster Review: Volumes 25-26, 1 January 1835, Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy - Publisher 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 vestry 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.historytoday.com/ad-harvey/london%E2%80%99s-boroughs|title=London's Boroughs|publisher=History Today|access-date=16 May 2020}} 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 boroughsLondon 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" and are also known as Inner London boroughs.

List of boroughs

class="wikitable sortable"

! Metropolitan Borough

! Successor(s)

! Population in 1961{{Cite web |title=Vision of Britain {{!}} 1961 Census: County Report |url=https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/census/table/EW1961COU_M3?u_id=10041790&show=DB&min_c=1&max_c=12 |access-date=September 30, 2022 |website=Vision of Britain}}

! Area in 1961

! No. on map

Battersea

|Wandsworth

|105,870

|{{convert|2164|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|28

Bermondsey

|Southwark

|51,860

|{{convert|1501|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|8

Bethnal Green

|Tower Hamlets

|47,078

|{{convert|759|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|6

Camberwell

|Southwark

|175,304

|{{convert|4482|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|10

Chelsea

|Kensington and Chelsea

|47,256

|{{convert|660|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|29

Deptford

|Lewisham

|68,829

|{{convert|1564|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|11

Finsbury

|Islington

|32,887

|{{convert|586|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|4

Fulham

|Hammersmith

|111,791

|{{convert|1707|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|25

Greenwich

|Greenwich

|85,546

|{{convert|3864|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|14

Hackney

|Hackney

|164,766

|{{convert|3294|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|16

Hammersmith

|Hammersmith

|110,333

|{{convert|2288|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|24

Hampstead

|Camden

|98,844

|{{convert|2267|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|20

Holborn

|Camden

|22,008

|{{convert|407|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|3

Islington

|Islington

|228,345

|{{convert|3092|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|18

Kensington (Royal Borough)

|Kensington and Chelsea

|171,272

|{{convert|2291|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|23

Lambeth

|Lambeth

|223,763

|{{convert|4089|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|27

Lewisham

|Lewisham

|221,753

|{{convert|7016|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|12

Paddington

|Westminster

|116,923

|{{convert|1355|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|22

Poplar

|Tower Hamlets

|66,604

|{{convert|2348|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|15

Shoreditch

|Hackney

|40,455

|{{convert|659|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|5

Southwark

|Southwark

|86,249

|{{convert|1131|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|9

St Marylebone

|Westminster

|69,045

|{{convert|1472|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|21

St Pancras

|Camden

|124,855

|{{convert|2694|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|19

Stepney

|Tower Hamlets

|92,000

|{{convert|1771|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|7

Stoke Newington

|Hackney

|52,301

|{{convert|865|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|17

Wandsworth

|Lambeth, Wandsworth

|347,442

|{{convert|9110|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|26

Westminster (City)

|Westminster

|85,735

|{{convert|2505|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|2

Woolwich

|Greenwich, Newham

|146,603

|{{convert|8281|acres|km2|abbr=on|sortable=on}}

|13

{{maplink|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London}}|frame=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=650|frame-height=350|text=Interactive map of the metropolitan boroughs}}

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

  • {{Citation |publisher = G. & C. Merriam Co. |ol=5812502M |publication-place = Springfield, Massachusetts |title = Webster's Geographical Dictionary |publication-date = 1960 |chapter=London: Metropolitan Boroughs |year=1960 |chapter-url= https://archive.org/stream/webstersgeograph00gcmerich#page/628/mode/1up |page=628 }}

{{Borough status in the United Kingdom}}

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Category:Defunct types of subdivision in the United Kingdom