Bethnal Green was a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

and a

metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of districts of England, local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan distr ...

of the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

between 1899 and 1965, when it was merged with the

Metropolitan Borough of Stepney The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965, it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formation and boundaries The borough was formed from thirteen civil parishes ...

and the

Metropolitan Borough of Poplar Poplar was a local government district in the metropolitan area of London, England. It was formed as a District (Metropolis), district of the Metropolis in 1855 and became a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough in ...

to form the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...

. It was formed as a civil parish in 1743 from the

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

hamlet in

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

ancient parish, and the church of St Matthew, Bethnal Green, was dedicated in 1746. The vestry became an electing authority to the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the upper tier of local government for London between 1856 and 1889, primarily responsible for upgrading infrastructure. It also had a parks and open spaces committee which set aside and opened up severa ...

in 1855 and in 1889 it became part of the

. In the 1900 reform of local government caused by the

London Government Act 1899 The London Government Act 1899 ( 62 & 63 Vict. c. 14) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the administration of the capital. The act divided the County of London into 28 metropolitan boroughs, replacing the 42 loc ...

the parish became a metropolitan borough which bordered Hackney, Poplar,

and

Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...

. In 1965 it was abolished and merged into the

Origins

Until 1743 Bethnal Green formed a hamlet within the large parish of

. By the 17th century the settlement had achieved a measure of self-government, with its own overseer,

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

and

beadle A beadle, sometimes spelled bedel, is an official who may usher, keep order, make reports, and assist in religious functions; or a minor official who carries out various civil, educational or ceremonial duties on the manor. The term has pre- ...

. It remained a rural area until the beginning of the 18th century, when the expansion of suburban

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

saw the development of the

Brick Lane Brick Lane () is a street in the East End of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, borough of Tower Hamlets. It runs from Swanfield Street in Bethnal Green in the north, crosses the Bethnal Green Road before reaching the busiest, mo ...

area in the south west of the hamlet. The population rapidly increased and in 1743 an act of parliament, the Bethnal Green Parish Act 1742 ( 16 Geo. 2. c. 28), constituted Bethnal Green as a separate parish. As well as forming a parish for ecclesiastical purposes, Bethnal Green was also created a

with responsibility for relief of the poor and maintenance of highways. The government of the parish was shared by a

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish in England, Wales and some English colony, English colonies. At their height, the vestries were the only form of local government in many places and spen ...

, governors of the poor and two separate bodies of trustees. A further board of paving and lighting commissioners were established in 1843. In 1855 the parish was included within the area of the

to which it nominated one member and the various local government bodies were replaced by a single incorporated vestry which consisted of 48 elected vestrymen. Under the

Metropolis Management Act 1855 The Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c. 120), also known as the Metropolis (Management) Act 1855 or the Metropolis Local Management Act 1855, is an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom tha ...

any parish that exceeded 2,000 ratepayers was to be divided into wards; as such the incorporated vestry of St Matthew Bethnal Green was divided into four wards (electing

vestrymen A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or regio ...

): No. 1 or East (9), No. 2 or North (9), No. 3 or West (15) and No. 4 or South (15). In 1889 the Metropolitan Board was replaced by the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

, and Bethnal Green was formally removed from

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

to the new

Ecclesiastical parish

Bethnal Green was part of the ancient parish of

St Dunstan's, Stepney St Dunstan's, Stepney, is an Anglican church located in Stepney High Street, Stepney, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The church is believed to have been founded, or re-founded, in AD 952 by St Dunstan, the patron saint of bell ringers, ...

, in the

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames, covering and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to the historic county of ...

; in 1743 the area was split off to form a new parish dedicated to

St Matthew Matthew the Apostle was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. According to Christian traditions, he was also one of the four Evangelists as author of the Gospel of Matthew, and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist. The claim of his g ...

. From 1837, as the population of Bethnal Green increased, a number of new parishes were formed: * St John, Bethnal Green, in 1837 * St Peter, Bethnal Green, in 1843 * St Andrew, Bethnal Green, in 1843 * St Philip, Bethnal Green, in 1843 * St James the Less, Bethnal Green, in 1843 * St Bartholomew, Bethnal Green, in 1844 * St James the Great, Bethnal Green, in 1844 * St Jude, Bethnal Green, in 1844 * St Matthias, Bethnal Green, in 1844 * St Simon Zelotes, Bethnal Green, in 1844 * St Thomas, Bethnal Green, in 1844 * St Paul, Bethnal Green, in 1865 * St Barnabas, Bethnal Green, in 1870 In addition, as the population increased, western parts of Bethnal Green were transferred into neighbouring

as the new parish of Holy Trinity, Shoreditch, in 1866.

Creation of the borough

Under the

the various vestries and district boards within the County of London were abolished and replaced by metropolitan borough councils. Accordingly, in 1900, a borough council consisting of a mayor, five

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking membe ...

and 30 councillors replaced the vestry. The boundaries of the borough and parish were realigned at the same time. Bethnal Green Town Hall in Patriot Square was opened in 1910, and extended in 1936–9. The architects were Percy Robinson and William Alban Jones. In 2010 the building was reopened as a hotel; much of the original art deco interior has been retained.

Borough seal

The borough

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

depicted a scene based on ''The Beggar's Daughter of Bednall Green'', a poem in Percy’s ''

Reliques of Ancient English Poetry The ''Reliques of Ancient English Poetry'' (sometimes known as ''Reliques of Ancient Poetry'' or simply Percy's ''Reliques'') is a collection of ballads and popular songs collected by Bishop Thomas Percy and published in 1765. Sources The basis ...

'', published in 1765, but probably dating from the era of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. According to the legend related in the poem, a blind beggar living in Bethnal Green was in fact Henry de Montfort, eldest son of Simon de Montfort, having escaped from the field of the

Battle of Evesham The Battle of Evesham (4 August 1265) was one of the two main battles of 13th century England's Second Barons' War. It marked the defeat of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the rebellious barons by the future King Edward I, who led t ...

in 1265. His identity was revealed at the wedding feast of his daughter Bessie. A depiction of the beggar had appeared on the head of the beadle's staff dating from 1690.

Politics

In the first election to the borough council, held on 1 November 1900 the Progressives gained a majority, with 22 of the 30 councillors. The Moderates (supported by the Conservative Party) formed the 8 member opposition group. The Progressives increased their majority to 24 at the 1903 elections, and in 1906 they won all the seats on the council. The Progressives held the council against the

Municipal Reform Party The Municipal Reform Party was a local party allied to the parliamentary Conservative Party in the County of London. The party contested elections to both the London County Council and metropolitan borough councils of the county from 1906 to 194 ...

until 1919 when the Labour Party gained a majority. Progressives and Liberals regained control at the 1928 election, holding power until 1934. In 1934, Labour again took control, and from that date held all the seats on the council until the borough's abolition. For parliamentary elections, Bethnal Green was divided into two constituencies in 1885. Each consisted of two wards of the borough and earlier vestry: * Bethnal Green North East (north and east wards) * Bethnal Green South West (south and west wards). In 1950, the borough's representation was decreased to a single constituency of

, which in 1955 was expanded to also include three wards from the neighbouring

Metropolitan Borough of Hackney The Metropolitan Borough of Hackney was a Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropolitan borough of the County of London from 1900 to 1965. Its area became part of the London Borough of Hackney. Formation and boundaries The borough ...

Population and area

The area of the borough was . It included the districts now known as

, Cambridge Heath, Bow,

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

and

, stretching to include part of the Boundary Estate in the west and parts of

Mile End Park Mile End Park is a park located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a linear park of some , and was created on industrial land devastated by World War II bombing, with the park lying on land to the east of the Regent's Canal. In the n ...

and Victoria Park in the east. In the south its boundary stopped just short of The Blind Beggar pub on

Whitechapel Road Whitechapel Road is a major arterial road in Whitechapel, Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It is named after a small chapel of ease dedicated to St Mary and connects Whitechapel High Street to the west with Mile End Road to the east ...

. The populations recorded in National Censuses were: Bethnal Green Vestry 1801–1899 Metropolitan Borough 1900–1961

Second World War

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Borough suffered from heavy aerial bombing. It is estimated that 80 tons of bombs fell on this area alone, affecting 21,700 houses, destroying 2,233 and making a further 893 uninhabitable. During the course of the aerial bombardment, 555 people were killed, and 400 were seriously injured.''Bethnal Green: Building and Social Conditions from 1915 to 1945'', A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 11: Stepney, Bethnal Green (1998), pp. 132–135
/ref>

References

External links

''MB Bethnal Green'' (A Vision of Britain) archived.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bethnal Green, Metropolitan Borough of Parishes governed by vestries (Metropolis) Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London History of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Former civil parishes in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets 1900 establishments in the United Kingdom 1965 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Districts abolished by the London Government Act 1963 Bills of mortality parishes Metropolitan Borough of