Whitechapel was a

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...

district within the metropolitan area of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England from 1855 to 1900.

History

It was formed by the

Metropolis Management Act 1855 The Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c.120) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Metropolitan Board of Works, a London-wide body to co-ordinate the construction of the city's infrastructure. The Act al ...

and was governed by the Whitechapel District Board of Works, which consisted of 58 elected

vestrymen A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

. Until 1889 the district was in the county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbouri ...

, but included in the area of the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London Count ...

. In 1889 the area of the MBW was constituted 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 ...

, and the district board became a local authority under the

London County Council 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 kno ...

Area

The district comprised the following

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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

es (the vestries elected 58 members to the district board): * Mile End New Town (6) * Minories Holy Trinity (1) *

Norton Folgate Norton Folgate is a short length of street in London, connecting Bishopsgate with Shoreditch High Street, on the northern edge of the City of London. It constitutes a short section of the A10 road, the former Roman Ermine Street. Its name is a ...

(3) * Old Artillery Ground (1) * Precinct of St Katherine (1) *

St Botolph without Aldgate St Botolph without Aldgate was an ancient parish in the metropolitan area of London. The parish was partly within the City of London and partly in the County of Middlesex. Each part operated as a separate parish for civil administration with its ...

(section in Middlesex) (6) * Spitalfields Christchurch (12) *District of Tower (1) * Whitechapel St Mary (27) The 1855 legislation included the "District of Tower" as part of the Whitechapel District. The Great Tower Hill Act 1869 interpretation of this was Old Tower Without, including within it Great Tower Hill. Under the

any parish that exceeded 2,000 ratepayers was to be divided into wards; as such the parish of St Mary Whitechapel within the Whitechapel District Boards of Works was divided into three wards (electing

): No. 1 or East (15), No. 2 or Middle (9) and No. 3 or South (12).

Abolition

The district was abolished in 1900 and became part of 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 ...

References

{{Metropolitan Board of Works History of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Districts (Metropolis)