Whitechapel was a

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

district within the metropolitan area of

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 ...

, England from 1855 to 1900.

History

The district was formed by 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 ...

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

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 ...

. The district contained a number of small parishes in the East End of London that were considered too small to be self governing. Until 1889 the district was in the county of

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 ...

, but included in the area of 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 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 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 ...

Governance

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es. The main function of the parish vestries within the district was to elect the 58 members of the Whitechapel District Board of Works. The parishes (and number of district board members elected) were:Metropolis Management Act 1855: Schedule B
/ref> *

Mile End New Town Mile End New Town is a former hamlet and then civil parish in the East End of London. Its former area is now part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. History Following a period of rapid growth it became a hamlet within the large ancient par ...

(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 i ...

(3) *

Old Artillery Ground The Old Artillery Ground is an area of land in Spitalfields, London formerly designated one of the Liberties of the Tower of London and Crown Land. Originally the outer precinct of the Priory and Hospital of St Mary Spital, it was converted to an ...

(1) *

Precinct of St Katherine The Royal Foundation of St Katharine is a religious charity based in the East End of London. The Foundation traces its origins back to the medieval church and monastic hospital St Katharine's by the Tower (full name ''Royal Hospital and Collegia ...

(1) *

St Botolph without Aldgate St Botolph without Aldgate was an ancient parish immediately east of and outside (without) Aldgate, a gate in London's defensive wall. The parish church was St Botolph's Aldgate. The densely populated, and entirely extramural East End parish ...

(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 Old Tower Without was an extra-parochial area, usually described as a "precinct", and after 1858 a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England. Old Tower Without was outside the jurisdiction of either the City of London or the County ...

, including within it

Great Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

. Under the

any parish that exceeded 2,000

ratepayers Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government. Some other countries have taxes with a more or less comparable rol ...

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). The district board elected one member of the Metropolitan Board of Works.

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)