Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green

London - Pax Britannica

Bethnal Green was a civil parish and a metropolitan borough in the East End of London, England.

It was formed as a civil parish in 1743 from the Bethnal Green hamlet in Stepney 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 in 1855 and in 1889 it became part of the County of London. In the 1900 reform of local government caused by the London Government Act 1899 the parish became a metropolitan borough which bordered Hackney, Poplar, Stepney and Shoreditch.

Until 1743 Bethnal Green formed a hamlet within the large parish of Stepney. By the 17th century the settlement had achieved a measure of self-government, with its own overseer, constable and beadle. It remained a rural area until the beginning of the 18th century, when the expansion of suburban London saw the development of the Brick Lane area in the south west of the hamlet. The population rapidly increased and in 1743 an act of parliament constituted Bethnal Green as a separate parish. As well as forming a parish for ecclesiastical purposes, Bethnal Green was also created a civil parish with responsibility for relief of the poor and maintenance of highways. The government of the parish was shared by a vestry, 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 Metropolitan Board of Works 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 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): 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, and Bethnal Green was formally removed from Middlesex to the new County of London.

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 until 1919 when the Labour Party gained a majority. Progressives and Liberals regained control at the 1928 election, holding power until 1934.

Ecclesiastical Parish

Bethnal Green was part of the ancient parish of St Dunstan, Stepney in the Diocese of London; in 1743 the area was split off to form a new parish dedicated to St Matthew.[9] 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 of neighbouring Shoreditch increased, parts of Bethnal Green parish were included in the new parish of:

Holy Trinity, Shore ditch in 1866

Politics

In 1934, Labour again took control, and from that date held all the seats on the council until the borough's abolition.[16]

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).