County of London

2025-01-13T17:15:32Z

2A0A:EF40:1083:A102:CC3:109C:3D7C:DD23: /* Geography */

{{short description|County of England between 1889 and 1965}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2017}}
{{for multi|the present-day ceremonial county|Greater London||London County (disambiguation)}}
{{infobox historic subdivision

| Name = London
| AltName = County of London
| subdivision_type = [[Counties of England|County]]
| Motto =
| Image =
| image_caption =

| Map = [[File:County of London, England.svg|300px]]
| map_caption = County of London shown within England
| coordinates =
| Status = [[Administrative counties of England|Administrative]] and (smaller) [[Ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial]] county
| AreaFirst = {{convert|74816|acre|km2}}
| AreaFirstYear = 1911
| AreaSecond =
| AreaSecondYear =
| AreaThird =
| AreaThirdYear =
| AreaLast = {{convert|74903|acre|km2}}
| AreaLastYear = 1961
| HQ = [[County Hall, London|County Hall]], Lambeth
| CodeName =
| Code =

| Origin = [[Metropolitan Board of Works|District of the Metropolitan Board of Works]]
| Start = 1889
| End = 1965
| Replace = [[Greater London]]

| PopulationFirst = 4,521,685
| PopulationFirstYear = 1911
| PopulationSecond =
| PopulationSecondYear =
| PopulationThird =
| PopulationThirdYear =
| PopulationLast = 3,200,484
| PopulationLastYear = 1961
| DensityFirst = 60/acre
| DensityFirstYear = 1911
| DensitySecond =
| DensitySecondYear =
| DensityThird =
| DensityThirdYear =
| DensityLast = 42/acre
| DensityLastYear = 1961

| Government = [[London County Council]]
| Arms = [[Image:Coat of Arms of London County Council.svg|150px|Arms of London County Council]]
| arms_caption = [[Coat of arms of London County Council]]
| Civic =
| civic_caption =

| Divisions = [[Civil parishes in England|Parishes]] and [[District (Metropolis)|districts]] (1889–1900)<br />[[Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London|Metropolitan borough]]s (1900–1965)
| DivisionsNames =
| DivisionsMap = [[File:County of London, 1961.svg|300px]]
| divisions_map_caption = Boroughs numbered 2–29 (1 is the City)
}}

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 Act 1888]]. The Act created an [[Administrative counties of England|administrative]] County of London, which included within its territory the [[City of London]]. However, the City of London and the County of London formed separate [[ceremonial counties]] for "[[Ceremonial counties of England|non-administrative]]" purposes.<ref name=robson_80>Robson 1939, pp. 80–92.</ref> The local authority for the county was the [[London County Council]] (LCC), which initially performed only a limited range of functions, but gained further powers during its 76-year existence. The LCC provided very few services within the City of London, where the ancient [[Corporation of London|Corporation]] monopolised local governance.<ref name=robson_80/> In 1900, the lower-tier [[Metropolis Management Act 1855#Vestries and District Boards|civil parishes and district boards]] were replaced with 28 new [[Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London|metropolitan boroughs]]. The territory of the county was {{convert|74903|acre|km2}} in 1961. During its existence, there was a long-term [[decline in population]] as more residents moved into the outer suburbs; there were periodic reviews of the local government structures in the greater London area and several failed attempts to expand the boundaries of the county. In 1965, the [[London Government Act 1963]] replaced the county with the much larger [[Greater London]] administrative area.

==Geography==
The county occupied an area of just under {{convert|75000|acre|0}} and lay within the [[London Basin]].<ref name=nature>Natural England – [http://www.english-nature.org.uk/Science/natural/profiles%5CnaProfile66.pdf London Basin Natural Area]. Retrieved on 22 July 2009.</ref> It was divided into two parts (north and south) by the [[River Thames]], which was the most significant geographical feature. It was bordered by the [[River Lea]] with [[Essex County Council|Essex]] to the north-east, [[Kent County Council|Kent]] to the south-east, [[Surrey County Council|Surrey]] the south-west and [[Middlesex County Council|Middlesex]] to the north-west. The highest point was [[Hampstead Heath]] in the north of the county at {{convert|440|ft|0}}, which is one of the [[List of highest points in London|highest points in London]]. In 1900 a number of boundary anomalies were abolished. These included the loss of the [[Alexandra Park, London|Alexandra Park]] exclave to Middlesex, gaining [[South Hornsey]] in return, and the transfer of [[Penge]] to Kent.

==History==

===Creation of the county===
The [[Metropolis Management Act 1855]] revolutionised and amalgamated much of local government across an identical, newly formed, area. This reform created an indirectly elected [[Metropolitan Board of Works]] which initially built and maintained infrastructure for the metropolis, including modern sanitation.<ref name=robson_54>Robson 1939, pp. 54–61.</ref> Over time the board gained more functions and became the de facto local authority and provider of new services for the London area. The board operated in those parts of the counties of [[Middlesex]], Surrey and [[Kent]] that had been designated by the [[General Register Office]] as "the Metropolis" for the purposes of the [[Bills of Mortality]].<ref name=robson_54/> This area had been administered separately from the City of London, which came under the control of the [[City of London Corporation|Corporation of London]].

There had been several attempts during the 19th century to reform London government, either by expanding the City of London to cover the whole of the metropolitan area; by creating a new county of London;<ref>County of London Bill, 1870</ref> or by creating ten municipal corporations matching the parliamentary boroughs of the metropolis.<ref>Municipal Boroughs (Metropolis) Bill, 1870</ref> These had all been defeated in Parliament, in part because of the agency power of the City Corporation.<ref name=robson_71>Robson 1939, pp. 71–79.</ref> Ultimately, the [[Local Government Act 1888]] and the introduction of county councils in England provided the mechanism for creating a territory and authority encompassing the expanded London area. For expediency, the area of the metropolitan board was chosen for the new county, and no attempt was made to select new boundaries.<ref name=robson_80/> This area had been out of line with the expansion of London even in 1855.<ref name=robson_54/> For example, it anomalously omitted built-up and expanding areas such as [[County Borough of West Ham|West Ham]], but included some sparsely populated areas on the metropolitan fringe.<ref name=robson_54/>

The City of London and the County of London each formed counties for "[[Ceremonial counties of England|non-administrative]]" purposes, with a separate [[Lord Lieutenant of the County of London|Lord Lieutenant]] and [[High Sheriff of the County of London|High Sheriff]] for the county of London.<ref name=robson_80/> However, the [[administrative county]], which corresponded to the area of control of the county council, also included the City of London. In practice, the county council had very little authority over the ancient City, with some powers over drainage, roads, fire brigade, embankment of the river and flood prevention.<ref name=robson_80/> In common with the rest of the country, the 1888 Act provided no reform of lower-tier authorities and the county was, initially at least, administered locally by a series of parish vestries and district boards.

===County council===
{{main|London County Council}}
The local authority for the county was the [[London County Council]] (LCC). Initially, the LCC provided the services it had inherited from the Metropolitan Board of Works.<ref name=robson_80/> Eventually, however, it absorbed functions from ad-hoc agencies such the [[London School Board]] and [[Metropolitan Asylums Board]]. The council was initially based in [[Spring Gardens]], but moved to a purpose-built [[County Hall, London|County Hall]] in the 1930s. The housing policy of the council included [[List of London County Council housing developments|provision of large housing estates]] outside the boundaries of the county, such as that at [[Becontree]].<ref name=robson_168>Robson 1939, pp. 168–169.</ref>

===Local government===
In 1900, eleven years after its foundation, the [[London Government Act 1899|London Government Act]] divided the County of London into 28 [[Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London|metropolitan borough]]s. These replaced the ancient parish [[vestry|vestries]] and district boards as the second tier of local government.

County of London boroughs numbered in the information box on the right side:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
!
Metropolitan Borough
!
Successor(s)
!
No. on map
|-
|[[City of London]] †
|[[City of London]]
|1
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Battersea|Battersea]]
|[[London Borough of Wandsworth|Wandsworth]]
|28
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey|Bermondsey]]
|[[London Borough of Southwark|Southwark]]
|8
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green|Bethnal Green]]
|[[London Borough of Tower Hamlets|Tower Hamlets]]
|6
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell|Camberwell]]
|[[London Borough of Southwark|Southwark]]
|10
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea|Chelsea]]
|[[Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea|Kensington and Chelsea]]
|29
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Deptford|Deptford]]
|[[London Borough of Lewisham|Lewisham]]
|11
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury|Finsbury]]
|[[London Borough of Islington|Islington]]
|4
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Fulham|Fulham]]
|[[London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham|Hammersmith and Fulham]]
|25
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich|Greenwich]]
|[[Royal Borough of Greenwich|Greenwich]]
|14
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Hackney|Hackney]]
|[[London Borough of Hackney|Hackney]]
|16
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith|Hammersmith]]
|[[London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham|Hammersmith and Fulham]]
|24
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead|Hampstead]]
|[[London Borough of Camden|Camden]]
|20
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Holborn|Holborn]]
|[[London Borough of Camden|Camden]]
|3
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Islington|Islington]]
|[[London Borough of Islington|Islington]]
|18
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Kensington|Kensington]] ([[Royal Borough]])
|[[Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea|Kensington and Chelsea]]
|23
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth|Lambeth]]
|[[London Borough of Lambeth|Lambeth]]
|27
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Lewisham|Lewisham]]
|[[London Borough of Lewisham|Lewisham]]
|12
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Paddington|Paddington]]
|[[City of Westminster|Westminster]]
|22
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Poplar|Poplar]]
|[[London Borough of Tower Hamlets|Tower Hamlets]]
|15
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch|Shoreditch]]
|[[London Borough of Hackney|Hackney]]
|5
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Southwark|Southwark]]
|[[London Borough of Southwark|Southwark]]
|9
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone|St Marylebone]]
|[[City of Westminster|Westminster]]
|21
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras|St Pancras]]
|[[London Borough of Camden|Camden]]
|19
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Stepney|Stepney]]
|[[London Borough of Tower Hamlets|Tower Hamlets]]
|7
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington|Stoke Newington]]
|[[London Borough of Hackney|Hackney]]
|17
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth|Wandsworth]]
|[[London Borough of Lambeth|Lambeth]], [[London Borough of Wandsworth|Wandsworth]]
|26
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Westminster|Westminster]] (City)
|[[City of Westminster|Westminster]]
|2
|-
|[[Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich|Woolwich]]
|[[Royal Borough of Greenwich|Greenwich]], [[London Borough of Newham|Newham]]
|13
|}
† Not a metropolitan borough.

===Decline in population===
Population fell after [[World War I]] and as recorded at each census until its 1965 demise. In 1901, the population was 4.5 million and by 1961 it had fallen to 3.2 million. Following the 1931 census, more of the population of "Greater London" (defined at the time as the [[Metropolitan Police District]] and City of London) lived outside the county than in it.<ref name="t1932">{{cite news |title =London census – Decline in County Population |work =The Times |location =London |date= 27 July 1932 |page=7}}</ref> The following table illustrates the approximate population according to the census at various intervals:<ref>{{cite book |first=Nikolaus |last= Pevsner |title=The Buildings of England – London, except the Cities of London and Westminster |publisher =Penguin |location=Harmondsworth |year=1952 |pages= 37–39}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Central Area†!! Inner Ring‡ !! Second Ring§ !! County of London <br />Total !! Outer Ring# of <br /> Greater London
|-
|1881
|1,743,000
|1,008,000
|1,093,000
|3,844,000
|950,000<ref name="t1891">{{cite news |title=Some Results of the Census |work=The Times |location =London |date=9 June 1891}}</ref>
|-
|1901
|1,623,000
|1,201,000
|1,601,000
|4,425,000
|1,422,000<ref name="t1901">{{cite news |title=London and the Outer Ring |work =The Times |location =London |date=15 May 1901}}</ref>
|-
|1921
|1,364,000
|1,186,000
|1,933,000
|4,483,000
|2,993,000<ref name="t1921">{{cite news |title=Official Census Figures – London's Shrinkage |work=The Times |location =London |date=24 August 1921}}</ref>
|-
|1931
|1,260,000
|1,163,000
|1,976,000
|4,399,000
|3,807,000<ref name="t1932"/>
|-
|1951
|738,000
|927,000
|1,683,000
|3,348,000
|4,998,000<ref>{{cite news |title=Census of England and Wales |work=The Times |date=12 July 1951}}</ref>
|}

†The City of London and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Bermondsey, Bethnal Green, Finsbury, Holborn, St Marylebone, St Pancras, Shoreditch, Southwark, Stepney and Westminster.

‡The Metropolitan Boroughs of Battersea, Chelsea, Islington, Kensington, Lambeth and Paddington.

§The Metropolitan Boroughs of Camberwell, Deptford, Fulham, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith, Hampstead, Lewisham, Poplar, Stoke Newington, Wandsworth and Woolwich.

<nowiki>#</nowiki>Defined as the area of the Metropolitan Police district outside the County of London.

===Abolition===
[[File:Inner London (statutory).svg|thumb|240px|[[London borough]]s covering the area of the former County of London within modern [[Greater London]]]]
The county of London was abolished in 1965 and was replaced by the fivefold-sized [[Greater London]], which took in nearly all of [[Middlesex]], along with areas in [[Surrey]], Kent, [[Essex]] and [[Hertfordshire]]. Middlesex and Surrey had already been reduced in 1889 on the county's creation.<ref name=maud>Redcliffe-Maud & Wood, B., ''English Local Government Reformed'', (1974)</ref> The area "that had been" has since been known statutorily as [[Inner London]] and an [[Inner London Education Authority]] operated in the area until 1990. The 28 metropolitan boroughs were merged to form 12 new Inner [[London borough]]s.

==See also==
* [[List of civil parishes in the County of London in 1891]]
* [[Home counties]]
* [[London postal district]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Works cited==
* {{cite book |title =The government and misgovernment of London |last= Robson |first= William A. |year=1939 |publisher =Allen & Unwin |location =London |oclc= 504395625}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071001021022/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/bound_map_page.jsp?first=true&u_id=10041790&c_id=10001043 County of London boundary map]

{{London history}}
{{London Government Act 1963}}
{{England counties/1889}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:London}}
[[Category:County of London| ]]
[[Category:Greater London predecessors]]
[[Category:Counties of England established in 1889]]
[[Category:Counties of England disestablished in 1965]]
[[Category:History of local government in London (1889–1965)]]
[[Category:Administrative counties abolished in 1965]]

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County of London