Greenwich District (Metropolis)

Greenwich

Offices of the Greenwich District Board of Works 1876-1900 and then Greenwich Town Hall from 1900-1939

Area|
• 1891| 3,425 acres (13.86 km2)
Population|
• 1891| 165,413
Density|
• 1891| 48/acre
History|
• Created| 1855
• Abolished| 1900
• Succeeded by| Metropolitan Borough of Deptford
Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich
Status| District
Government| Greenwich District Board of Works
• HQ| Greenwich Church Street (1855–1877)
Town Hall, Greenwich Road (1877–1900)

Greenwich was a local government district within the metropolitan area of London, England from 1855 to 1900. It was formed by the Metropolis Management Act 1855 and was governed by the Greenwich District Board of Works, which consisted of elected vestrymen.

Until 1889 the district was partly in the counties of Kent and Surrey, but included in the area of the Metropolitan Board of Works. In 1889 the area of the MBW was constituted the County of London, and the district board became a local authority under the London County Council.

## Area

[edit]

The district comprised the following civil parishes[1] (electing members)

* Deptford St Nicholas (Kent) (6)
* Deptford St Paul (Kent), including Hatcham (Surrey) (21)
* Greenwich (Kent) (30)

Under the Metropolis Management Act 1855 any parish that exceeded 2,000 ratepayers was to be divided into wards; as such the parishes of Greenwich and St Paul Deptford within the Greenwich District Board of Works were each divided into four wards (electing vestrymen): Greenwich - No. 1 or Church (15), No. 2 or Ravensbourne (12), No. 3 or Hospital (12) and No. 4 or Blackheath (9).[2] St Paul Deptford - No. 1 or North (15), No. 2 or South (21), No. 3 or East (18) and No. 4 or West (18).[3]

In 1894 as its population had increased the parish of Greenwich was re-divided into six wards (electing vestrymen): No. 1 North (18), Marsh [Nos. 2 & 3 North] (21), South East (18), South (12), West (15) and North West (12).[4]

## Mortality

[edit]

The number of deaths reported were as follows. Greenwich parish was the location of Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich Union Workhouse and Dreadnought Hospital which explains the relatively higher death count.

Year  | Deptford St Nicholas  | Deptford St Paul  | Greenwich

|
|
|

1855[5] | 166  | 699  | 1,633
1860[6] | 168  | 778  | 1,070

## Abolition

[edit]

There was a proposal in 1862 to dissolve the Greenwich District. In the Metropolis Management Amendment Bill there was provision that the Greenwich vestry would become incorporated as a local authority and the remaining area would have formed the Deptford District.[7]

The district was abolished in 1900 and split as follows:[1]

* Deptford St Nicholas to Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich
* Deptford St Paul to Metropolitan Borough of Deptford
* Greenwich to Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-901050-67-9.
2. ^ The London Gazette Issue: 21802. 20 October 1855. pp. 3903–3904. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
3. ^ The London Gazette Issue: 21802. 20 October 1855. pp. 3902–3903. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
4. ^ The London Gazette Issue: 26542. 14 August 1894. pp. 4709–4711. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
5. ^ "Greenwich 1855, Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Greenwich District". Retrieved 24 April 2020.
6. ^ "Greenwich 1860, Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Greenwich District". Retrieved 24 April 2020.
7. ^ Parliamentary Papers, House of Commons and Command: Volume 3, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, (1862), H.M. Stationery Office

* v
* t
* e

Metropolitan Board of Works

Boards of works|

* Fulham
* Greenwich
* Hackney
* Holborn
* Lee/Plumstead
* Lewisham
* Limehouse
* Poplar
* St Giles
* St Olave
* St Saviour's
* Strand
* Wandsworth
* Westminster
* Whitechapel

Headquarters at Spring Gardens

Incorporated vestries|

* Battersea
* Bermondsey
* Bethnal Green
* Camberwell
* Chelsea
* Clerkenwell
* Fulham
* Hackney
* Hammersmith
* Hampstead
* Islington
* Kensington
* Lambeth
* Mile End Old Town
* Newington
* Paddington
* Plumstead
* Rotherhithe
* St George Hanover Square
* St George in the East
* St Luke Middlesex
* St Martin-in-the-Fields
* St Marylebone
* St Pancras
* Shoreditch
* Southwark St George the Martyr
* Stoke Newington
* Westminster St Margaret and St John
* Westminster St James
* Woolwich

Undertakings|

* Metropolitan Buildings Office
* Metropolitan Commission of Sewers
* Metropolitan Fire Brigade

Major works|

* Charing Cross Road
* Hammersmith Bridge
* London sewer system
* Northumberland Avenue
* Putney Bridge
* Southwark Street
* Shaftesbury Avenue
* Thames Embankment
* Waterloo Bridge

Legislation|

* Royal Commission on the City of London
* Metropolis Management Act 1855
* Local Government Act 1888
* London Government Act 1899

People|

* Francis Fowler
* Frederick Marrable
* James McGarel-Hogg
* John Thwaites
* Joseph Bazalgette
* List of members

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