The Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey was a

Metropolitan borough A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolitan ...

in the County of London, created in 1900 by the London Government Act 1899. It was abolished and its area became part of the London Borough of Southwark in 1965.

Formation and boundaries

The borough was formed from four civil parishes:

St Mary Magdalen Bermondsey St Mary Magdalen Bermondsey is an Anglican church dedicated to St Mary Magdalen in Bermondsey in the London Borough of Southwark. The majority of the present building is late 17th century and is Grade II* listed. Its parish extends as far a ...

, St Mary Rotherhithe, Southwark St John Horsleydown and

Southwark St Olave and St Thomas Southwark St Olave was an ancient civil and ecclesiastical parish on the south bank of the River Thames, covering the area around where Shard London Bridge now stands in the modern London Borough of Southwark. The boundaries varied over time bu ...

. In 1904 these four were combined into a single civil parish called Bermondsey, which was conterminous with the metropolitan borough. Previous to the borough's formation it had been administered by three separate local bodies: St Olave District Board of Works, Bermondsey Vestry and Rotherhithe Vestry.

History

The Victorian vestry hall on Spa Road, SE16, was bombed during the Second World War. After the war the neighbouring Municipal Offices (1928, designed by H Tansley) took over the role.

Bermondsey Town Hall Bermondsey Town Hall is a municipal building in Spa Road, Bermondsey, London. It is a Grade II listed building. History The current building was commissioned as an extension to a 19th-century vestry hall which had been designed by George Elki ...

continued to house civic offices, latterly for Southwark Council, until being sold off in 2012. The population declined sharply after the Second World War, being cut by about half from 1931 to 1951.

Coat of arms

The borough was granted a coat of arms in 1901. The design included references to the three constituent authorities. The lion, crozier and two letters B represent Bermondsey vestry, and are derived from the insignia of

Bermondsey Abbey Bermondsey Abbey was an English Benedictine monastery. Most widely known as being founded in the 11th century, it had a precursor mentioned in the early eighth century, and was centred on what is now Bermondsey Square, the site of Bermonds ...

. The crown and axe were the emblem of St Olave's District Board of Works, and were derived from the royal arms of Norway, Saint Olave being the anglicised name of King Olaf II of Norway. The ship represented Rotherhithe and the Surrey Commercial Docks. The symbolism in the coat of arms were incorporated into a sculpture called

The Bermondsey Lion The Bermondsey Lion is a sculpture in The Blue, Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the ea ...

that was unveiled in

The Blue The Blue is a central market place in Bermondsey, southeast London. The market is open Monday to Saturday from 9am until 5pm and has about 10 stall holders, selling food and clothes. The area has been known locally as The Blue for more than two ...

in 2011. The plaque on the plinth of ''The Bermondsey Lion'' in The Blue (September 2012) The Latin motto adopted by the borough was ''Prosunt gentibus artes'' or "Arts profit the people", and was adapted from Ovid's '' Metamorphoses''.

Population and area

The area of the Borough was . The population from the Census returns was: Constituent parishes 1801–1899 Metropolitan Borough 1900-1961

Politics

The borough was divided into twelve

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

for elections: No. 1 Bermondsey, No. 2 Bermondsey, No. 3 Bermondsey, No. 4 Bermondsey, No. 5 Bermondsey, No. 6 Bermondsey, No. 1 Rotherhithe, No. 2 Rotherhithe, No. 3 Rotherhithe, St John, St Olave and St Thomas.

Borough council

In the first election to the borough council, held on 1 November 1900 the Moderates (supported by the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

) gained a majority. The opposition group was formed by the Progressive Party. The Moderates retained their majority at the 1903 elections. In 1906 the Moderate group was renamed Municipal Reform. In 1909 The Progressives won 27 seats and the Independent Labour Party 1 to the Municipal Reform's 26 seats, but the latter party retained power through the aldermanic elections. They regained an overall majority of councillors at the 1912 elections. Local elections were postponed during the First World War, with the next poll held in 1919. The results were a major reverse for the Municipal Reform Party with just two councillors elected. The Progressives formed the largest party with 27 seats, followed by the Labour Party with 24. There was one independent councillor. At the 1922 elections Labour gained a majority with 38 seats. The opposition was formed by a Ratepayers Association with 14 councillors. Labour held the council at the subsequent elections, holding all the seats from 1934 to 1945 and from 1949 until the borough's abolition.Election results as reported in ''The Times'', 3 November 1900; 4 November 1903; 3 November 1906; 2 November 1909; 2 November 1912; 4 November 1919; 4 November 1925; 3 November 1928; 4 November 1931; 3 November 1934; 3 November 1937; 2 November 1945; 7 May 1949; 7 May 1953; 11 May 1956; 8 May 1959; 12 May 1962

Parliament constituency

For elections to Parliament, the borough was divided into two constituencies: * Bermondsey * Rotherhithe In 1918 the boundaries of the borough's two seats were adjusted, and one was renamed: *

Bermondsey West Bermondsey West was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Bermondsey district of South London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created f ...

* Rotherhithe In 1950 the borough's representation was reduced to one seat: * Bermondsey

References

External links

''A Vision of Britain''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bermondsey, Metropolitan Borough of Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London History of the London Borough of Southwark 1900 establishments in the United Kingdom 1965 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Districts abolished by the London Government Act 1963 Metropolitan Borough of