Bromley was a

rural district Rural districts were a type of local government area – now superseded – established at the end of the 19th century in England, Wales, and Ireland for the administration of predominantly rural areas at a level lower than that of the Ad ...

in north-west

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England from 1894 to 1934. Its area now forms part of the

London Borough of Bromley The London Borough of Bromley () is the southeasternmost of the London boroughs that make up Greater London, bordering the ceremonial county of Kent, which most of Bromley was part of before 1965. The borough's population is an estimated 332,336 ...

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

. It did not include the main settlement of the same name, which constituted the

Municipal Borough of Bromley Bromley was a local government district in northwest Kent from 1867 to 1965 around the town of Bromley. The area was suburban to London, and formed part of the Metropolitan Police District and from 1933 was included in the area of the London Pas ...

. Mottingham formed an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of the district. It was created under the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

based on the existing Bromley

rural sanitary district Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures: *Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies *Rural sanitary dis ...

. It initially consisted of fifteen

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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

es:Vision of Britain
– Unit history *

Chelsfield Chelsfield is an area in south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley and the historic county of Kent. It lies south of Goddington, west of Well Hill, north of Pratt's Bottom and east of Green Street Green. The area is ...

Chislehurst Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater L ...

* Cudham *

Downe Downe, formerly Down, () is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley but beyond the London urban sprawl. Downe is south west of Orpington and south east of Charing Cross. Downe lies on a hill, and ...

* Farnborough *

Foots Cray Foots Cray is an area of South East London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley, Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was in the historic county of Kent. It is located south-east of Sidcup. History It took its name from Godwin Fot, a ...

* Hayes *

Keston Keston is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley, Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was withing the historic county of Kent. It is part suburban, part rural in nature and lies on the edge of Hayes Com ...

Knockholt Knockholt is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located north west of Sevenoaks & south of Orpington, adjacent to the Kent border with Greater London. The village is mostly a ribbon development, sur ...

Mottingham Mottingham is a district of south-east London, England, which straddles the border of both the London Borough of Bromley and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is located south of Eltham, southeast of Charing Cross. It is within the historic ...

North Cray North Cray is a village in south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the River Cray, east of Sidcup and south of Bexley, and is in the Cray Meadows electoral ward, which a ...

Orpington Orpington is a town and area in south east London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is 13.4 miles (21.6 km) south east of Charing Cross. On the south-eastern edge of the Greater London Built-up Area, it is south of St Ma ...

* St Mary Cray *

St Paul's Cray St Paul's Cray is an area of South East Greater London, London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent. It is located south of Sidcu ...

West Wickham West Wickham is an area of South East London, England, mainly within the London Borough of Bromley with some parts lying in the London Borough of Croydon. It lies south of Park Langley and Eden Park, west of Hayes and Coney Hall, north of ...

Boundary changes and abolition

Within a few years of its creation, the rural district was reduced in size and population when two of the constituent civil parishes became separate

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

s. Chislehurst became an urban district in 1900, followed by Foot's Cray in 1902 (later renamed Sidcup Urban District in 1921). The

Local Government Act 1929 The Local Government Act 1929 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made changes to the Poor Law and local government in England and Wales. The Act abolished the system of poor law unions in England and Wales and their board ...

put in place a new procedure for the alteration of county districts, and due to increased urbanisation it became clear that the rural district was unlikely to continue to exist. Applications were made by

Chislehurst Urban District Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater ...

Council to absorb the parishes of Mottingham, North Cray, St Mary Cray and St Paul's Cray, along with Sidcup UD. Beckenham Urban District Council entered into negotiations with West Wickham Parish Council to absorb the parish, while

Bromley Borough Council Bromley London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Bromley in Greater London, England. It is one of 32 London borough councils. History There have previously been a number of local authorities responsible for the Bro ...

sought to annex the parishes of Hayes and Keston. Bromley Rural District Council countered by making an application to be converted into an urban district, although they were prepared to cede Mottingham to Chislehurst UD. Public inquiries were held at Beckenham and Orpington in October 1929 into the proposed changes. The district's abolition was carried out by the Kent Review Order 1934, which came into effect on 1 April: *Hayes and about half of Keston became part of the Borough of Bromley *Mottingham, North Cray and St Paul's Cray passed to the enlarged Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District. *West Wickham was transferred to Beckenham Urban District. *The remainder of the rural district (Chelsfield, Cudham, Downe, Farnborough, part of Keston, Knockholt, Orpington and St Mary Cray) was reconstituted as

Orpington Urban District Orpington was an English local government district in north west Kent from 1934 to 1965 around the town of Orpington. It was a suburb of London, but formed part of the Metropolitan Police District. Most of the former area of the urban district i ...

References

{{coord , 51.4, N, 0.1, E, display=title Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 History of the London Borough of Bromley History of Kent History of local government in London (1889–1965) Rural districts of England