The Metropolitan Borough of Fulham 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 between 1900 and 1965, when it was merged with the

Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith Hammersmith was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was formed as a civil parish in 1834 from the chapelry of Hammersmith that had existed in the ancient parish of Fulham, Middlesex since 1631. The parish was grouped wit ...

to form the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was a riverside borough, and comprised the many centuries-long definition of

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

so included parts often considered of independent character today

Walham Green Walham Green is the historic name of an English village, now part of inner London, in the parish of Fulham in the County of Middlesex. It was located between the hamlet of North End (now renamed West Kensington) to the north, and Parsons Gr ...

Parsons Green Parsons Green is a mainly residential district in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The Green itself, which is roughly triangular, is bounded on two of its three sides by the New King's Road section of the King's Road, A308 road ...

, Hurlingham,

Sands End Sands End is an area of the ancient parish of Fulham, formerly in the County of Middlesex, which is now the southernmost part of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, England. In a deep loop of the River Thames, between the tidal Chelsea ...

and that part of

Chelsea Harbour Chelsea Harbour is a contemporary mixed-use development in West London, situated in its Sands End area, along Chelsea Creek, the historic southeastern boundary of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham with the southwestern boundary of the ...

west of Counter's Creek. The

SW6 SW6 may refer to: * SW postcode area *Fulham *West London derby *Legion of Super-Heroes The Legion of Super-Heroes is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Otto Binder and artist ...

postal district approximately follows this as does the direct, though less empowered, predecessor

civil parish.

Coat of arms

When the metropolitan borough was formed it carried on using the unofficial arms adopted by its predecessor, Fulham vestry in 1886. This was a quartered shield, with a depiction of a bridge in the first and fourth quarters. The bridge in the first quarter was the original wooden Putney Bridge, opened in 1729 with its toll houses. Its replacement, the present Putney Bridge, constructed of stone, was shown in the fourth quarter. The new bridge was opened in 1886, when the arms were designed. The second quarter showed crossed swords, from the arms of the Bishop of London. The manor of Fulham was held by the bishop from 691, and his official residence, Fulham Palace, was built in the area. The third quarter was the arms then associated with the county of Middlesex, in which Fulham lay until 1889. The three seaxes on a red field was also regarded as the arms of Essex. In 1927 councillor F. H. Barber, proprietor of Barber's Department Store in the borough, offered to pay the costs of a grant of arms and new civic regalia. Accordingly, an official grant was obtained from the College of Arms on 12 October of that year, blazoned as follows: :''Barry wavy of ten, Argent and azure, on a Saltire gules, two swords in Saltire points upwards of the first enfiled of a Mitre Or, and for the Crest upon a Mural Crown of Seven turrets Or and Ancient Rowing Ship in full sail Sable, the Flags per fesse Argent and Azure charged on the sail with a Rose Gules, surmounted by a Rose Argent barbed Vert and seeded proper.'' The silver and blue wavy field was for the River Thames, the swords and mitre signifying the Bishop of London. The crest rose from a gold mural crown, resembling a city wall, and thus municipal government. The crest itself was a black ship, recalling an expedition to Fulham by the Danes in 879. The main sail was charged with a Tudor rose, recalling the importance of the area in that era, when Fulham Palace was rebuilt. The Latin motto, ''Pro Civibus Et Civitate'', was translated as "for citizens and state". The waves from the shield, the two swords, the mitre and most of the crest was brought to the coat of arms of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham when Fulham and Hammersmith merged to form a new London borough in 1965.

Population and area

Over its existence the borough's area varied from 1,704 to . The population, as recorded at the census, was: Fulham Vestry 1801-1899 Metropolitan Borough 1900–1961

Town Hall

The borough was administered from

Fulham Town Hall Fulham Town Hall is a municipal building on Fulham Road, Fulham, London. It is a Grade II* listed building. History The building was commissioned by the Parish of St John to replace an existing vestry hall in Walham Green. The site chosen had p ...

, on

Fulham Broadway Walham Green is the historic name of an English village, now part of inner London, in the parish of Fulham in the County of Middlesex. It was located between the hamlet of North End (now renamed West Kensington) to the north, and Parsons Gr ...

, in

. The hall had been built in 1888 – 1890 for the Fulham vestry, and was in the ''classical renaissance'' style. When the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham was formed,

Hammersmith Town Hall Hammersmith Town Hall is a municipal building on King Street in Hammersmith. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The building was commissioned to ...

was adopted as the administrative centre. Some offices remain at Fulham however, and contains a registry office. The grand hall is a popular venue for concerts and dances. The london borough council also makes the building available for filming purposes.

Politics

Under the Metropolis Management Act 1855 any parish that exceeded 2,000

ratepayers Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government. Some other countries have taxes with a more or less comparable role ...

was to be divided into wards; however the parish of Fulham did not exceed this number so was not divided into wards. In 1883-84 the population had increased enough for the parish to be divided into three wards (electing vestrymen): North End (27), Walham (27) and South Fulham (18). In 1894 as its population had increased the newly incorporated vestry was re-divided into eight wards (electing vestrymen): Baron's Court (12), Margravine (9), Munster (9), Lillie (12), Walham (12), Town (6), Hurlingham (3) and Sands End (9). The metropolitan borough was divided into eight

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: Baron's Court, Hurlingham, Lillie, Margravine, Munster, Sands End, Town, and Walham.Ordnance Survey 'County Series 3rd Edition' Map of London (1912-14) at 1:2500 scale. Accessed at https://www.old-maps.co.uk/

Borough council

Parliament constituency

For elections to Parliament, the borough for 18 years amounted to one seat: *

In 1918 such representation was increased to two seats: * Fulham East *

Fulham West Fulham West was a borough constituency based in the London district of Fulham. It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1955. At the 1918 general election the previous Fulham cons ...

In 1955 such representation was reduced to seats. The half seat shared was with part of the

and was named: *

Barons Court Barons Court is a London Underground station in West Kensington in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Greater London. This station serves the District line and the Piccadilly line. Barons Court is between West Kensington and Hammers ...

The other seat was: *Fulham (reduced period of the seat mentioned in the bullet point above)