Camberwell was a civil parish and

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 south London, England.

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

was an

ancient 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. ...

in the county of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, governed by an

administrative vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

from 1674. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and became part of the County of London in 1889. The parish of Camberwell became a metropolitan borough in 1900, following the London Government Act 1899, with the parish vestry replaced by a borough council. In 1965 the borough was abolished and its former area became part of the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London.

Geography

The original parish of Camberwell St Giles had three divisions. They were the

Liberty of Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the villa ...

to the east, the

Hamlet of Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half ...

to the southwest and the central division of

proper. The liberty of Peckham stretched from north of Old Kent Road to

Honor Oak Honor Oak is an inner suburban area principally of the London Borough of Lewisham, with part in the London Borough of Southwark. It is named after the oak tree on One Tree Hill that Elizabeth I is reputed to have picnicked under. Overview One Tr ...

, taking in

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

and Nunhead. Camberwell stretched from what is now

Burgess Park Burgess Park is a public park situated in Camberwell the London Borough of Southwark, and is close to Walworth to the north, Bermondsey to the east and Peckham to the south. At , it is one of the largest parks in South London. Unlike most other ...

in the north to what is now the Horniman Museum in the south, taking in the central

area around

Camberwell Green Camberwell Green is of common land in Camberwell, south London laid out as a formal park. Its south-west corner is the junction of Camberwell Road/Denmark Hill and Camberwell New Road/Camberwell Church Street. Its other edges share one point ...

, the eastern part of Herne Hill and East Dulwich. It included a long protrusion in the west, surrounded by Lambeth, as far as what is now

Myatt's Fields Park Myatt's Fields Park is a 14-acre Victorian park in Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth in South London, England, 2.9 miles south-east of Charing Cross. History The majority of the area of Myatt's Fields belonged to the estate of Sir Hugh ...

. The hamlet of Dulwich stretched from Champion Hill in the north to what is now Crystal Palace in the south, taking in

Dulwich Village Dulwich Village is an affluent area of Dulwich in South London. It is located in the London Borough of Southwark. History "Dulwich Village" is also the name of the village High Street. Residents in Dulwich Village have to pay ground rent to the ...

, West Dulwich and Sydenham Hill. In 1900 the Camberwell/Lambeth boundary was tidied up with an exchange of population (approximately 6,000 each way) which had the effect of transferring

to Lambeth.

Ecclesiastical parishes

The ancient parish, dedicated to St Giles, was in the Diocese of Winchester until 1877, then the Diocese of Rochester until 1905, and then finally in the

Diocese of Southwark The Diocese of Southwark is one of the 42 dioceses of the Church of England, part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The diocese forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. It was created on 1 May 1905 from part of the ancient Dio ...

. From 1825, as the population of Camberwell increased, a number of new parishes were formed:A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4.
/ref> * St George, Camberwell In 1825 * Christ Church, Old Kent Road In 1838 * Emmanuel, Camberwell In 1842 * St Mary Magdalene, Peckham In 1842 * Camden Chapel, Camberwell In 1844 * St Matthew, Denmark Hill In 1848 * St Chrysostom, Peckham In 1865 * St John the Evangelist, East Dulwich In 1865 * St Andrew, Peckham In 1866 * St Peter, Dulwich Common In 1867 Genuki
* St Stephen, South Dulwich In 1868 * All Saints, Blenheim Grove, Peckham In 1872 * St James, Knatchbull Road, Camberwell In 1874 * St Antony (formerly St Antholin), Nunhead In 1878 * St Luke, Rosemary Road, Peckham In 1878 * St Jude, Peckham In 1880 * St Saviour, Denmark Park In 1881 * St Mark, Peckham In 1884 * St Clement, East Dulwich In 1886 * St Batholemew, South Bermondsey In 1887 * All Saints, North Peckham In 1892 * St Barnabas, Dulwich In 1894 * St Silas, Nunhead In 1895 In addition, as the population of neighbouring areas increased, parts of Camberwell parish were included in new parishes: * St Paul, Herne Hill In 1845 ''with parts of St Mary, Lambeth''A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4.
/ref> * St Philip, Avondale Square In 1876 ''with parts of St Anne, Bermondsey''A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4.
/ref> * St Mark, Camberwell In 1880 ''with parts of All Saints, Newington''A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4.
/ref>

Coat of arms

The corporation was granted arms in 1901. The shield depicted the main areas of the borough. In the first and fourth quarter was a well, for Camberwell. The second quarter was for Dulwich: the chevron and cinquefoils from the arms of

Edward Alleyn Edward "Ned" Alleyn (; 1 September 156621 November 1626) was an English actor who was a major figure of the Elizabethan theatre and founder of the College of God's Gift in Dulwich. Early life Alleyn was born on 1 September 1566 in Bishopsga ...

, founder of Alleyn's School. The third quarter represented Peckham: the lion was from the arms of Robert, Earl of Gloucester, one time lord of the manor. The crest depicted a wounded hart, symbol of St Giles, patron saint of Camberwell. In 1927 the borough was additionally granted an

heraldic badge A heraldic badge, emblem, impresa, device, or personal device worn as a badge indicates allegiance to, or the property of, an individual, family or corporate body. Medieval forms are usually called a livery badge, and also a cognizance. They are ...

and standard. The badge depicted a

Camberwell beauty ''Nymphalis antiopa'', known as the mourning cloak in North America and the Camberwell beauty in Britain, is a large butterfly native to Eurasia and North America. The immature form of this species is sometimes known as the spiny elm caterpillar ...

butterfly.

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; as such the incorporated vestry of St Giles Camberwell was divided into six wards (electing vestrymen): No. 1 or St George's West (12), No. 2 or St George's East (12), No. 3 or Camden (12), No. 4 or North Peckham (15), No. 5 or South Peckham (15) and No. 6 or Camberwell & Dulwich (18). In 1894 as its population had increased the incorporated vestry was re-divided into eight wards (electing vestrymen): St George's West (15), St George's East (12), Camden (12), North Peckham (21), South Peckham (21), North Dulwich (15), Central Dulwich (12) and South Dulwich (12). The metropolitan borough was divided into twenty

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: Addington, Alleyn, Clifton, Coburg, Goldsmith, Lyndhurst, Marlborough, North Peckham, Nunhead, Ruskin, Rye Lane, St George's, St Giles, St John's, St Mary's, The College, The Hamlet, The Rye, The West and Town Hall.

Borough council

From 1900 to 1934 the borough was controlled by the Municipal Reform Party (allied to the Conservatives). In 1934 the Labour Party gained control, which they retained until abolition in 1965.

Parliament constituency

For elections to Parliament, the borough was divided into three constituencies: * Camberwell, Dulwich * Camberwell, North * Camberwell, Peckham In 1918 the borough's representation was increased to four seats: * Camberwell, Dulwich * Camberwell, North * Camberwell, North-West * Camberwell, Peckham In 1950 the number of seats was halved to 2: * Camberwell, Dulwich * Camberwell, Peckham

Population and area

The area of the borough was . The population, as recorded at the census, was: Camberwell Vestry 1801–1899 Metropolitan Borough 1900–1961

References

External links

''A Vision of Britain''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Camberwell, Metropolitan Borough of Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London History of the London Borough of Southwark Parishes governed by vestries (Metropolis) 1900 establishments in the United Kingdom 1965 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Metropolitan Borough of Districts abolished by the London Government Act 1963