Poplar was a local government district in the metropolitan area of London, England. It was formed as a district of the Metropolis in 1855 and became 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 in 1900. It comprised Poplar, Millwall, Bromley-by-Bow and Bow.

Formation and boundaries

The borough bordered the metropolitan boroughs of Hackney, Stepney, and Bethnal Green to the west and north, and the county of Essex to the east. To the south, the River Thames formed borders with the metropolitan boroughs of Bermondsey, Deptford and Greenwich. It was formed from three civil parishes: St Mary Stratford-le-Bow, St Leonard Bromley and All Saints Poplar. In 1907 these three were combined into a single civil parish called Poplar Borough, which was conterminous with the metropolitan borough. In 1965 the parish and borough were abolished, with their former area becoming part of the newly formed

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...

. It included the districts of (from north to south): * Bow *

Bromley St Leonard Bromley, commonly known as Bromley-by- Bow, is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, located on the western banks of the River Lea, in the Lower Lea Valley in East London. The area is distinct from Bow, which lies ...

* Poplar * Blackwall *

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Ham ...

History

Former Poplar Board of Works, Poplar High Street - geograph

In 1921 the Borough Council, under George Lansbury and the Poor Law Union were engaged in a dispute with the London County Council and central government over

poor law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

rates - it wished to pay out of work people more than usually permitted; and to get wealthier West End boroughs to contribute to its expenses. Several councillors were imprisoned briefly in 1921 in relation to this. See Poplar Rates Rebellion. In 1951 Poplar was chosen as the site of the Festival of Britain's 'Exhibition of Live Architecture'. The East End of London had been heavily bombed during the war and its reconstruction was showcased at the new Lansbury Estate. New building materials and planning concepts were demonstrated. The first example of 'live architecture' on the exhibition trail was the Trinity Congregational Church and Hall, just across from the main reception area with their Town Planning and Building Research Pavilions on East India Dock Road. The trail continued with the Lansbury Estate and

Chrisp Street Market Chrisp Street Market is the central marketplace and town centre of Poplar and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It was the first purpose-built pedestrian shopping area in the United Kingdom, rebuilt as part of the 1951 Festiva ...

. The former

Poplar Town Hall Poplar Town Hall is a municipal building at the corner of Bow Road and Fairfield Road in Poplar, London. It is a Grade II listed building. History The building was commissioned to replace an aging mid-19th century municipal building with a di ...

in Bow Road, designed by Culpin & Son (1937–38), is now a listed building, as is its predecessor (1870) in Poplar High Street.

Population and area

Poplar covered an area of . The population as given in the census from 1801 to 1961 was: Constituent parishes 1801-1899 Metropolitan Borough 1900-1961

Borough seal

The borough had no coat of arms, using instead a seal originally designed for the Poplar District Board of Works, its predecessor, created by the Metropolis Management Act 1855. The seal depicted the emblems of the three parish vestries merged into the board. The top shield was the seal of Poplar Vestry, and showed the ' Hibbert Gate' of the old West India Docks, with a sailing ship on top of the shield. A similar representation of the gate and ship formed the head of the vestry's civic mace, which was used by the board of works and borough council until 1965. The shield on the left was the seal of Bow Vestry, and showed a bridge between two bows. This represented the bow-shaped bridge over the River Lea. The shield on the right was the seal of Bromley St Leonard Vestry, and depicts the saint dressed as a bishop. There remain a number of street signs which have been preserved with the name of the former borough.

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 parishes of Poplar District Board of Works did not exceed this number so were not divided into wards. In 1880 the population had increased enough for the parish of All Saints Poplar to be divided into three wards (electing vestrymen): South (27), East (27) and West (30). In 1885 the population had increased enough for the parish of Bromley St Leonard to also be divided into three wards (electing vestrymen): West (39), East (36) and South (33). In 1894 the population had increased enough for the parish of St Mary Stratford Bow to be divided into four wards (electing vestrymen): No. 1 (15), No. 2 (15), No. 3 (36) and No. 4 (18). In 1894 as its population had increased the parish of All Saints Poplar was re-divided into four wards (electing vestrymen): Cubitt Town (15), Millwall (15), Blackwall (24) and West India Dock (30). The metropolitan borough was divided into fourteen

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: Bow Central, Bow North, Bow South, Bow West, Bromley Central, Bromley North East, Bromley North West, Bromley South East, Bromley South West, Cubitt Town, Millwall, Poplar East, Poplar North West and Poplar West.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 was divided into two constituencies: * Tower Hamlets, Bow and Bromley division * Tower Hamlets, Poplar division In 1918 the boundaries of the borough's two seats were adjusted, and one was renamed: * Bow and Bromley * Poplar South In 1950 the borough's representation was reduced to one seat: * Poplar

References

External links

Official Guide to the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar, 1927 ''Vision of Britain'': Population tables for Poplar Borough
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poplar, Metropolitan Borough of Districts (Metropolis) Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London 1855 establishments in England 1900 disestablishments in England 1900 establishments in England 1965 disestablishments in England Districts abolished by the London Government Act 1963 History of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Metropolitan Borough of