Willesden was a local government district in the county of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

from 1874 to 1965. It formed part of the Metropolitan Police District and London postal district. Willesden was part of the built-up area of London and bordered the

County of London The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government A ...

to the east and south.

History

It was formed as a

Local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

in 1874, became an urban district in 1894 and was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1933.Willesden - Local Government, ''Victoria County History of Middlesex, Vol.7 (British History Online), accessed January 2, 2008
/ref>Vision of Britain
Willesden UD/MB

historic map
In 1901 the population was 114,811. The population peaked in 1931 at 184,434 and by 1961 it had fallen to 171,001. It occupied in 1911 and in 1961. It included the districts of Kilburn,

Harlesden Harlesden is a district in the London Borough of Brent, North West London. Located north of the Grand Union Canal and Wormwood Scrubs, the Harrow Road flows through the centre of the area which goes eastwards to Central London and west toward ...

Neasden Neasden is a suburban area in northwest London, England. It is located around the centre of the London Borough of Brent and is within the NW2 ( Cricklewood) and NW10 (Willesden) postal districts. Neasden is near Wembley Stadium, the Welsh Har ...

Willesden Willesden () is an area of northwest London, situated 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933, and has forme ...

, Cricklewood,

Dollis Hill Dollis Hill is an area in northwest London, which consists of the streets surrounding the 35 hectares (86 acres) Gladstone Park. It is served by a London Underground station, Dollis Hill, on the Jubilee line, providing good links to central Lo ...

and

Brondesbury Brondesbury (), which includes Brondesbury Park, is an area in the London Borough of Brent, in London, England. The area is traditionally part of the Ancient Parish and subsequent Municipal Borough of Willesden, one of the areas that merged to fo ...

. The district was abolished in 1965 and its former area transferred to Greater London, merging with the Borough of Wembley to form the London Borough of Brent. The offices of the local board were established at Dyne Road, Kilburn in 1891. These were later enlarged to become Willesden Town Hall. Following the formation of the London Borough of Brent, administration was transferred to Wembley, and the town hall was demolished in 1972.

Politics

The urban district council elections were not conducted on party political lines until 1910, when pro-Conservative

Moderates Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...

gained a majority, with Progressive and

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

councillors forming the opposition. By 1921, Labour was having an increased influence on the council and this led to the formation of an anti-Labour Ratepayers Association, who held power until 1933. From 1933 to abolition in 1965 the borough council was Labour-controlled for all but one year.

Coat of arms

On incorporation in 1933 the borough council was granted a coat of arms. The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

was as follows: "''Gules a Chevron between in dexter chief an Orb ensigned with a Cross-crosslet Or and in sinister chief and two Swords in saltire proper hilts and pomels Or and in base three Lilies in a Pot all within a Bordure also Or charged with eight Pellets and for a Crest Issuant from a Saxon Crown two Wings Or each charged with a Cinquefoil Gules.'' ''And for Supporters: On either side a Dragon Azure gorged with a Saxon Crown Or and charged on the shoulder with two Seaxes in saltire proper hilts and pomels Or.''" The

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

was ''Labore est Orare'' or ''To Work is to Pray''. Around the

chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...

in the centre of the shield were symbols representing the history of Willesden. The orb was from the attributed arms of

King Athelstan King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. His granting of the manors of Neasden-cum-Willeseden to the monastery of St Arkenwold is one of the earliest historical references to the area. The crossed swords were taken from the arms of the Diocese of London. This records the fact that the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral held the manor of Willesden at the time of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

. The pot of lilies are the symbol of the St Mary, patron saint of the ancient parish. The border (or ''bordure'') bore eight black discs or ''pellets'', one for each of the manors into which Anglo-Saxon Willesden was divided. The crest above the arms was composed of two wings from the arms of Richard Bancroft,

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

1604 - 1610. Bancroft's family held the Manor of

Mapesbury Mapesbury is a residential area of northwest London, England. It forms one of twenty-one Wards of the United Kingdom, electoral wards of the London Borough of Brent. Geography The ward covers parts of the Kilburn, London, Kilburn and Cricklewoo ...

. The wings were ''charged'' with red ''cinquefoils'' or five leaved figures. These were taken from the arms of All Souls College, Oxford. The college owned much land in the Willesden area. There does not seem to have been any significance in the choice of supporters, which were two blue dragons. Around the neck of each dragon was a gold Saxon crown, and they bore on the shoulder crossed ''seaxes'' or notched swords. These emblems were derived from the arms of Middlesex County Council. Most of the elements of Willesden's arms were incorporated in those of the successor London Borough of Brent in 1965.

Affiliated Regiment

In 1951 the Borough Council adopted 484 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery, a Territorial Army unit based in the Borough. It had originally been raised in 1938 from employees of the

London Passenger Transport Board The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for local public transport in London and its environs from 1933 to 1948. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and brand was Lond ...

. The regiment was disbanded in 1955.474–519 Rgts RA at British Army units 1945 on.
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willesden, Municipal Borough of Districts of England created by the Local Government Act 1894 Districts abolished by the London Government Act 1963 Municipal boroughs of England Municipal Borough of History of the London Borough of Brent History of local government in Middlesex