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
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
See also
*
London Government Act 1899
*
Metropolis Management Act 1855
References
Further reading
*
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