Woolwich, also known as Woolwich St Mary, was an ancient parish containing the town of

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...

on the south bank of the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

and

North Woolwich North Woolwich is an area in the London Borough of Newham in East London. It is located on the northern bank of the River Thames, across the river from Woolwich. It is connected to Woolwich by the Woolwich Ferry and Woolwich foot tunnel. De ...

on the north bank. The parish was governed by its

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 the 16th century to 1852, based in the Church of St Mary until 1842, after which in the purpose-built

Woolwich Town Hall Woolwich Town Hall is an early 20th-century town hall located in the historic Bathway Quarter in the centre of Woolwich, South East London. Until 1965 it was the seat of local government of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich, after which it ...

. The parish adopted the

Public Health Act 1848 Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environment ...

and was governed by the Woolwich Local Board of Health from 1852. When the parish became part of the district of the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London Cou ...

in 1855 the local board was treated as if it were an incorporated vestry. It was in the county of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

until it was transferred to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1889. In 1900 it was amalgamated with other parishes to form the

Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich The Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich was a metropolitan borough in the County of London from 1900 to 1965. It was formed from the civil parishes of Eltham, Plumstead and Woolwich. Its former area is now part of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and ...

and had only nominal existence until it was abolished as a civil parish in 1930. Since 1965 it has been split between the

Royal Borough of Greenwich The Royal Borough of Greenwich (, , or ) is a London borough in southeast Greater London. The London Borough of Greenwich was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. The new borough covered the former area of the Metropolitan Borough ...

and the London Borough of Newham.

Geography

The main part of the parish was a roughly triangular area south of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, including the town of

. The boundary with Plumstead to the east was very close to the centre of the town, located approximately where the

Woolwich Arsenal station Woolwich Arsenal station is a National Rail and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) paired interchange station in the heart of Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It has two parts; its raised, south-western part of the station is on the sem ...

is now. The parish narrowed further south, including

Woolwich Common Woolwich Common is a common in Woolwich in southeast London, England. It is partly used as military land (less than 40%) and partly as an urban park. Woolwich Common is a conservation area. It is part of the South East London Green Chain. It is al ...

and reaching to Shooter's Hill Road. The western boundary at this point was with

Charlton Common Charlton may refer to: People * Charlton (surname) * Charlton (given name) Places Australia * Charlton, Queensland * Charlton, Victoria * Division of Charlton, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in New South Wale ...

in the parish of Charlton. North of the Thames the parish included two nearby sections of land known as

. The western part was divided from the eastern section by the parish of East Ham. The eastern section stretched to the

River Roding The River Roding () rises at Molehill Green, Essex, England, then flows south through Essex and London and forms Barking Creek as it reaches the River Thames. Course The river leaves Molehill Green and passes through or near a group of eight ...

and had a boundary with the parish of

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

. The former area of the parish is now part of the

to the south of the River Thames and the London Borough of Newham to the north.

Governance

The

Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 The Parliamentary Boundaries Act 1832 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which defined the parliamentary divisions (constituencies) in England and Wales required by the Reform Act 1832. The boundaries were largely those recommen ...

, which transferred county exclaves to their local counties for election of members of parliament, explicitly treated the North Woolwich area as part of Kent. The

Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 The Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c. 61), which came into effect on 20 October 1844, was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which eliminated many outliers or exclaves of counties in England and Wales for civil purposes. ...

, applied the 1832 designations for all civil purposes. The parish became part of the Greenwich Poor Law Union in 1836 and then the Woolwich Poor Law Union from 1868. Woolwich was added to the Registrar General definition of the London Metropolis in 1837, appearing in the weekly tables of mortality from 1840. The parish was added to the Metropolitan Police District in 1840. The vestry built a town hall, now known as the

Old Town Hall Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, ...

in 1842. The parish adopted the

and a local board was formed in 1852, consisting of eighteen elected members and three nominated members. In 1855 the parish was included in the district of the

. It was an anomaly amongst metropolitan parishes, having a local board of health, and this was treated as if it were an incorporated vestry. Following the

Local Government Act 1888 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

, the parish was transferred from the

County of Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

to 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 ...

in 1889. Elsewhere in England, following the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

, local boards of health became urban district councils. The Woolwich Local Board of Health continued to exist until 1900 when, as part of the provisions of the

London Government Act 1899 The London Government Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. 14) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the administration of the capital. The Act divided the County of London into 28 metropolitan boroughs, replacing the 41 parish ...

, the parish was combined with

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of E ...

and Plumstead to form the

. The parish continued to exist for election of a

board of guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the po ...

, but was abolished for this purpose in 1930. The parishes in the Borough of Woolwich were then combined into a single parish.

Politics

From 1832 the more urbanised northern part of the parish was in the parliamentary borough of

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

with the southern part of the parish in the

West Kent Kent is a traditional county in South East England with long-established human occupation. Prehistoric Kent Kent has been occupied since the Lower Palaeolithic as finds from the quarries at Fordwich and Swanscombe attest. The Swanscombe sku ...

division. In 1885 the whole parish was included as part of the

constituency. In 1918 it was split, with the parish of Woolwich mostly becoming part of Woolwich West, with a small part in Woolwich East.

Population

The population at the decennial census was:Census of England and Wales, 1871: (33 & 34 Vict. c. 107.), Great Britain, Census Office, G. E. Eyre and W. Spottiswoode, (1872)

References

{{Authority control Woolwich Parishes governed by vestries (Metropolis) Former civil parishes in the Royal Borough of Greenwich History of the London Borough of Newham 1930 disestablishments in England

Geography

Governance

Politics

Population

See also

References