The County Borough of Croydon was a local government district in and around the town of

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

in north east Surrey, England from 1889 to 1965. Since 1965 the district has been part of the

London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough in south London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of . It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name; ...

within Greater London.

History

local board of health 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 environmenta ...

was formed for the parish of ''Croydon St John the Baptist'' in 1849. On 9 March 1883 the town received a charter of incorporation to become a

municipal borough Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in S ...

. The borough was granted a commission of the peace and a separate court of

quarter sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

in 1885 and 1889 respectively.''Kelly's Directory of Kent, Surrey and Sussex'' (1891), pp. 1199–1204 Under 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 ...

it became an autonomous

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

in 1889. The area of the original borough included part of Norwood and

Addiscombe Addiscombe is an area of south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located south of Charing Cross, and is situated north of Coombe and Selsdon, east of Croydon town centre, south of Woodside, and west of Shirley. E ...

Bensham Bensham is a suburban area in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. The area consists mainly of residential properties, with a range of predominantly terraced housing, built between the late 1890s and the 1980s. Community Like nearby Saltwell ...

, Croham, Coombe, Haling,

Norbury Norbury is an area of south London. It shares the postcode London SW16 with neighbouring Streatham. Norbury is south of Charing Cross. Etymology The name Norbury derives from ''North Burh'', (North Borough). Some local histories note that ...

Shirley Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film * ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...

Waddon Waddon () is a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Croydon, at the western end of the town of Croydon. The area borders the London Borough of Sutton. History It is not known when the manor of Croydon was granted to the See of Canterbury, b ...

and Woodside. From 1894 to 1915 it was adjacent to

Croydon Rural District Croydon was a rural district in north east Surrey, England, United Kingdom, from 1894 to 1915. It was created by the Local Government Act 1894 and replaced the Croydon Rural Sanitary District. The district surrounded the County Borough of Croyd ...

to the south, east and west and 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 north. The rural district was abolished in 1915, but the county borough was unsuccessful in its attempt to annex the area. The only significant extension of the borough boundaries was in 1925, when the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

of Addington was absorbed.F A Youngs Jr, ''Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England'', Vol 1, London 1979 The borough ran

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

s until they became the responsibility 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 ...

in 1933. The borough ran its own

fire brigade A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

and ambulance service until it became a London Borough. In 1954 Croydon Corporation unsuccessfully petitioned the Queen for the grant of

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, city status ...

. At the time, Croydon was the only county borough with a population in excess of 200,000 not to be a city. In 1965 the county borough was abolished and its former area transferred to Greater London to be combined with that of

Coulsdon and Purley Urban District Coulsdon and Purley Urban District was a local government district in northeast Surrey from 1915 to 1965. The local authority was Coulsdon and Purley Urban District Council. The former area of the district is now mostly part of the London Borough ...

to form the

Corporation

On incorporation the borough was divided into six wards (Central, East, South, South Norwood, Upper Norwood and West) each returning six councillors. Together with 12

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...

and a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

, these formed the town council. In 1905 a new North ward was formed, and the council was enlarged to 14 aldermen and 42 councillors.''Kelly's Directory of Surrey'', pp. 97 - 98 By 1918 a new ward of Bensham Manor had been created and on further enlargement in 1925 Addington ward was formed, with the numbers of aldermen and councillors being increased to 18 and 54 respectively. The wards were reorganised in 1930, with 15 wards each returning three councillorsSam Davies and R E Morley, ''County Borough Elections in England and Wales, 1919-1938: A Comparative Analysis'', London, 1999, pp.145 -162 From then until the abolition of the county borough the council consisted of the mayor, 15 aldermen and 45 councillors. The 1930 wards were: * Addington *

* Bensham Manor * Broad Green *Central *

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

* South *

South Norwood South Norwood is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Wood ...

Thornton Heath Thornton Heath is a district of Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is around north of the town of Croydon, and south of Charing Cross. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, Thornton Heath was in the Co ...

* Upper Norwood *

*West Thornton * Woodside *Whitehorse Manor The wards were slightly reorganised with the creation of

ward and the amalgamation of two wards as "South and Waddon" by 1955.''The Parliamentary Constituencies (Croydon) Order, 1955'' (S.I. 1955 No. 174)

Politics

From its incorporation the council was controlled by parties allied to the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, known as the Coalition Party or Ratepayers Association. The Ratepayers Association was more formally organised as an anti- Labour Party grouping after 1900, and was supported by both the Conservatives and the Liberals, who seldom fielded candidates. Croydon was constituted a parliamentary constituency in 1885, with the same boundaries as the borough. In 1918 the county borough was divided into

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and South constituencies. For the general election of 1950 representation increased to three: Croydon North,

and

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

. In 1955 the boundaries were altered to create Croydon North East,

North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

and South.

Coat of arms

The municipal borough was granted a

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

on 16 October 1886 by the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovere ...

, and this was inherited by the county borough. With its quartered shield and its complicated design, the coat of arms was in a style typical of grants to municipal corporations by

Albert Woods Sir Albert William Woods (16 April 18167 January 1904) was an English officer of arms, who served as Garter Principal King of Arms from 1869 to 1904. The Woods family has a strong tradition of service at the College of Arms. Albert Woods was t ...

, then Garter Principal King of Arms. Most of the emblems on the shield were related to the Archbishops of Canterbury, who had a palace in Croydon. The three

chough There are two species of passerine birds commonly called chough ( ) that constitute the genus ''Pyrrhocorax'' of the Corvidae (crow) family of birds. These are the red-billed chough (''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax''), and the Alpine chough (or yellow- ...

s are associated with

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

and appear in the arms of the city of

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

. The cross crosslets came from the arms of the

Diocese of Canterbury The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering East Kent, eastern Kent which was founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. The diocese is centred on Canterbury Cathedral and is the oldest episcopal see, see of the Church o ...

. The flory cross bearing three gold discs was taken from the arms of Archbishop John Whitgift. The embattled fesse in the fourth quarter represented a town wall and thus municipal government. The crest on top of the helm featured a grassy mound and heraldic fountain, for the Croydon Bourne. On either side was a sprig of rye-grass, for the irrigation meadows of Beddington Sewage Farm. The crest also contained a gold crozier, another reference to the archbishops, and a crossed sword and tilting spear for the

East India Company Military Seminary The East India Company Military Seminary was a British military academy at Addiscombe, Surrey, in what is now the London Borough of Croydon. It opened in 1809 and closed in 1861. Its purpose was to train young officers to serve in the East India ...

at Addiscombe. The motto, which was in

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 ...

, was ''Sanitate Crescamus'' ("May we grow in health").C. W. Scott-Giles, ''Civic Heraldry of England and Wales'', 2nd edition, London, 1953 Some charges from these arms were used, together with some charges from the coat of arms of

, to form the new

coat of arms of the London Borough of Croydon The coat of arms of the London Borough of Croydon is the official heraldic arms of the London Borough of Croydon, granted on 10 December 1965. The borough was created by uniting the County Borough of Croydon (granted arms in 1886) and the Coulsd ...

in 1965.

References

External links

Croydon MB/CB through time
A Vision of Britain
Previous Mayors
Croydon Online {{DEFAULTSORT:Croydon Districts abolished by the London Government Act 1963 History of the London Borough of Croydon County boroughs of England History of local government in London (1889–1965) Greater London predecessors