Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Metropolitan Borough of Stoke Newington was a metropolitan borough in 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 ...
between 1900 and 1965 when it became part of the
London Borough of Hackney 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 ...
.


Formation and boundaries


Predecessor authorities

The borough was the successor to two local authorities: the
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 ...
of Stoke Newington parish in the County of London and the
South Hornsey South Hornsey was a local government district in Middlesex, England from 1865 to 1900. The district was formed in 1865 when the Local Government Act 1858 was adopted in the southern part of the parish of Hornsey. South Hornsey Local Board was ...
Urban District Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...
Council in
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
. Under the
Metropolis Management Act 1855 The Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c.120) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Metropolitan Board of Works, a London-wide body to co-ordinate the construction of the city's infrastructure. The Act al ...
Stoke Newington had been grouped with the neighbouring parish of Hackney under the administration of the Hackney District Board of Works. The union with Hackney was very unpopular with the inhabitants of Stoke Newington, and following unsuccessful attempts to end it in 1864, 1880 and 1890, the parish regained independence in 1894. Stoke Newington Vestry consisted of 60 vestrymen, elected from five wards. South Hornsey formed the southern part of the parish of Hornsey, consisting of the Brownswood Park area south of
Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...
, of Clissold Park and two detached areas entirely surrounded by the parish of Stoke Newington. The exclaves of South Hornsey effectively cut off the south-eastern section of Stoke Newington from the rest of the parish. A
local board 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 to govern the area in 1867, becoming an urban district under 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 ...
.


Formation

The London Government Act 1899 provided that the County of London should be divided into metropolitan boroughs. The new authorities were to based on existing parishes with simplified boundaries. It was intended that each borough would have a population of between 100,000 and 400,000 inhabitants. Where an area fell below the threshold of 100,000 inhabitants, it might still be constituted a borough if it had a rateable value exceeding 500,000 pounds. Stoke Newington presented a problem, as its population fell well below the prescribed limits. It was recognised that there were three possibilities: to recombine the parishes of Hackney and Stoke Newington into a single borough; to divide the existing parish of Hackney and combine the wealthier northern section with Stoke Newington to form a municipality with the boundaries of the Hackney North parliamentary constituency; or to add neighbouring areas of Middlesex to increase the population. The first two options were rejected due to the experience of ''“intolerable and interminable feuds”'' between the districts when they were previously ''"forced together"'', and because the
First Lord of the Treasury The first lord of the Treasury is the head of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is by convention also the prime minister. This office is not equivalent to the ...
,
Arthur Balfour Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, (, ; 25 July 184819 March 1930), also known as Lord Balfour, was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1905. As F ...
recognised that there was ''"great ill-feeling and mutual ill-will... between the inhabitants of the two districts"''; it was therefore decided to merge the bulk of South Hornsey, with a population about 20,000, with Stoke Newington. While this still created a borough of only about 50,000 inhabitants, and thus ''"the smallest borough in London, the anomaly would be a gradually diminishing one, because the population in this district was rapidly increasing. When dividing London up into boroughs they could not avoid creating some anomalies as to size."''


Boundaries

Under the 1899 legislation, boundary commissioners were appointed to set the boundaries of the new boroughs. The existing parish boundaries frequently divided houses or related to field boundaries that had disappeared with the urbanisation of the area. The commissioners realigned the boundary lines so that for the most part they ran down the centre of roads, railways or watercourses. To the north, the borough had a boundary with Middlesex, marked by the course of the New River and the
Seven Sisters Road Seven Sisters Road is a road in north London, England which runs within the boroughs of Islington, Hackney and Haringey. It is an extension of Camden Road, running from Holloway Road (the A1 road) at the Nags Head crossroads then on to another ...
. Stoke Newington's boundaries with the two neighbouring metropolitan boroughs within the County of London were as follows: *
Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
to the west and south: the centres of Blackstock Road, Mountgrove Roads, Green Lanes, (diverting to take in Petherton Road and Leconfield Road) Matthias Road and Boleyn Road. * Hackney to the east and north east: the centre of the ancient
Ermine Street Ermine Street is a major Roman road in England that ran from London ('' Londinium'') to Lincoln (''Lindum Colonia'') and York (''Eboracum''). The Old English name was ''Earninga Strǣt'' (1012), named after a tribe called the ''Earningas' ...
, known here as Kingsland High Street, Stoke Newington Road and Stoke Newington High Street, then following the
North London Railway The North London Railway (NLR) company had lines connecting the northern suburbs of London with the East and West India Docks further east. The main east to west route is now part of London Overground's North London Line. Other NLR lines fe ...
from
Stoke Newington railway station Stoke Newington is a London Overground station on the Lea Valley lines, serving the Stoke Newington area of the London Borough of Hackney. It is down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between and . Its three-letter station c ...
to Bethune Road. (The area to the east of the main road, including Stoke Newington Common, never formed part of Stoke Newington administratively, lying within the parish of Hackney).


Coat of arms

The long association with the dean and chapter of
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...
is represented by the red background and crossed swords. The cross is from the arms of William Patten, first lord of the manor and rebuilder of the church of St Mary, in 1550. The trees represent the ancient forest, and the green lion, that of
John Dudley John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1504Loades 2008 – 22 August 1553) was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Ja ...
. The
griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...
refers to
Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...
, and the banner, the arms of Sir
Thomas Abney Sir Thomas Abney (January 1640 – 6 February 1722) was a merchant and banker who served as Lord Mayor of London for the year 1700 to 1701. Abney was the son of James Abney and was born in Willesley, then in Derbyshire but now in Leicestershire ...
. The Latin motto translates as ''Look to the past and the future'', the arms were granted on 12 June 1934. When merged to found the London Borough of Hackney in 1965, oaks from these arms were put in the new
coat of arms of the London Borough of Hackney The coat of arms of the London Borough of Hackney is the official heraldic arms of the London Borough of Hackney. The coat of arms were granted on 25 July 1969. The present arms is mainly based on the arms of the former Metropolitan Borough of Hac ...
. The coat of arms of 1934 replaced an unofficial device adopted by the council on incorporation in 1900. At the top of the shield was a representation of the parish church. The lower part of the shield featured the arms of the cities of
London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
on the left, and the attributed arms of the
Kingdom of Essex la, Regnum Orientalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the East Saxons , common_name = Essex , era = Heptarchy , status = , status_text = , government_type = Monarch ...
representing
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
on the right. These armorial devices were chosen to represent the union of Stoke Newington in the County of London and South Hornsey in Middlesex. The crest was formed by a tree, recalling Stoke Newington's origin as a village in the Middlesex Forest.


Population and area

Constituent parishes 1801-1900
Statistics compiled by the
London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...
, in 1901 show the population growth in London, over the preceding century. The figures compiled by the council for 1891 do not agree with those that appear in the census reports, however which gave a population of 47,988 for the area. Metropolitan Borough 1900-1961
The area of the parish of Stoke Newington was in 1891. Following the addition of most of South Hornsey and the boundary adjustments with Hackney and Islington, the area of the borough in 1901 was . The populations recorded in National Censuses were:


Politics


Incorporated vestry

In 1891 as its population had increased the parish of St Mary Stoke Newington was divided into five wards (electing
vestrymen A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
): Lordship (15), Church (15), Manor (12), Clissold (9) and Palatine (9).


Borough council

The borough council consisted of 30 councillors and 5
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 ...
. In 1900 the boundary commissioners divided the borough into six wards for the election of councillors:
The first council elected consisted entirely of "Non-Party" candidates, although ''The Times'' noted that they were "Conservative in character". The entire council continued to be described as Independent or Non-Party until the 1934 election when the Labour Party gained 13 seats to the Independents' 17. Labour gained control of the council in 1945, taking all of the seats on the council. 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 ...
first ran in the 1949 election, winning control from Labour by 23 seats to 7. The wards of the borough were redrawn in 1953, with the area divided into ten wards, each electing three councillors. This reflected the change in settlement in the area, in particular the construction of new estates of council flats, including the
London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...
's large
Woodberry Down Manor House, also known as Woodberry Down, is an area of North London in the northwest corner of the London Borough of Hackney. It lies immediately east of Finsbury Park, north of Stoke Newington, west of Stamford Hill and Seven Sisters, and ...
development which housed about a seventh of the borough's population. The names of the wards, a number of which were named after famous residents of Stoke Newington, were as follows: *Brownswood *Church *Clissold *Defoe *Lordship *Manor *Milton *Palatine *Wilberforce *Woodberry Labour regained power at the 1953 election with 24 seats to 6 Conservatives. They held control at subsequent elections, taking all the seats in 1959. The final election of the council on 10 May 1962 saw four
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
councillors elected to form an opposition group to the 26 Labour members.


Parliamentary constituency

Until 1918 the area formed part of the constituency of Hackney North. In 1918 a new constituency of Stoke Newington identical with the metropolitan borough was created. Due to loss of population, the two constituencies were merged in 1950 as
Hackney North and Stoke Newington Hackney North and Stoke Newington is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since 1987 by Diane Abbott of the Labour Party, who served as Shadow Home Secretary from 6 October 2016 to 5 April 2020. Abbott was o ...
.F A Youngs, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England, Vol. I, Royal Historical Society, London, 1979


See also

*
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 ...
*
Metropolis Management Act 1855 The Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c.120) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Metropolitan Board of Works, a London-wide body to co-ordinate the construction of the city's infrastructure. The Act al ...


References


Further reading

*


External links


Interior of Stoke Newington's underground control centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoke Newington, Metropolitan Borough of Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London History of the London Borough of Hackney 1900 establishments in the United Kingdom 1965 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Districts abolished by the London Government Act 1963 Metropolitan Borough of