The Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth was a Metropolitan borough under 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 ...

, from 1900 to 1965.

History

The borough was formed from five

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

es:

Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history ...

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

, Streatham, Tooting Graveney and

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its nam ...

. In 1904 these five were combined into a single civil parish called Wandsworth Borough, which was conterminous with the metropolitan borough. Before 1900 these parishes, and Battersea until 1888, had been administered by the

Wandsworth District Board of Works Wandsworth was a local government district within the metropolitan area of London, England from 1855 to 1900. It was formed by the Metropolis Management Act 1855 and was governed by the Wandsworth District Board of Works, which consisted of elec ...

Coat of arms

The coat of arms were granted on 6 July 1901. The blue wavy division represents the Rivers Wandle and

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 ...

. French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

refugees arrived in the area in 1685, and the blue drops represent the tears of their struggle. The five stars represent the constituent former parishes. At the top is a long boat, with a dragon's head, commemorating 9th century Danish incursions along the river. The borough council's motto was ''We Serve''.

Population and area

The borough covered , which made it the largest in the County of London. The population recorded in the Census was: Constituent parishes 1801–1899 Metropolitan Borough 1900–1961

Politics

The borough was divided into nine wards for elections: Balham, Clapham North, Clapham South, Fairfield, Putney, Southfield, Springfield, Streatham and Tooting.

Borough council

Parliament constituency

For elections to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, the borough was divided into one and a half constituencies: *

In 1918 the borough's representation was increased to five seats: * Balham and Tooting *

* Streatham * Wandsworth Central In 1950 the borough's representation was reduced to four seats: *

* Streatham * Wandsworth Central

Replacement

When the metropolitan boroughs were replaced with larger

London borough The London boroughs are the 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were all created at ...

s in 1965, this borough was split. The core area of Wandsworth (about ) became part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, along with the former Metropolitan Borough of Battersea, but the areas of Streatham and Clapham (totalling ) became part of the London Borough of Lambeth.

References

External links

Vision of Britain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wandsworth, Metropolitan Borough of Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London History of the London Borough of Lambeth History of the London Borough of Wandsworth 1900 establishments in the United Kingdom 1965 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Districts abolished by the London Government Act 1963