Beddington and Wallington was, from 1915 to 1965, a local government district in north east

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It formed part of the

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 ...

suburbs, lying within the

Metropolitan Police District The Metropolitan Police District (MPD) is the police area which is policed by the Metropolitan Police Service in London. It currently consists of the Greater London region, excluding the City of London. The Metropolitan Police District was create ...

and the

London Passenger Transport Area 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 1965 it was abolished on the creation of

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Urban district

The urban district was created on 1 April 1915, and consisted of the

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 authority ...

es of

Beddington Beddington is a suburban settlement in the London Borough of Sutton on the boundary with the London Borough of Croydon. Beddington is formed from a village of the same name which until early the 20th century still included land which became t ...

and Wallington. The parishes had previously formed part of Croydon Rural District, but the rural district was broken up by an order made by Surrey County Council on 13 September 1913 and confirmed by the Local Government Board on 18 November 1914. The neighbouring

County Borough of Croydon The County Borough of Croydon was a local government district in and around the town of Croydon in north east Surrey, England from 1889 to 1965. Since 1965 the district has been part of the London Borough of Croydon within Greater London. Hi ...

made an attempt to annex Beddington, but its private bill was defeated in parliament. The urban district council was initially based at 37 Manor Road, the former offices of Wallington Parish Council. In 1929 they purchased a house on Woodcote Road, Wallington, as the site of a new

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. The architect chosen was Robert Atkinson, and the building was formally opened on 21 September 1934.

Incorporation

In March 1936 the urban district council petitioned the

privy council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

for the grant of 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 petition was successful, and the

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

was presented to the charter mayor, Sir

Richard Meller Sir Richard James Meller (1872 - 23 June 1940) was a British barrister and Conservative politician. He was born in London, the son of Richard Meller. He was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1904, and became an expert in insurance law. In ...

MP by Lord Ashcombe, the

Lord Lieutenant of Surrey This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Surrey. Since 1737, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Surrey. Lord Lieutenants of Surrey *William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton 1551–1553? *William Howard, ...

at a ceremony in Beddington Park attended by 10,000 people on 15 September 1937.

Borough council

The council had a membership of twenty-eight, comprising twenty-one councillors and seven aldermen. The councillors had a three-year term, with seven retiring annually. Aldermen had a six-year term, with half being chosen by the council every three years. The council elected one its members to the office of

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annually. Elections were suspended from 1939 to 1944 due to the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. From its first election in 1937 the borough council was under independent control. 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 ...

, which was dominant in parliamentary politics in the area, did not contest elections in the borough, so that the nominal "independents" were generally elected by Conservative supporters. The first council election took place on 1 November 1937, and resulted in councillors being elected under the "Independent", "Ratepayers' Association" or "Residents' Association" labels. The Labour Party failed to have any councillors elected. The three groups on the council subsequently formed a single Independent bloc, and held all seats on the council until 1952. In that year there was a nationwide swing to Labour, and the party had two councillors elected, against twenty-six independent councillors and aldermen. Until 1960 there was a small Labour group on the council, never having more than three members. In that year the Independents regained all seats on the council. In the following years both Labour and a resurgent Liberal Party were able to gain a foothold on the council. After the final elections in 1963 the strength of the parties was: Independent 20, Labour 5, Liberal 3.

Coat of arms

The borough council was granted

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

by the

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

on 3 July 1937. Across the centre of the shield was a ''"fess embattled"'', representing the fortified walls of the reputed

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

town of Noviomagus at Woodcote. The

Tudor rose The Tudor rose (sometimes called the Union rose) is the traditional floral heraldic badge, heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the House of Tudor, which united the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The Tudor ...

s stood for

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

and

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

who visited the seat of the Carew family of Beddington. The small shield or ''"inescutcheon"'' in the centre of the arms bore an aeroplane flying over a rising sun. This recorded the presence of

Croydon Airport Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main air ...

in south Beddington. The blue and gold border denoted that the district formed part of Surrey, and was derived from the arms of the de Warenne family, sometime Earls of Surrey. The crest above the shield was an armoured arm in the act of throwing down a gauntlet. This recalled that the

manor Manor may refer to: Land ownership *Manorialism or "manor system", the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of medieval Europe, notably England *Lord of the manor, the owner of an agreed area of land (or "manor") under manorialism *Man ...

of Wallington was anciently held by the Dymock family, who were Hereditary Champions of England.C W Scott-Giles, ''Civic Heraldry of England and Wales'', 2nd edition, London, 1953

Abolition

The borough was abolished in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963, with its area becoming part of the London Borough of Sutton in

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beddington and Wallington Districts abolished by the London Government Act 1963 History of the London Borough of Sutton History of the London Borough of Croydon History of local government in London (1889–1965) Municipal boroughs of England