Romford was a local government district in southwest
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
from 1851 to 1965.Vision of Britain Romford UD/MBhistoric map It was significantly expanded in 1934 and gained the status of
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 ...
in 1937. The population density of the district consistently increased during its existenceVision of Britain Romford populationarea an density and its former area now corresponds to the northern part of the London Borough of Havering in Greater London.
Background and formation
Romford had formed a chapelry in the historic Liberty of Havering, becoming a civil parish in its own right in 1849. In 1851 a
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 set up for the parish; although its area was reduced in 1855 to cover only the southwest part of the parish covering the town. The local board convened at St Edward's Hall in Laurie Square from 1851 to 1853 and used the old liberty court house from 1853 to 1869. From 1869 it was based in offices in the marketplace and finally purchased the old court house in 1892. In 1894 the local board's area became Romford urban district as part of 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 ...
. This caused the parish to be divided into ''Romford Urban'' and ''Romford Rural'', with the outer part becoming a component of
Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London
The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London, also known as the Herbert Commission, was established in 1957 and published its report in 1960. The report made recommendations for the overhaul of the administration of the capital. They ...
considered the borough for inclusion in Greater London and in 1965 the municipal borough was abolished by the
London Government Act 1963
The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...
. Its former area was transferred to Greater London from Essex and combined with that of
Hornchurch Urban District
Hornchurch was a local government district in southwest Essex from 1926 to 1965, formed as an urban district for the civil parish of Hornchurch. It was greatly expanded in 1934 with the addition of Cranham, Great Warley, Rainham, Upminster and W ...
to form the present-day
London Borough of Havering
The London Borough of Havering () in East London, England, forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 259,552 inhabitants; the principal town is Romford, while other communities are Hornchurch, Upminster, Collier Row and Rainham. Th ...
.
Population
Gallery
Image:Havering town hall london entrance.jpg, Romford Town Hall entrance
File:Romford hornchurch boundary marker.JPG, Boundary marker at Roneo Corner