Coulsdon and Purley Urban District was a local government district in northeast

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. ...

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 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; ...

in Greater London, with parts in the

Tandridge District Tandridge is a local government district in east Surrey, England. Its council is based in Oxted, although the largest settlement is Caterham; other notable settlements include Warlingham, Godstone and Lingfield. In mid-2019, the district had an e ...

and the Borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey.

Creation

The population of

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 ...

doubled from 1901 to 1911 as suburban house building took place, with 11,389 in Coulsdon and 2,853 in Sanderstead in 1911. In both cases, the population was much higher than would be typical for rural parishes.

Surrey County Council Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party has ...

made an order in 1914 to abolish the rural district and this was completed in 1915. The new Coulsdon and Purley Urban District consisted of the parish of Coulsdon, including the settlements of

Coulsdon Coulsdon (, traditionally pronounced ) is a town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, in the ceremonial county of Greater London since 1965. Prior to this it was part of the historic county of Surrey. History The loc ...

Kenley Kenley is an area within the London Borough of Croydon. Prior to its incorporation into Greater London in 1965 it was in the historic county of Surrey. It is situated south of Purley, east of Coulsdon, north of Caterham and Whyteleafe and w ...

and Purley, and the parish of

Sanderstead Sanderstead is a village and medieval-founded church parish at the southern end of Croydon in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, and formerly in the historic county of Surrey, until 1965. It takes in Purley Downs and S ...

. Coulsdon and Purley Urban District Council replaced Coulsdon Parish Council, Sanderstead Parish Council and Croydon Rural District Council. By 1921 the population was 18,140 in Coulsdon and 3,351 in Sanderstead, and the total population had risen to 21,491.

Changes

On 1 October 1929, 59 acres were gained from Godstone Rural District, transferred from the parish of Warlingham to Sanderstead. The

Local Government Act 1929 The Local Government Act 1929 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made changes to the Poor Law and local government in England and Wales. The Act abolished the system of poor law unions in England and Wales and their board ...

required county councils to review the districts within their areas. On 1 April 1933 as part of a county review order under the act, the parish of Farleigh was transferred from

Godstone Rural District Godstone Rural District was a rural district in Surrey, England from 1894 to 1974, covering an area in the south-east of the county. Origins The district had its origins in the Godstone Poor Law Union, which had been created in 1835, covering ...

. The boundaries with

Beddington and Wallington Urban District 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 ...

Carshalton Urban District Carshalton was a local government district in north east Surrey from 1883 to 1965 around the town of Carshalton. The parish of Carshalton adopted the Local Government Act 1858 in 1883 and a local board was formed to govern the town. The Local Gov ...

and

Caterham and Warlingham Urban District Caterham and Warlingham was an Urban District of Surrey in England until 1974. Geographic evolution It was pre-emptively formed shortly before the major national 1933 reforms of boundaries and entities accordingly to take account of population c ...

were subject to minor adjustments. 1,421 acres were gained from the abolished Reigate Rural District, consisting of parts of the parishes of Chaldon, Chipstead and Merstham, included the village of Hooley. The boundary with the

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 ...

was adjusted on 1 April 1933 and again on 1 April 1936.

Governance

In 1915 the electoral wards were Coulsdon, Kenley, Purley, Sanderstead and Woodcote. The electoral wards in 1937 were Coulsdon East, Coulsdon West, Kenley, Purley, Sanderstead, Selsdon and Farleigh, and Woodcote. The rates charged for the district were one of the lowest in Outer London and below the average for the part of Surrey within the Metropolitan Police District.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms were granted on 14 May 1952. 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.

Abolition

The urban district was 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 part of the review area of the

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 ...

. The commission proposed that it should form part of

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

, to be combined with

Caterham and Warlingham Caterham and Warlingham was an Urban District of Surrey in England until 1974. Geographic evolution It was pre-emptively formed shortly before the major national 1933 reforms of boundaries and entities accordingly to take account of population ...

as a new borough. The government broadly accepted the proposal, adding the

to the new borough. Caterham and Warlingham Urban District Council requested that their area be excluded from Greater London and this was accepted by the government. Coulsdon and Purley Urban District Council also requested to be excluded, but were turned down. Charles Doughty, MP for Surrey East proposed an amendment to the London Government Bill to exclude Coulsdon and Purley but was defeated. On 1 April 1965 the urban district was abolished and its former area became part of the

in Greater London.

Farleigh and Hooley transfers

It was anticipated that the practice of combining whole existing units of local government might provide an unsatisfactory boundary in some places. The London Government Act 1963 Section 6 (4) provided a mechanism for communities on the edge of Greater London to petition for transfer to a neighbouring county. The legislation required the petition to be submitted between 1965 and 1970, to be signed by more than 300 local electors and for the area to be transferred to have no more than 10% of the borough's local electors. Following this procedure, in 1969 Farleigh was transferred back to Surrey to form part of the

Chelsham and Farleigh Chelsham and Farleigh is a civil parish in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The parish is high on the North Downs and centred south-southeast of central London and it adjoins the Greater London boundary; it is a predominantly rural/wo ...

parish in

and Hooley became part of

Banstead Urban District Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It is south of Sutton, south-west of Croydon, south-east of Kingston-upon-Thames, and south of Central London. On the North Downs, it is on three of the four mai ...

.Greater London, Kent and Surrey Order 1968

Noted Former Employee

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage, and radio roles. He achieved recognition ...

's autobiography, (pp.35-37), he wrote that his father secured for him a Surveyor's Assistant post in the 'Drawing Department's Surveyor's Office, during the summer of 1933, and that he hated the job, but remained for three years without promotion or advancement due to his lack of ambition in the profession. The only enjoyment he received was drawing perspectives of proposed buildings, which were almost always rejected because they were too imaginative, and expensive and lacked strong foundations, which Cushing disregarded as a "mere detail."

References

{{coord, 51.32, -0.12, type:adm3rd_dim:10000_region:GB-CRY, display=title Districts abolished by the London Government Act 1963 History of the London Borough of Croydon 1915 establishments in England History of local government in London (1889–1965) Urban districts of England