- Metropolitan Borough of Stepney
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Stepney Motto: A Magnis Ad Maiora (From great things to greater)
Stepney within the County of LondonGeography Status Metropolitan borough (1900—1965)
Civil parish (1927—1965)1911/1931 area 1,766 acres (7.15 km2) 1961 area 1,771 acres (7.17 km2) HQ 227-233 Commercial Road History Created 1900 Abolished 1965 Succeeded by London Borough of Tower Hamlets Demography 1911 population
- 1911 density279,804
158/acre1931 population
- 1931 density225,238
127/acre1961 population
- 1961 density92,000
52/acrePolitics Governance Stepney Borough Council
Coat of arms of the borough council
Borough sealThe Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965 it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Contents
Boundaries
The borough was created by combining the areas of the following civil parishes and extra parochial places:
- Limehouse (Limehouse Board of Works)
- Mile End New Town (Whitechapel Board of Works)
- Mile End Old Town (vestry)
- Liberty of Norton Folgate (part) (Whitechapel Board of Works)
- Old Artillery Ground (Whitechapel Board of Works)
- Ratcliff (Limehouse Board of Works)
- St Botolph Without Aldgate (Whitechapel Board of Works)
- St George in the East (vestry)
- Shadwell (Limehouse Board of Works)
- Spitalfields (Whitechapel Board of Works)
- Liberties of the Tower of London (Whitechapel Board of Works)
- Wapping (Limehouse Board of Works)
- Whitechapel (Whitechapel Board of Works)
The area maps roughly to the London postcode E1.
The road sign in front of Mile End tube station and a street sign on Leman Street in Aldgate still have the wording "Borough of Stepney" just visible on them.
Borough seal and coat of arms
On the formation of the metropolitan borough the corporation adopted a seal depicting the patron saints of the parishes that made up the borough. These were St Anne, Limehouse, St Mary Matfelon, Whitechapel, St Dunstan, for Stepney and St George in the East. In the centre was a depiction of the Tower of London. At the top of the seal was a sailing ship, recalling the legend that all persons born on the high seas, could claim Stepney as their birthplace. The more modern ship and quayside at the bottom of the seal was for the borough's docks.On the left of the seal was a picture of a steam locomotive, for the London and Blackwall Railway, and on the right a loom for the historic weaving industry.
In 1931 the seal was replaced by an official coat of arms, granted by the College of Arms. The main item on the shield is a ship on the waves of the sea, for the various maritime interests of Stepney. At the top of the shield are shown a version of the arms of the City of London, but with an anchor replacing the sword in the city's arms. On either side of this were placed smith's tongs, symbol of St Dunstan, patron saint of Stepney. The crest on the top of the helm featured a mural crown, representing the battlements of the Tower of London. Atop the crown were two crossed gold anchors. The Latin motto: A magnis ad maiora, can be translated as from great things to greater. When Stepney became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the arms of the new borough were based on Stepney's, and an English language version of the motto was adopted.
Population and area
The area of the borough was 1,766 acres (7.1 km2). The populations recorded in National Censuses were:
Stepney Civil Parish 1801-1899
Year[1] 1801 1811 1821 1831 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891 Population 113,281 131,606 153,749 175,088 203,802 238,910 257,497 275,467 282,676 285,225 Metropolitan Borough 1900-1961
Year[2] 1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 Population 298,600 279,804 249,657 225,238 [3] 98,858 92,000 Sources
A statue of Clement Attlee, mayor of Stepney (1919) and MP for Limehouse stands outside Limehouse Library.- Youngs, F. A., Guide to Local Administrative Units of England, Vol. 1, Southern England, London, 1979
- Vision of Britain website [1]
References
- ^ Statistical Abstract for London, 1901 (Vol. IV).
- ^ Stepney MetB: Census Tables at Vision of Britain accessed on 14 Dec 2006
- ^ The census was suspended for World War II
See also
Local government districts abolished or transferred by the London Government Act 1963 London · CC Battersea · Bermondsey · Bethnal Green · Camberwell · Chelsea · Deptford · Finsbury · Fulham · Greenwich · Hackney · Hammersmith · Hampstead · Holborn · Islington · Kensington · Lambeth · Lewisham · Paddington · Poplar · Shoreditch · Southwark · St. Marylebone · St. Pancras · Stepney · Stoke Newington · Wandsworth · Westminster · Woolwich
Constituent parts of Greater LondonEssex Barking · Chigwell (part) · Chingford · Dagenham · East Ham · Hornchurch · Ilford · Leyton · Romford · Walthamstow · Wanstead and Woodford · West Ham
Hertfordshire Middlesex · CC Acton · Brentford and Chiswick · Ealing · Edmonton · Enfield · Feltham · Finchley · Friern Barnet · Harrow · Hayes and Harlington · Hendon · Heston and Isleworth · Hornsey · Ruislip-Northwood · Southall · Southgate · Tottenham · Twickenham · Uxbridge · Wembley · Willesden · Wood Green · Yiewsley and West Drayton
Kent Surrey Transfers Categories:- Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London
- History of Tower Hamlets
- 1900 establishments in the United Kingdom
- 1965 disestablishments
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