London

London ⁱ/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. It was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1.12-square-mile (2.9 km²) medieval boundaries and in 2011 had a resident population of 7,375, making it the smallest city in England. Since at least the 19th century, the term London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms Greater London, a region of England governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The conurbation also covers two English counties: the small district of the City of London and the county of Greater London. The latter constitutes the vast majority of London, though historically it was split between Middlesex (a now abolished county), Essex, Surrey, Kent and Hertfordshire.

Bethnal Green

Coordinates: 51°31′39″N 0°03′58″W / 51.5275°N 0.066°W / 51.5275; -0.066

Bethnal Green is a town in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Located 3.3 miles (5.3 km) northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney, Middlesex.

Following population increases caused by the expansion of London during the 18th century, it was split off from Stepney as the parish of Bethnal Green in 1743, becoming part of the Metropolis in 1855 and the County of London in 1889. The parish became the Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green in 1900 and the population peaked in 1901, entering a period of steady decline which lasted until 1981.

The economic history of Bethnal Green is characterised by a shift away from agricultural provision for the City of London to market gardening, weaving and light industry, which has now all but disappeared. The quality of the built environment had deteriorated by the turn of the 20th century and was radically reformed by the aerial bombardment during the Second World War and the subsequent social housing developments. Some 173 people were killed at a single incident at Bethnal Green tube station in 1943. Bethnal Green has formed part of Greater London since 1965.

Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green

Bethnal Green was a civil parish and a metropolitan borough in the East End of London, England.

It was formed as a civil parish in 1743 from the Bethnal Green hamlet in Stepney ancient parish, and the church of St Matthew, Bethnal Green was dedicated in 1746.

The vestry became an electing authority to the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and in 1889 it became part of the County of London. In the 1900 reform of local government caused by the London Government Act 1899 the parish became a metropolitan borough which bordered Hackney, Poplar, Stepney and Shoreditch. In 1965 it was abolished and merged into the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Origins

Until 1743 Bethnal Green formed a hamlet within the large parish of Stepney. By the 17th century the settlement had achieved a measure of self-government, with its own overseer, constable and beadle. It remained a rural area until the beginning of the 18th century, when the expansion of suburban London saw the development of the Brick Lane area in the south west of the hamlet. The population rapidly increased and in 1743 an act of parliament constituted Bethnal Green as a separate parish. As well as forming a parish for ecclesiastical purposes, Bethnal Green was also created a civil parish with responsibility for relief of the poor and maintenance of highways. The government of the parish was shared by a vestry, governors of the poor and two separate bodies of trustees. A further board of paving and lighting commissioners were established in 1843.

Bethnal Green (disambiguation)

Bethnal Green is a district of London.

Bethnal Green can also refer to:

Bethnal Green (UK Parliament constituency)

Bethnal Green was a parliamentary constituency in the Bethnal Green area of the East End of London, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election.

It was then partly replaced by the new Bethnal Green and Bow constituency.

Boundaries

This area had been part of the County of London since 1889, having previously been part of the historic county of Middlesex.

The constituency, when created in 1950, comprised the whole of the Metropolitan Borough of Bethnal Green in the County of London. In 1955 part of the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney was added to the seat. The wards involved were Triangle, Victoria and Wick.

In 1965 Bethnal Green became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in Greater London. Hackney was expanded to form the London Borough of Hackney.

Members of Parliament

Elections

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s