County of London

The County of London was a county in England that existed from 1889 to 1965. It covered the area known today as Inner London. The county was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which introduced elected county governments across England. The local authority for the county was called the London County Council, or LCC, which started with few powers but gained more over time.

The County of London included the City of London, but the two were separate for certain official purposes. In 1900, the smaller local areas within the county were reorganized into 28 new metropolitan boroughs. Over the years, many people moved to live in the outer parts of London, causing the population of the county to decrease.

In 1965, the London Government Act 1963 replaced the County of London with a much larger area called Greater London, which we still use today. The old county covered about 74,903 acres, or 303.12 km², in 1961.

Geography

The County of London covered nearly 75,000 acres and sat inside the London Basin. The River Thames split it into two parts, north and south, and was its most important feature. It bordered the River Lea with Essex to the northeast, Kent to the southeast, Surrey to the southwest, and Middlesex to the northwest. The highest spot was Hampstead Heath in the north, standing at 440 feet above the ground. It is one of the highest points in London. In 1900, some border issues were fixed, like losing Alexandra Park to Middlesex but gaining South Hornsey, and moving Penge to Kent.

History

Creation of the county

The Metropolis Management Act 1855 changed how local government worked in a big area around London. It created a group called the Metropolitan Board of Works to build and keep things like roads and clean water. Later, this group took on more jobs to help the people of London.

In 1888, a new law called the Local Government Act 1888 let leaders create a new county called the County of London. They picked the same area that the Metropolitan Board of Works already looked after. This area did not match where London was really growing, so some places far away were included, and some close places were left out.

County council

Main article: London County Council

The leaders of the new county were called the London County Council. At first, they took over jobs from the old Metropolitan Board of Works. Over time, they added more services, like schools and hospitals. They first worked in a building called Spring Gardens, but later moved to a big office called County Hall. They also built big housing areas outside the county, like one in Becontree.

Local government

In 1900, the county was split into 28 smaller areas called metropolitan boroughs. These took the place of older local groups.

Decline in population

After World War I, the number of people living in the county went down. In 1901, about 4.5 million people lived there, but by 1961, this number fell to 3.2 million. After 1931, more people in the bigger "Greater London" area lived outside the county than inside it.

Abolition

The County of London stopped existing in 1965. It was replaced by a much larger area called Greater London, which included parts of Middlesex, Surrey, Kent, Essex, and Hertfordshire. The 28 smaller areas were combined into 12 new London boroughs.