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 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. Under the Metropolis Management Act 1855 the various local government bodies were replaced by a single incorporated vestry. The new body consisted of 48 elected vestrymen, with the parish divided into four wards: the East and North wards were represented by 9 vestrymen each, and the West and South wards by 15 each. The parish was included within the area of the Metropolitan Board of Works to which it nominated one member. In 1889 the Metropolitan Board was replaced by the London County Council, and Bethnal Green was formally removed from Middlesex to the new County of London.
Read more about this topic: Metropolitan Borough Of Bethnal Green
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