Municipal Borough of Dagenham

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Dagenham
Motto: Judge us by our deeds
Geography
Status Civil parish
Urban district (until 1938)
Municipal borough (after 1938)
1931/1951 area 6,554 acres
1961 area 6,565 acres
HQ Becontree Heath
History
Created 1926
Abolished 1965
Succeeded by London Borough of Barking
London Borough of Redbridge
Demography
1931 population
- 1931 density		 89,362
14/acre
1951 population
- 1951 density		 114,568
17/acre
1961 population
- 1961 density		 108,368
16/acre
Politics
Governance Dagenham Urban District Council
Dagenham Borough Council
Arms of the former municipal borough
Coat of arms of Dagenham Borough Council

Dagenham was a local government district in south west Essex from 1926 to 1965 covering the parish of Dagenham. It was part of the Metropolitan Police District.


Contents

[edit] Formation

It had been suggested in 1920 that the Dagenham parish should be removed from Romford Rural District, and its area divided between Ilford Urban District and Barking Town Urban District,[1] because of the dramatic rise in population caused by the change in use of land from mostly farming to the large scale suburban housing development of the Becontree estate and industrial use such as the Ford Motor Company factory. Instead the urban district was created in 1926 from the parish of Dagenham.

[edit] District and borough

A move was mooted in 1929 to either combine Dagenham with Barking and Ilford (the three districts to contain parts of the Becontree estate), or for Dagenham to gain part of Barking;[1] but it was not acted upon.

Dagenham gained the status of municipal borough in 1938.[2] The council built an impressive art deco style town hall, which opened in 1937 and is now used as the Barking and Dagenham Civic Centre.[3] It is located at Becontree Heath, the ancient meeting place of the Becontree hundred.

The parish and district included a long protrusion northwards to include Chadwell Heath, Marks Gate, Hog Hill and part of Hainault Forest,[4] and formed a boundary with Chigwell.

[edit] Abolition

The borough was considered to form part of the Greater London Conurbation, as defined by the Registrar General. The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London considered the district for inclusion in Greater London and in 1965 it was abolished by the London Government Act 1963, with its former area transferred to Greater London from Essex,[5] to be combined with parts of other districts, including Barking, to form the London Borough of Barking (now known as the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham). The northern tip of the protustion northwards towards Chigwell became part of the London Borough of Redbridge along with the south eastern part of Chigwell Urban District.

[edit] Population

The population of the parish grew considerably after the building of the Becontree estate from 1921; it peaked in 1951.

Year[6] 1861 1871 1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1951 1961
Population 2,708 2,879 3,411 4,324 6,091 7,930 9,127 89,362 114,568 108,368

[edit] Gallery

Dagenham Town Hall.

Dagenham Town Hall main entrance.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b British History Online - "The borough of Barking". Date accessed: 5 May 2007.
  2. ^ Vision of Britain - Dagenham MB
  3. ^ Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council - London Open House - Dagenham Civic Centre
  4. ^ Vision of Britain - Dagenham parish (Historic map)
  5. ^ HMSO, London Government Act 1963, (1963)
  6. ^ Vision of Britain - Dagenham population