Hundred of Blackheath (Kent)

Blackheath was an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England. Its area has been entirely absorbed by the growth of London; with its name currently referring to the Blackheath district.^[1] Its former area now corresponds to the London Borough of Greenwich, the London Borough of Lewisham and part of the London Borough of Bromley.

History

The name is first recorded as Blachehedfeld in 1166, meaning dark-coloured heathland.^[1] The open space at Blackheath, was the location that early hundred meetings took place.^[1] In the Domesday Book of 1086 it is recorded as the hundred of Grenviz (Greenwich),^[2] and part of the Sutton at Hone lathe.^[3] The hundred contained the parishes of Charlton, Chislehurst, St Paul and St Nicholas Deptford, Eltham, Greenwich, Kidbrooke, Lee, Lewisham, Woolwich and Mottingham.

The northern boundary with the Becontree hundred of Essex was the River Thames, however there was also a land boundary; the Woolwich parish included two small detached parts north of the river,^[4] totalling 402 acres (1.6 km²).^[5] Also to the north along the river was a short boundary with the Isle of Dogs and the Tower division of the Ossulstone hundred of Middlesex.^[6] In the west it bordered the Brixton hundred of Surrey. Within Kent, it was bounded by the hundreds of Bromley and Beckenham to the south, Ruxley to the south east and Lesnes to the east.^[6]

In 1831, the hundred occupied 12,650 acres (51 km²).^[7] The parishes of St Paul and St Nicholas, Deptford, and the parish of Greenwich were included in the Metropolitan Police District by the Metropolitan Police Act 1829 and in 1840 the rest of the hundred was included by the Metropolitan Police Act 1839.

The population in 1851 is recorded as 121,753 and in 1861 it is recorded as 187,696.^[8] In 1887 the hundred is recorded as occupying an area of 17,316 acres (70 km²), with a population of 234,987.^[9]

Replacement

The hundreds of England declined in administrative use because of the rise of various ad-hoc boards. In 1855, most of the hundred (except Chislehurst and Mottingham) was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works by the Metropolis Management Act 1855. The hundred was effectively abolished when the area (except Chislehurst and Mottingham) became part of the County of London in 1889. The entire area has formed part of Greater London since 1965.

In 1894 and 1900 all local government functions were effectively replaced by a system of uniform districts, which were consolidated over time and finally replaced in 1965 by the London boroughs which are still in use today.

References