Metropolitan Borough of Stepney

The Metropolitan Borough of Stepney was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London created in 1900. In 1965 it became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Boundaries

The borough was created by combining the areas of the following civil parishes and extra parochial places:

• Limehouse (Limehouse Board of Works)
• Mile End New Town (Whitechapel Board of Works)
• Mile End Old Town (vestry)
• Liberty of Norton Folgate (part) (Whitechapel Board of Works)
• Old Artillery Ground (Whitechapel Board of Works)
• Ratcliff (Limehouse Board of Works)
• St Botolph Without Aldgate (Whitechapel Board of Works)
• St George in the East (vestry)
• Shadwell (Limehouse Board of Works)
• Spitalfields (Whitechapel Board of Works)
• Liberties of the Tower of London (Whitechapel Board of Works)
• Wapping (Limehouse Board of Works)
• Whitechapel (Whitechapel Board of Works)

The area maps roughly to the London postcode E1.

The road sign in front of Mile End tube station and a street sign on Leman Street in Aldgate still have the wording "Borough of Stepney" just visible on them.

Borough seal and coat of arms

On the formation of the metropolitan borough the corporation adopted a seal depicting the patron saints of the parishes that made up the borough. These were St Anne, Limehouse, St Mary Matfelon, Whitechapel, St Dunstan, for Stepney and St George in the East. In the centre was a depiction of the Tower of London. At the top of the seal was a sailing ship, recalling the legend that all persons born on the high seas, could claim Stepney as their birthplace. The more modern ship and quayside at the bottom of the seal was for the borough's docks.On the left of the seal was a picture of a steam locomotive, for the London and Blackwall Railway, and on the right a loom for the historic weaving industry.

In 1931 the seal was replaced by an official coat of arms, granted by the College of Arms. The main item on the shield is a ship on the waves of the sea, for the various maritime interests of Stepney. At the top of the shield are shown a version of the arms of the City of London, but with an anchor replacing the sword in the city's arms. On either side of this were placed smith's tongs, symbol of St Dunstan, patron saint of Stepney. The crest on the top of the helm featured a mural crown, representing the battlements of the Tower of London. Atop the crown were two crossed gold anchors. The Latin motto: A magnis ad maiora, can be translated as from great things to greater. When Stepney became part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the arms of the new borough were based on Stepney's, and an English language version of the motto was adopted.

Population and area

The area of the borough was 1,766 acres (7.1 km²). The populations recorded in National Censuses were:

Stepney Civil Parish 1801-1899

Metropolitan Borough 1900-1961

Sources

• Youngs, F. A., Guide to Local Administrative Units of England, Vol. 1, Southern England, London, 1979
• Vision of Britain website [1]

References

See also

• London Government Act 1899
• Metropolis Management Act 1855