Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell

Camberwell
Camberwell
	; The former Camberwell Town Hall
	; The Borough of Camberwell within the County of London;
Area
• 1911/1931	4,480 acres (18.1 km2)
• 1961	4,482 acres (18.14 km2)
Population
• 1911	261,328
• 1931	251,294
• 1961	175,304
Density
• 1911	58/acre
• 1931	56/acre
• 1961	39/acre
History
• Origin	Ancient parish
• Abolished	1965
• Succeeded by	London Borough of Southwark
Status	Civil parish (until 1965); Metropolitan borough (1900–1965)
Government	Camberwell Vestry (1674–1900, reformed 1855); Camberwell Borough Council (1900–1965)
• HQ	St Giles's Church (1674–1827); Vestry Hall, Havil Street (1827–1873); Vestry Hall, Peckham Road (1873–1934); Town Hall, Peckham Road (1934–1965)
• Motto	All's well
	; Coat of arms of the borough council;
	Map of borough boundary

Camberwell was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in south London, England. Camberwell was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey, governed by an administrative vestry from 1674. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Board of Works in 1855 and became part of the County of London in 1889. The parish of Camberwell became a metropolitan borough in 1900, following the London Government Act 1899, with the parish vestry replaced by a borough council. In 1965 the borough was abolished and its former area became part of the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London.

Geography

The ancient parish of Camberwell and the three divisions of Camberwell, Dulwich and Peckham

The original parish of Camberwell St Giles had three divisions. They were the Liberty of Peckham to the east, the Hamlet of Dulwich to the southwest and the central division of Camberwell proper. The liberty of Peckham stretched from north of Old Kent Road to Honor Oak, taking in Peckham and Nunhead. Camberwell stretched from what is now Burgess Park in the north to what is now the Horniman Museum in the south, taking in the central Camberwell area around Camberwell Green, the eastern part of Herne Hill and East Dulwich. It included a long protrusion in the west, surrounded by Lambeth, as far as what is now Myatt's Fields Park. The hamlet of Dulwich stretched from Champion Hill in the north to what is now Crystal Palace in the south, taking in Dulwich Village, West Dulwich and Sydenham Hill.

In 1900 the Camberwell/Lambeth boundary was tidied up with an exchange of population (approximately 6,000 each way) which had the effect of transferring Myatt's Fields Park to Lambeth.

Ecclesiastical parishes

The ancient parish, dedicated to St Giles, was in the Diocese of Winchester until 1877, then the Diocese of Rochester until 1905, and then finally in the Diocese of Southwark. From 1825, as the population of Camberwell increased, a number of new parishes were formed:^[2]

St George, Camberwell In 1825
Christ Church, Old Kent Road In 1838
Emmanuel, Camberwell In 1842
St Mary Magdalene, Peckham In 1842
Camden Chapel, Camberwell In 1844
St Matthew, Denmark Hill In 1848
St Chrysostom, Peckham In 1865
St John the Evangelist, East Dulwich In 1865
St Andrew, Peckham In 1866
St Peter, Dulwich Common In 1867 ^[3]
St Stephen, South Dulwich In 1868
All Saints, Blenheim Grove, Peckham In 1872
St James, Knatchbull Road, Camberwell In 1874
St Antony (formerly St Antholin), Nunhead In 1878
St Luke, Rosemary Road, Peckham In 1878
St Jude, Peckham In 1880
St Saviour, Denmark Park In 1881
St Mark, Peckham In 1884
St Clement, East Dulwich In 1886
St Batholemew, South Bermondsey In 1887
All Saints, North Peckham In 1892
St Barnabas, Dulwich In 1894
St Silas, Nunhead In 1895 ^[3]

In addition, as the population of neighbouring areas increased, parts of Camberwell parish were included in new parishes:

St Paul, Herne Hill In 1845 with parts of St Mary, Lambeth^[4]
St Philip, Avondale Square In 1876 with parts of St Anne, Bermondsey^[5]
St Mark, Camberwell In 1880 with parts of All Saints, Newington^[6]

Coat of arms

The corporation was granted arms in 1901. The shield depicted the main areas of the borough. In the first and fourth quarter was a well, for Camberwell. The second quarter was for Dulwich: the chevron and cinquefoils from the arms of Edward Alleyn, founder of Alleyn's School. The third quarter represented Peckham: the lion was from the arms of Robert, Earl of Gloucester, one time lord of the manor.

The crest depicted a wounded hart, symbol of St Giles, patron saint of Camberwell.

In 1927 the borough was additionally granted an heraldic badge and standard. The badge depicted a Camberwell beauty butterfly.

Politics

Under the Metropolis Management Act 1855 any parish that exceeded 2,000 ratepayers was to be divided into wards; as such the incorporated vestry of St Giles Camberwell was divided into six wards (electing vestrymen): No. 1 or St George's West (12), No. 2 or St George's East (12), No. 3 or Camden (12), No. 4 or North Peckham (15), No. 5 or South Peckham (15) and No. 6 or Camberwell & Dulwich (18).^[7]^[8]^[9]

In 1894 as its population had increased the incorporated vestry was re-divided into eight wards (electing vestrymen): St George's West (15), St George's East (12), Camden (12), North Peckham (21), South Peckham (21), North Dulwich (15), Central Dulwich (12) and South Dulwich (12).^[10]^[11]

The metropolitan borough was divided into twenty wards for elections: Addington, Alleyn, Clifton, Coburg, Goldsmith, Lyndhurst, Marlborough, North Peckham, Nunhead, Ruskin, Rye Lane, St George's, St Giles, St John's, St Mary's, The College, The Hamlet, The Rye, The West and Town Hall.^[12]^[13]

Borough council

From 1900 to 1934 the borough was controlled by the Municipal Reform Party (allied to the Conservatives). In 1934 the Labour Party gained control, which they retained until abolition in 1965.

Parliament constituency

For elections to Parliament, the borough was divided into three constituencies:

In 1918 the borough's representation was increased to four seats:

In 1950 the number of seats was halved to 2:

Population and area

The area of the borough was 4,480 acres (18.1 km²). The population, as recorded at the census, was:

Camberwell Vestry 1801–1899

Population	7,059	11,309	17,876	28,231	39,868	54,667	71,488	111,306	186,593	235,344
Year^[14]	1801	1811	1821	1831	1841	1851	1861	1871	1881	1891

Metropolitan Borough 1900–1961

Population	259,339	261,328	267,198	251,294	^[16]	179,777	175,304
Year^[15]	1901	1911	1921	1931	1941	1951	1961

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Vision of Britain - Camberwell population (area and density)
^ A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4.
^ ^a ^b Genuki.
^ A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4.
^ A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4.
^ A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4.
^ The London Gazette Issue: 21802. 20 October 1855. pp. 3883–3884. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
^ "H.M.S.O. Boundary Commission Report 1885 Camberwell Map". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
^ "H.M.S.O. Boundary Commission Report 1885 Camberwell 2 Map". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
^ The London Gazette Issue: 26542. 14 August 1894. pp. 4707–4709. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
^ The London Gazette Issue: 26563. 23 October 1894. p. 5934. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
^ Post Office London County Suburbs Directory, 1919. 1919. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
^ "Ordnance Survey 'County Series 3rd Edition' Map of London (1912-14) at 1:2500 scale".
^ Statistical Abstract for London, 1901 (Vol. IV); Census tables for Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell
^ Census Tables for the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell accessed 14 Jun 2007
^ The census was suspended for World War II

External links

A Vision of Britain

51°28′27″N 0°04′58″W / 51.4741°N 0.0828°W / 51.4741; -0.0828

[vision_pop-1] Vision of Britain - Camberwell population (area and density)

[Camberwell-2] A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4.

[GENUKI-3] Genuki.

[Lambeth-4] A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4.

[Bermondsey-5] A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4.

[Newington-6] A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 4.

[7] The London Gazette Issue: 21802. 20 October 1855. pp. 3883–3884. Retrieved 8 April 2015.

[8] "H.M.S.O. Boundary Commission Report 1885 Camberwell Map". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 8 April 2015.

[9] "H.M.S.O. Boundary Commission Report 1885 Camberwell 2 Map". Vision of Britain. Retrieved 8 April 2015.

[10] The London Gazette Issue: 26542. 14 August 1894. pp. 4707–4709. Retrieved 8 April 2015.

[11] The London Gazette Issue: 26563. 23 October 1894. p. 5934. Retrieved 8 April 2015.

[12] Post Office London County Suburbs Directory, 1919. 1919. Retrieved 18 February 2015.

[13] "Ordnance Survey 'County Series 3rd Edition' Map of London (1912-14) at 1:2500 scale".

[14] Statistical Abstract for London, 1901 (Vol. IV); Census tables for Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell

[15] Census Tables for the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell accessed 14 Jun 2007

[16] The census was suspended for World War II

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

v t e Local government districts abolished or transferred by the London Government Act 1963
London CC	Battersea Bermondsey Bethnal Green Camberwell Chelsea Deptford Finsbury Fulham Greenwich Hackney Hammersmith Hampstead Holborn Islington Kensington Lambeth Lewisham Paddington Poplar Shoreditch Southwark St. Marylebone St. Pancras Stepney Stoke Newington Wandsworth Westminster Woolwich	Constituent parts of Greater London
Essex	Barking Chigwell (part) Chingford Dagenham East Ham Hornchurch Ilford Leyton Romford Walthamstow Wanstead and Woodford West Ham
Hertfordshire	Barnet East Barnet
Middlesex, CC	Acton Brentford and Chiswick Ealing Edmonton Enfield Feltham Finchley Friern Barnet Harrow Hayes and Harlington Hendon Heston and Isleworth Hornsey Ruislip-Northwood Southall Southgate Tottenham Twickenham Uxbridge Wembley Willesden Wood Green Yiewsley and West Drayton
Kent	Beckenham Bexley Bromley Chislehurst and Sidcup Crayford Erith Orpington Penge
Surrey	Barnes Beddington and Wallington Carshalton Coulsdon and Purley Croydon Kingston-upon-Thames Malden and Coombe Merton and Morden Mitcham Sutton and Cheam Surbiton Richmond Wimbledon
Transfers	Middlesex to Hertfordshire: Potters Bar Middlesex to Surrey: Staines Sunbury-on-Thames

v t e Metropolitan Board of Works
Boards of works	Fulham Greenwich Hackney Holborn Lee/Plumstead Lewisham Limehouse Poplar St Giles St Olave St Saviour's Strand Wandsworth Westminster Whitechapel	Headquarters at Spring Gardens
Incorporated vestries	Battersea Bermondsey Bethnal Green Camberwell Chelsea Clerkenwell Fulham Hackney Hammersmith Hampstead Islington Kensington Lambeth Mile End Old Town Newington Paddington Plumstead Rotherhithe St George Hanover Square St George in the East St Luke's St Martin-in-the-Fields St Marylebone St Pancras Shoreditch Southwark St George the Martyr Stoke Newington Westminster St Margaret and St John Westminster St James Woolwich
Undertakings	Metropolitan Buildings Office Metropolitan Commission of Sewers Metropolitan Fire Brigade
Major works	Charing Cross Road Hammersmith Bridge London sewer system Northumberland Avenue Putney Bridge Southwark Street Shaftesbury Avenue Thames Embankment Waterloo Bridge
Legislation	Royal Commission on the City of London Metropolis Management Act 1855 Metropolis Management Amendment Act 1885 Local Government Act 1888 London Government Act 1899
People	Francis Fowler Frederick Marrable James McGarel-Hogg John Thwaites Joseph Bazalgette List of members

v t e History of the formation of the London Borough of Southwark
Metropolitan boroughs	Bermondsey Camberwell Southwark
District boards	St Saviour's St Olave
Parishes	Bermondsey Camberwell Newington Rotherhithe Southwark Christchurch Southwark St George the Martyr Southwark St John Horsleydown Southwark St Mary Overie Southwark St Margaret Southwark St Olave Southwark St Saviour Southwark St Thomas
Liberties	Clink Mint Paris Garden