| Metropolitan borough (London) | |
| Alt Name: | Borough |
| Category: | Local government district |
| Territory: | England |
| Upper Unit: | County of London |
| Start Date: | 1900 |
| Legislation Begin: | London Government Act 1899 |
| Legislation End: | London Government Act 1963 |
| End Date: | 1965 |
| Current Number: | 28 |
| Number Date: | 1965 |
| Status: | City (1) |
| Status1: | Royal (1) |
| Government: | Borough Councils |
Metropolitan boroughs were subdivisions of the County of London from 1900 to 1965. The 28 boroughs were created by the London Government Act 1899.[1] In 1965 they were abolished and replaced by larger London boroughs within the new area of Greater London.
The City of London, indicated no. 1 on the map, was not a metropolitan borough. It predated the metropolitan boroughs and is still in existence.
Parliamentary boroughs covering the metropolitan area were created in 1832. They were Finsbury, Greenwich, Lambeth, Marylebone, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Westminster. Soon after their creation it was proposed that they should be incorporated for local government purposes[2] and this was also a finding of the Royal Commission on the City of London, but this did not happen.
The metropolitan boroughs were created in 1900 by the London Government Act 1899 which created 28 metropolitan boroughs as sub-divisions of the County of London. Their borough councils replaced vestry and district boards as the second tier of local government.
Some boroughs were formed as amalgamations of parishes, but most were continuations of existing units of local government, with the parish vestry or district board elevated to a borough council.[3] With the creation of the boroughs, the opportunity was taken to correct a number of boundary anomalies. All civil parishes in the County of London continued to exist, although their role was reduced to administration of the New Poor Law and they were amalgamated over time to become aligned with the boroughs.
In 1965 the County of London was abolished by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced with the much larger Greater London. The 28 metropolitan boroughs were also abolished and merged to create 12 of the 32 larger London boroughs[4] and are also known as Inner London boroughs.