Hornchurch Urban District
| Hornchurch | |
| Motto: A good name endureth | |
 Hornchurch within Essex in 1961 |
|
| Geography | |
| Status | Urban district |
| 1931 area | 6,783 acres (27.4 km2)[1] |
| 1961 area | 19,768 acres (80.0 km2)[1] |
| HQ | Langtons, Hornchurch |
| History | |
| Origin | Hornchurch parish |
| Created | 1926 |
| Abolished | 1965 |
| Succeeded by | London Borough of Havering |
| Demography | |
|---|---|
| 1931 population - 1931 density |
28,417[1] 4/acre |
| 1961 population - 1961 density |
131,014[1] 6.6/acre |
| Politics | |
| Governance | Hornchurch Urban District Council |
 Coat of arms of Hornchurch Urban District Council |
|
Hornchurch was a local government district in south west Essex, England from 1926 to 1965. The urban district council was based at Langtons House. The district formed a suburb of London and was expanded in 1934. It now forms the greater part of the London Borough of Havering in Greater London.
Contents |
[edit] Background and formation
The parish of Hornchurch had been coterminous with the liberty and manor of Havering since its formation in antiquity. Havering-atte-Bower and Romford formed chapelries and were split off as parishes in the 1790s and 1849 respectively. The liberty was abolished in 1892; although by this date in Hornchurch it had already been superseded by various ad-hoc bodies, such as the Romford Poor Law Union and the Romford Rural Sanitary District. The Hornchurch parish passed to Romford Rural District in 1894 and formed part of the London Traffic Area from 1924. The parish went on to form an urban district in 1926.
[edit] History
As part of a county review order in 1934 the urban district gained 1,326 acres (5.37 km2) from Orsett Rural District and 11,687 acres (47.30 km2) from Romford Rural District. This area corresponded to all of the Rainham and Wennington parishes and the greater part of Upminster, Cranham, Great Warley and North Ockendon. Cranham was enlarged by the abolition of North Ockendon as a separate parish. The council operated Queen's Theatre[2] and constructed Hornchurch Stadium in Upminster.[3] There was a rapid expansion of the population because new industries were developing in Outer London during the 1930s, such as the nearby Ford Motor Company plant at Dagenham and Londoners were moving to the new suburban estates of houses that were built around them.[4] The Barking–Upminster railway line through the district was electrified in the 1930s and new stations were opened at Elm Park and Upminster Bridge, in addition to the earlier stations at Hornchurch and Upminster. The urban district council unsuccessfully petitioned for incorporation as a municipal borough on 20 May 1955.
Population table
| Year[5] | 1931 | 1939 | 1941 | 1951 | 1961 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 28,417 | 81,486 | [6] | 104,092 | 131,014 |
[edit] Abolition
The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London considered the district for inclusion in Greater London and in 1965 Hornchurch Urban District was abolished by the London Government Act 1963. Its former area was transferred to Greater London from Essex and was combined with that of the Municipal Borough of Romford to form the present-day London Borough of Havering. In 1993 some of the eastern sections of the former urban district around Great Warley were transferred back to Essex.[7]
[edit] Gallery
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Langtons House was used as the council offices from 1929.
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Boundary marker at Roneo Corner
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Vision of Britain - Hornchurch population (area and density)
- ^ Havering London Borough Council - Heritage strategy for Hornchurch
- ^ A History of the County of Essex: Volume 7, Hornchurch: Economic history and local government
- ^ The East End Alan Palmer, (John Murray, London 1989)
- ^ Hornchurch Essex: Census Tables at Vision of Britain accessed on 14 Dec 2006
- ^ The census was suspended for World War II
- ^ OPSI - Essex and Greater London (County and London Borough Boundaries) (No.2) Order 1993
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