Municipal Borough of Leyton

Leyton
Leyton Town Hall
Leyton within Essex in 1961
Area
• 1901	2,594 acres (10.5 km2)
• 1931	2,594 acres (10.5 km2)
• 1961	2,595 acres (10.5 km2)
Population
• 1901	98,912
• 1931	128,313
• 1961	93,959
Density
• 1901	38.1/acre
• 1931	49.5/acre
• 1961	36.2/acre
History
• Origin	Leyton St Mary ancient parish
• Created	1873
• Abolished	1965
• Succeeded by	London Borough of Waltham Forest
Status	Local government district (1873–1894) Urban district (1894–1926) Municipal borough (1926–1965)
Government	Leyton Local Board (1873–1894) Leyton Urban District Council (1894–1926) Leyton Borough Council (1926–1965)
• HQ	High Road, Leyton
• Motto	MINISTANDO DIGNITAS (Dignity in service)
Subdivisions
• Type	Civil parishes
• Units	Leyton (1873–1965)[note a] Wanstead (part) (1883–1894) Cann Hall (1894–1965)

Leyton was a local government district in southwest Essex, England, from 1873 to 1965. It included the neighbourhoods of Leyton, Leytonstone and Cann Hall. It was suburban to London, forming part of the London postal district and Metropolitan Police District. It now forms the southernmost part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest in Greater London.

Background

Leyton St Mary, sometimes known as Low Leyton, was an ancient parish in the Becontree hundred of Essex, England. It included a detached part to the north of 588 acres, separated from the main part of the parish by a long, narrow exclave of Walthamstow. To the south, the parish of Wanstead formed a long protrusion meeting with the marshes of the River Lea and divided Leyton from West Ham.

Formation

The local government of Leyton was controlled by the parish vestry. Through house building and construction of the railway the parish expanded as an extra-metropolitan suburb of London. The parish authorities resisted earlier attempts to form a local board of health, but finally adopted the Public Health Act 1872 for the parish of Leyton and Walthamstow Slip, creating a local government district in 1873. It was extended to include part of the parish of Wanstead to the south, known as Wanstead Slip or Cann Hall, from 1875.

Change

Leyton became an urban district in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894. The portion of Wanstead in the district was reconstituted as a new parish of Cann Hall. The urban district was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1926. The borough ran Leyton Urban District Council Tramways tram services until they became the responsibility of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933.

Abolition

In 1965 the municipal borough was abolished by the London Government Act 1963 and its former area transferred to Greater London from Essex. Its former area was combined with that of the Municipal Borough of Chingford and the Municipal Borough of Walthamstow to form the present-day London Borough of Waltham Forest.

Notes

• ^note a : The whole parish, except 1883—1887

External links

• A Vision of Britain - Leyton MB