London
Borough of Bexley
Barnehurst |
Belvedere | Bexley Village |
Bexleyheath |
Blackfen | Bostall
Crayford |
Danson Estate |
Erith
Foots Cray |
North Cray
Northumberland Heath |
Sidcup
Slade Green |
Thamesmead |
Welling
The London Borough of Bexley came into being on 1 April 1965
following the passage of the London Government Act 1963. It
consisted of the former Boroughs of Bexley and Erith, the Urban
District of Crayford and parts of the Urban District of Chislehurst
and Sidcup.
Before the Civil War the small port of Erith
on the banks of the Thames had possessed its own Mayor and Corporation,
but its charter was revoked by Charles II in 1660, leaving responsibility
for local government divided between the Parish Vestry and the
still functioning Manorial Courts.
After the opening of the Crossness sewage plant in 1865 Erith
was transformed from a small riverside resort into an industrial
town. The existing administrative structures proved unsatisfactory
and so Erith Local Board was established under the Public Health
Act 1875 to act as the sanitary authority for the Parish.
About the same time a new town began to grow up along the London
to Dover Road, where it crossed Bexleyheath. The common lands
of Bexley had been enclosed by an Act of Parliament in 1819.
This permitted the building of private houses on the heath.
Bexley was still administered by the Parish Vestry, but this
arrangement proved unpopular with the people of Bexleyheath.
In 1880 a solution was found by the creation of a Bexley Local
Board, similar to the one at Erith.
The Local Government Act 1894 created Urban District Councils
for both Bexley
and Erith, replacing both the Local Boards and Parish Vestries.
In 1902 Foots Cray
was also constituted an Urban District, while East
Wickham was absorbed into Bexley Council.
Eight years later the boundaries were again reviewed and Lamorbey
Ward was transferred from Bexley to Foots Cray. Over time the
Councils were granted further powers covering such matters as
electricity supply and tramways for which they obtained special
Acts of Parliament.
During the First World War the village of Crayford
developed into a small town due to the growth of the local munitions
works and in 1920 the Parish was constituted an Urban District.
After the War this industry languished in depression, while
Bexley and Foots Cray, re-named Sidcup
in 1921 experience rapid sub-urbanisation during the great housing
boom. This was accompanied by important administrative changes.
In 1934 Sidcup merged with Chislehurst
and North Cray to form Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District
Council. Royal charters were granted to Bexley in 1937 and to
Erith in 1938 making the towns into Boroughs with their own
Mayors. In 1944 Bexley also acquired delegated responsibility
for local schools from Kent County Council, while Erith lost
the same powers, which it had exercised since 1903.
Today the Borough is best known for its many historic sites
and beauty spots such as the ruins of Lesnes Abbey in Abbey
Wood, Hall Place, the Tudor mansion with its magnificent gardens
in Old Bexley or the Redhouse, William Morris’s home in Bexleyheath.
Danson Park in Welling with its Palladian villa and boating
lake is the largest public open space in outer London, while
Foots Cray meadows on the boundaries of Foots Cray and North
Cray is the home of much interesting flora and fauna.
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